With a yet again hungover Liz still in tow, we set off early and at breakneck speed for Mt Cook Village and an afternoon stroll around NZ’s highest peak. On route we took an unexpected break at the famous Moeraki Boulders and with no-one else to bother us we enjoyed the morning beauty of this mystical feature of the east coast. Then, with Steve and Liz ‘counting sheep’, leaving me to play Horse on my own, I pushed Sonny on to our destination with perfect weather conditions greeting us on arrival. At 3755m Mt Cook is the highest of the Southern Alps and with a cloudless sky, makes for an excellent afternoon jaunt around its ridges and ravines. With energy levels running low, a slow, enjoyable, conversational pace was set and a superb afternoon was had by one and all. To make sure we 
shatter all living records, and to finish NZ off in style, we decided two more nights in the car wouldn’t hurt anyone, especially as Liz had already checked-in to the hostel so we could use the facilities! So after a quick viewing of Rain Man we retired back to our crib for car night 13!Our last full day in NZ was upon us and to Lake Tekapo we went to break up the journey to Christchurch and view the stunning vistas that the lake has to offer. With time to burn we walked up Mt John to enjoy NZ’s incredible scenery for the last time and with a crisp blue lake, mountains and forest all coming together, yet again we were not disappointed. Our last stop was
the Church of the Good Shepherd, unfortunately with thousands of tour buses, before saying our fond farewells to Liz and making our way towards the flight to OZ. Having already been to Christchurch, we didn’t give ourselves long here (as there isn’t anything to do) and so after night 14 in the car, nearly 1 in 2 for our NZ adventure (great moneysaving tip but not good for your lower back), we handed back our borrowed duvet and our beloved Sonny and jumped across the Tasman Sea.
With NZ being the biggest draw of the world tour pre-departure, it exceeded all the high expectations set as within a month we managed between us to sky-dive, bungy jump, white water raft, glacier hike, canyon, horse-trek, fish, see top level cricket and rugby, body board, kayak (sea and fiordland), explore caves, whale watch (sort of), view various indigenous wildlife, get lost, climb a volcano, be entertained by a Maori tribe and even manage to find the time to have a couple of drinks along the way....It’s a hard life eh?!
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