Cycle: 20km

It didn't rain in the night! Hurray!

While Claire packed up all of our stuff and prepared breakfast I embarked on the first bike cleaning and greasing session. I was surprised that it only took 2 hours to do a pretty good job on both bikes. The new wax-based lubricant seems to be pretty good and the bikes instantly felt like they were running a bit better.

After a difficult menu selection the night before, we decided to go back to Umus and try out their mussel chowder. It was great and with a nice glass of white wine was a pleasant way to kill a few hours before getting our ferry back to Auckland.

They cycle round to the wharf was a bit further than we expected and luckily for us we turned off the main road just at the foot of an intimidating hill! The ferry departed from a beautiful harbour which reminded us both of Aitutaki with it's blue lagoons. The journey took a couple of hours and was an enjoyable way to get back to civilisation.

Auckland was a bit of a shock! Getting back on the bikes was really quite daunting with all the hills and traffic in central Auckland. I immediately switched back into urban cycling mode which means not smiling and lots of concentration.

We safely got to Tim and Cindy's house in Onehunga and were greeted by a hungover Tim and a purring Keesha! We had a nice quiet evening watching Hitch and eating Hell Pizzas before settling into a bed for the night. A bed! Hurray!