It was 5am by the time we passed through security and bio-security - I had my boots washed in a anti-bacterial solution. I bought a dongle for the laptop and we withdrew money. We had a bit of time to kill in the airport as nothing was open in the city. This gave me time to ponder our time travel flight. It was 1pm back in Chile, 4pm in the UK and 5am here. We had gone from being 3 hours behind the UK to 12 hours in front. We have essentially flown back through time, GMT -5 across the dateline to then fly forward in time to GMT +12. Weird!

We loitered in the airport until 8.45am updating our blogs and working out a plan of action for the day. We got a shuttle bus into Auckland which luckily dropped us off outside Wicked camper rentals. My first impressions of New Zealand were positive. It reminded me of home - even the road signs were the same. I hadn't stopped to think in depth about how I would feel driving a van covered in graffiti. We walked into the depot where we could see a small collection of Wicked campers dotted around the place. The particular model we were to hire was sat in the corner of the warehouse looking tired, dirty and rough. We had to wait 2 hours whilst they prepared the vehicle for us. I remained calm - I think I was too tired to care. However Ju was getting more annoyed and vocal which was unusual for her, that's my role.

We finally set off from the depot happy to be mobile and on the road. I felt pretty knackered but confident after 6 weeks of not driving. Luckily they drive on the left in New Zealand which made life easier. Despite it's looks and the 250,000km on the clock the van drove smoothly. We drove in total for 5 hours stopping here and there for supplies. We had to buy food as well as an in-car adapter for the lap top so we could charge it along with the camera and iPod. Most people we had spoken to have been friendly and very helpful - maybe it's because we speak the lingo, either way it's refreshing.

Along the way Ju had worked out a route for the next 3 days and where we should camp that night. I was starting to get weary and tired and was in need of a break. It didn't take too long before we reached the site. I had a quick shower whilst Ju knocked up some sausages and onions ready for our simple but delicious dinner. We decided to open a bottle of wine, the one glass I had almost finished me off. It was only 7.15pm and I was ready for bed!