Aaargh! Okay, this isn't funny any more. The ferry got in at 1am and after getting cash and a taxi to the airport it was 1:30am. Unfortunately Wellington airport shuts at 1am and doesn't re-open until 4am. A small group of us huddled together in the biting wind for nearly THREE HOURS before they let us in. Bastards. Who shuts an airport? Where do the tramps sleep instead?

No chance of photos (will probably have to wait until Hong Kong now) so I'll leave yesterday until then as words just don't do it justice. Today started leisurely but soon developed into a mad dash across the country (but without speeding) to reach the ferry. It was very reminiscent of a trip a group of old uni mates and I did to Amsterdam a few years back. We got a bit lost leaving Holland and ended up in Brussels (we were aiming for Calais - and I was driving). To try and make our scheduled shuttle we ended up blazing across northern france at 130mph (which in the company laguna I had was about the same as drilling a hole in the fuel tank and letting in run all over the road) with 3 stoned guys in the back seat giggling, a carving knife in the glove compartment and (unknown to me at this time) several ounces of Amsterdam's finest in the boot. Ah, memories....

I would say that the winding roads of New Zealand's national parks are infinitely preferable to northern france though (a country so flat it took the german panzers a whole six hours to conquer it - a new record, even by french standards) :)