Start of the last day.

spook and I woke up at 2am, started chatting at 3am, made tea at 5am. We went over the last year, the highlights and lowlights and put it as the biggest year in our lives as a family, so far. Feels like the beginning of an adventure rather than the end. We both feel quite excited today. We turned on the computer and browsed about. We love Kiwiana as it represents a lot of what we have come to love. I was told by one individual, just before we came over, that the south island was racist, sexist and uncouth. (From someone who's son had spent a year here). Well, it's not as if we don't have any of that in Fort William!! We have encountered some incidents of that, but the overwhelming sense we have is of a warm, hospitable people, who are interested in the world, and we could count on both hands the number of people we felt we could turn to if we were ever in trouble. To be on the over side of the world and feel that, is quite special. So the children and I leave in a very positive frame of mind - apart from Finn who is still a bit annoyed with us for upsetting his equilibrium as he was quite happy being happy in Fort William, thankyou very much, and now he has to be sad about leaving everything that is good about Wanaka. The two Mitre 10 adverts still make us laugh and give a flavour of the humour here, but we do have one more which keeps up the Ozzie/Kiwi differences. Ozzies love vegemite, and Kiwi's are firmly in the Marmite camp. Meg, Finn and all their friends do this atrocious Ozzie accent, which is an total exageration, but amuses us.www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOE5pEX98CE
Will blog our way home.