We were up bright and early this morning as we have to catch the ferry at 9am. We were supposed to take the car back yesterday but Simon rang the company and we book it for another 5 days. He got this for 100 dollars which is good and we now plan to hand it back in Auckland.

The ferry is OK a big passenger ferry with shops, tv lounge and cinema etc. We sit reading for the majority of the three hour journey and it seems to go faster than I expected. When we get of the other end we head for a place called Palmerston North. There isn’t too much here but it’s halfway to Lake Taupo our next destination and there is the NZ Rugby Museum to have a wander round, which we do. It’s quite good, so much information about the All Blacks and I have to share the toilet with a huge cardboard cut out of Jonah Lomu. ( The only rugby player I had heard of until I met Simon)

We decide we will stay the night here and book into a smart looking motel. Its 140 dollars but the fella did knock 30 dollars off the price and we’re swayed by the free wifi and the lure of a Jacuzzi/Spa in the conservatory at the back of the apartment. – Yay! We all warm up and have a good soak, actually it’s too hot and we can only stick it for about 20 minutes. Probably enough for a spa anyway, I feel a bit dizzy afterwards!

We decide we’ll have pizza for dinner and Simon goes to get it, kids have just informed me tonights offering on Sky is Mr and Mrs Smith so guess we’ll be watching that. I am looking forward to getting to Fiji so we can start going out for dinner again at night. Because it’s cold here and the motels are quite pricey we tend to stay in, in an effort to save a bit of cash and keep warm!