Well I made it to New Zealand and amazingly without a hitch! Slept most of the flight over and woke up in time for all the food! We even arrived about half an hour early, which considering this meant it was 3.30am, meant I was even more suprised to see Alex there waiting for me!

We ventured into town on the first afternoon and went up the sky tower since it gives amazing views of the city and helped to gain bearing of the place. I also couldnt keep mself out of the shops since it has been such a long time since seeing anything so modern and nice!

We were staying with Alex's aunt and uncle who couldnt have done any more to make us feel welcome. Beautiful house and amazing food!

The next day we went back into town for a bit more of a mooch and then Alex took me for a surprise - walk across Auckland harbour bridge, which was GREAT. The weather was beautiful so the views were stunning and was an amazing way to spend the afternoon. When we got back to Deb and Tony's they had some extended family over and we had a dinner party. Such luxury!

The last day in Auckland, for the moment, we went to view the fish market before breakfast in the harbour. Then we went to the aquarium just out of town and saw the sting rays/penguins being fed, before a lovely walk back into town. Last night we got an overnight bus to Wellington, which we managed to sleep through entirely and now we are at Ma's house for the next couple of days.

Having a really wonderful time and it is great seeing everyone. Such a stark contrast to the last couple of months, however feeling safe at all times isnt something that I mind!

xxx