Kiwi's are without doubt a friendly, laid back bunch. Thoroughly likeable. That said, they do suffer from a slight speech impediment. The most notable of which was realised just yesterday on the ferry crossing between north and south islands. They pronounce 'deck' as dick and, rather unfortunately, 'six' as sex. We laughed to the point of near suffication as the tannoy announcement suggested "those in need of refreshment head for deck six". Think about it...

Oh how times have changed. The weather here is utterly English-like. The countryside hauntingly familiar. We even saw our first snail in over 13 months.

Camping is the way here. Having hired a car for a month and loaded up with enough equipment to sink the Ark Royal, we have struck off a list of must do's in the north island in nine days flat. Bay of Islands, Rotorua, a very wet Lake Taupo and the winelands of Napier.

With the exception of some muppet stealing our entire grocery collection from the communal fridge and the relentless Germans encroaching into our space (I mean, who'd have thought that after 61 years, they'd be back for more?) its been jolly nice.  We watched in awe as one 'Gerry' couple systematically edging our claimed picnic table nearer their tent over a period of 48 hours and in a seperate incident a backpacker stole half our our bread.

One of Phill's friends at football once leant over during a game and explained why our team looks so good. "Blue and yellow are opposite ends of the colour spectrum, you see?" Big Dog explained. This has been our downfall in the camping arena. Our tent, by coincidence, is made in the holy colours and attracts other campers like bees to a honeypot. In an empty field, we will return to our patch to find ourselves surrounded by continentals in a tangle of guy ropes. Its a war out there.

Despite these minor frustrations, its been a dodle. Maybe too easy. Its hardly a challenge in a brand new car, a 9 inch thick flocked mattress complete with electric air pump. This is good living, it must be said.

The tour continues as we traverse the south island for the next three weeks in search of some evidence that Christmas is just around the corner.

A couple of personal notes. Congratulations to Rick and Dolly on their engagement. The question being popped as they too joined the 'allseven club' in Antarctica. Also a birthday mention for Sue's dad, Eric! Oh, and St Albans City - they are out of the bottom four. We sleep easy, for now. 

PaSx