No news is good news. I'm not so sure. Nothing to report here. Just working and living and actually saving money remarkably. I've finally put some photos on but they're a bit boring. And i guess that's because i'm not really doing anything. And yes, i have become obsessed with bridges. I have a roommate now called Lisa and she's from Tipperary. She's a 'gas' as the Irish say and certainly a friend for life! We are a bit bored because of having little sp...

I've been looking for more permanent and less populated accommodation since i arrived and scoured every publication and website on the subject. After viewing a few unsuitables (one in Coogee which sounded ideal cos it rhymes with Jugee and is by the beach!) and starting to feel like the rest of my life would be spent in hostel hell - cold fried egg in the plughole and everyone else's rancid trainers surrounding my bed - i finally struck gold. Yesterday i move...

Well here i am, safe and sound. Sydney is great - very vibrant - everything i'd heard and imagined. Can't help thinking it's everything Wellington would love to be! I've checked into Billabong Gardens backpackers in Newtown and it's lovely - swimming pool and a cat called Pebbles and a dog called Mofo. I'm in a dorm with 5 others but have certainly staked my claim to one corner of the room with all my endless gear. (Lugging it all around Auckland to the airpo...

I stopped in Hamilton to meet Christina who wanted to buy my car - and did. This was a major relief and a good result to something that had given me lots of sleepless nights! So now i have some money to arrive in Sydney with and Ollie has gone to a good home. Thank you Ollie for your companionship and reliability. I swear that car has a soul! Now i am in Auckland and have decided to just get to Syd asap as there's no point hanging around here. The NZ chapter ...

So i tootled off further north, stopping at Taupo to look at the Craters of the Moon - bubbly, steaming thermal craters - continuing on in the dark to stinky Rotorua (or RotoVegas as the locals called it for some reason) - the real thermal/volcanic heartland of NZ. It really does stink here - it's a combination of being trapped in the well of the Pump Room and a petrol station. It's decidely sulphurous but has a strange mineral/fossil fuel quality to it. I learn...