Quest Ponsonby Auckland

... which is one of Auckalnds dead volcanoes, i hope! there are some amazingly big creaters on it from the lava slopes etc..so i had a peaceful day with views for miles and miles out over Auckland to Rangitoto island and surrounding island, you could even see all the ferrries coming in and out of Aucklamd docks. Although, its obvious im used to thhe uks cold wet weather as i forgot sun cream for the day....yes ...

... of carved African nuts on some HK market or other (a long story) and NZ has a REALLY strict control of biological substances regime. As it happened the customs guy wasn't even slightly mithered by our tale, but it's the only place where I have seen all the passenger's luggage X-rayed after leaving the aircraft. IMHO, it was better to be safe than sorry tho, since they have a habit of fining and deporting people they catch breaking these rules.

The rental car people picked ...

... i was doing lots of thoughts were flyong around in my head such as; what if i don't like it, what if i get lonely and miss people too much, what if i don't get on with the people etc. But then i thought i may feel better once ive had some rest.
Finally landed in Auckland after a short stop in Brisbane. Was so nice to be picked up from the airport and not bother with public transport, had enough of that for the week! The woman I will be working for ...

... the opposite face of Mt. Cook - it was an exhilirating experience as the copter swooped down through narrow passes between the mountain cliffs. All too quickly, we were back to land safely - a really great experience and one of the best so far for sure.

Feet firmly on th ground we went over to Mt. Cook village and visited the Sir Ed Hillary climbing museum, my choice naturally !! It was all very interesting actually, learning about his mountaineering ...

... across it. At the middle of the bridge there is a bungy jump site, where we watched some one do a jump! Scary stuff. We then visited an old Maori fortress which was then turned into a gun point for the NZ army. They constructed the defenses when they thought they were under attack from Russia. They weren't! The guns have only been fired once and that was to salute the Queen on one of her visits! The next day we were heading off on the Kiwi Experience!

... trying t find the hot water and find the main event where water is pouring out at a scalding 75oC. As the tide makes the area more accessible people begin to form holes with barriers to rogue waves and get their hot pools dug out. We pick a spot near the vent but not too near as I manage to burn my foot initially. We get digging with our hands and occasionally borrow a spade from nearby diggers. We eventually get a pool that's big enough for us both to lie in with a wall protecting us ...

... I've ever had... well I've had better chips but the fish was ridiculously tastey. A couple peeps went for a swim but I was ill-prepared so I didn't go in.. LAME! I did go swimming today though, so I redeemed myself... it was this nice little spot down by the bay, kind of hidden away so you really didn't even realize you were in a city... oh **** low minutes... ok so im going to a jazz fest tonight... hence the title... 1 minute left oh ****... byebye

... caresses our freedom. Such a throw away phrase given by those who would normally never expect to see the recipient again but I know that stranger meetings have come from a less significant wasted breath. The herd of travelers, tourists and those who are two sammies short of a picnic makes its way through the tunnel and out into the open gate which at the end has a carven arch welcoming us all from the dreary world of air-conditioned vacuum packed transit to what is potentially a ...