A cup of proper English tea and a slice of toast. Heaven. Mickey and Susie our friends from home who are living in Auckland put us up in there lovely house in Waitakere, complete with a clean bed, an en suite bathroom and supply of cheese and pickle sandwiches. Lovely jubbly. It was so great to be with friends who know us and not have to explain where we've been, where we're from and whether we can speak Spanish or not. We explored the beautiful surroundings of Auckland with them and managed to avoid the rain most days. We headed north to the beaches of Anchor Bay where we had a huge stretch of beach to explore in perfect isolation. The following day we took a ferry to the volcanic island of Rangitoto where we raced up the hill for great views over the city. Steve and Mickey then spent a few hours male bonding in the pub and toasting his sister Laura who had just delivered Steve's first nephew George, Alison shopped in his honopur, and that evening the four of us went out for a nice meal.

After 4 days with these guys we headed south to Wellington, on the 12 hour tranz scenic train which was filled with pensioners, I think we were the only people under 60 on the train. It was a fantastic journey though, crossing over viaducts regularly, with beautiful views the whole time.

We had a really relaxing few days in Auckland, thanks entirely to Mickey and Susie's hospitality.