We arrived in Auckland on the 30th of December and we were greeted at the airport by Sally & John. I was very emotional as we had just spent an hour in immigration and customs as it was very busy and I was desperate to get through as quickly as possible and see them both.

Once we made it through, we all went to our apartment we had rented for 4 days in Waldorf St Martins Lane. When the girl found out we were on our honeymoon she upgraded our room so we would have a view of the city - this honeymoon is finally paying off! We were on the 17th floor and it was a pretty awesome view and apartment. After a chat and quick change we went out for some yummy Mexican food. Now the weather so far has been pretty good - just a few rain showers. But Auckland was a different story - it was pouring all evening and really heavy too. Weather aside, it was great just to see them both again and Sally is looking very pregnant! Paul and I had some lovely Sauvignon Blanc and the food and company was excellent.

The following day I took advantage of the facilities in the apartment and done a massive amount of laundry. Yeah clean clothes for another week or so! We then went down to Auckland harbour and had a wee walkabout and some lunch. We then went to the Rugby World Cup store and as it is closing down we got some great bargains on some fab merchandise and T-shirts. The weather was very cloudy but no real rain.

As tonight is hogmanay we are getting the ferry over to Devonport, where John and Sally live, for dinner and drinks. We arrived just before 7pm and we went to the pub for a few drinks before going for a lovely Italian meal. It was just so good to sit and talk and laugh with everyone - it felt like I had just seen them last week. As Sally is 8 months pregnant she couldn't quite make it to midnight so we went back to Auckland to try and watch the fireworks. Now as I said it was very cloudy so when the fireworks did go off at midnight we could not really see them. Just the sky around the Sky Tower lit up every so often which was very disappointing. The city was very busy but everyone was very well behaved - just merry and having fun!

On New Year's day we went to Ponsenby with Sally and John and then on to Mount Eden. We had some lunch and then went up Mount Eden as the view of Auckland from up there is very good. We seen Eden Park where the rugby is played as well as the many suburbs which makes up most of Auckland.

good value and then went for a walkabout around the casino. We were watching a roulette table which was just mental as the same numbers kept coming up. I called a couple of numbers - which I had bet on them!

On Monday the 2nd of January we went to Waiheke Island which is where lots of wine is made. We had been to a wine tasting in Ireland for a winemaker based in Waiheke and we were hoping to visit them but the Island is very large and none of the buses went to Man of War winery unfortunately. But we did manage to visit a couple along the bus route. The first one was not up to Paul & Kirsty's standards. The wine was very bitter and very disappointing. The second one was very good and we enjoyed a few glasses and some delicious bread and dips - the guacamole was amazing!

That evening we went to John and Sally's house for dinner which was so nice. We had a great meal and lovely wine and more than anything else we had such a laugh. It was so sad to say goodbye to them - I cried all the way back on the ferry! I can't wait until their baby is born and we all get to say hello to him or her!

On Tuesday we are flying to Christchurch where we are picking up our campervan which will be home for the next 12 days. I can't wait for the next part of our adventure to start!