We touched down in Auckland to a sunny, clear and altogether beautiful day. What a wonderful welcome! We were met by Inken from Seasonz travel and it was great to meet the lovely lady who has worked so hard and so long to help us put together what promises to be a fantastic travel itinerary. Thanks again, Inken, and it's good to be able to put a face to the name!

We flew on to Christchurch and then another short hop to Dunedin. The pilot got permission to do a sweep of the city to give us all a good view of Dunedin before landing. We were flying really low and it was so clear that the view was brilliant, just like toy town below. We were able to see the new Otago stadium where England will play their pool games. Very impressive from the air.

On landing we picked up our hire car and drove into Dunedin the pretty way to find our hotel. No, we were NOT exactly lost! It's just that the sat nav they gave us refused to work properly and, besides, it was a good opportunity to check out some of the sites!

Later we wandered around the city on foot, taking in the lively atmosphere. We had heard that it has a very Scottish feel about it and that is so very true. Bagpipes and tartan everywhere. In fact Amanda felt compelled to wear her Maclean hat in order not to feel left out! There were also plenty of England flags on show as the fans gather in their thousands for the opening game tomorrow.

We wandered into the local Fan Zone, in the town hall, for a while but the long day was starting to take its toll and we ended up back in the hotel to watch the opening ceremony and the New Zealand v Tonga game from the comfort of our room.