I know it has been a while since my last update but I have been a little busy settling down and loving NZ (apart from the appalling shoe shopping)! So I have been here for just over 5 weeks now and having a great time. Managed to sort myself a job out, a great flat with a fab flat mate Claire (see picture of us at an All Blacks game). I have made some new friends and of course loving spending time with old friends. New Zealand is a very friendly place. I think my last update ended before Fi and I went to Wellington for a bit of sight seeing and tramping (or known to us as hiking). We headed down there on a Thursday morning and whilst Fi worked I went sight seeing. Wellington, the capitol of New Zealand and is also known for being extremely windy (!) yes even more so than Chicago. Wellington as a lot of character and is very walk able as a city. So after a couple of days of sightseeing and experiencing a couple of Wellington pubs, we set off on Saturday for our overnight "tramp". Little did Fi and I know that was serious business - very serious. The hike was a little more extreme than anticipated and a little scary at times like when Fi was practically blown over into a swamp by the wind despite the fact she was carrying a very heavy pack. The New Zealand bush was amazing however, but because of the break-neck speed and weather conditions I didn't take a lot of pictures - but you will see a rather attractive one of me looking very cold and wind swept on top of the mountain - just attire please (just where are a girls Nine Wests when she needs them). The overnight tramp also involved sleeping in a hut with about 20 other people. All in all, an interesting experience and great to see the NZ scenery but I'm not too eager to attempt that one again. So back to Auckland and I spent a few weeks trying to find a flat, furniture and starting work - of course also having fun and acquainting myself with Auckland. The weekend of 3rd June was a long weekend here (Queen's birthday - can someone tell me why the UK doesn't get a day off for that, or is that the end of May bank holiday I just didn't know it?). Anyway, after waiting around for delivery of my furniture the rest of the weekend was open for a little adventure. So one of my new friends invited me to go to the Coromandel region. The Coromandel is a peninsula East of Auckland. Amazing scenery and just how I expected NZ to look. So we drove to the top of the peninsula before heading down to Coromandel Town for the evening. Next day we headed down the east side of the Coromandel, stopped off at the hot water beach - it was a warm day (especially for winter) but people were digging their holes in the beach and were in their swim wear - people come on it is winter. Anyway, I did some toe dipping and then we headed off to Cathedral Cove - see photo. The walk to Cathedral Cove is supposed to be 45 minutes but it is more like 25 - well for this now seasoned tramper it is! It is well worth the walk, it is a stunning beach. I was completely blown away by the amazing views of the Coromandel and it has definitely given me a taste for NZ. Now as all you Brits will know, the Lions are here on tour. This mad rugby nation is even more into their rugby (this especially applies to Claire), if that is possible. Claire decided it would be good for us to go to an All Blacks game (we are still trying to get Lions tickets). So last Friday night we sat in a lot of traffic on the way to the North Shore to go and see the All Blacks beat Fiji 91-0. Despite the very one sided match the whole experience and opportunity to see the All Blacks was amazing. The crowd were a lot quieter than you would find at a British rugby game but they have an interesting variation on the Mexican wave which includes throwing empty plastic bottles in the air! Anyway, this has ended up being a lengthy update now. Next on the plan is a ski trip to Queenstown hopefully sometime in July. Hope you are all well; let me know your news. Love Em