When I returned from my little holiday to the south island I only had 6 weeks left in Auckland, it was the run up to Christmas and I had a lot to squeeze in before I hit the road properly again! I was still working so would have to squeeze a lot into my weekends!

So the last weekend in November I headed off to National park with Roisin, Fiona and her sister Laura who was over visiting from Ireland. Fiona drove us down, traffic was horrendous, taking 2 hours to get out of Auckland but then we were on the road and heading south. We got to the hostel pretty late leaving us just enough time for a wee glass of wine before bed. We were up early the next morning to attempt the Tongariro crossing - described as New Zealand's best day hike (sometimes the world's best), so I had high hopes (this was my second attempt we had tried in Sept but the weather was too bad to do it and this would also be my last chance as I had no more free weekends so the pressure was on!). The forecast was ok but it was very cloudy and when we set off I couldn't even see the mountains. But since we'd come all that way we had to give it a go. We set off up the mountain; it was an interesting walk, lots of volcanic rock but no great views of the mountain tops because of the clouds. As we ascended there were still some patches of snow at the side of the track. There are 2 peaks you can climb on the Tongariro crossing but it was so cloudy there was no point attempting. We neared the part of the crossing that contains the lakes that make the crossing so spectacular and famous - it was still really cloudy but the clouds did clear for a minute to provide a spectacular view before returning to obscure our vision once more. It continued like this for a little while where we were able to steal short glance of the stunning coloured lakes of the Tongariro crossing and then like a miraculous event the cloud cleared leaving behind clear blue skies and allowing us to see all the beauty the crossing had to offer. We enjoyed a picnic and a beer at the banks of a turquoise lake while taking in the stunning scenery around us (and the occasional sulphurous whif - not the girls if that's what you're thinking - it's a volcano remember?!). It was fantastic, and probably is the best day hike in New Zealand and possibly the world (although I probably have to do a fair few more hikes before I can claim that). We headed down the mountain, enjoying the summer weather. That evening we enjoyed a big curry and 1 or 2 glasses of wine! It was a thoroughly enjoyable day.

We were heading back to Auckland the following day but decided we'd detour via Raglan and small town on the west coast of the north island famous for surfing. The journey there was fine except perhaps for the 50 or so Ks we were on an unsealed road - one might blame my map reading skills - I however blame the map makers as there was no indication it was an unsealed road!! Anyway we got to Raglan unscathed and went to the beach. Fiona and Laura decided to go surfing (being semi-professional surfers - well they have their own boards back home). Rois and I opted to sit on the beach and watch them! It was a pleasant afternoon on the beach followed by fish and chips - a kiwi classic - and then we headed back to Auckland. It was an awesome weekend and I'd finally managed to tick something off my NZ list I'd wanted to do for ages!

After another week at work it was time for another short holiday so we hired a bach (kiwi speak for a holiday home - traditionally a bit rickity, distastefully decorated but in a great location) in northland, in matapouri near the poor knight's islands where we were going on dive trip. The bach was in fact far from rickity, it was extremely luxurious. There was me, Roisin, Natalie, Chritian, Katy and Will on the first night. We spent the evening relaxing and having a few beverages. The following day was the main event of the trip a dive trip out to poor Knight's islands (I had been up here in June with Rob and Nick on a snorkelling trip) listed as one of the best dive sites in the world by Jacques Custeau. Roisin and I were diving while Natalie, Christian and Katy were snorkelling. On the way out there we did see some dolphins but they weren't in the mood to play. The weather was fairly good which obviously makes the trip more enjoyable. The diving was pretty cool, we saw a lot of morays and some really cool nudibranchs but I think part of what sets the poor knights island apart from other dive sites is the underwater scenery. There were some cool archways we got to swim through and even managed to enter a cave with a large air pocket in the roof. So at 8m below sea level we were able to take off our masks and breathing equipment and have a chat - that was pretty cool! It was also nice to dive in a place without coral because it allows you to get nice and close without having to worry about damaging 100s of years of growth.

After our trip we went back to our fancy bach, Finn and Fiona came to join us for the second night and we had a fun night with, dinner, plenty of drinks and even some board games! The following day we had to leave pretty early so we decided we'd take a little walk around the beaches at Matapouri before we left. Unfortunately the weather had taken a bit of a turn but Katie, Roisin and I decided we'd go for the walk anyway! We did manage to take the wrong track and our walk was probably more of an adventure than we'd planned on (I was wearing flip flops) but as with all these things we enjoyed the scenery and were left with a story so it was all was fine in the end.

The following weekend I opted to stay in Auckland and chill out a bit. We did go to Christmas in the park; a free concert in one of Auckland's large parks - there were a lot of acts that are famous(ish) in New Zealand , however a lot of this was lost on me. I did enjoy it though; it's always nice to spend Saturday night in a park drinking and watching Christmas Carols.

The next weekend I was on the road again, I headed to Hahei on the Coromandel peninsula - it claims to be New Zealand's nicest beach. I headed down on the Friday afternoon and on my first evening visited Hot Water Beach - a beach where at low tide it is possible to dig your own hot pool. There is volcanicly heated spring water under a section of the beach - so off I went with a spade to dig a hole. It was already busy when I got there - it's very cool and a tad frustrating - you can dig one spot and get cold water and just 10 feet away might be a hot water spring. I did find a very hot spot and dug as quick as I could but unfortunately I was too close to the sea and it kept washing into my pool - in the end I gave up and jumped in a pool some other people had formed! It was awesome though. As with most of the hostels I've visited in NZ, the hostel was well equipped and had friendly people so that evening I went to the local pub (yes, "the" indicating there is only 1) and had a few drinks. The weather had been a bit hit and miss and the forecast wasn't great but Saturday morning was glorious which was lucky as I had booked a kayak trip. So I headed up the coast on a kayak trip to Cathedral cove, a famous cove in the area where the recent Posidon film was filmed (I think). It was a really pleasant trip and included kayaking into some caves and through some cool rock formations.

In the afternoon I headed out on a dive trip (it was an all go weekend), unfortunately because the weather had been stormy the visibility was pretty limited and we had to dive in a sheltered cove which wasn't actually within the marine reserve. However, there is no such thing as a bad dive (unless something goes wrong I guess) and so it was still pretty awesome. It was an unguided dive so it was daunting but also pretty cool to be looking around and finding things for myself and I managed to find some morays and a crayfish hiding in the rocks. My dive buddy also found an octpus which was really cool as I'd never seen one before! So all in all a pretty decent dive in the coromandel. That night I returned to "the" pub with some people from the hostel. The next day the weather had turned to crap again so I just chilled before getting back to Auckland,

Although I've focussed on the weekends because that's when I was off doing exciting things around New Zealand the weekdays weren't just work. There were some great bbqs, lots of nice dinners with friends and weekly pub quizzes. I really enjoyed the weeks in Auckland in the run up to Christmas.

So Christmas finally rolled around - we had planned it for a while and Christmas was going to be spent in Auckland with all the orphans we knew. So on Christmas eve we did some last minute shopping and then spent the afternoon chilling by Roisin's pool in the glorious sunshine while enjoying a few beverages. We even made it out to a pub on Christmas eve, the only one we could find that was open was an Irish bar, and in true Irish style they closed early (well about 12.30) - although I did miss the customary closing by the guards.

Christmas day morning was spent at Natalie and Christians opening presents and have Christmas breakfast with Champagne. The afternoon was spent at the beach and the evening back at Roisins where we picked up a few more orphans and enjoyed a feast of bbq lamb with all the trimmings and the night ended with drinks in the hotpool. St. Stephen's day we went to the races. A day to gamble, relax in the sun and enjoy a few beverages. It was a lot of fun - I didn't manage to win big (in fact prob lost a bit - but not enough to have me flying home) but it was an awesome day which also ended back at Roisin's having a bbq and later ended with some late night swimming in the swimming pool and then a not so hot pool!

The following morning nursing a moderate hangover and with only 5 hours sleep I was up for another adventure. The awesome and incredibly generous Roisin and Natalie had bought me an early birthday present of a kayak trip to Rangitoto; an island in Aucklands harbour I had visited before but had said I'd like to return to and really wanted to try the kayak trip out there. It was a good day and I really enjoyed the trip. It was a 6km paddle across a busy harbour but well worth the effort.

That was the end of the Christmas holidays so I was back to work for 3 more days before it was time to leave Auckland. On the Wed night we went for an early birthday meal - I'm very spoiled - to a Brazilian restaurant (all the meat you can eat - yum yum). I finished work on the Friday - while I was excited to be getting on the road I was certainly a bit sad to be leaving Auckland. Some of the wonderful people I work with bought me some lovely presents (including a very very nice bottle of wine - thank you Amanda) and I felt very lucky to have found a job so easily and had the chance to work with some great people!

Not too much time to lament as a big group of us had hired a bach for the New Year on the Awhitu peninsula just over an hour outside of Auckland. The Friday night was a good start with some nice food and drinks while settling into our new home for a few days. This was a much more typical Kiwi bach with every room decorated in mismatching fantastic 70s/80s décor!! It was AWESOME.

The following day was New Year's Eve and my birthday so we spent the day wandering around the beach and then spent the afternoon drinking. Again I was very spoiled getting a cake and a banner and more presents. New Year's Eve was a LOT of fun with lots of drinking and lots of dancing on the lawn and lots of fun!! New Year's Day was an altogether quieter affair but we did have a little road trip out to some beaches and even managed a swim! The rest of the time out there was spent visiting some beaches and chilling! It was a really great weekend with really great people and an excellent way to finish up my time in Auckland.

I spent a bit longer in Auckland than I had planned and that's because I really enjoyed it there. The people I met were fantastic and made me feel very much welcome and included me in lots of outings! Auckland is a cool city, with what I would call a fairly chilled out vibe - there's lots to keep you entertained, with plenty of green spaces but above all this it was spending time with my friends (new and old) that really made my New Zealand experience. Alas all good things must come to an end so on the 3rd of January Roisin dropped me off at the airport and I was back on the road again, living out of a backpack an on my (slow) way home!