42. Top Ten Road-trip Tips.

Well, I have been back at work for a little over a week now. It is good to be back in the routine and the cows seemed glad to see me. 

Nothing of note happened whilst I was away, except the bulls were taken away. This is a bit less work for us, so that's good news!

I thought I should write a little about my trip now I can look back at the whole thing, starting off with my top ten tips for driving around NZ. If you are planning a future road-trip, have a read.

10. Get a good map - You can't always rely on technology and it is good to mark where you have gone and are going. I only got lost once, and that was in the middle of a city so doesn't count.

9. Hydrate - Especially in the summer, also wee-stops are a good incentive to have a small stroll and a break from driving. 

8. Drive a Japanese car - It won't break down. The only reason I didn't drive an Aston Martin around the country was because of the famed reliability of Nissans.

7. Book your accommodation in advance - Just in case there is something like a massive rugby sevens festival on, which majorly affects your plans. 

6. Bring a lot of music - A shortage of music may mean that you will find yourself singing to yourself. Unless of course you are a good singer in which case, knock yourself out. Which ironically I nearly did trying to reach an extra high note. 

5. Take lots of photos - You will be surprised how much of what you did will be forgotten until you look through your photo albums. This actually might just be my exceptionally poor memory.

4. Wear sunscreen - I burn like a piece of toast, so I know to do this. My right (window-side) arm is so tanned it does not look like it belongs to the rest of my body. 

3. Tell people how far you have driven - They will be impressed. I drove 4171 km / 2592 miles in 15 days. Are you impressed?!

2. Make sure your seat is adjusted to the perfect position and then DO NOT MOVE IT! -If you move it you may find that you can't get it back to the comfiest position. This will drive you mad.

1. Always go to the Irish pub - It will have the best beer, wholesome food, a good chance of live music and the best looking barmaids. You can't go wrong with an Irish pub, and there is always one. I think I went to eight or nine different Irish establishments on my trip, at least three of them were called 'Molly Malone's'. 

My road-trip although billed as 'The Road to Hobbiton', was in hindsight, not really about that destination. To be perfectly honest my favourite parts of the trip were not the varied and interesting towns that I stayed in, nor were they the 'must-see' tourist attractions that I occasionally visited. 

My favourite moments of the trip were sitting in my car, cruising at 110 km/h, an empty road ahead of me and either side of the road, a phenomenal amount of the most beautiful and breathtaking natural scenery I have ever seen. 

Kiwis throughout the country are incredibly lucky to have on their doorstep, the kind of wild countryside that by itself warrants the 12000 mile journey just to see it. Coming from a country which is very quickly filling up, I am used to just small pockets of land untouched by high populations. The vistas here in NZ make for some excellent photo opportunities and even better memories. The secluded pristine beaches, the forested valleys with gushing rivers of crystal clear water, the rolling grassy hills with no power lines or radio masts (just the odd sheep), and the lakes, perfectly undisturbed apart from the occasional splash from a confident duck; these were my favourite parts of the trip.

Now though, I am going to try and save money for either paying off my student debts or a trip down to Milford Sounds, which I here is well worth it. Also there is plenty of work to be done on the farm. My Northern Irish co-worker and bungalow-mate James is leaving tomorrow to head across the ditch to Aus. The work-load will increase a little bit, nothing we can't handle though!

I have just looked on my camera to see what photo I can put up with this blog post, and all that I had were these:

An onion that I had left in the cupboard before my trip.

The cows having a good feed on some quite green looking pasture.

And this awesome sky from a few nights ago. I assure you that this photo has had no editing apart from a crop. The sky actually looked like it was on fire.

Right, that is all for now.

Before I go though I must offer my heartiest congratulations and raise my half drunk bottle of Speight's to my older sister Victoria and as of very recently, her fiancé Ben. When I return to the UK, one of the first things I will be doing is ushing the hell out of a family wedding! I am very excited!