Guess who we saw??

As suspected, Wednesday dawned bright, clear and sunny. Pah! The main highway we were travelling on had apparently reopened, so muttering about the weather gods, we set off for Punakaiki. Along the way we detoured to the Nelson lakes to see Lake Roititi, which Chris had seen cool pictures of. We didn't hang around, however, as an electronic road sign (of which there aren't many!) had said the highway was still closed. On the way out from the lakes we did our good deed for the day and picked up a hitchhiker we had seen sat on the road on the way there. He was a very nice English lad on his way to a music festival for new year. He was telling us what the weather had been like in the very still town we had passed through a few days earlier - unbelievable! We stopped off in one town to that had an i-Site to check on the roads, and sure enough, there were all open, so we continued onwards but only once coffee had been located.

Having dropped our companion off, we found our way to Punakaiki on a blustery but very sunny afternoon, arriving at a small hostel RIGHT on the beach The guy on reception is hysterical. Not quite sure how to describe him, but he is definitely a parody of a German/Dutch fashionista character somewhere. Maybe that guy from Beverly Hills Cop in the modern art place? Much hilarity. We went up to the Pancake Rocks and blowholes nearby, which are quite something else. The best time to see the effects of the blowholes is just before high tide, so we went to a nearby cafe for a coffee to pass the time. At one point Chris happened to glance down the road and couldn't believe her eyes when she was the lovely Israeli couple crossing the road! They had got stuck in the road closures (well, bridge collapses would be a better description) the previous day and had just stopped off here for a break on their way to Hokitika and, co-incidentally, the same hostel we will be going to next (tho they will have moved on again).

So we went back to watch the blowholes at high tide which were brilliant with the waves from the end-of-storm-high-winds, getting a bit damp but having fun from the spray, then headed back. After a rather lovely bolognese cooked up by Andy accompanied by a rather lovely wine from Renwick, we went to the beach to watch a fantastic sunset - along with almost everyone else at this end of Punakaiki, it would seem from the amount of people on the beach!

Don't think we mentioned - our "room" here is actually a gypsy-style wooden caravan! It's very cool. But, obviously you can hear everything, and the crashing waves from the tail-end-of-storm winds were a tad loud, so Chris didn't get a lot of sleep. Just to rub it in, a couple had pitched a tent about 1 metre from our van, and she could hear the guy in there snoring - even above the waves! Mental note to get ear plugs out of a bag in the car for tomorrow. And maybe drink more :o)

Thursday morning was still nice, so we both went off for a run along a nearby path that loops around the hill behind us, which was great and had a big muckle climb in the middle. On our return, we freed a couple of homemade muffins for sale in the hostel (see previous comment about rounded-ness!). The afternoon was spent wandering along the beach, then a wee catnap to make up for the lack of sleep the previous night, before heading off for one last high tide look at the blowholes. Except this time there is much less wind and the sea was so calm there was nothing really to see - thank goodness we went out yesterday! Tomorrow we head to Hokitika to see in the New Year on another beack - hopefully! A little different from the Nine Mile Burn all-nighters of previous years!!

Rain stops us playing!

So we took the long drive from Nelson to Moteuka on the 26th. Well, the long drive takes about an hour, plus the time it takes to turn back after ten minutes journey to get the towels that we left drying on the washing line at the hostel...

We got to the hostel very early, kind of surprising the woman who ran it and got a room so we could dump our stuff and go for a wander. We went by the place organising the kyaking the next day to do the paperwork and they gave us details about phoning to check whether they would cancel as the weather report for the next couple of days was less than great. We spent the day wandering around the town, going to the i-Site to get info on our next points of call and then going to the local Sprig and Fern to lubricate our minds in order to take in the brochures we'd picked up. We took it easy in the evening, just grabbing some food and some chat before turning in for an early night as we had an earlyish start in the morning.

A brief departure from topic to give a wee lecture on house design in New Zealand. Every building is made of wood. The houses that don't look like they are actually are made of wood with a different finish; the rather tacky "brick veneer" being one of them. The houses are placed on wooden piles on a criss-cross base, the reason being that this way they won't fall down when an earthquake hits! Result. Another favourite in design would appear to be no sound proofing and have single glazing using the thinest glass possible (well it seems like it is). Welcome to the world of staying in hostels which were probably built on the cheap just to accentuate all of the characteristics... The point here is that you never really get a good quiet night in a hostel unless you are the only people there, which we weren't.

The hostel was, again, really nice and well equipped (if lacking in sound proofing, as mentioned above). And this time we weren't the eldest there :o) In particular, we got to know a really nice German guy who was cycling around the island, and slightly eccentric but totally harmless gentlement in this 60s acronymed (made up word?) PEG - Posh English Guy - and a very funny American bloke with a most definitely un-American sense of humour, acronymed TAG - tall American bloke (acronyn was less dubious than Funny American Guy would have been.....)

Anyhow, some broken sleep later we awoke to find the weather looked okay, so got ready and went out to get the bus to the kayaking to discover they'd cancelled due to bad weather further north where we were headed. Poo. We quickly hatched a plan B which was to drive to the bottom of the walk and walk up it for a while and then back. Fairly early on in the walk Chris suggested to Andy that she took some stuff out of his rucksack and that he ran on ahead. This was a double whammy for Chris - the run might cheer Andy up, as he was still miserable at the trip being cancellend, and she would have some time to herself with just the surroundings for company. Oh, and she wouldn't have to look at the sad face next to her for any longer. So make that a triple wammy ;o) This was great for both of us. The weather was okay, it spat with rain a little but it was good for cooling purposes, Andy got a fun bit of trail running in, Chris had a great walk, and the Abel Tasman park is simply wonderful. We booked the kayaking for the next day to try again...

So we awoke to find it well very blustery and very wet, so yep, cancelled again and this was our last chance to do it! Over a small (!) beer the previous evening we had formed an alternate plan should it be cancelled again. This alternate plan of getting water taxis up the trail (Chris walking back down, Andy getting dropped further up and running back down) failed to as the water taxis weren't running either due to the conditions! Typically, we hadn't formed a third plan taking this into account. However, we were very grateful to be where we were. The weather wasn't too bad and brightened up fairly early on. Other parts of the country were being flooded and torn apart be gale force winds, including, it turns out, the area we had travelled through two days earlier!

So instead of kayaking, we hopped in the car and headed the other direction along the coast to come nice bays, finding a good coffee shop serving more fabulous date scones and the biggest danish pastry ever seen on the way. So why would we be much rounder versions of previous selves, we wonder? No idea at all......

In an attempt at balance we also went out for a wee run later down a sand spit wit loads of birds on it, as well as a bit of sand. Along the way we got baked, soaked and then baked dry again. The weather was a little changeable, so quite like home (apart from the baking bit). In yet another attempt at balance we then again went to the Spring and Fern (to chat to the very nice owner who recognises us, to the point of "The usual?" - whether that is a good or bad sign, we are undecided....) to plan our next journey.

Apres BBQ

The BBQ was great, far too much food (which does make it Christmassy), no turkey but rounded off with a piece of Christmas cake, lovely. Chris decided to go for a walk after lunch (it was either that or fall asleep) so Andy joined in, but then just wanted to sit down every time he saw a bench - that last sausage was definitely a mistake. So after a while Chris pointed him in the direction of the hostel and carried on by herself for a while. Then got back and joined Andy in (yet) another beer.

The afternoon has followed a familiar pattern of working our way through more alcohol, but without any Christmas movies - how wierd! We did however get some fantastic brownies made by one of the staff which were most excellent even if not helping in the whole "feeling stuffed" scenario.

It has definitely been an enjoyable experience to have Christmas in hot weather. Tomorrow we head slightly west towards the Abel Tasman National Park, where we plan to work off a bit more of the food on Monday with a day spent kayaking then walking through said park. However, it looks like the weather might have other plans. Time will tell!

Happy Christmas!

So here we are, experiencing our first hot and sunny Christmas. It really doesn't feel festive, but we have to admit to preferring this to what everyone at home has been putting up with for the past few weeks!

Yesterday Andy went for a run up the Grampian hill range then up to the centre of New Zealand, and all before lunch! The geographical centre, as far as surveyors are concerned, is on a hill at the back of Nelson, with fabulous views all around. The Grampians, well they speak for themselves, really. They are, perhaps, a little less remote than their namesakes. Chris went up to the centre point too, then back down for another run along the riverside - much more civilised.

In the afternoon we wandered around the town some more, and found a picturesque hill at the back of the town with a church up the top (a beer for the first person to work out what that is called) with an brewhouse from a Wellington based brewery which serves fab beer close by, so we stopped for a light refreshment. In the evening we had to take advantage of the arrangement the pub over the road from the hostel has with the fish and chip shop next door to it where you can order your "fash and chaps" (in local lingo) and they will bring it to you in the pub! Brilliant. We then decided to wander back into town, which was absolutely dead apart from the church up the hill where there was a carol service going on. Again, very wierd to be listening to carols when it is warm outside. As we were there, it would have been rude not to pop into the brewhouse for another light refreshment... But apart from that area, the town was deserted, which was quite strange.

Saturday morning we wanted to stick to our usual tradition of working off at least a little of our Christmas dinner before we've eaten it. However, although there are bikes that can be borrowed at our hostel, they are a little the worse for wear, and Chris had already pumped up the tyres on one only to find the handle bars were loose with no allen key around to tighten them with, and wasn't about to pump up any more tyres, so a rycle wasn't on the cards. So we went for run up to the centre point on the top of the hill behind us again, taking the longer path up with Andy running on ahead and the returning back to get some hill sprints in whilst Chris took a more sedate pace. After a well earned brekkie, we sauntered along to a Japanese garden nearby and sat at a pond watching some tiny ducklings try to swin against the strong wind. On the way back, we bumped into a couple from Israel who were in the same hostel as us in Ahipara (90 mile beach) and whom we had also seen in the information centre in Taupo! Whilst it's not surprising to sometimes see the same people in different hostels, as we have had different itineraries from this couple and we are bumping into them in the street, it's quite a coincidence.

And so we now await our first Christmas barbeque - bring it on!

Wine, wine, glorious wine

So after leaving rainy Picton behind, we arrived quite early at our hostel, and as the weather had brightened up, we decided it would be a waste not to start the wine tasting tour there and then. Rather than go for either of the two wineries in the centre of Renwick, Chris decided two a little further out would be a good idea, to earn/walk off some of the wine. Yeah, great idea Chris - what looked close on the map was actually a 3 or so mile walk mostly along a very busy road. When we reached the first one the owner remarked in surprise "Did you walk here?? Blimey, we don't get many doing that....." Yes, we can see why. However, we were very ready for the wine! A few lovely tastings there, followed by a few more at the next place, and the walk back didn't seem anywhere near as bad.....

Tuesday and it was raining again, so we did the sensible thing and had some coffee in Blenheim then back to the car and tracked down a chocolate factory then a fudge shop! The sun came out in the afternoon, so we decided to try to work off some of the excesses and go for a run. Chris came across a back garden containing a small deer and a trampoline..... Another garden had sheep running around in it, and nearby to both of these was a mobile abbatoir! Fresh venison and lamb for the neighbours, perhaps...

Wednesday morning the sun made a welcome return, so we hired a couple of bikes from our hostel and set off on a tour of the wineries. Honestly, the number and size of some of them makes the regions of France look paltry! Happily all the wineries which offer tastings are really friendly and there is no pressure to buy whatsoever, which again is a nice change from France. So the day was spent happily peddaling between vineyards, tasting as we went. What a terrible way to spend a day - not! Luckily Andy had discovered a nice track through one of the vineyards that meant we didn't need to take our lives in our (wine fuelled) hands on the main road again, and we made it back in one piece, with a very long list of wines that we liked. That evening we managed to whittle it down a little, and Thursday morning we did another tour of the vineyards, with the car this time, to buy a few bottles - it was only polite!

And so we have made it to Nelson. This is a lovely area, with a nice town centre and hills a plenty just behind us which Andy couldn't resist taking a run up not long after we got here. Chris took the flatter option of running alongside the river - much easier! A bit more of the same today, perhaps....

23rd Dec: Wellington, then South

We have managed to squeeze a bit of culture into our trip, at last, by going around an art exhibition - oooh, lovey! Actually, it was really interesting - and free! We also took the funicular railway up the very steep hill to the top of the botanic gardens - an amazing bit of engineering considering when it was built. Apparently quite a few of the wealthy landowners who built homes up the hills in Wellington originally built their own cable railcars - some of the pictures looked pretty hairy (and no, that wasn't the hobbits) - but considering the steepness of that hillside, can't really blame them. It was very pleasant to be able to get away from all the high rises in the city centre. It wasn't really the weather for wandering around gardens though, so we decided to leave that for tomorrow.

A return visit to the purveyors of (relatively) cheap beer was called for, and we felt sooo touristy as we watched the bars fill up with folk coming out for Friday night drinks after work - with us in our tourist-shorts-and-tshirts. It was quite wierd to watch the after work crowds after so long.

The next morning dawned much clearer, so after a walk around the museum, we headed back up the botanics again and meandered slowly down through them this time, enjoying the peace and quiet.

The next morning we left early for the ferry across to the south island. Unfortunately the rain started, so we didn't get to appreciate the Marlborough Sounds in all their glory as we approached, but the views were still incredible. We had booked one night in Picton, the town where the ferry terminal is situated, with the hope of enjoying some walks around the edges of the sounds, but it was absolutely pouring with rain by this point. Rather than be hemmed in at the hostel, we decided to don the waterproofs and at least venture into the town. Waterproof-shmaterproof. We were both drenched. A girl staying in the hostel had recommended a cafe that does excellent cakes, so we tracked that down and sploshed our way in. The coffee and cake were, indeed, fabulous, and hopefully they didn't mind the puddles/ponds of water forming under our table as we dripped quietly in the corner.

After a while we braved the elements again, but only as far as a bar called the Flying Haggis! After chatting to the Aberdeen-born owner for a while, we then met a very drunk, but very nice, chap originally from Leith. What, a drunken Leith-man? Surely not! We then splashed our way back to the hostel to dry out.

The next morning Chris woke early and found the sun was shining, so went out for a run, leaving Andy in bed to contemplate the weather. Unfortunately the weather did close in again, so again we didn't get to appreciate the full views of our scenic trip east towards the wine region of Blenheim and Renwick.

Mount Taranaki - Out there somewhere?

OK, so the more-hill-walking-plan didn't quite work out. The problem with having a high mountain near the sea is, of course, it pulls in water from the sea and so is frequently covered in cloud. As it was when we were there. We couldn't see it at all - and it's a BIG mountain! Impressively, having not rained at all in the area for 40 days (which, given the aforementioned geographical situation is a tad unusual), it rained the day we turned up! Perhaps Chris' potential new career as a rain maker is still a possibility.... Our time in New Plymouth was spent walking along less taxing routes instead. The first was a very pleasant woodland/river walk and on the way back we started chatting to a very nice local lady walking her (adorable and very friendly) retriever, so we tagged along with them for the rest of the walk. The 2nd was more forgettable, but we can't have great walks all the time!

We did discover a lot of biting things tho', so bought some more insect repellant in anticipation of them getting worse. Chris is rueing the lost opportunity to randomly slap Andy using the excuse of "there was a sand-fly biting you"......

Once again we'd found a really nice hostel to stay in, with a very nice room with another very comfy bed, and more friendly hostel-pets. This time Vincent the dog, who we didn't see a lot of but was very friendly when we did, and Jed the cat, who was the laziest cat we have ever met, but very friendly, so we were happy.

After 3 nights in New Plymouth we moved on, and happily Mount Taranaki put in an appearance this time - and it looked incredible. It was a case of "See what you could have won" as all we could do was take photos as we left, but it was great to see it. A very short distance later we arrived in Wanganui. We knew nothing about the town, but actually really liked it - it has a great mixture of river sports and plenty of parks and hills. Another nice hostel with another dog! There seems to be a pattern emerging here. We got our exercise by tramping up 250 (apparently) steps to then go up a tower with a further 175. It was worth it for the view.... This, however, wasn't enough for Andy, and he ran up them later - in the very hot sun. Luckily for him the men in white coats couldn't keep up.

After just the one night in Wanganui, we have reached Mana, a suburb of Wellington. And a hostel dog again. The owners weren't in when we arrived, so when we were met by this large, barking dog who wasn't wagging his tail, we were a little apprehensive. Chris told Andy he could go upstairs (towards the dog) first, but Andy managed to find other things to do. Tired of waiting for these strangers to come and feed him, the dog came to us - and didn't eat us! As it turns out, Rocky is actually extremely friendly and is more likely to knock you over playing than actually do anything guard-dog-like.

And we've managed to bring on the rain again! OK, so it's really warm drizzle, but rain nonetheless. We went up to the nearby supermarket, which is next to the train station, so we decided to take a detour into Wellington for a few hours. As you do. Stopping for a bit of liquid refreshment we bizarrely found the cheapest beer we'd come across yet - in the capital city - a very pleasant surprise. Tomorrow we will do a few more touristy things - probably indoors, given our rain-making-abilities.

Tongariro Crossing and Gloworms

On Friday we walked the crossing alongside Mount Tongariro, beside Mount Ngauruhoe (otherwise known as Mount Doom). Mount Tongariro used to be the tallest mountain in New Zealand before it lost it's top two thirds. A bit careless really. We checked behind the mountain and it definitely wasn't there. We're sure it'll turn up, perhaps down the back of a sofa.

Even though it is now a lot smaller than it used it be, it's still pretty big..... there was even snow in places! Just overlook the fact that, for various parts of the walk, we were in shorts and t-shirt. We were also wrapped up in fleeces, jackets and gloves in other parts!

So we got up at 5:20am (yes, really!) to get a bus over to the other side of Lake Taupo for the walk. This wouldn't have been so bad if some other folk in the hostel hadn't chosen that night to have an all-nighter, keeping Andy awake for most of it. Still, the morning dawned dry and bright and we dragged ourselves out of bed in time to have some breakfast before the bus arrived.

We won't bore you with the details of the crossing as we could write a novel about it, but suffice to say it was absolutely amazing. It was fairly hard going as you climb up the side of the volcano before walking across a crater, climbing out of said crater before heading down hill, and the total distance is 18km, a lot of which is on volcanic sand (as well as uphill), but it was worth every moment. It is, without a doubt, the best thing we have done so far and we doubt we will be able to better it. The views were incredible and no photos or descriptions could do it justice. We then made use of a great voucher deal at a pub in the town and had some well deserved (so we think!) pub grub and a few beers.

Anyway, the next day Chris stupidly went for a short run in the morning to try to loosen off, Andy was much more sensible and stayed in bed then made coffee then just wandered around for most of the day. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was overcast and windy. The crossing that day was cancelled due to the weather, so we were really glad we had gone when we did.

Sunday morning it was really nice and sunny again, and Chris stupidly went for another run, Andy again did the sensible thing. We then, sadly, left Taupo. We have taken a detour north west again to visit caves with gloworms. Andy wanted to take a scenic route, which had us glad for our 4-wheel drive as we found ourselves driving along gravel roads inbetween forest parks! Happily, the other side of the mountains the weather got really hot. Sorry folks, but it's true! We were chatting to a guy who's brother is married to a woman from Currie, where they still live, and he has been having a great time telling them about the weather over here - at least we feel slightly guilty about it!

So we found our way to a cave full of gloworms. It was quite cool, although fairly short. We weren't sure what to do with ourselves after that, so went to a tourist information office nearby and were given a few good ideas. As it happens, having felt that we shouldn't have arranged to stay here for the night, the sights we went to see were excellent and we ended up having a really good afternoon, including some more rally-inspired driving roads. Did we mention it was hot? Sorry......

Tomorrow we are heading south again to Mount Taranaki for more hill walking. Our poor legs!

Northland and Beyond

Lack of wi-fi in some places, generally being busy and blogspot playing silly buggers have been the reasons behind the big gap in blogs!

So after Waipu we went up to Paithia and the Bay of Islands, staying in the amusingly named hostel "Cap'n Bob's Beachhouse". Our room opened out onto the balcony with a superb sea view. Not exactly convenient for the loos but well worth it for the view! We went on a boat trip through the bay, but despite it being a lovely day, the swell was quite big so it was a tad rough at times! The aim was to go through a rock with a very large hole in it (the official name for it we think came from ancient Moari and was "The Hole in the Rock"), but the conditions meant we couldn't, but we did get to see a large school of dolphins mucking about which was great. A stop for lunch and a lovely BBQ'd steak and we headed back. The boat stopped at a town across the harbour from ours on the way, so for a change of scene we hopped off for a look around, and happy days, found a pub selling some very nice ale. We couldn't possibly pass by without sampling, so a very fine couple of ales were supped before heading to the ferry and back to base.

There was a very nice woodland walk up to a waterfall which we both went for runs along 2 of the days we were there. Well, Andy ran to the waterfall the 2nd time, Chris didn't *quite* make it that far..... It was very hot, but we had to work off the beers somehow!

Next we headed to the far North (which, in this hemisphere, has a very different meaning to Scotland!) and stayed in Ahipara, on a hostel right beside a lovely beach. And what a fabulous hostel. We had a massive room with a very comfy bed - in fact we have definitely stayed in hotels with vastly inferior rooms. There was also two resident dogs and one cat, which made Chris happy when she had it on her lap for some of the evening. We decided to walk to the nearest grocers store to stretch our legs after a long drive. However, someone had definitely lengthened the road between the hostel and the shop after we'd arrived and it was a touch longer than we'd anticipated..... Rather than walk back along the road, we headed for the beach and walked back on the sand. This beach (called 90 Mile Beach, although it isn't, but more on that later) is also a highway - honestly! So we had to avoid the odd passing vehicle, sometimes at speed, which was a bit bizarre.

The next day we went on a bus tour to Cape Reinga at the very top of the island. Our bus driver was a very nice guy called Allen, who is half Moari and half Scottish - great mixture! It was well worth taking a tour rather than driving ourselves, as we got to see a lot more and learnt a fair bit of history. We also went tobogganing down a sand dune, which was a hoot. The climb up was fairly hard work but well worth it. We had a laugh at the thought of tour operators in the UK trying to get away with sending their clients haring downhill on sledges - health and safety would have a fit! The additional bonus to going on the bus trip was the bus driving most of the way back along the beach! A bizarre experience.

So, 90 mile beach. Apparently, it was originally measured during horse and cart days. They knew the horse and cart could cover 30 miles per day, so as the journey took 3 days, they concluded the beach was 90 miles long. Fairly logical. However, this did not take into account the fact that, during high tide, the horses had to ride through soft sand, slowing them down considerably. Many years later, the beach was measured using more accurate techniques, and it turns out it is 64 miles long instead. Oh well, they thought, 90 miles sounds better, let's just leave it at that!

We then headed back south, stopping for an evening in Queensville. Not somewhere we would recommend staying, it's a little quiet to say the least. And the hostel we staying in was, well, different. The bedroom was lovely, the bed was exceptionally comfortable, the kitchen was great, but the quotes from the bible on the walls, and the bible in the bedroom, were a little offputting! The notice on the wall about a zero tolerance towards intoxication made us feel obliged to go out for a beer, Chris wearing a t-shirt with a Benjamin Franklin quote "Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy", after we'd had dinner! We went to a bar very close by and were quite glad we did, because we were the poor guys' only customers all evening. Earlier on in the day we went out to see a gannet colony nearby with a few wee cute chicks in the nests which made the stop off worthwhile, but we weren't distraught to be leaving the next day.

We then headed south of Auckland to Taupo. We'd booked to stay for two nights but very quickly extended that stay to 4 days! We could easily stay longer - it's a really nice area and there is plenty to do. And the hostel which overlooks the lake onto the mountains behind is brilliant. We think it was probably a motel previously, and our room is huge and has a fridge and an ensuite - ultimate luxury! Which for approx £32 a night for the two of us is going to be hard to beat. We went on a good walk up to a waterfall nearby and stopped for a dip in a thermal stream on the way back. Why pay loads of money for a spa when you can sit in a naturally heated (and it was very hot in places) stream??

The next day we went for a pre-breakfast run then wandered around the town in the morning then went kayaking down the river in the afternoon, stopping again (on the way past in the kayaks this time) at the thermal stream. What a hard life!

12,000 kilometers into our jaunt around New Zealand and we really are loving it.

Hello New Zealand!

And so our adventures begin again. Unfortunately the snow arrived before we left. Fortunately, we left before it got _really_ bad. We left a wee bit before 8am on Sunday 28th November for a 1315 flight from Glasgow, which seemed ridiculously early, but given the weather, seemed a good idea in case there were any accidents on the M8. We were fairly confident that the motorway would be cleared though. That confidence was, however, misplaced. The carriageways were completely covered in fairly thick snow, with only one lane clear from the passing traffic for most of it. Worse still, despite that one lane being pretty clear, the snow around it scared many drivers into driving at about 30mph. Fortunately that day the lorry which crashed went off the side of the motorway, unlike the one the next day which jack-knifed across the carriageway and closed the motorway (you'd think they'd have learnt.....).

So, we get to the airport VERY early, but relieved to be there in one piece. We see the flight is delayed by an hour (making our arrival all the earlier!), but think that's not too bad. Unfortunately, although the delay was caused by the late departure of the incoming flight, that hour meant that, by the time the flight was due to arrive, the runway was closed due to the snow, so it was diverted to Prestwick! But ok, we can live with that. Then it was announced that the crew were over hours, so the crew taking us to Dubai were being taken to Prestwick to get the plane (could they not have foreseen that and sent them earlier??). New departure time 1945. Ho hum. So we got a beer.

We hear the plane is on its way, hurray we think. Then it took over an hour to land - from Prestwick to Glasgow - where did they go?? Eventually they announce boarding, but that grinds to a halt when it's announced the auxiliary power unit on the plane had failed. It was eventually fixed and on we went. Then we sat on the tarmac for ages. After a while we were told that they had had trouble starting the engines, and by the time they had fixed the problem, there was ice on the wings so they had had to send for the de-icer again! "One of those days" doesn't really do it justice. So we had faced a 9 hour delay before we'd even taken off! We missed out on our first night in Dubai, so by the time we got there we didn't have the energy for any sightseeing (it was VERY wierd to be walking around in 30+ degree heat having left the thick snow).

The flight from Dubai was late leaving too (although nothing in comparison to the previous one) so we arrived in Auckland in time for rush hour. Fortunately we had a transfer arranged so didn't have to deal with driving through that whilst exhausted. We went out for some food and beer, but went back fairly early on as Andy actually dozed off in the bar!

Thursday morning we went out for a run along the harbour and waterfront to try to shake off the cobwebs - slow and quite hard going but definitely worth it. We picked up our hire car and headed north. We took the more scenic route to start with (yes, deliberately!) and stopped at a wee shopping outlet place to look for something to cover our belongings with as our Subaru Legacy has no boot cover..... There was a liquor store there, so we went in to see how much their beer is as it is extortionate in the pubs. There didn't seem to be much beer, so we asked where we could get some, and were directed to the shops' walk in chiller!! Beer heaven :o) We were, however, quite restrained due to an already full boot - thank goodness for small mercies!

Next stop Waipu - the first Scottish settlement. This now explains the picture at the top - we didn't expect to see a Gaelic welcome sign over here! The amount of tartan around is quite amusing. With saltires and Scottish names all around and even a tartan rug on our bed we feel quite at home. Well, except for the warm weather instead of 16 inches of snow (hee hee - sorry folks). There is a lovely beach nearby so we went back there after leaving our stuff in the hostel and walked along the beach in shorts and t-shirts.... (sorry again).

Tomorrow we continue to head north.