Did I enjoy my free upgraded first class flight from Nadi to Auckland courtesy of Fiji Airlines? You're damn right I did! The free premier lounge got a rinsing too before boarding my flight! Chicken fried rice for breakfast.. whaaaaat?! Yum!

Sat in the front row of the plane in my comfy bucket seat, scrolling through an iPad loaded with movies while being referred to as Mr Duckworth isn't the backpacker life I've been accustomed to over the past 6 months.

"Would you like another double rum and coke Mr Duckworth?" the stewardess asked, while I was busy choosing my second breakfast of the morning from a gourmet menu.
Looking down at the 9.00am time on my watch with a grin on my face.. "Mmm yes please." When in Rome aye?!

I didn't want the journey to end.. but all good things do, reluctantly leaving my first class status behind as I landed in Auckland around noon on Monday.

Visiting a new country has usually meant hitting the reset button and starting a fresh but this time around it felt different.. probably because New Zealand isn't too dissimilar from England, the weather is certainly not, especially as I arrived in winter. Man was it cold and wet!! The first time in 3 or 4 months that I'd had to dig deep to the bottom of my bag to find some long pants, warm socks and a waterproof jacket.

The other reason it felt different was because I'd arranged to stay with my friend Nicola, who I know from back home, and who has also recently travelled before settling in Auckland for the last 8 months. Usually I'd be dumping my bags in a hostel somewhere, however this time it was nice to walk into a big comfortable house in the Mount Eden area and be welcomed by a familiar face. For the next four days it was great to catch up with Nic and see what the city had to offer.

I took a short walk to the top of Mount Eden, which is a dormant volcano but now a deep crater covered in grass, and offers fantastic panoramic views over the whole city.

Nic took me on a bike ride around the city.. along the sea front out to Mission Bay, then back into the city where the port is situated, as well as the fashionable Britomart and Viaduct Harbour. Trendy bars and restaurants surround the area and expensive yachts dock close by.

We cycled further on to Ponsonby, an area on the outskirts of the city centre. Another trendy area home to more "hip" bars and restaurants, and chic boutiques. Nic works as a personal trainer here too and invited me to work out at her gym.. I didn't hesitate in saying "yes". I was delighted to have the opportunity to finally get a work-out in a gym for the first time since leaving the UK. I worked up a hell of a sweat but it was also demoralising to see how much my fitness had deteriorated. Ah well, you can't have it all while travelling!

Nic was attending a spiritual evening later on which I was invited to. Being a massive sceptic it's definitely not my kind of thing but I'm very open minded and a firm believer that you can't give a true opinion on something until you've tried it yourself.

WOW this was wacky though! The people attending were supposedly relaying messages to one another that they were receiving from the dead of who they once knew.

I wasn't convinced as a lot of the messages were so generic that it could have resonated with any one of us. The detail would have to be far more specific to convince me of its legitimacy. The fella running the show was an English man in his 90's and had been doing this all his life. To be fair it did seem as though he had a bit of something going on but a lot of the information aimed at me was false. Not so sure about all this to be honest..

Wednesday was a complete washout, however it gave me the perfect opportunity to organise my onward travels from Auckland. A trip to the cinema with Nic later on that evening was a nice way to escape the house.

It was a much brighter outlook on Thursday so I caught the bus into the city to have a wander round before meeting up with Nic and her friend Geoff in Ponsonby to shoot some pool.

I left Auckland feeling pretty underwhelmed to be honest and happy to be moving on. I love cities, but I found this one uninspiring and a little dull.. there's nothing particularly special or amazing about it. Don't get me wrong, there are some lovely areas such as Viaduct Harbour and Ponsonby, but nothing to get excited about. Overall, average at best in my opinion.

The majority of people who I spoke to prior to visiting Auckland told me to leave as soon as I possible, as it's just a city full of suits. There's a little more to it than that, yet they weren't too far away from the truth. However, I did have a great time visiting Nic and catching up with her.. I was very grateful that she put me up for four days. We also have plans to meet up again soon on the South Island so I'm looking forward to that.

Early on Friday morning I got the hell out of Auckland and headed south toward Wellington on the InterCity bus.. a 10-hour journey.

I wasn't going as far as Wellington, I'd be stopping off an hour outside the capital in a small town called Waikanae. I was taking the opportunity of my time on the North Island to meet Ria's mother, Karen, who lives there. I'd be spending the whole weekend with Karen, and Ria's dog, Greer, at her lovely home in the quiet picturesque town.

Karen and I had a lovely brunch on Saturday in a restaurant overlooking the wild Waikanae beach, before taking Greer for a walk in the forest. Later that afternoon Karen led me on a pretty lengthy bike ride through the park, along the river and eventually to the beach on the western coast. It was a good ride out, so a pint half way through was well earned. We took Greer for another walk as soon as we returned, and then that was us done for the night.. wiped out!

We ventured further north on Sunday to Waikawa Beach. It was pretty wild up there, gusts of wind had swept a ton of driftwood onto the shore. Greer didn't seem to mind though, she was in her element when let off her leash. Fortunately we got back to the car just in time to dodge a storm which had swept in off the sea.

Later that evening, Karen and I had another lovely meal at a nearby restaurant, which also gave me the perfect opportunity to thank her for having me stay for the weekend.

I had a wicked time getting to know Karen, we had a lot of fun, and I actually didn't want to leave. I also think I've come away with a new best friend.. I completely fell in love with Ria's beagle!

It was Monday morning when I left Waikanae. I said goodbye to Karen (and Greer) when she dropped me off at the train station, and thanked her for everything.. she was so good to me which obviously I was incredibly grateful for.

I was heading for Wellington where I'd be in the company of another Radford.. Ria's aunt, Diane. Karen had arranged for her to pick me up at the train station and stay with Diane for the night at her home in the highly sought after area of Oriental Bay.

Labelled as "crazy aunt" by Ria for her eccentricities I was looking forward to meeting Diane, and again in true Radford form she was unbelievably accommodating. She took time out from her day to drive me around the lovely bays of the capital.

We ate a fantastic brunch at the unusual Scorch-O-Rama restaurant in Scorching Bay before Diane took me on a tour of Wellington to show me where Ria and her family grew up. I even got the opportunity to meet her grandparents too.

In the afternoon, Diane dropped me off in the centre of the city so I could explore further. I took a short ride on the cable car to take a look at the views over the city, and have a wander around the botanical gardens there. Unfortunately the weather was pretty grim so the views were somewhat spoilt.

I returned to the centre, had a wander round, and ended up in Te Papa.. The Museum of New Zealand, where they have all sorts of exhibitions going on. The earthquake simulator was pretty interesting, as was the story of Anzac.

I made my way along the horse-shoe shaped sea front back to Diane's home in Oriental Bay where she had prepared a lovely salmon dinner for us. I had another enjoyable evening getting to know Ria's aunt and staying at her home for the night, which once again I was very grateful for.

I may have only been in Wellington for one day, and the weather may have been miserable, but I found it far more interesting than Auckland. The capital may be small, with a tiny city centre, but there's plenty of character here, and many quaint residential areas carved into the steep hillsides. Some of the houses, varied by design, looked incredible and must have the most amazing views out to sea.

I have a ferry to catch at 8.00am in the morning which will take me across to the South Island where I have a mini adventure planned.

Kia Ora xx