Tuesday 31st January (In Auckland, New Zealand)

I flew to Auckland on Sunday 29th January. It was quite an emotional goodbye with the good friends I have made in Sydney. I got on the airport shuttle and felt really sad. After about an hour of driving around the city of Sydney picking people up at various stops we eventually made it to the airport. When I got to the check in desk I was told I wasn't allowed to fly! They almost refused to check me in as I did not have proof of leaving NZ with me. Earlier that day I had just booked my flight out of NZ luckily!! So I showed the email with the receipt of my flight booking to the check in desk and she said it wasn't good enough proof as there was no information of my flight number. I explained I only just booked it that morning so I am yet to receive an itinerary. I showed her the flight number in an email and she still wasn't convinced. So she sent me to the supervisor who read all the emails and eventually she confirmed it should be ok. So I went back to my check in desk and eventually I was checked in! After all this going on, I was now officially late and the plane was already being boarded so I was told so she gave me an express ticket to run through customs and get to the gate, which had to be the furthest one away!! So I eventually got to the gate to then find out my plane hasn't even arrived yet and will be delayed, I was so stressed out and hot from running through the airport. About 40 minutes later we were allowed to board the plane and again unlucky for me I am stuck with a middle seat! Then these two people, roughly middle aged, come up to me and accuse me of being in their seat and without even asking nicely they told me to get out my ticket and have a look because they could hardly be wrong! Anyway I said I'm not getting out my ticket when I know full well where my seat is, funnily enough they're seats were either side of me and then they gave me some more attitude and made me move up to the window (which is fine but they could have just asked nicely!!) Instead they called me something along the lines of 'stupid girl' so again I was ready to go back to Sydney and see my friends! (but obviously I didn't being stuck on a plane now trapped by two rude mouthed people, I was definitely heading to Auckland). When I got to Auckland I went through security absolutely fine, they didn't even ask me to prove when I was leaving NZ so all that drama in Sydney was a waste of time!!

I am staying at Jack's house in Auckland to save some money on accommodation (Jack is a friend from uni and he is living here for the year to work). Yesterday I met up with my old friend Emma from Israel tour. She is also living here for the year with her husband helping out the Jewish community as apparently it is that bad. So I went to theirs for lunch and then we went to town to see the harbour and the boats and also went for a walk around the shops. Auckland is nice but it is just another city like Sydney. Nothing too impressive. Later on in the evening I met up with a friend that I met in Cairns. I also have another friend here to see who I met when I went to Vegas a few years ago. I will then be starting the Kiwi Experience bus tour down both islands to see the whole of NZ in just under a month.

Today is Jack's birthday and it's a really nice day so I think we are going to some pools which are apparently in the style of the 60s! Should be cool.