Day 49 Auckland Last day in New Zealand, I can't believe we will be leaving tomorrow; it's beginning to feel almost like home now. The weather not too brilliant on waking today with grey cloud covering most of the sky and no wind to shift it and of course today is the day we decided we would get the ferry to Waiheke island. The Dawn Princess was in port today which we got a really good view of from the departing ferry and then when we rounded the end of the ...

Day 48 Auckland Our penultimate day in Auckland so we're now trying to cram in as much as possible. Took the bus back to the War Memorial Museum after breakfast and arrived just after it opened at 10am. Despite the early hour there was still quite a queue for tickets - now here's a contradiction, it states quite clearly everywhere that it is free entry for Auckland residents although you need to have id to prove it, but for visitors there is a sign saying "$10 d...

Day 47 Auckland Our first full day in Auckland and so much to see - Bill wanted to go to Western Springs Reserve this morning, one last chance to see some of this elusive bird life in New Zealand. To date this has been a rather unproductive search inspite of the reserve status of may of these places. This park is next to Auckland Zoo and was full with loads of families making the most of the Saturday sunshine to enjoy time around the lake. Loads of ducks, geese ...

Day 46 Russell to Auckland Early start this morning as we need to get the hire car delivered in Auckland by lunchtime and it is around a 4hr drive from Russell, well it should be less but you have to allow for roadworks of which there are loads and for the fact that there is only motorway about 20km out of Auckland. Nice day again today, much better than the drive up when it rained most of the way. Fairly uneventful drive which is just how we like them and w...

Day 45 Russell, Bay of Islands Our last day in Russell today and the day dawned bright and sunny; what a welcome sight after yesterday's cloudy day. Obviously a day for the beach, plenty to choose from but as it was rather windy choosing the right one was important; finally settled on Long Beach which was pretty much sheltered from the winds although the surf was up; Bill likes to body surf though so he was happy. We stayed there for most of the day just sun...