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It would be a wild understatement to say that we were a little upset when we left New Zealand - Martha sobbed all the way to the airport. This was in large part because we spent our last few days in Auckland with Ryan, who was the first friend we made in NZ, making for a very difficult goodbye. In another case of firsts and lasts, we spent our last day on the same beach in Devonport that we'd discovered on our first day two months before.
It was a long enough trip that we felt like we'd gotten to know the country pretty well: where to shop, how much money we should be spending on things and all the country's little quirks. One surprising fact we learnt was that it's as common to own a gun there as it is in America. However, there's far less gun violence as the population is so small (about half the size of London) that if you were to go on a murderous rampage you'd probably come across only animals. But perhaps more importantly, it's down to the good natured temperament of kiwis.
That's not to say we've loved everyone we've met. By the end of our travels with the Kiwi Experience, we had been on fifteen different buses with fifteen different bus drivers, each one with their own unique take on the job. We had several drivers who we loved, such as Jess, who took us all through the North, our two Deep South drivers and Mac, the cricket fanatic. But we also had drivers we weren't so fond of, along with many in the grey space between. One thing we noted after leaving Jess when we left the North Island, was that all of them were men. We knew that other female drivers existed, and every time we got on a new bus we were excited to see if we'd get another, but we never did. Despite this, the Kiwi Experience turned out to be the perfect way for us to travel around such a diverse country.
Although we often felt as if each new place was its own country, we think it's not too harsh to say that the whole place is slightly behind on the times. Starting with the most crucial of things when travelling far from home: wifi. Almost every place we stayed in had wifi, but it would be slow and required us to pay extra, and finding a cafe with free wifi was a novelty. The kiwis' taste in music was also a bit behind: on a night out it wouldn't be uncommon to hear songs that nobody would dare play in English clubs. Namely, "Low" by Flo Rida, which we heard almost every time we went out, making us feel like we were twelve again and at a school disco. A few of the locals even sported mullets, a haircut we really do not understand. Regardless of this, the kiwi attitude is one to admire. They're incredibly straightforward and unlike the British there's no beating around the bush, leading to some hilarious advertising and many jokes about sex.
Towards the end of our trip, we both realised that neither of us had ever spent so long in a country without living there and yet there are still many things we're saving for another visit. After all, you know a country is pretty incredible when spending two months there can convince you that jumping out of a plane is a completely normal thing to do. Neither of us have any doubt in our minds that we will be back one day.
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