The end of the Kiwi road

Upon reaching Auckland we caught up with Stephen and Gill whom we had stayed with when we came to New Zealand thirteen years ago! We then spent a day with Geoffrey, Richie's brother, and his wife Melissa and her parents. We were also excited to meet Ben, Alice and Charlie's other cousin. They were just about to move house and Melissa told the boys we needed to eat up the freezer which they thought was funny and keep asking when we will move so we can do the same! It was a lovely hot day and William and Oliver entertained us and splashed us in the pool.

On our last day we had the whole day as our flight was not until 1140pm. In search of the elusive Kiwi bird, we spent the day at Auckland Zoo. It is a fantastic zoo and we saw lots of animals including the elephant being taken for a walk outside her enclosure!

Oliver and William got to feed the giraffe and loved the lions and tigers.

The native section was excellent and we were put on a show by William and Oliver and a kea and we finally got to see a Kiwi.

The return flight was straightforward until we landed in Shanghai. As we were emptying overhead lockers we were told that the Chinese Authorities requested us to retake our seats. Some customs officials then boarded the plane and escorted a man off. Luckily we were then allowed off and got home without a hitch.