Day 4. Where has the 24th gone? We are here in Auckland NZ. A long but v smooth night flight. We crossed the equator and the international date line. Hence the missing 24 th. We landed at 5 in morning. My fellow explorers did not get much sleep on the 11 hour flight. Me I can sleep anywhere! As a result I explored the harbour area on my own. I'm hoping for some company this pm. It's now summer; 80 degrees, blue skies with a very pleasant breeze. It was str...

Day 3. All 4 of us caught a bus to Coit Tower where the 360 degree views of the city were stunning. Weather dryer than yesterday though the odd shower. Temperature have been in mid 50s. even in the evenings. Not bad for January. Saw some news footage of the eastern USA. Thank goodness we didn't break our journey in New York!! Mary and I went off for a cable car journey up and down the steep hills (45 degrees). However all system was closed down for a cable wo...

Day 2 Not sure what happened here. I thought I'd left another entry and it's gone. Mary and I caught bus up to the Haight/Ashbury area of SF. This was the hippy area of the 60s. Anti war demonstrations and free rock concerts. George Harrison grateful Dead Jimmy Hendrix etc. The area is full of arty shops many established in 60s. Batik & tie dye. Eastern crafts coffee shops. Cannabis is legal on California. (Medicinal reasons). This might account for the ...

Arrived yesterday after avery long flight. All went well. We had an early start this morning as our body clocks were still on uk time. We caught the 09.10 ferry to Alcatraz in the Bay. Day was dry and the sun came out mid morning. A 25 minute cruise with wonderful views of the Golden Gate Bridge and The city. This afternoon we went by open top bus on city tour through the major districts of the city. We even went across the bridge. Highlight for Mary and C...