Full Circle and the end of a beautiful relationship. On July 31st, we parted company with the van that had been our home for the past eleven months as we travelled around New Zealand. It was a slightly sad farewell, although I don’t think either of us will be too upset at not dismantling and making the bed every day!

On the way back up to Auckland, we travelled in torrential rain which meant that the grounds of the campsite we had planned to stay at were slightly flooded – still the new neighbours seemed to like it! We’ve experienced a couple of earthquakes, been snowed in, stuck because of road closures/slips and flooding and now, a tsunami alert. It was the 6.30am one that was the real shock! Really glad that the DoC ranger moved us from where we were to a slightly higher car park away from the foreshore.

Then up the Coromandel Peninsular to Coromandel Town to stay with Don’s sister for the final few days of our trip. It is a lovely town. We have discovered a new brewery that was still in the process of being set up when we were here last in December. Oh boy is the beer good! Saw the local town celebrity – Helen Clarke who was surveying his domain.

Not too much longer and we’ll be back in the UK – we’ll keep blogging and taking photos so do keep in touch!

To those who have been keeping an eye on our travels over the past year, thanks for checking in, we hope you’ve enjoyed reading about and seeing what we’ve been up to.