Hello All,

We hope everyone is well and enjoying the nice weather we hear you're getting. On a bank holiday weekend too!!!!

Thanks again for looking at our site. We had a lot of feedback about the Cook Islands and everyone thought it looked amazing. You're all right - It was!!!!

We've been very busy since we updated you last hence the longer than normal delay. We both received messages from family and friends telling us to get our act together and update the site so here it is!!!

When we last left you we had just arrived in Auckland that day so were very new to New Zealand.

Auckland is one of the busiest/biggest cities in New Zealand it we certainly felt that, probably more so because we came direct from the Cook Islands where it's totally different and more or less like the Malibu adverts!!! The next thing we knew we were right in the middle of Auckland. We were staying on the equivalent of Oxford Street, it was that busy. (And noisy at night!). It sounds silly I know but it was a shock to the system almost.

We were down to stay 4 days in Auckland and the main purpose of that time was to get sorted so we could move on to get work. We will be flying out of Auckland eventually so we knew we'd have another time to do 'the sights' etc.

On our first full day we got a bank account sorted. It was much easier to do than I imagined and is Jules & mine's first joint bank account. From what I gather it all goes downhill from here!!!! She's already said that it's 'her' account and likes the fact that both our wages go into it.

We had a good walk around the city that day and got a nice feel for it. I'd say there is British and American influences in it. The street lights and road layouts are very much American and the block like layout to the streets too. We liked how, when the green man flashes, you can walk diagonal right over the street to the other side if needed. It made for a bit of chaos in the middle, mind you, it reminded me of running grids in rugby training more than crossing the road. Many people have said New Zealand feels a little like England and Auckland certainly felt like walking through a normal city back home.

The next day we went to a little town about 20 minutes out of the city called Takapuna. We needed to go here to get our IRD number which is basically a national insurance number and would allow us to work.

Takapuna was a really nice little place and more like I had 'expected' New Zealand to be like. It was really quite and very clean.

We got some really nice views of Auckland on the way back in along the water front too.

Applying for the IRD number was again nice and simple but it was only meant to take 10 days. We're still waiting some 20 days later which means we can't get paid until it's issued.

We were ticking our checklists of things we needed to do nicely and next on it was transport. We decided it would make sense to buy a car rather than spend money on renting one. We're looking to spend a good amount of time here so rental would have been very expensive and you can hope to get some money back on your car when you sell it on.

We bought a car from the backpackers car market which as the name suggests is where backpackers go to buy and sell cars they've used to travel the country. We bought ours from a French couple who needed a quick sale so I was able to get some good money off of it which went towards the work that needed doing. New Zealand has car tax like us and also MOT's but they call their Warrant Of Fitness (WOF) but they only last for six months.

We bought an old Mitsubishi Galant. It's actually ok. It won't win any style points and I think it's gone around the world about 16 times but so far so good!!

That was us mobile which was good timing as we were leaving Auckland the next day.

That night we went to an English bar for dinner as Jules told me two lights were on and the third was flickering on her 'I need a roast dinner now' scale. Needless to say she enjoyed it and she wont thank me for saying but let out a nice burp after the last mouthful!!!!!

The next stop for us was Rotorua. It was about a 3 hour drive and a very enjoyable one. (not that Jules will remember................ zzzzZZZZZzzzzZZZZ!)

I remember being told that sometimes you could go for ages without seeing a car and that happened to us. We saw some lovely views along the way and drove past a lot of deer farms. We also passed some Lama farms. You've got to feel sorry for those things.....They're so bloody ugly!

First impressions of Rotorua were good ones. It's a nice place, big enough to have everything but not too busy like a big city. In the guide book we have it says you can smell Rotorua before you see it and they're not wrong! It smells a bit like rotten eggs sometimes if the winds blowing a certain way. This is due to the sulphur that comes from the geysers. Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activities. This is all fine by me as I'm able to let out a few farts here and there and they go undetected!!

The first thing we did when we got here was to go job searching on a big scale. To cut a long story short, I'm currently a kept man! Jules has a job in a lovely local Italian restaurant called Q which she started last week which is great. I'm 'waiting to hear back' from a number of companies so fingers crossed something will come up soon.

We're looking to stay in Rotorua for a good 3-4 months providing I get a job in the next week or so. It will be nice to settle down and build a life here for a bit to really get a feel for New Zealand. Rotorua is a lovely place so I hope something comes up soon to enable us to stay.

Jules is doing good on the social front as she has some lovely people from work she's able to have a drink with after work etc. Before we know it we'll have loads of mates and things to do....well Jules will anyway!

Because we're looking to stay a good amount of time here we've been able to negotiate a great rate at a lovely hotel. It's so nice and the people who run it are the friendliest people we've met on our travels so far. It's like staying at my nan and granddads house. They're lovely.

Our room has a kitchen so we can cook our own food and we're also blessed with a Jacuzzi in the bathroom. Very nice!!!

Where we were staying when we first got to Rotorua wasn't that good and the TV in the room didn't work. It does here and it's almost like watching TV at home. They have Eastenders, Coronation Street Super Nanny and even....................Jeremy Kyle!!!!!! Jules was very happy about that but we worry about the impression the programme gives the New Zealanders of the British!!!! There was even a documentary about Paul Potts on TV last night.

We've been in Rotorua over two weeks now and like it very much. There is loads to do around here as it's situated in easy reach of lots of other places. We took a drive out to a place called Tauranga recently. It was only an hour away and was a nice place. It's on the coast and we were able to get some nice pictures.

There are lots of lakes around Rotorua too which again leads to some nice photos.

They are loads of tourists attractions to see but we're waiting until our friend Ben (or Bonehead as he's better known!) visits us in July as we don't want to do the attractions twice.

We have walked around the governments gardens where there is a great deal of geothermal activity. It was really cool to see. All the steam coming out of the ground and the pools fizzing because the water is so hot. It's really interesting to see and we're excited about seeing the really good spots when Ben is over.

Part of the reason for the delay in updating the site is that we were hoping to put on loads of photos of us celebrating Chelsea winning the Champions League. Unfortunately it wasn't to be.....this year! We watched it in a local Irish bar and met lots of nice people. Unsurprisingly I was massively outnumbered being the only guy in there in a Chelsea shirt. We were pissed by 9am in the morning and needless to say it was a long day. Still, I imagine there are many Chelsea fans that would like to be the other side of the world like me at the moment!

We've been watching local rugby at the weekends too which has been good to see. Some big boys....!

There's a really big concentration of rugby clubs here as you'd expect. I reckon I've seen 8-9 clubs in just a small area. Once I get a job and know hours etc I'll look to get joined up if possible so the next blog I might be showing you pictures of my new wheelchair!!!! From what I gather most clubs here make a day of it with the colts team playing before the adults. Rugby really is HUGE over here. I expected it to a degree but its worse/better than you think.

Talking of rugby, we have bought tickets for New Zealand V England in June and we're both really excited. It means heading back up to Auckland for the game but it should be great fun.

We've been having a fantastic time since we left the UK but this week I had one of my darkest days for some time. I know I will disappoint a great deal of people when I say this but I ate Laughing Cow cheese spread. I miss my Dairylea triangles that much I had to do something!!!!! Sorry people....!

We were out in town this week for a nice meal as we were celebrating being together for 4 years! I feel sorry for Jules as people get OBE's for less effort. Maybe she'll get something when we get back.

We had a nice soak in the Jacuzzi with a bottle of bubbly too!

I'm sorry this update isn't as interesting as some of the others have been. The first couple of weeks was always going to be about getting set up to make the most of this country in the 4-5 months we're looking at spending in it so we'll make sure we have some better things to tell you next time. I think some of our photos are lovely though so PLEASE have a look at them and let us know what you think.

Julie facts about New Zealand-

-They have recently just stopped having state pensions out here as they are worried about the baby boom after the war and how this will affect their economy!

- Chicken is one of the most expensive meets out here

- Cheese, milk and general diary goods are so expensive compared to Britain

- It's not in the New Zealand culture to tip (annoying for Jules!)

Take care everyone and we'll look to update the site again in a couple of weeks.

Love to you all

Hugs and manly handshakes

Alan & Jules

xXx