Given that you probably won't be that interested in our journey to the airport here are some final thoughts on NZ.

As in 2011, we have had a lovely time and can thoroughly recommend a holiday here in NZ. It often feels very British and yet is quite different in lots of ways. We have had many great moments and seen some wonderful sights and yet it is some of the smaller things that have given us pleasure. The flowers growing at the roadsides have been amazing. The native bush, although similar to our forests are made up of totally different trees. The tree ferns, in particular are very special.

The NZ birds have delighted and frustrated us by turns! It has been good to see many we saw last time and a few new ones as well. We will long remember our albatross experience at one end of the scale but also seeing the tiny riflemen was great. The whio up in Tarongariro National Park was not fully appreciated at the time - looking like a brown duck - but when we went to look again was not to be found!

We have had our breath taken away by views from high up but also been staggered by the things thrown up from deep down in the earth. The geothermal activity is astonishing but the fault lines associated with this "new country" can bring terrible destruction as we witnessed in Christchurch.

People have asked us whether we prefer North or South Island but we find it difficult to say. Both have unique features but the more we have travelled, the more we find the similarities between the two. The countryside is often similar to the UK but tends to have lots of small terraced mounds and is predominantly given over to animal farming rather than arable. We have seen lots of sheep and cattle but only a few pigs. However we have also seen herds of deer and goats!

People are always friendly and interested in us - maybe because they have family back in the UK but increasingly we have noticed a much greater Asian influence here. It is good to see far more Chinese travellers - I guess reflecting the increased prosperity there. However we still chuckle over the mixed up Kiwi vowel sounds we hear all the time!

We have travelled over 3000 miles and visited places from the far south - Stewart Island to the far north - Cape Reinga. We have been to both west and east coasts though sadly not the west coast in South Island this time. We have had the pleasure of being with family and friends, from Australia and from home and we are looking forward to bring with both Joan and John in Melbourne and Trudy and Derek in Sydney! It's not such a big world after all!