We load at 7.45 am, the mood has changed, the group are now looking forward to getting home to see their husbands, partners, children or starting the next part of their journey’s so there is lots of chatter on the bus, tonight will be our final supper 😦 as a group.

James as I may have mentioned loves “The Kea” and it is time he is presented with his new hat! Mandatory wearing required! this lad! Kind, knowledgeable, patient, he wears his heart on his sleeve and you can see he is genuinely touched that Ellen had listened and knew this hat was something he had seen and that Fio had got it and kept it for today for him ( we all chipped in of course), just a bit of fun and yes he got some very strange looks!

We have a short stop at Lake Tepako before a pie stop at James’s FAVOURITE Pie shop, I have resisted one for 3 weeks, well bar 2 mini ones, today is the day and to be fair it was soooo good – it you are in the area “Fairlie’s Bakehouse”!

How did the MacKenzie Basin etc get its name? You will read below he acquired 1,000 sheep at night, what this means is that he was a poacher/thief, his dog,Friday, was supposed to have a fork tongue which meant he could not bark, somewhat useful if you are a thief’s sheepdog!

Another short stop at Lake Tekapo & the Church of the Good Shepard at which there is a sculpture acknowledging Collie dogs, as the huge stations would be unmanageable, both past and present, without them in this territory would have been broadly impossible. We saw in eg The Blue Duck Station they have very highly skilled dogs for farm management eg sheep and hunting, we saw at least 10-12 there with on-going training for young dogs.

The Water here is so blue and so beautiful.

On the way to Christchurch James gets us to reflect on the things that we enjoyed the most, surprised us the most and that we will remember the most, so good to hear each person’s most memorable memories to them. Yep I am getting emotional!

We get into Christchurch at lunchtime by which time I am ready for the funny farm, we off load and then James who is returning the bus leaves me off at a medical centre, he takes me to one just out of town that has shorter waiting times and well my expectations were 4-5 hour wait times, nope, I was triaged and seen by a doctors within an hour, the bloods well they took 5 attempts! I need a huge dose of steroids to get this bad boy under control but at least I have it now. I just head back to our room and get ready for dinner and pack my luggage, setting out what I need for tomorrow’s journey to Singapore, everything is locked and loaded and this turns out to be a fortuitous decision.

The plan is to meet at “Little High Eatery” at 6pm, it is one of those places that has lots of different restaurants and you can choose what you want, I go for Indian! The food was really good.

It is customary to give your CEO a tip and well this crew outdid itself artistically…….see Fio’s, me lacking in artistic qualities put mine in a wine bottle – flipsake, James plonked his hat on the top of if and it disappeared down into the bottle………….oopsie, we eventually had to get the bottle broken to get it back out. Janine surprised us all friendship badges which have the flags for Canada & Alberta intwined. It turn’s out she had brought one for everyone and give the North Island crew their’s when we parted in Auckland. We say our good byes to those not coming to the pub. We sad, happy and blessed as we hug each other. Gosh, I get how those people in I am a Celebrity get me out of here feel, 8 of us have been together for 22 days, and 14 days with this group of 13, and 8 days with our initial 15, you get to know a lot about each other and my experience with the people I have met this time, has been a thoroughly positive one. There was a general care for each other and thoughtfulness. Each person with their own unique qualities, each one on this/these trips for their own individual reasons including myself.

Time for Church, Housed in a gothic renewal building originally constructed in 1875 as the Trinity Congregational Church, which sat cordoned off post-quake for almost a decade, the brew bar is the result of three years of restoration by Inkster Company. It is considered one of the best city centre pubs!

James had told and showed us this old church that has been changed into a pub/live music venue, we get a drink and go upstairs to the balcony, it is one of those flat ones across the back of the church, I am rather concerned what the “stuffed” priest is doing to the “stuffed” nun in the red fishnets in front of the organ, but hey ho! Also, which I think is funny, I am pretty sure there are no priest or nuns in a Congregational Church and come to think if it No Bar either lol 🙂 anyway it is amazing that this beautiful building was both saved and preserved following the 2 horrendous years of earthquake’s that decimated this city over a decade ago.

The place is just getting going when we leave, most of us have early starts or just starts tomorrow.

Time to go: I am not sleeping, worse than ever with the itch and am up every hour having a cold shower, well cold showering my legs, it is the only thing giving me any ease. I have booked a “super shuttle” to the airport, I give up sleeping at 4.30 am, thankfully, I packed yesterday afternoon before I went out for dinner so I go over for breakfast early around 6am, first one in, and thankfully double check my itinerary and my flight to Singapore is 12pm not 3pm argh!!!!!! Anyway, it was an easy sort and I was able to change the air coach really easily to 8.30 am. Fio, is still out for the count when I get back in and in a way this is better because, when I get back after breakfast she is just stirring, this is my toughest goodbye of the lot, I have barely been able to look at her from yesterday without being an emotional wreck. She has an amazing adventure in front of her, she is taking 4 months out from her career to go travelling, folks why not! JFDI that’s my advice to you and myself. I/we all have places to go, see and people to meet. THIS my dear readers is what actual life is for …..LIVING! I feel so lucky, that I have lived long enough, have good health and that I am finally in a position to do these things without financial worry these days, not a position I have always been in, and so I must stop procrastinating, plan and stop emotional feelings from getting in my way……I will NOT look back on my life and regret what I didn’t do or what held me back. I want to be an example especially to my children and grandchildren.

By the way, I haven’t said this in my blogs or indeed to them, Anna & Ellen, have husband/partners and they travel for the very best of reasons on their own in these groups (which are hugely safe environments) or with friends regularly, for their own reasons, not bad ones I might add, without it impacting their home life in a negative way. So, if you are living with or in a relationship with a stuck in the mud, or have family that is restricting what you want to do, and obviously have no other major responsibilities, perceived or otherwise, bar them, you are not that necessary or needed! If, they love you and want the best for you they will support you. My mum could do poor me at 87 coming 88 and doesn’t, she encourage’s me, my daughter in particular, Christina, (& Tim) is pushing me on, despite knowing it is a inconvenience for them while I am away. John & Sarah too, their attitude is go and do, and all my close family and friends, you know who you who are and have been so behind me, thank you. Don’t wait, everyone, just go while the going is good. Nothing is guaranteed.

SINGAPORE is calling, I give Fio a huge hug and off I go again…..