The end of the road
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2007
1
82
131
Trip End
Jun 2009
Our time in Raglan was spent stripping the van and cleaning it from top to bottom, not an enjoyable job but a necessity all the same. It was quite a sombre time as we realised our first 6 months travelling had come to an end, we were incredibly excited to be seeing Linzi, Keith and Nick but this would also be coupled with the onslaught of finding work, getting our heads down and earning some cash.
Our final leg would take us north to Auckland, do not pass go, do not collect 200 pounds (more's the pity!), straight up the motorway. We had arranged to meet up with Lisa again and celebrate her moving into her own flat, it was lovely to see her and to catch up on her news. Her flat was great with a pool just outside the door, nice, and after several bottles of wine, she kindly let us stay the night. We said our goodbyes again the next day and headed back into central Auckland, firstly to drop off our bags at the hostel we had booked - well, we had forgotten what is was like to carry our backpacks too far!! Then we dropped the van back off, it was sad to leave our Road Runner/Wiley Coyote friend behind but we were certainly ready for a proper bed. We wandered around Auckland shopping, eating, drinking and eventually headed back to our hostel and enjoyed the view of the Sky Tower lit up in Christmas lights. Of course it is nearly christmas and we couldn't have felt less festive - the weather was warming but still there were Father Christmas', snow scenes, the job lot but trying to feel christmassy in shorts and t-shirts is a little difficult.
Our flight was at 1pm on the monday and with our backpacks on, headed for the bus to take us to the airport. Goodbye New Zealand, we will return, and hello Australia......
Our final leg would take us north to Auckland, do not pass go, do not collect 200 pounds (more's the pity!), straight up the motorway. We had arranged to meet up with Lisa again and celebrate her moving into her own flat, it was lovely to see her and to catch up on her news. Her flat was great with a pool just outside the door, nice, and after several bottles of wine, she kindly let us stay the night. We said our goodbyes again the next day and headed back into central Auckland, firstly to drop off our bags at the hostel we had booked - well, we had forgotten what is was like to carry our backpacks too far!! Then we dropped the van back off, it was sad to leave our Road Runner/Wiley Coyote friend behind but we were certainly ready for a proper bed. We wandered around Auckland shopping, eating, drinking and eventually headed back to our hostel and enjoyed the view of the Sky Tower lit up in Christmas lights. Of course it is nearly christmas and we couldn't have felt less festive - the weather was warming but still there were Father Christmas', snow scenes, the job lot but trying to feel christmassy in shorts and t-shirts is a little difficult.
Our flight was at 1pm on the monday and with our backpacks on, headed for the bus to take us to the airport. Goodbye New Zealand, we will return, and hello Australia......

