Panorama Heights Bed and Breakfast Auckland

... anything else. We had about 25 minutes internet time left on this card that also doubles as a international phonecard so found some phones on the far side of the airport put in a dollar to get a dial tone, ring the access number 'you have no credit remaining on this card please top it up'. Ok strange so walked back to the information place which was back through the departures managed to sort out an International phonecard and walked back to the phones. Checked my wallet for ...

... out in our wetsuits and hardhats our guide led us down a ladder through a tiny hole in the ground. We then had to crawl, swim, jump and tube our way through the caves. It was great fun although I did wonder at several points why I was paying to swim in freezing cold water in the pitch black. The glow worms, which were dotted all over the walls, definitely made it worth it though. That night we stayed in Maketu at Uncle Boys place. Uncle boy is a Maori who ...

... and they are currently waiting to plant a new one... so it was more No tree hill than one tree hill, but again the views were amazing.

We were both flagging by this point but we carried on to reach the south coast. Perfect timing, the bus back to the city turned up and we headed back to Auckland... by this point even my blisters had blisters!

It was getting close to sunset as the bus dropped us off, so we decided to head up to the sky ...

... to see the view of the whole city. It has a glass lift which was cool and a glass floor on the way down, like a free theme park ride! The view of the city was good, although as it was raining was a bit grey. Also check out the Skyjump, where you basejump from the building attached to wires and fall to the floor. (Scary, even Zoe didnt want to do it!)

We drove out of the city searching for another quiet picnic area to camp up.

Meine Ankunft in Neuseeland wahr einfach grossartig, wir sind am fruehen Morgen nach 30 ermuedenden Stunden (ich konnte im Flieger nicht schlafen!!!) angekommen und sind gleich auf den Mt. Eden (erloschener Vulkan) gefahren, um uns den Sonennaufgang ueber der Skyline von Auckland anzuschauen. Sehr toll sag ich euch!
Das erste Hostel war auch in Ordnung, wir 3 Jungs (+2 andere, die mit Freundin gereist sind) haben in einem Zimmer geschlafen. Fruehstueck vergessen wir lieber mal ...

... rmers Insur*nce Division *t Lumley Insur*nce in my Service Desk role. A comfort*ble job, conveniently loc*ted in the middle of Auckl*nd working with * gre*t bunch of people in * lovely environment right down ne*r the h*rbor - I could not h*ve *sked for more from * job. Speci*l mention must go here to my *wesome te*m, D*niel Nimmo (the found*tion of our te*m), D*niel Willi*ms (*k* 'He*vy D' - the life *nd soul of the Service Desk) *nd our esteemed te*m le*d Mr Simon Edw ...

... formed in the crater of an old volcano and is connected to the volcano on the Island opposite some mile or so away. Once again after a short stay we set off for Devonport where having been dropped off we visited the last of our volcanoes Mt Cambria it's so small we missed it before I suspect it's really a vent hole from Mt Victoria as it's situated just off to one side of it, but never mind we completed the climb, after which we caught the ferry back to ...

... need of some updating to take account of 21st century technology and presentation. However, there aren't that many cities where you can be on a beautiful sandy beach close to the centre, or where you can take a short ferry ride across the harbour to a part of the city which has a 'villagey' feel to it (Devonport), then walk to the top of an extinct volcanic crater and have the ...

... around the city and it's really hilly from the cones - most of our walking is a climb. :( But that also makes for gorgeous views from almost anywhere. This is just a short update to let everyone know we arrived. More to come!

Also, we bought a car today! So we're hitting the road tomorrow to start looking for work. We have no idea where we're going from Auckland but it should be awesome no matter where in New Zealand!

... I got stopped at the airport for carrying some strange items. I was detained at the airport for like 4 hours!!! My kangaroo sign was a great laugh for the Kiwi security. Other things were not!!! (thats all I am going to say about that)