So what have i learned this week? 'Salu' is Japanese for 'monkey' but 'Chin Chin' is Japanese for 'willy'. You can't get child's urine out of carpets with Fabreeze and a flannel. Don't forget to keep your mouth closed when you're scrubbing toilets in a hurry. Captain BirdsEye lives in Paihia. Tomo has been teaching me Japanese and telling me about his life in Japan. Tokyo he doesn't like because it's polluted and crowded. Arson is a real problem in hi...

So life goes on in Paihia and i am now very much a resident. Have installed myself in the staff quarters at the Mousetrap with mad brilliant Stephanie from Dublin. No more sleeping in bunk beds - YAY! We have a team meeting at 10 am to see what needs doing and go to work. This means that every day i get a marvellous lie in and have my porridge at leisure. My job is to change the beds and straighten up the twin and double rooms that have checked out, then clean...

I packed up the car on Thursday the 7th and said goodbye to Ellie and Stu in the pouring rain. The drive up North was quite tough as it was raining so hard. The cloud was very low and visibility was not good - i had my windscreen wipers on full blast but i still couldn't see much. After 4 hours (including a wee stop) i arrived in Paihia and wasn't exactly blown away. i have realised since that's because the sun wasn't shining, because when it does, this place i...

Well after a rather raucous weekend and a bit of the old booze and very little sleep, Stuart and Ellie came to pick me up in Sunday morning and off we went to get me some wheels! We went to the Backpackers car market and looked at a rusty Volvo, then to the huge Car Fair at the racecourse and i fell in love with a banana coloured sports coupe which was $1600 - WAY over budget. However, the angels guided me away from the temptation because just as i was deciding ...

Been feeling my way round Auckland since Monday and trying to get my bearings and see what's what. It's a cool relaxed city but i'm itching to get out and see the 'real' NewZ. Everyone says don't stay in Auckland, it's the worse part of the country! Luckily i hadn't planned to stay here and i'm really looking forward to going out into the Wop Wops as they call the countryside here. The Asian influence here is very pronounced, i don't know if it's just Auckland....