Last time, I said I'd finish my Adventure Tours bus tour story, but it didn't end with the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise...

On Thursday, January 14, we left Doubtful Sound around midday and drove through the Otago region, making several stops along the way to take in the beautiful surroundings - and to take pictures, of course. At the end of the afternoon, we arrived in Naseby, another of Kerry's favourite places. With the memories of Makarora still fresh in my head, I had a feeling Naseby wasn't going to be one of my favourite places... Naseby is a town - although 'town' is a big word for such a small place - with approximately 200 inhabitants. It used to be a lot bigger, but a lot of people have left. The reason that it still exists, is because it has an indoorcurling rink. I'd never heard of curling before, but it turned out that Fabian was a curling professional! Fabian had curled in his home country Switzerland for more than 18 years. Wow! Those who wanted, could give curling a go. I had no idea what it was, so I thought I'd give it a try. Well, it was fun, but it was mainly bloody cold!

After curling, we went to Naseby's only hostel-slash-restaurant-slash-pub. Fabian, Martin, Marianne and I shared a room together for the last time. Marianne and I slept in a bunk bed and the guys had a single bed each. We had dinner with the whole group at one long table. It was fun to eat like that. We were like one big, happy family! After dinner, Marianne and I went for a walk. 'Don't get lost!', Kerry shouted jokingly after us. Getting lost in Naseby was pretty much impossible. There was hardly anything there! Marianne and I couldn't get over the fact how old, old-fashioned and even fake the whole town looked. We felt like we were on a 1960's film set. It was so surreal! Many houses looked like they were made of carton. It was super quiet as well, as if everybody had left after a day of filming. Really bizarre. When we arrived back at the hostel, the fire in the fire place was on, because it was quite cold. Marianne and I ordered a drink at the bar (and paid an old-fashioned price for it!), I threw a few darts and then we went to bed. It was going to be an active day the next day.

The next day, on January 15, it was my birthday! I received birthday wishes and gifts during breakfast, instantly giving me a birthday girl-feel. Thanks, guys! We left around 9.00 am to do one of my favourite activities: cycling! There were bikes and helmets waiting for us. Kerry directed us in the direction of the Otago Rail Track (now a bicycle track) and off we went. It took a couple of hours to finish the track, but it was nice weather and the scenery was beautiful, so it was good fun. The afternoon was spent in the bus, reaching Christchurch early evening. Christchurch marked the end of the bus tour for most of us. A lot of people flew back to Auckland the next day or to other destinations. Five people were going back to Auckland by bus, which would take them two days. Marianne and I had decided to spend an extra day and night in Christchurch and would fly back on Sunday. All in all, it was time to say goodbye - but not before we had one last meal together. Because it was my birthday, I could select a restaurant and I chose The Two Fat Indians. Not everybody joined, but we were still with a big group. I liked the food and I felt honoured that the group did this for me. They even paid for my meal! But that wasn't all: after dinner, we went to a bar, because they knew I wanted to dance. I didn't dance much, but I appreciated their gesture. Everybody had a drink and we all toasted to my birthday. Martin asked if I'd already made a birthday wish. When I told him I hadn't, because I didn't have a candle, he immediately left, only to appear minutes later with a burning candle in his hands. 'You can make a wish now', he said with a smile. And so I did. Shortly after midnight, everybody except Marianne left. They all had to get up early the next day, either to catch a plane or for the bus. A lot of hugs and kisses were exchanged and I thanked everybody for making my birthday special. Marianne and I went for a short walk and then we went back to the hostel. We had to share our room with a Japanese girl, who was asleep when we arrived. The next day, we moved to a hotel, so we'd get at least one night of good sleep before we flew back to Auckland. Unfortunately, it was raining in Christchurch on Saturday. Marianne and I were both tired, and we decided to go our own ways after we'd gone for a walk in the morning. We met up at dinner time, returned to the hotel, packed our bags and flew back to Auckland on Sunday, January 17.

I've been in Auckland since then. Ihad dinner withMarianne, Martin, Jack & Kirsten on January 18. Marianne and Jack & Kirsten flew back to the Netherlands and the U.K. respectively on January 19. Martin stayed in Auckland until January 21 and we did a few touristy things together before he went back to Scotland. Since Martin's departure, not much has happened, but I'm still enjoying my stay in what is considered by some 'the most beautiful country in the world'!

Have a great day!