A very early morning rise and shine today so we could pack the car and set off to the airport to take the hire car to the depot at 7am.  It was actually nice to wake up and see the pretty lights of the Sky tower and was also very exciting for Jennifer.

The plan worked and we returned the hire car and caught the courtesy shuttle bus to the airport.  Full points to Omega Car rental for having two car seats in the bus ready to go.

We checked in and decided to have ham croissants for breakfast before going through customs.  The Auckland airport was very considerate of families and we were fast tracked to the front of the queue which was very helpful.

We caught a 747-400, a double decker jumbo and it was great!  The ride was very smooth and both Jennifer and James were perfect.  We were spoilt again with another breakfast - hotcakes, bacon, apple and manuka syrup, fruit salad and white choc chip muffins.

It took 2 hours to get our luggage and get through immigration and customs and it felt like forever when we were treated like royalty in Auckland.

Jennifer and Mummy enjoyed a baby chino and chai latte while Daddy collected the car and James slept in the pram.

We all agreed that we had a fantastic holiday filled with lots of fun activities and were all saddened that it was over but know we have some great memories to cherish.

One of the best laughs of the holiday goes to Jennifer, who while driving around in our hire car, asked when we were getting a hire car back in Australia.  When we asked why we would want a hire car in Australia when we have our own cars, we discovered that she didn’t mean hire car, she meant higher car, you know - like the Toyota Kluger.

Jennifer said she really enjoyed the whole holiday.  She said she thought it was very special to see the kiwi birds and had lots and lots of fun.

The holiday was a fantastic experience for James, his use of words quadrupled.  There’s nothing quite like having intensive one on one time with the whole family and talking about so many different experiences.  We asked James what he liked best about the holiday and he said, “bus ride”, he was rather impressed each time we hopped on one.  When we asked why he said, “up high”.

As for Mummy and Daddy, we thoroughly enjoyed the company of our two priceless children.  We had so much fun every day sharing in the joy on their faces as we spent time as a family and enjoyed the experiences and sights of New Zealand but also the simple things in life.