The other side of the world and eleven hours ahead. Early flight from Sydney and arrived in Aukland at lunch time, lost a few hours along the way. Luxury, met at the airport by Joan, an old work colleague and then after lunch and a cup of tea a great first evening out in a few bars in Aukland, the All Blacks beating France on the tv and pallets of NZ beer! Then a complete washout day with gale force winds with the most wonderful rainbow! This looked to be the trend for this country where you can get all four seasons in a day! I have spent the first two weeks of my stay in NZ in North Island and seen and done loads. Aukland, Bay of Islands, Coromandel peninsula, Rotorua, Cathedral cove, Ohakune, Tongariro national park and Wellington. I have made faces with and been entertained by Maoris, zorbed down a hill till my stomach was upside down, seen geo thermal springs bubbling mud from the centre of the earth in a thermal wonderland, been on a boat trip to see the next best thing to Haylong Bay, more botanical gardens, hiking across a mountain range in the snow with crampons and ice axe and skiing, not very well but a great day on the slopes and also climbed a volcano. The best thing about NZ however is that all of this has been done with a backdrop of the most amazing landscape and vistas you could hope to see, this country is the most visually stunning I have seen, the landscape can change all within an hour, rain forest to forests to woodland to rolling countryside to mountain ranges to cliffs to beaches, this place is really amazing. Spent a few days at Kings, the ski lodge run by Russell's sister Tracey and her husband Ian, they looked after me so well, I was there during their final preparations for the ski season and also the towns Mardi Gras which is basically where the town turns into one big massive fancy dress rave where the average age appeared to be under 21. That's basically the age of the 120 guests at the lodge as well. Tracey and Ian did a great job of acting as auntie and uncle whilst the guest pre loaded and then suffered the effects of a crazy night out. I borrowed Traceys ski gear for a day and had a lesson and then a very inept attempt at the green run, had all the gear but clearly no idea! Another snow moment doing the Tongariro Alpine crossing, judged the best one day walk in NZ, i had been told that this was fantastic, but nobody I had spoken to had dome it in the snow, the day was awesome, crampons and snow pick ready we crossed the snow covered mountain, stunning views in bright sunshine, I would completely agree, the eight hours trecking has to be one of the best, it was quite tough where the soft snow became so deep, up to the knees, different from any other walks I have completed before. Getting around is very easy here, I borrowed Joans car for a couple of days and good coach services and relativly short distances, driving on the left as we do and they do in Australia makes everything very familiar. There is lots of wide empty places here, the population of NZ is 4.4m, compare that to 8m in London and you get a sense of the place, there is a lot of pride here about their non nuclear stance and also their green credentials, there is a concerted effort here to eradicate any pests that have been introduced, a bit late to stop the europeans but they are still working hard on the possum. Once again i have been shown such generosity by people putting me up and showing me around, Joan, Tracey and Ian, I ave also met many people who have also moved here from the UK, I even met my first Crystal Palace supporter, he was dressed up as a skeleton at the Mardi Gras and a bit worse for wear, says it all really. I can see why people are drawn here and then why they stay, relaxed, laid back, climate and life style are all things that attract, most say its not that they we dissatisfied at home in the UK, it's just that this is different, as my Cambodians friends would say 'same, same but different'. So having been massively impressed with North Island I now look forward to a couple of weeks in South Island, best get layered up, ts a bit chilli down south.