22-24 December 2018 - Wellington then Greytown

Day: 3-5
Weather: Drizzle
Google says: 83km; 1hr 15min
Overnight: Ayling’s x2, Greytown
Activities: Church, walks, collecting campervan

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
We are delayed a few days while we wait for the camper to have its Toughguard treatment - weather conditions not ideal to get it done in a hurry. It's lovely to have a bit more time with friends but a little strange to toddle off on the 24th to spend Christmas day by ourselves.

The forecast is shaping up for a wet Christmas day all around so we jolly ourselves along and decide to drive to somewhere not too far up the road. We settle on pretty Greytown, a quaint village not too far up the road. Surely a campground is a good idea on Christmas day so we pull into the Greytown domain on Christmas eve.

21 December 2018 - Wellington

Day: 2
Weather: 22 deg C
Travel: Kekurengu to Wellington - 100kms 1.5hours
Overnight: Wellington
Activities: Camper to Toughguard, Coffee at Scorch o Rama, Te Papa

A calm day to sail from Picton to Wellington. A short drive to Picton where we stopped off to visit May and Malcolm for lunch. We enjoyed a beautiful crossing.

Fabulous to see D and L and family. Perfect space to camp out downstairs (close to Lego stash thanks friends!) while we drop the camper to Seatown to have Toughguard finish applied.

Borrowed a car and enjoyed a gorgeous drive around the bays - the sun shone for a perfect coffee and splash at Scorching Bay. Summer vibes are strong today with Pohutukawa bright against the sea.

We loved a family outing at Te Papa to see the visiting Terracotta soldiers and moving Gallipoli display. Spent most of the day in and around town and got home to share the evening with great friends.

Yipee - we have been delayed but our trip is underway

Oriental Bay - Iconic Wellington

Glorious Pohutukaka - NZ Summer is here

20 December 2018 - North Island Trip Begins

Day: 1
Weather: 16 degC
Google says: 254km 3hr 50 min
Overnight: Kekurengu 
Activities: Driving

Following Tony's three day hospital visit the planned North Island trip was already a week behind. We left home after a busy day of packing and tidying up. The Dr insisted Tony stay close to a hospital for at least a week and then gave him clearance to travel by car. Biking, running and any strenuous activities were out for the next 4-6 weeks. Not the best timing for a summer North Island trip with an adventurous family. More space in the garage of the camper with only 3 bikes in situ.

Free camping at Kekurangu just 3 or 4 hours from home. A pleasure to be right by the beach.

September 12 & 13: Woburn to Portsmouth

We drive from Harwich to Woburn but stop along the way to sort a few things to be ready to fly back the NZ this week. Millie comments several times that it seems that we have come home. There is certainly a lovely familiar feeling to being back in the UK. We would love to be back here repeating our previous adventures, spending more time with our lovely friends here or creating new memories. It is bitter sweet to be back however as we only have a few short days back here to sort things before heading home.

It's a brilliant warm day and it is so lovely to see the Newtons one last time on this trip. We share a BBQ dinner in the back yard then sit around the chimnea savouring a magic evening together. The kids are so happy to be together again. More wonderful memories to hold onto.

The next day it is great to phone NZ and speak with mum. We sort a few more things in the van then take a lovely walk up to Woburn Abbey estate, then back through the village before sharing lunch together. It is with heavy hearts that we say our farewells before heading south to see Paul and Carla for the evening.

It's only 2 hours to Portsmouth. More fun as we catch up with friends over a meal. Then it's down to some serious packing as we chip off a bit more of the motorhome pack down. It's a major.

Being here brings back all the memories of arriving back in April ready to start our adventure.

September10 & 11: Denmark Germany Holland England

The parking spot is a winner. We have a quiet peaceful night. We have been gearing toward getting on a ship bound for the UK on the 11th but discover when we head to McDonalds for wifi that actually there is no possibility to change our sailing from this dock at all. We would have to wait until the 25th. Rather annoying to have not been told that sooner.

We end up spending about four hours on the net talking to NZ, sorting things with insurance and trying to work out how to get back. We decide that it is worth the chance to drive to Holland and try to get a new booking to the UK from there.

It is with great relief that along the way we get word that we are booked on a sailing the following day. It ends up being a very big day. The GPS is always so optimistic with trip times. The six and a half hour total is rather extended.

Everyone is pretty tired when we end up parking up in a residential area in the town of Deventer in Holland at around 11pm. Not a fabulous sleep here though. We find in the morning that we are parked under a chestnut tree. Sporadically through the night we have been popped with falling debris. In the middle of the night it is rather easy to imagine some thugs, annoyed local residents, robbers, delinquents and/or bad guys throwing things to annoy, provoke or threaten.

The following day we arrive at Hoek van Holland in time for a quick wander before boarding the ship at 2:30.

Mostly it feels pretty sad to leave the continent after all this time on the road. We've had a fabulous time. It has been such an incredible opportunity for us and it is hard to imagine it ever happening in this way again.

We are delighted to know that we will briefly see some of our friends as we sort ourselves for our trip home over the next few days. That will feel all too short but it is great to see things coming together to get back home - probably this week.

We have an endless list of things to sort before jumping on a plane but we are that much closer to sorting things once we arrive in the UK in Harwich.