So our last night in NZ was an unconventional one to say the least, spent on the floor of Christchurch Airport. This wasn't due to any delays or anything, it was all part of the plan! Our flight out was leaving so early that, had we stayed in a hotel, we would have been up at 3am anyway so it hardy seemed worth it. Thus, after a quick check of sleepinginairports.com (seriously!), we spent the evening eating nice Japanese food at Mums 24, blogging, then finding our patch of airport floor.

And we were joined by at least 30 other people. It was remarkable- they close most of the airport, leaving just one area that turned into a big dorm room as loads of people got tucked up in sleeping bags, pulled out their pillows and bedded down. And if we'd had something soft to sleep on, then maybe it wouldn't have just been Andrew that got a few hours' sleep!

NEW ZEALAND: A SUMMARY
This is as good a time as any to do a bit of a review of New Zealand that we may add to as more comes to us. This bit might be a bit boring unless you're thinking of going- but you should so that's fine.

It's fab. And it's so well set up for tourists of all persuasions that travelling is dead easy- drive along the road and you'll pass somewhere nice to stop for a walk/picnic/view/whatever, arrive in any town and there will be a place to stay within any budget, and if that's too compicated, pop into the local iSite (tourist info) and they'll book everything for you for free.

The people are fantastic- so welcoming and always helpful. Kiwis are outward-looking people, interested in the world and happy that the world wants to come to them (this, we suppose, is because it's a tiny country itself). And they're so laid back and casual- but always in a friendly way (whereas a certain other nation nearby had people who were casual in an off-ish way). As an example, arriving in NZ for the first time, we approached the customs desk where they enforce the
strict quarantine rules:
Kiwi, "Hey welcome to New Zealand, you guys got any food, tents, hiking gear?"
Us, "No"
Kiwi. "Sweet as. Have an awesome time."
Amazing.

Getting around NZ is easy... as long as you have yor own transport. If not, the trains are virtually non-existant and the coaches are rare (in a country the size of Britain but with a population of 4 million it's difficult to justify a public transport network). One option is to get a ticket for a hop-on hop-off 'backpacker bus' that does a circuit of each island. These are fine, but the focus is as much on backseat flirting as anything else. Hiring a campervan is hugely popular and this was our original plan- advantages include being able to stay anywhere you like (even if there is no room at a campsite, you can just park up and sleep) and not having to pack your bag for two weeks. But it's surprisingly expensive- especially in high season and certainly much more than hiring a car and staying in hostels or 'cabins' in holiday parks. This latter type of room was a treat- your own bedroom, kitchen and often bathroom, usually separate from other buildings and always much quieter than hostels, for the same price (both were about NZ$60 a night for a double room). The hostels (or 'Backpackers' as they call them - only tourists say 'hostel') were great too, though and at least as good as motels- over double the price for a room that rarely looked much better, didn't have personal, helpful service but had the status of something better than a backpackers. Madness.

Flights within NZ are cheap as chips.

As for the old North Island/South Island debate, they're both fantastic. Conventional wisdom is that the South Island is the one to visit but the north had great merits too. The South has taller, bigger
landscapes but the North has more vibrant towns, perhaps more chilled people and still has very pretty coasts, lakes, hills and, importantly, thermal ground. Begrudgingly, if you can, visit both, if
you only have a week or so, go to the south.

A guide to Kiwi coffee:
New Zealanders LOVE coffee and take pride in making it well. We stopped at tiny little truckstops in the middle of nowhere (the sort of place where in the UK even mentioning the word latte would, at best, get you thrown out) and Andrew got fantastic brews. But you need to know the lingo. Yes, they hae cappuccinos and latte but they're mainly for foreigners. The real drinks are Flat White (2 shots of espresso filled with hot milk to the top- like a latte but not frothy) and Long Black (basically what Brits call an Americano- it is acceptable to ask for a long black with milk, and you'll often be charged 50c for this). Oh, and it's not skimmed or skinny, it's trim.

Someone called Pam makes everything in the shops. It's amazing, apparantly Pam's is a budget brand, but she has the whole supermarket covered. Not a single day passed in New Zealand during which we ate none of Pam's products.

Eating: we self catered most of the time, having Pam's museli with Pam's milk for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Evenings were a 50:50 split of restaurants and our own stuff. Eating out is easy, with great Asian food and big hunks of meat being top options.

Internet use is a total rip-off. Most hostels, holiday parks and various other places have coin operated things which charge a stupid $1 for 10 minutes. Wifi isn't very widespread and where it does exist it is as at least as expensive. This is just silly- if hostels, hotels and cafes in remote (and non-remote) parts of South America can offer free Internet and wireless access for their clients, so can New Zealand, and the first places to do that will make a fortune from extra customers.

You can throw yourself off or out of lots of things in New Zealand- bungi jumping, canyon swing, skydive, zorbing... it's a huge industry, especially around Queenstown (South Is) and Taupo (North Is). But it's surprisingly expensive. Now, we were never going to actually do bungi jumping but we'd thought it would be reasonably priced given its popularity. It's not- it's about NZ$180. Other big touristy things are also a but pricey- for example whale watch, Bay of Islands cruise and Milford Sound (whichever way you see it)... but, then, they are simply amazing so they're worth it (and people would say the same about bungi).

Awesome, aye? Sweet as.