Last few days in NZ

After a night in the lovely Downtown Backpackers in Welly, I took a flight up to Auckland with Air NZ- only 30 quid so seemed worth avoiding the 12 hour coach! All very relaxed, so relaxed that they let me on with my penknife which I'd stupidly left in my hand luggage, there's always one!

After getting into Auckland airport I got the bus straight into the city and enjoyed lunch from my fave classy Auckland joint- Burger Fuel! I then lay on a bench and read my new book- The book of secrets by Deepak Chopra- v good. After a couple of hours the bus came to take me back to Warkworth, where it all began!

I was picked up from the bus by Conny- a friend of Michelle's who had agreed to take me on for a few days. She was chatty and super friendly. Her place is right in the sticks surrounded by some gorgeous hills and great scenery. She has a little complex of cabins for wwoofers/ her teenage children to sleep/cook/hang out in, but I was honoured with a room in the house, and a very nice one too! We had a lovely roast dinner and watched Mama Mia down in the shack with 3 scottish wwoofers and an irish wwoofer who had arrived that day in camper vans.

My work there was pretty chilled. The first day I just made curry and cakes, then caught and burshed the horses. The second day I learned to make chapatis and collected some pine cones. The third day I just made pumpkin soup and that was it!!

I go to ride Maiti, a lovely Appaloosa belonging to Conny's daughter, and went out on a lovely little trek in the hills with Conny and her gorgeous Palomino Amigo. Maiti is ridden in a bitless bridle and mostly using seat aids, it was great to learn to ride in this more natural and communicative way and he was a great teacher.

Most afternoons I was just napping and chilling out making jewellery, and then on the last morning of my stay I went to see Michelle and co again which was great. Blue and Rex have really grown so much, becoming gorgeous little dogs, and the foals were doing really well and playing together really happily. Elise and I spent some time hanging out with them which was lovely.

The next day Conny's son Cody dropped me off in town and I took the bus back to Auckland to start the next big stage of my adventure- onwards to Asia!!