New Zealand 2016: Last day in New Zealand

The Ramada in Tuam Street is a bit of a strange hotel. Strictly speaking it's an "aparthotel" since we had a little kitchen and washing machine as well. It is surrounded by empty sites where earthquake struck buildings have been demolished but not yet rebuilt. It looks like Docklands twenty years ago before it was finished.

This morning we carried out our final pack, and I squashed everything back into my suitcase that I brought with me, plus one Kiwi souvenir. After packing the boot of the Corolla we had breakfast in a trendy cafe bar, which would be very at home in Shoreditch. I suffered from beard-envy after seeing some of the luxuriantly forested chins of local hipsters. If I grow my beard long I just look like a U boat engineer after three months at sea without access to soap.

Wandering our way to the half-destroyed Victorias cathedral, we joined a walking tour of Christchurch. Our guide was engaging and informative, and showed us the better side of the city we hadn't seen before. Today the city was back to normal after the holiday, so it was considerably more lively. There are some beautiful new buildings being constructed, and the street art on every corner shows how proud the local people are of their city.

Lunch was sushi from a stall in the shipping container shopping mall called Restart, I'm getting a taste for Japanese lunches. Our final tourist trip was to the Christchurch Museum in the Botanic Garden. It has a delightful exhibition who works in the medium of corrugated iron, a very Kiwi medium.

So here I sit at Gate 25 waiting to be calLed for our flight to Melbourne, then on to Dubai and London. By the time I'm back in London I may have forgotten how to walk properly.

So farewell New Zealand, I have had a truly wonderful time here.

Christchurch cathedral and its absent tower