Nigel Hughes - Airbnb - I arrived in Auckland at 7:30ish to a full blown soiree! I knocked on the door and was greeted by someone who did not know Nigel - oh oh! I finally met him and his other house guest - Franklin Rose. He was an ex West Indies cricketer, bowler and he was having a *house warming* party as he had only moved in a short time ago. There was a mix of Nigel and Franklin friends with a lot of really yummy Jamaican food and people. I ate and as the night progressed, some folks became very intoxicated and some interesting things arose. Franklin was very proud of his $28,000USD platinum necklace so I tried it on - tried to escape to no avail. By that time, I had had a couple glasses of wine and shortly thereafter, went to bed. My own room but shared bathroom, with both of them - here we go again - bathroom sharsies - at least these guys were clean!

Apr 6, Sunday - I did nothing but catch up on emails, bookings, blog and decide what I was going to do in Auckland. It was nice not to have to rush to someplace. I had to organize my Chinese Visa, meds sent from Reg that did not arrive in Queenstown and go to the gym. Les Mills, here I come!

Apr 7, Monday - Drove downtown to THE original Les Mills facility. It is big, with multiple floors and types of classes and workouts. I did a spin class, then Pump - felt terrific after being in the car and not working out (gym workout) for soooo long! I also went to the airport to find out what happened to my meds Reg had sent to Queenstown. They found them, picking up Thursday - running low! . Finally learned how to use google maps and the voice directions - what a Godsend a little late - such a dufous! Caught in afternoon traffic but made it back in one piece - getting used to "the left"!

Apr 8, Tuesday - trip to Les Mills and did my own spin and weights for 2 hours. Afterwards, I took a long walk on the Warf - it is being renovated but still really nice; there are so many sailboats - saw one with Montana on it. On the way back to Nigel's, I bought groceries to cook - home style - yeah! It is so nice and necessary to *normalize* oneself with familiar food and routines, keeps the sanity…as does a cup of tea!

Apr 9, Wednesday - went in the morning to apply for my Chinese VISA. The line-up was atrocious so I went for a tea. It took me over 20 min to walk back and though I was within the estimated time on my slip, I missed my number so tough luck - triple damn! Oh well, off to the Auckland Museum which is full of Maori aboriginal history. I went on the one hour formal tour of the museum and then show took in the Maori show - see the pictures!

* The Difference between NZ and Australia*. Not sure if you noticed, but NZ names of roads and places is full of Maori words. For years the kids have taken enough Maori in school to understand the language and certainly, the culture. They have a decent treaty and are treated with more respect. The Maori are far more integrated in the NZ modern culture than Australia. These folks came from the Malaysian people; far away in wooden boats across the ocean to NZ - they were very brave and very fierce warriors. They are stocky, strong people and I would not want to tangle with the warriors.

The aboriginals in Australia - some of which have been there for YES 30,000 YEARS - existing in near impossible terrain far longer than any other known culture except early homosapiens. They were displaced as typical when Europeans take over and still are treated with a lot of disrespect. There is a high incidence of alcoholism, drug use and diabetes. After the settlers took over, they took on a European Caucasian diet full of sugar and then they drank alcohol, neither of which they have the biochemical capacity to handle. Sound familiar…Canada's natives are the same - only we gave and give them a better treaty and far more resources than Australia. The bad thing was the nasty Religious schools; caused a lot of grief. Bloody religion and unwilling to learn a different way - isn't that the bane of human existence!

After the museum, off to Les Mills again for double classes - spin and pump - I am a bit stiff today - go figure.

That night, Franklin was cooking Jamaican style for a *friend* and invited me to join. Nigel arrived with his lovely 16 year old daughter and they joined us. Everyone was having a good time so I said I would cook for the same group the next night. However, Franklin got drunk and was rude to me regarding being away from my husband - these types of guys cannot figure anyone could be faithful or go without S-E-X for more than a week. It was an inappropriate conversation in front of Nigel's daughter but he didn't say anything which was odd as he was clearly pissed. I could have cared less as it was clear why his *friend* was there. I fear sometimes our generation does not have a clear sense of morality, modesty nor common sense.

The food was good though. And I made breakfast (as promised) for his oldest daughter Haley the next morning - feeling right at home!

Apr 10, Thursday - Nigel text me in the morning that he wouldn't be joining us for dinner because of Franklin - what? Oh well…went to the Chinese embassy and waited there this time. Finally had my application accepted took the afternoon option to retrieve my passport. I had to be there before 3pm. So dashed off for an 'on my own' workout (really stiff today), then to pick up passport, then the meds - whew. Then groceries for dinner - still though Franklin and his friend would be expecting it.

Franklin was pissed because Nigel hadn't talked to him directly so he decided to do something else (clearly him and his *friend* weren't an item anymore) - whatever. I cooked a great meal - for me and thoroughly enjoyed it with a great bottle of wine - Sometimes our generation acts very immaturely, even though we are supposed to be the 'adults'. It's embarrassing.

Apr 11, Friday - Essence of Waiheke Wine tour. Waiheke is an Island about 50 min ferry from the main Auckland harbor. 18kms long and 9km at widest, it has different temperatures on different parts of the island and different geography from the mainland and is excellent for growing grapes. They grow reds; mainly Syrah, Merlot, Cab Sav, Cab Franc, and smaller amounts of Malbec,Petit Verdot, Tempranillo and Montepuliciano. Whites include; Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sav Blanc, Semillon and Viognier. Pretty incredible for such a small area. We took in 3 wineries of 17 - Mudbrick, Stonyridge - where we had lunch and Batch Wineries. The views for all the wineries are amazing and the wine is better yet! I bought more - I just had to - Now I have to pack it again! I had a great day here and would definitely come back!

Apr 12, Saturday - Manley Island. This is a 10 min ferry ride across the bay - a quaint community with lots of shops and restaurants. It was a military post outlook to protect the mainland from enemies. I hiked up to the top of the main lookout which had lovely views of the harbor and Auckland. The beaches there were nice as well. Wasn't in the mood to shop so I came back on an early ferry. Had my leftovers and some of my new wine for dinner - perfect last day in NZ.

Apr 13, Sunday - One Tree Hill. This famous park (U2 sang a song about it) is just behind where I stayed, but didn't go til last day. It is huge and really nice with a great lookout and monument at the top. Great climb, outstanding views of the entire Auckland area and harbours, and great pictures. What a way to end my time in NZ! Now off to Australia - the East Coast and Uluru.