It was touch and go getting let into New Zealand. At Apia airport we found that even booking online did not manage to bypass the jobsworths. We were told that our lack of onward tickets and proof of exit from NZ meant that we would not be allowed on to the flight. We tried to convince them that we were joining a yacht in Auckland but still no go. After the airline spent half an hour on the phone to immigration it turned out that Katie could enter the country as she had a Working Holiday Visa (being over 30 I had been unable to get one) but without proof of onward travel I had to stay put. Rather than going our separate ways I now have a one way ticket to Sydney that I am never going to take!

We arrived in Auckland having lost a day of our lives in crossing the international date line. Our accommodation had been kindly provided a friend of ours in Herne Bay which is a suburb of Auckland about 15 minutes outside the city. Our first trip out from the house the next day we realised that Herne Bay could possibly be a well off district as most of the cars were very expensive and we nearly had to re-mortgage to buy a breakfast! Our time in Auckland was to be brief. First things first was to buy some warm clothing as we are now in winter and then work out where to go next. We spent a total of 5 days there before heading down to the South Island in search of work and some transport.