So long...and thanks for all the fish

Packing: awful. Cleaning: awful. Leaving: awful. We’ve had a hectic week, but fitted in plenty of good things – a couple of bike rides, a few people over for dinner, a lovely farewell curry with the hockey crowd, a night with the Farrells and a ‘finish as we started’ stay with the Harpers. It was really hard to say goodbye to all of our friends, to Christchurch, Sumner and our little Beach Hut, but we’re making a mental note of ‘things that we haven’t done that we need to come back for' - and we’ll have plenty of places to stay when we do.

We had an amazing South Island send off as we were driving past Kaikoura – millions of dolphins splashing, jumping and leaping out of the sea. After a few photo stops, we got to Picton just in time for our ferry and had the calmest ever crossing of the Cook Strait as we sailed into Wellington on Saturday evening.

We’re staying with Vicky and Neil for the next few days – had a good Saturday night out on the town and spent today cruising the vineyards of Martinborough and caught a brilliant sunset at Lake Ferry. Spag bol is now on the go for tea.