This morning I rose early and had some me time. I had bits and pieces to get done like repack the bags, sort out sand filled gear, declutter and do all that stuff that when camping you just don't have time to do. You know like polish and clean myself and my gear, repair and replace batteries and write lists of stuff to do.

We then said a big goodbye to Nat's amazing Auntie and Uncle and raced to load Cuzzie, Nat was jamming things into bags for a late afternoon airport drop off. Some days all the gear we have can overload anyone's brain, and Nat was a bit frazzled. Today the wind was building and making it hard to think straight let alone drive in a straight line, I had the happy no stress passenger seat but Nat was missing a cable so her mind was in over drive for a while trying to locate where she had put it! It took all day to remember but it has now been found.

We headed out to have a long chat with Conrad and discuss the options for the weather and tides for my Cook Strait crossing. Thanks for the great cup of coffee Conrad, your knowledge and spending time chatting, it was fantastic. I am now on hold until we recheck the weather window in the middle of this week. Otherwise it is a move to plan B or plan C, lets just see.

Back into Wellington city for a Cuzzie Cooked lunch and some pics at Red Rock. The harbour was a mass of white caps, to me the entire harbour looked like it has a bad case of dandruff! Time was racing now so we headed to park up Cuzzie, grab a couple of things from the shops and sit on the beanbags in downtown Wellington, downloading with Nat what the heck I will do while she is off playing and working with pyro in Melbourne and then doing the same for the NZ cricket series in Jan. Yes she is multi talented and is excited to go for a month but sad to miss some of my journey. There will be many Skype and emails and snapchat conversations.

Wellington airport is crazy busy, I find it strange to be around so many people, it is a little bit like ahhhh take me back to the wild coastlines and the waves.

My smiles for the day:
Chatting with Conrad, biggest thank you for taking time out of your day and sharing with me.
People watching, well not sure it is all a smile maybe a little frightening.
Going out and looking forward to Japanese for dinner
Back to sleep in Cuzzie at the Wellington Marina.

Tomorrow the winds are more intense, I am always a little crazy in the winds, so we will find stuff to do to blow out the craziness.

Everybody enjoy your last few days before Christmas, and my thought for the day...

If someone is a little rude and seems grumpy, try and help them to smile and don't take it personally, they probably may not be as good at dealing with stress and the day as you. I try now days to look at the bad moments for that life lesson, the answer always appears maybe not right away but it appears.

I have to thank my hardest days from the past few years for helping make my dream be a reality. Well enough from me and my theories, just go and do something fun, maybe me rock climbing tomorrow .

Bye bye Nat, I miss you already (ha I am tearing up writing this)
Big Christmas hugs
Red