Nil:

Sorry for the lack of blogs! We've been having technical issues with the camera and internet. So, we're now in Kerikeri staying with Tom's relatives. It's been an amazing pilgrimmage of the Hassan and Barnes clans! So far we've visited Anna & Giles who have a beautiful baby boy. They showed us amazing beaches around Auckland, took us eel watching in their gardens, and we were introduced to their horses! Then we met Peter Hassan who took us to see his brother and family who live not too far away from Auckland. They have a beautiful ranch with sheep, chickens and a recently acquired horse. I felt very much at home there. One of the evenings Victoria, their youngest daughter, busted out a guitar and sang us all a song, then all the family joined in, pulling out guitars from the woodwork it seemed. Tom joined in too on the piano and I sang along. It was very cool. The following evening Tom and I cooked dinner for Rosemary and Simon, when I say cooked, I should really say we created one of my granny's specialities... a chicken mess! It tasted very good despite looking like student food. So, we said goodbye to them and got picked up by Gary and we're now in Kerikeri enjoying mild weather, excellent company, and some really great historical sites. Hope you all like the photos. Lots of love xxxxxx

Tom:

So Auckland is very much like Sydney, but the tourist attractions are dotted rather wildly around the sprawling city. You sort of have to go up One Tree Hill to get any idea of how Auckland connects together, from there you can see the island of Rangitoto (we reached the summit last Monday), the new rugby stadium being built ready for next year's rugby world cup, the skyline and a great view of the harbour. We've seen all of these attractions, plus the Domain Museum during our week in Auckland, and we've had a great week here. As cities go though Sydney marginally (and I mean that word in the strongest possible sense) clips Auckland - I think the geography of the harbour in Auckland makes it hard to organize the city's layout in the tourists' favour, or even to make the city easy to get around for locals. This said - it sure beats Plymouth/Exeter/Bristol/etc... (you get the picture). Now in Kerikeri - which is quaint and relatively old (for New Zealand). We went to the spot that marks the signing of the treaty of Waitangi in 1836 - where the Europeans and Maoris finally reached an "agreement" on how to share the land and wealth in New Zealand. 'Twas interesting, but I thinik we were being fed a rather one-sided/anti-English account of the events by the Maori tour guide. In any case we had fun and we took part what could loosely be called a Maori haka, taught to us by spotty teenage kids on their Easter hols doing part-time work for the tour company. Anyway, check out the photos - we've added more. Much love and blogs from the South Island soon. TY