* Home again, home again

Internet access was sparse during our last few days in NZ (or we were too busy wrapping things up to find it). I am writing this entry from home, but I will go back and tell you about the end of the trip. First of all, Murphy did not leave me alone. Throughout the entire trip I was thrice-thwarted from swimming with dolphins. We tried one of our first days in Akaroa. When I went to swim on Friday afternoon, I actually got on a boat with that purpose - the only of the three times there was a possibility. We spent four hours cruising around the Bay of Islands. Early in the cruise a couple people spotted a pair of dorsal fins, but those dolphins didn't want to play - they disappeared and we couldn't find them again. Then in the last half hour we did find another dolphin (or 2, depending on how you look at it). Unfortunately the dolphin we found was a female who had given birth, but the pup had died. She was carrying around the dead pup on her back in mourning. I was thankful that we didn't get too close to the dolphin. I did get to see her, and even in mourning she was a beautiful and graceful creature.

Since that sighting did not count as a "dolphin experience" we were offered either a partial refund or a blue card to ride again on another day. The card didn't expire. I decided to try again the next morning. After making my reservation in Paihia in the Bay of Islands, I drove South an hour to Whangerei to meet Terry, Rachel, Angela, Ben, and Tom for dinner. *Side note: It is very difficult to drive a CamperVan by yourself, especially when it's standard and you're driving on the wrong side of the road. I did not appreciate how wonderful it was to have someone to ask "Am I clear?" to until there was noone there.* As Angela wrote, we went out for turkish dinner and had ice cream in a parking lot in the camper afterwards. Then we drove back up to Paihia. I had made a reservation and arranged to get picked up by the company, since it was a couple kilometers of two large hills away. I got to the dock and was waiting to board when the captain came down. There was a wind speed of 40 knots in the bay. We could see large waves even from the harbor. There would definitely not be swimming, and it was uncertain if there would even be a boat ride. Twenty minutes later I was in the office getting a partial refund. Since it was still early I managed to convince them to give me a ride back to the campground as well. Rachel and Terry were still asleep, so I laid down for a little more rest. When I woke up again at 9:45, the bay was still. I really don't like Murphy.

Rachel, Terry and I went back into Paihia but there wasn't much to do on such an overcast day. After a while we left and saw the grounds of the Treat of Waitangi. It is amazing to hear about the early settlers and how much they were able to do with the Maori people, despite the settlers having little or no backing from England. It was drizzling rain so we didn't stay very long before we headed west. There is a forest on the Western side of Northland that has giant Kauri trees. We took small hikes to see a couple of them, including the largest and second largest trees, as well as four giant trees that grow so close together it looks like they are growing out of one root. After the forest we headed back toward Aukland, camping about 50 km from the city.

Sunday morning we packed and cleaned the campervan after waking up. We went briefly into Aukland for a visit to the sky tower. Terry tried to convince me to do the Sky Jump - a modified form of bungee jumping, but I was not interested at all. Then we headed toward the airport to return the CamperVan. The return went smoothly and we got to the airport about 4 hours before our flight left. On the flight from Aukland to Los Angeles I got to sit next to a newlywed couple from England on their four-month honeymoon. And here, I was excited to have three weeks off!

Flights home were uneventful until the last one. We boarded our plane in Chicago at 10:10 pm to fly back to Appleton. Then, rather than the takeoff safety instructions, we were told that there was a mechanical problem and they were bringing another plane over for us to board instead. Well, we finally boarded about 12:15, arriving in Appleton at 1:10 am. By the time I got my baggage and picked up my car from my parents' place to make it home, it was 2 in the morning. I think that makes about 26 hours travel time coming back. First reaction on coming back: IT'S COLD!!!!!