It's all over. We are safe and sound in little Bournemouth town.
Our stop over in Wellington was uneventful except for the pitiful free backpacker meal we laughed at for dinner. In the morning our first tour guide, Nick, was back with us for the 10 hour express drive back to Auckland. A few of his most recent group joined the bus and we set off after picking up a friend of his. We all slept a lot, then played a few games like bus karaoke... hearing my mum sing Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire almost caused a few of us to pee our pants. The lunch stop was at Tongariro National Park where we were able to see the mountain again on a perfectly sunny day! But we weren't fooled after our experience on the crossing... 
Arriving in Auckland at Base we said a final farewell to the last of our group and checked in, finding we had been upgraded to a double with an en-suite! The plan was to ditch the bags, make some food and chill out, but we ended up being absorbed by the movies on our flat screen and just didn't bother to eat and went to bed! It was lush! Our flight wasn't until 6pm so the next morning we repacked, checked out, ate a big brunch and went Christmas shopping down Queen Street. Yes. Christmas shopping. Mum had already picked up a few bits so why not get the rest of the presents here. Now its my job to wrap them!
The flight was alright... stopped at Brisbane and then carried on for 16 hours to Dubai where Mum got stopped by security for the empty bullet shell in her bag from her Blue Duck Lodge hunting trip. But saying that, I was stopped for a random bomb check in Oz.
Our shuttle was Not waiting for us when we finally came out and we ended up getting a Ladies Taxi with a female driver and a pink roof!
For the whole of the 23rd we were out on tour around the city. We learnt about the industry and development of the city as well as visiting the Creek, the Museum, bazaars and a spice market where I was almost sold for a thousand camels! Thankfully mum said no... The shops and fabrics were all really tempting but I was totally put off by the men constantly in your face asking you to come into their shop and try on their scarfs or buy their watches - all 'genuine/fake' of course. It made me cringe so much I had to hang onto mum and get out onto an open street again! Thankfully we finally regrouped and finished our tour with a photo stop at the Burj Al Arab which is Dubai's most iconic 5* hotel (often said to be 7*). We couldn't go in because of the security and they wont let you just look around. It's like that at most of the interesting new projects in Dubai and there's building sites everywhere. I wasn't too heartbroken to leave, by this point it was just time to get home. At midnight we caught a shuttle to the airport and then a 3:10am flight back to Heathrow. Watched Larry Crowne on the plane which is actually a lot funnier than I though it would be! Slept some more and then taddah!! Hello sunrise over London!
And a tasty hot chocolate and coach trip later we were back in Bournemouth town by midday. The lovely Jimmy and his mashed up car were there to pick us up and he stuck around all through my jet lag and unpacking. Mr Lovely then took me to the cinema the next night and out to see friends the night after! He's a good egg.
John is really pleased to have us home and had chocolate and flowers ready and waiting for mum!! Far to much public affection has been going on for my liking... But they seem happy :)
Now we're home from Lord of the Rings Land and not so many people think to call us hobbits... Everything is falling back into place nicely and normality is returning. The teeny tiny exception to all of this of course is that we now have memories for a lifetime and new friends all over the world.
Life is good.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:3-4
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