So my 2nd week is complete and what a fun fulfilled week it was

I stayed with me cousin sister who I haven't seen in 19 years, it was so nice to see her, meet her family and get to know her again. It was funny when I asked her what does she remember of me, her reply was 'not much Rob' so I remeinded her about how she always used to bring me a cup of Milo when I last saw her which made her laugh.....

We visited the Auckland Aquarium which was full of amazing sea life, the sharks were impressive but more impressive was the tank full of Clown Fish, I found it hard to make out which one was Nemo but I like to think I found him that day lol I was lucky to see the Stingray's being fed by hand and listened to a specialist diver give a talk on how they behave, they really are majestic creatures in my eyes and I would love sometime to be able to swim with them, given the chance. After the Aquarium we took a drive around Mission Bay. This place was very nice with its long beach and amazing (and expensive!) houses that look over the bay, my cousin told me the houses are 1m NZD minimum, I could see why!!

On Tuesday I visited One Tree Hill and the Botanical Gardens. One Tree Hill is nicknamed 'No Tree Hill' because a Maori guy took a chainsaw and chopped the tree down (I mentioned this in my last entry). I took some photos of great views of Auckland and fed some chickens lol. The Botanical Gardens were beautiful, the Rose Garden was most impressive and I enjoyed feeding the ducks with my nephews, there were even a couple of eels who decided to join in the feeding lol

On Wednesday I went up the Auckland Sky Tower to be presented with some amazing views of Auckland, it was a shame that it was a grey day but I did get to see some good views of the Harbour Bridge and the surrounding areas, what amazed me most were the dormant volcanoes. They looked awesome and made me think about how life would've been when they weren't dormant, hot i'm guessing lol. I saw some people take the 'Sky Tower Jump', basically they were suspended on a rapid descent line and dropped at major speed towards the ground, it looked fun but my 'no fear' days are way past me and I left them to it!!

Thursday was Anzac Day which is a public holiday, its a day when Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific islands remember their fallen soldiers who served in previous wars and conflicts. It was originally a day to remember the fallen soldiers who fought at Gallipoli but I understand the day was changed to remember all that have fallen, I love their saying 'Lest we forget', it really has great meaning.

We planned to go bowling on Anzac Day but forgot everywhere doesn't open until after 12 noon because it was a public holiday so having arrived there at 10am and then realising the place didnt open until 1pm, my cousins husband said he'll show me Hunua Falls instead and how grateful I am for him taking me there. This place has an amazing waterfall which took my breath away and gave me the opportunity for some awesome pictures. Unfortunately and very sadly I found out the next day that about 30 mins after we left Hunua Falls a tourist drowned at the bottom of the waterfalls. As much as Mother Nature impresses us, we always must keep in mind she can take just as much as she can give and there's nothing we can do about it..........

Friday daytime was spent chilling at home catching up with the weeks football from back home lol. Friday night however was BRILLIANT!! My cousin, her husband and her friend took me to a place called Spookers. This place is a genius idea! basically its a disused Mental Institution turned into an attraction thats filled with people whose make up is made to make them look scary as hell (check out the picture attached to this entry!!) There's a haunted house section which in all honesty is definitely like something out of a scary movie! you walk through each room and you are scared shi*less in each room!! I dont really scare that easily but I'll be honest and say I had the bejesus scared out of me by the haunted house. After the haunted house we went into the cornfield maze which was named 'CornEvil', this is a corn field turned into a maze turned into a scary nightmare!! as you walk through you are confronted with scary people (The big mahoosive guy running after you with a chainsaw was scary as hell!!) and yup, a couple of times I screamed like a little girl!!

Because this all took place at nightime made it all the more impressive, if you visit Auckland then I definitely recommend visiting Spookers. IT WILL SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU!!

The weekend was spent in Rotorua but I'll write about that in my next and final NZ entry later this week before I head to Fiji on Friday.

Until then peeps
Much love
Rob
xxxxxx