Day 22 Christchurch to Auckland and Home (3/23/13)

A very early wake up in our ChCh motel to leave for the airport at 6:00 am for our 8:00 flight. We arrived in Auckland at 9ish and said goodbye to the Hawaii-bound Vittitoes. They will spend a few days in Honolulu with Chase.

Terry and Jim had about 8 hours to kill, so took a bus to the waterfront in Auckland where we revisited some of our favorite spots from 3 weeks ago...the train station for Internet, The Waterfront restaurant for another NZ burger, with egg, beets, cheese...the works! We split that and had some beer-Terry's new vice.

After deciding the museum was too far and time too short, Jim sat in the train station while Terry roamed Queen Street and High Street, doing the "S" word...shopping. Got a Christmas ornament and other little goodies and enjoyed watching the crazily dressed young people on their way to "Beerfest" down at the Queen's Wharf. There were over 50 kinds of beer being sampled, but you had to pay $50 to get in, and then buy the beer. Looked to be a crazy time.

We caught the bus back to the International Airport and spent some time browsing the Duty Free shops. We've just boarded the plane, and while sad the vacation is over, we are anxious to see our kids and friends back home.