Hello, so we got to Auckland on Thursday (31st Jan) on a 2 and a half hour flight that really dragged but we got there and mer Piwi (Kate) who took us back to her apartment which is really nice. We met her other 3 housmates, Katy, Lisa and Mel and just chilled out as it was around 6.30pm anyway! Piwi cooked us a lovely stirfry and we collapsed earlyish whilst watching Music n Lyrics!

Friday we got up abit later than expected (but only 11ish and to be fair our body clocks were still 4 hours earlier so we did well) so we got up and Mel wasn't working til four so she drove us into town and gave us a tour for a few hours. We went up the sky tower which was scary again. This one was similar to the one in Sydney but it had glass panels that you could see right down and people doing jumps off the tower. There were two levels but I left Loz and Steph to go up there by themselves and come to collect me on the way down! The lifts were even see through at some stages so I did grab onto Steph and shut my eyes at several points!! After that we grabbed a starbucks and mooched around teh city (which is very much like a mixture between Sydney and London). It was the weekend of International busking so there were loads of buskers on the street so we stayed and watched one - Loz even got to hold a blow torch in it! It was good though! Then we headed to Parnell, a place 10 minutes from teh city centre where Piwi lives, and booked onto our Kiwi experience bus for Monday morning heading North to Paihia (Bay of Islands) and Cape Reigna. Then we headed back and waited for Piwi etc to come home. That night we went to a housewarming party. It was cool although Loz, steph and I made the mistake of buying a 7dollar bottle of wine (which is 2.80) yuck is the word so we decided to finish that glass in one as it was that disgusting!! i nearly broke my foot by falling down the stairs cos it was pitch black, but in my defence i did it quite elegantly and could have been much worse but I ended by sitting on the step! Foot hurts though :( We then headed back to Piwi's quite early and commenced drinking a littl emore in her flat before hitting bed! (Loz thought it would be a good idea to do shots of Midouri - really wasn't!! We tried to do one shot between the two of us but it failed and went everywhere!)

Saturday we woke up and I went to the post office with Piwi to pick up my christmas present off mum and dad which had finally landed in my hands after being sent to Australia in november and then through to Piwi only to find a notice through her letter box saying for security reasons it cannot be delivered and I had to pick it up. Anyway, after that we went to get some breakfast in Parnell and then headed back to Piwi's for a dvd fest. We were supposed to be going to the Minus 5 bar that night but we were all shattered and so decided not too.

Sunday we woke up bright and early and headed to albany, where Piwi's parents live. We watched the Mens Hockey Olympic Qualifying Game, New Zealand vs Ireland at which the black sticks won 3-1 but it was a really good game to watch! We then headed to Piwi's parents hpuse for the day. It was such a lovely house. huge..with huge gardens and even had its own tennis courts. So Steph and I couldn't resist a quick game which turned into a set (which she won again grrr) then headed up to the house as loads of people were arriving. Altogether there were about 18 people and her parents did a massive bbq and salad etc which was the best meal we have had so far. It was such a lovely evening and it made us not want to backpack around anymore! After the food, Piwi's dad and his friend challenged steph and I to a dpubles match so we (cockely) grabbed some trainers off Piwi's mum) and headed to the court (this time with spectators which was daunting) Unfortunately they thrashed us 6-1 :( so we decided to switch partners, Steph partnered with Piwi's dad and I was with his friend, Don. The match went on for absolutely ever... it was such a long game of tennis and unfortunately we lost 7-5, but the score really didn't reflect the game!! Steph had a massive blister on the bottom of her foot, and I had one on my thumb from the 3 sets we'd played but we had a really good day. We then headed back to Piwi's house and set our alarm for 6 with our Kiwi bus leaving at 6.50am for Paihia.

So I'll update you in a couple of days! Hope everyone is ok?! xxxxx