Day 21/22 NZ - 21-22/1/2011

We the holiday is all but over. Our last day consisted of a slow start up as we only had a couple of hundred k's to do and we didn't have to have the car back until 4pm. The weather looked OK at the start of the day but it quickly turned quite cold ready for our drive through one of the coldest areas of NZ - Arthurs Pass. There are only 3 or 4 places in the South Island where you can cross from the east to west and Arthurs Pass is one of them. The road is very windy as it makes it's way up and pover the pass. The most impressive part was the 'viaduct' which, although the photo doesn't show it, it very steep. It is a pretty impressive engineering feat. Another section of the road had a 'cover' over the road and a waterfall diversion. That section was VERY steep.

The town of Arthurs Pass was freezing and it is the middle of summer! There is also a railway line that goes through AP and it's the main freight link between east and west. It has a 8.5km tunnel in it which took 37 years to build starting in 1886! Quite amazing really.

The drive into Christchurch saw the waether turn colder and wet which was fine given that it was our last days drive. We spent ages trying to find a place to empty the toilet and waste from the camper which we had to do before returning it. Finally we found one and returned it on time. Our motel for the night was next door which made that whole process easier and the motel was next door to the airport which made our transfer for our flight a piece of cake.

We spent that last night in our room relaxing, having our meal delivered to our room. We set the alarm for 4.30am to make out 6.50am flight and all went well today with the flight and we arrived back home at about 11am Melbourne time.

Thanks for reading and if you want some help preparing a trip to New Zealand, let us know!