It is my travelling anniversary today as I have been on the road for exactly one year. On this day last year I was leaving Manchester to fly to Perth. I can't believe how quickly the last year has gone. I have had a truly incredible year especially the last nine months with Jay. It is so good to have been away from the rat race for so long. We awoke today to a beautiful day with the sun shimmering gorgeously over the sea. After brekky we walked into Takapuna to catch a bus to Devonport which is just over the water from Auckland City. It took about twenty minutes to get to Devonport through some really lovely suburbs full of beautiful timber period properties. From here we caught a ferry across to the city. The city skyline was shouting at us from across the water to come and have a look. It was a fantastic sight with the Sky Tower adding drama to the view. It only took about ten minutes before we were swaying off the ferry and completing our bus/ferry combo into Auckland. We immediately noticed that Auckland has a very different feel to it than any Australian city. To me it felt like a Canadian city with a bit of a look of Liverpool about it. There were a lot of period buildings along the waterfront which gave it this look. The city had a seriously chilled vibe and for a city centre it was very peaceful. The Kiwi's are just so much quieter than the Aussies.We first of all had a mooch along the main street and in some of the shops. We couldn't resist buying a kiwi from one of the shops. He was sat on the shelf looking ****** off and both of us knew that we had to have him. He was fluffy and gorgeous. The shop assistant, Andy, was absolutely hilarious and insisted that we name him. It was decided that he would be called Kenneth the Kiwi. Andy also insisted that we had our photo taken with him before he was put in bubble wrap! He also wanted to hold him one last time and be photographed with him. He even called the other shop assistant over to pose alongside him. Andy then whispered to Kenneth 'I'm really gonna miss you'. Kenneth appeared to look at him and think 'thank f**k I'm out of here' and then he looked at us with a disgusted face.We almost heard him thinking '*******s'! We left the shop with Kenneth in a bag and a few other things! This was the best shopping experience we have ever had. Big thanks to Andy at From N to Z. After this and with a bubble wrapped grumpy kiwi in a bag we headed over to the Sky Tower. At 328 metres it is the tallest man made structure in New Zealand. We paid our entrance money and then took the lift up to the viewing platforms near the top. The lift moved up very fast making it up to the first viewing platform in just 40 seconds and making our ears pop. Part of the lift floor was glass making the ride up even more thrilling. The views at the top were breathtaking affording 360 degrees views of Auckland and the beautiful surrounding area. The views apparently stretched for 80 kilometres in each direction. Auckland is the largest and most populous urban area in New Zealand and is situated between two natural harbours It lies on the Auckland volcanic field which has produced about fifty volcanoes. Thankfully they are all presently dormant. We could see some of the volcanic mounds from the tower along with the beautiful harbours and islands. We watched the city move below us sometimes through the sections of glass floor that were around the edge of the viewing area. It felt really weird and a bit sickening to be stood on glass looking all that way down. We admired the wondrous view from both the lower and upper viewing areas and then we went and got a coffee in the cafe. Whilst savouring our coffee we watched some mad and brave people doing the sky jump, a kind of bungee jump attached to a wire. All of sudden people would fly past the window and drop to the bulls eye at the bottom of the tower. Both Jay and I were seriously thinking of doing a tandem jump until we heard a grumpy and tetchy but squeaky voice from underneath some bubble wrap say 'Don't be so bloody stupid'!!! After our coffee we took the fast lift back down instead of the sky jump. We then went for a mooch around to further soak up the atmosphere of this great city. We walked through Albert Park, looked in some more shops and walked along the dockside before getting the ferry/bus combo back to Takapuna. We had a mooch through Takapuna when we got back and had our tea in one of the many restaurants that lined the main street. After this and fully stuffed we made our way back to the camper van. We are leaving Auckland and heading out into the New Zealand countryside tomorrow.