12 Sept – Well, we are back in Kaiapoi. Our flight from Heathrow to Christchurch via L.A. and Auckland was long but uneventful. I sat beside an American earthquake engineer on the Auck/Ch leg. Our girls and the grandchildren were waiting at the airport as there was no school because of the earthquake. It was great to see them. Their houses are fine and our house is fine. No damage whatsoever. Those that were unaffected have a slightly guilty feeling and we soon realised the toll it had taken on everyone. The first quake must have been terrifying but the constant after shocks mean that most people’s sleep is disturbed. We met friends at the supermarket on Saturday and they looked stressed and exhausted. We have not visited the effected areas in Kaiapoi yet as they are appealing for people to stay away.

What a great trip we had. Everything went well, including “Lefty”. Here comes the commercial. “Lefty” will be up for sale around this time next year after we have been on another 5 month trip. We can take it back to the firm we bought it from, but we would prefer to sell it privately with all the stuff we have bought, including the bikes. If anyone is thinking of the trip to Europe and GB this could be a good deal. Any time period over 3 months it is better to buy than hire. We would need to stitch up a deal before we leave NZ in April 2011. You will be surprised how cheap that deal might be!
I hope you have enjoyed reading of our adventures. We travelled 15,500kms and by far our biggest expense, excluding the flights, was diesel. We will resume the blog next year.