Eden Villa Auckland

... but it means we will have to get back.

So off we went with a map and a car, and let me tell you what a beautiful island it is! We drove at the east side of the North island and went from beach to beach. The scenery is spectacular! The hills and mountains and all the green. Really a nice country, and we already said after 20 minutes that we had to come back. After 4 hours of driving we still did not reach the place we thought we could make ...

... say that if you are ever flying to Australia or New Zealand, Quantas is the way to go! Free socks, pillow, blanket, tooth brush, sleep mask... you name it they had it!

Now, let's get to the good stuff... the touch down. There is a reason New Zealand is called the land of the long white cloud. You have to fly through a thick puff of clouds before you can even see this small island in the ...

... this weekend - one that I don't think we will forget. We are certainly very happy to be here, but as always are impatient to have everything sorted. It feels very strange going from the security of two jobs and a nice house to one job - all our own doing we know :-) No one said that it was going to be easy..................let's see how we will feel after being here for 6 months :-)

... they asked what is she doing here, what's her date of birth etc. Questions were getting more and more stupid e.g. why do I have laptop, what do I have on the laptop - what kind of pictures, how much I paid for my return ticket and how can I afford Hilton hotel (they thought I will stay there for whole 3 month - oh bless..)

Anyway after an hour grilling they finally let me in as a last passanger on the flight...
We got to Hilton at midnight and enjoyed our ...

... Maori Marae. There were a total of 18 Americans from all over the US, all who I got to spend quality time with. I met some amazing people, but unfortunately I caught a cold/fever at the beginning of the trip. Believe it or not, a Kiwi with a mullet that Robert met thought I had swine flu and freaked. Over the course of the trip I learned how to weave flax into a ...

... with snow on them.

I spent the night in Franz Josef, and went out for some good beer deals (2 NZ dollars per pint) with a Brit who was biking the whole south island, and two south Africans. We had a great night and great conversations. The next day, I walked up to the Franz Josef glacier. Had a peak, took some pics, breathed in the cool air, and chilled out. Hitched back to town, grabbed my bag, and hitched out of town with a Belgium ...

... case we haven't got it across in the blogs, that we loved the place. From start to finish, from the people to the places, it is amazing and, so far, easily our favourite place. That's not to say we haven't enjoyed the other places, but New Zealand has it all in our eye's and we will go on about it lot when we get back. Next up is Australia and Suzanna will start us off on that Country. Take care everyone and don't forget to let us know what you think, as well as what you're up to. Tobs and Suzanna. xx

... also had morning tea on the boat. New Zealand is really big on tea time which is also accompanied by biscuits (aka cookies). Some of the highlights of the cruise were passing the Bean Rock Lighthouse, Rangitoto Island, North Head on Devonport, the Devonport Naval Base, the Harbor Bridge, the Chelsea Sugar Refinery, and Westhaven Marina which is the largest marina in the southern hemisphere ...

... who worked in the museum workshop was a Dundonian - still with his broad Dundee accent after 45 years away - he said he was trying to teach the others to speak proper English! Next stop was at the Tane Mahuti - the oldest tree in NZ, a kauri - see photo of tree and plaque. The scenery from there till Paihia on the East coast was beatiful. The rain had stopped (it hadn't been that heavy) and the valleys looked as if we were still in Scotland! We checked into a ...

... own or something) so I'm trying to kill 16 hours in Auckland. I've already taken the free city bus tour (the highlight probably being when I saw a pub called the Edinburgh Castle), seen the harbour front and been up the sky tower. I might try go to the cinema tonight before I have to go back to the airport but we'll see. Can't wait to get to Australia!!