Ct Motor Inn Auckland

... that we decided it was worth flying to Christchurch and then driving back to Auckland. So the following day we found ourselves back at the airport for an early morning flight. As we were descending, our pilot cheerfully informed us to expect a very chilly 6-degrees in Christchurch. We had left behind a fairly pleasant and mild 18-degrees in Auckland, so we were seriously starting to wonder whether we had made the right decision after all. We emerged shivering ...

... we then travelled onwards to otorahanga and went to the bird farm to see kiwis. we saw a couple kiwis but because theyre nocturnal they were in a dark room and we werent allowed to take photos! we walked around the rest of the park just because we had paid but only really saw ducks and a few more birds and ghekkos and stuff! dean wasnt too impressed! the next day however we had more fun! underneath the region we were in are miles and miles of ...

... to apartment and cracked open a bottle of vino! She had goodies from home for us so we dug into a bag of taytos and had some sweets - very nice! The next day we went to the skytower and went up to the 51st floor which had cool views over Auckland. The harbour and parks in the city were gorgeous from that view. You can sky dive from the tower and we saw a boy hanging right outside in front of us ...

... km from Capetown to Jeffries Bay along the Garden Route and back through the inland N62 route passing by the many vineyards with brother Tim.

The Acacia Africa trip was effectively seen in two halves. Firstly Kenya to Zambia (Nairobi to Livingstone) where we encountered the animals up north in Kenya and Tanzania to passing by the many villages. Then the leg from Botswana through ...

... and for that one arm to be the least used of the two. Wiping ones backside with the backhand is a little more tricky that I had anticipated requiring a few subtle technique alterations least of learning how to fold with one hand (I am not a scruncher). But I still managed to work out the Sky remote buttons as I very rapidly caught up on the sporting arena.

When the sun shines through the Auckland sub tropical downpours the recession doesn't seem ...

... to waiheke island and hired out scooters and buzzed around the island going to tons of beaches and amazing views, we had the best time! we spent 4 hours on the scooters before sprinting to catch the ferry back - we only just got there running flat out, we had to jump onto the ferry as it pulled away. a brilliant day!!! Met up with some of loubys kiwi friends from mooloolaba who are putting us up atm. went to a party at a guys flat and had lots of fun. THURSDAY - still with dan ...

... day in London! Contiki tour meeting @ 6pm Sunday 19th April - Depart London on Contiki European Explorer with Greek Island Touring heading for our first stop - PARIS! Monday 20th April - PARIS Tuesday 21st April - PARIS - LYON Wednesday 22nd April - LYON - BARCELONA Thursday 23d April ...

... Kiwi life. The island was absolutely stunning from tip to tail and we enjoyed a fine day of bussing, tramping (other wise known as walking along trails through the bush), relaxing on lovely sandy beaches and getting lost (occasionally)! We were rather scratched and tired by the end of the day as we'd ventured some rather rarely used tracks which at one point led us into someones back garden which we skipped through and continued down an even less ...

... is nice. It is also clean and there is free coffee and tea - luxury!! ;o)) I then head out for a walk - I need to wake up!! and I do need to stay up until tonight otherwise I may suffer more from jetlag.... I feel self conscious about doing this walk alone for some reason - I guess I still need to get used to the whole travel alone thing.... I go sit in a cafe and order yogurt and cereals and coffee... and I read my New Zealand guide for a couple of hours... I head back to the ...