I was a nervous wreck behing the wheel of the largest vehicle I'd ever driven for about 20 minutes. Bumble B is in fact a very easy drive. It helps that, unlike the UK, here pretty much every tourist route, sealed road, roundabout and parking space is designed for vehicles larger than a Smartcar. So after a few dodgy left hand turns and a couple of hub-scrapes, we were cruising out of Auckland on State Highway One at a clipping 100kmh. It was sunny, the traffic faded away after we crossed Auckland Bridge, and gradually a bit of real Kiwi countryside moved into view. Clarissa, who despite the clement weather we'd enjoyed since arriving had been a bit crotchety, suddenly sprung one of the huge smiles that always lift my heart. I grinned back. We were ... read more

With two weeks (tomorrow) until Clarissa and I board a Cathay Pacific 747 to Hong Kong, I sit here and honestly wonder how we're going to be ready in time. We booked our tickets a month ago, and apart from the odd-job here and there have had no pressing engagements other than finishing paperwork and getting packed. But the extraordinary assortment of chattels which I alone have collected over four years of living above my own business - let alone the plethora of "important stuff" which Clarissa has brought into my life - are sitting in vague, silently accusing piles around the rooms and corridors of our first-floor accommodation. A stark contrast to the neaty, clean, bustling atmosphere of the bar and restaurant a few feet below. But we are making steady progress. Yesterday we forayed ... read more