Goodbye little campervan.....

---

Dear all,

After my last message we stayed the night in Kaikoura and then left the next morning to head for Hanmer Springs. We arrived there and the small little town was packed solid as it was Saturday. We spent the day exploring the small town and enjoying the beautiful sun. Sunday morning we got up early and went to the springs. They are natural volcanic hot springs that range in temperature from a lovely 36 degrees to a slightly too hot 42 degrees. The sun was out and we spent a couple of hours there. Apparently the water is very good for your skin.

Sunday evening the sky went a black colour and soon it was raining, it hasn't stopped since. All of last night it rained really hard and our journey back to Christchurch this morning was just full of rain and high winds. We are now here in Christchurch. We spent the afternoon at the Antarctic centre and experienced a minus 18 degree storm and lots of other cool Antarctic stuff.

This evening we are chilling in the van. We are just starting to pack our stuff together as in the morning we give it back. Then we have a night at the airport hotel before flying to Sydney on Wednesday. We are both feeling quite sad about giving up the van and have been talking quite seriously about getting one when we get back. I have very happy memories of summers spent with my Nanny and Grandad and their campervan. Also you don't have to pitch anything and Ash likes the fact that you can get to the site and have a beer in your hand within minutes.

So it's going to be goodbye New Zealand and hello Sydney. We really have been lucky with the weather, it's been amazing up until last night. We have both loved the fact that no journey can ever be boring as there is so much amazing scenery to look at. We also saw Orcas up very close and have seen some very cute little towns and awesome beaches.

But looking ahead, Sydney is my favourite city in the whole world and we only have 3 nights there...so loads to show Ash in a small space of time.

Also we just booked our whale watching, glacier walking and husky sledding for Alaska!! Very very exciting!

Watch this space! Love and hugs to you all,

Wend and Ash xxxxxxxxxx

---