Ok, so the photo isn't quite of Whitianga, but the choice is so limited! Imagine a sandy beach with limestone cliffs which have been eroded into caves and you'll be about there! Its a beachy place here, which is great when its sunny but its been quite stormy and rainy here for the past couple of days. Nearly had a brush with the local wildlife on Stingray Cove- was happily swimming away in the warm sunshine (the only day of it) and then had a bit of a sunbathe...

I have learnt many things on my travels so far: 1. Do not let your ommlette be cooked by the French-the risk of salmonella is incredibly high and raw egg yolk is not my favourite food (but being British, it would have been impolite to refuse this luncheon offereing. I hope I make it to my next blog alive) 2. When sandboarding, do not let go when a gust of wind blows sand into your eyes half way down a huge sand dune. It is very fast, akin to toboganning. Fur...

Guess what, I can see the sea! Am now up in Paihia in the Bay of Islands, just arrived to a hostel full of colourful fish and a lighthouse in the kitchen! Spent the past few dys in Auckland, visited Devonport and climbed am inactive volcano (but just a little one!) with amazing views all around. Have aquainted myself with some of the now rare birds of NZ, took a ferry to TiriTiri Matangi island, about 1 3/4 hours from Auckland and saw all sorts of birds -the K...

Kia Ora from the Land of Auck! I'm feeling horribly jet lagged- its like being on a heaving boat-but I have made it to the other side of thw world in one piece and I'm not upside down! The 33 hour journey was, unsurprisingly, long and ardous in parts but I took to gambling with a fellow passenger to while away the hours for coppers and american cents/dimes (which now confuse me totally mixed in with my NZ cents!) but sadly I didn't make my millions! Its lovel...