The flight to New Zealand went from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur ( 1hr flight ), where we had a 2hr stop off. Originally we were supposed to be visiting here for a few days, but after hearing there wasn't much to do, and it was very expensive, we decided to miss it out and stay longer in Thailand instead - but at least we can say we have been there, to the airport anyway! Then we had around a 10 hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to NZ. We had a bit of a touch on the flight, as our seats were at the front meaning we got a lot of extra leg room, even though we all found it very hard to sleep.

On arriving, Josie, one of Lloyds best friends from back home, who we all know and is living in NZ, was waiting for us with a 'Welcome Lloyd, Ben and Tim to New Zealand sign! We then went outside and waited to get picked up and taken to the depot where we got our campervan! We saw the camper as we pulled up which got us very excited, even though we were very tired! After going through a bit of paperwork and paying what we needed to pay, we collected some maps and magazines of NZ and set off to find a campsite.

After driving around Auckland city a bit, we found a campsite that looked good and went in there. However after using their Wi-Fi, Lloyd had a message from Josie saying we can just park at hers for the night, which would save us having to pay for a pitch. So we got the address for hers, found it on the map and made the 10 minute drive to her place. We had some food but then thought it wasn't a good idea to just park the campervan on the street outside hers. Lloyd wanted to spend some time with Josie as he hadn't seen her in ages, so he stayed at hers and went for a few drinks with her and her brother that night. Tim and Ben went back to the campsite and got an early night!

The next day Tim and Ben woke up to Lloyd and Josie knocking on the campervan to get them up for a day of activities! After getting showered and changed we went for breakfast then drove to a place called Mount Eden, which has the best views of the City. From here you can see 360 degree views of the whole of Auckland including the famous Harbour Bridge. There is also a large crater next to the mountain which is actually a volcano...although it hasn't erupted in years! After taking in the views here we headed to a place called Piha Beach…

Piha beach is one of the main surf beaches in NZ and there were lots of people out surfing. It was a bit different to all the beaches we have been on lately, as the sand is a dark colour and obviously the weather isn't as nice as it was in Asia, as it is actually winter in NZ. It is still warm enough for shorts and t-shirt though… sometimes a jacket is needed! We walked down the beach then made the steep climb up some stairs to Lion Rock. From here you can look out over the whole beach and admire all the views.

Next we went to Piha waterfall which wasn't too far from the beach. You walk 30 mins through the forest to get there, then you come to a lagoon of water with the waterfall crashing down. It is a 6 tier waterfall, so it falls from really high and comes down in 6 different levels which was pretty cool! After staying there a bit and exploring in the forest we then went back to the city.

We dropped Josie's brothers' car off then got on a bus to a place called the Viaduct. This is a small harbour with some nice yachts and boats in, with lots of bars around the outside. It was nice sitting outside chatting and looking into the harbour, so we had a couple drinks there then went back to Josie's to cook dinner. Josie cooked us chilli con carne whilst we got ready and gave David a message as we know he had arrived in Auckland! David the guy we travelled Vietnam with and met in Koh Phangnan for the full-moon party. We told him the address for Josie's and he said he will be with us in an hour. That night we had some pre-drinks with all the people who live in Josie's place, and David, then went out to a few bars in Auckland.

The morning after we were quite hungover but we hadn't got much planned anyway. We knew that today was purely for planning our trip for the next 6 weeks. First of all we unpacked all of our clothes into the storage compartments of the campervan, which felt good as we know we haven't got to keep unpacking and packing our bag for the next 6 weeks! We then went and did a big food shop, which cost us $60 NZ dollars each ( £30 ) and should last us a while… and will save us so much money. The camper has a fridge, small freezer, toaster, stove, microwave, sink with running water, safe, cupboards, draws etc. It sleeps 2 on the bottom and 2 on the top… so plenty of room!

Then we used the campsite computer to find directions to head further north and found addresses for a few campsites for when we got there. It was going to take around 3 hours to get there so after cooking dinner in the camper we got an early night ready to leave early in the morning. The lady at the campsite told us to head to Paihia, Bay Of Islands first, before heading further north to the very top of the country.