Wow. People keep asking how long in spending in New Zealand and I just don't want to put a limit on it! I should probably check that the border man didn't put a limit on my visa... You can see how gorgeous the place is from the sky as I flew into Auckland. This was the first time I was collected at an airport and it was great to see Neil's familiar face beaming through the crowd as I walked out of customs and we headed up the the batch. (Those of you who notice my typos; I initially wrote the bath). Although the place names are just as fun here as in oz they are a lot harder to remember... And pronounce.

Fact 1: In the north island locals call beach houses batches and in the south they are called cribs.
Fact 2: In the kiwi accent cribs is pronounced crubs; I recommend you search the kiwi beached whale for a better idea. C.O. Katie Lucas

Neil is the best tour guide come instructor come motivator ever. After filling me in on a lot of New Zealand's culture and land as we drove up here, we looked at the gorgeous beach and admired some of the houses before heading out for pizza at the Rusty Pelican. We shared a satay chicken pizza and half a pepperoni (which we finished for breakfast. Obviously.) and caught up. This also involved a first attempt at learning the Andrew family tree (in line from the Blenkarn side of my family; Gran's side) and if I had been given a pop quiz this morning I would probably get about half marks. I will meet them all this weekend as we all move around and swap places tomorrow.

Today was PACKED!
>Early morning surf reintroduction after the 1 afternoon lesson me and France's had 2 years ago in Jersey >Coffee at the Kick Back Cafe
>Paddle boarding on the estuary >Lunch. A light lunch because the coffee and cake were so good. >Quick bike ride up the beachfront for more house noseying >Wandered down the local nature reserve and got some fantastic photos and big splashes >Bangers and mash at the local pub followed by another glass of wine back at the batch >And now bed

Status
• Sure you can tell how I feel. NZ > Oz. It's awesome...