Welcome to Oz, back to the beach

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We're in Australia now, real shame to leave NZ which we loved, but it's already warmer here and can't wait to head up the coast and enjoy the sunshine. We only had a few days on NZ's North Island but it was good fun, and a real change from the constant travelling we'd had before in the South. We arrived in Wellington off the ferry from Picton, and instantly realised we weren't going to be too sad to see the back of the campervan. We had to drive at least 15km out of the city to find a camping ground and when we did it was if we were staying just outside some kind of industrial estate. Still the next day we headed into town and Rachel met up with an old friend from London who now works in the City Art Gallery. We also went to Te Papa (kind of national museum) before the long drive up to New Plymouth. We wouldn't have gone there I expect were it not for the fact that an old school friend of Rachel's and a relative of mine live there. We stayed with the former, Fran (and Rich), for three nights which was great and really kind of them. So cool to spend time with some Brits, sleep in a bed and have some home cooking. We had a day exploring the town and then instead of moving on, we stayed and explored the volcano nearby, as the All Blacks were in town. New Plymouth is quite a nice, cool little place, right on the coast, and the volcano (Mt Taranaki) was amazing on a clear day. We also had dinner with Rob and Virginia, my dad's step-dad's son and his wife, which was lovely. It was amazing to see the All Blacks too, even if they did thrash Manu Samoa 101-14! We then headed north to Auckland, dropped the van off, and met Gary Key, the dad of a friend who I used to work with (Jono, who we've stayed with in Sydney). Incredibly kindly he offered us the use of his house on Waiheke Island just 30 mins by ferry from Auckland. We had a great day there, relaxing, going to a vineyard and otherwise doing nothing. Then on Saturday we flew to Sydney and Jono met us at the airport! Yesterday we had a bit of a tour of the harbour area, had a great brunch overlooking the water, strolled round the Botanical Gardens, saw the Opera House and walked across the Bridge. Overall a pretty great and relaxing few days in NZ and Oz, thanks to the hospitality of friends who now live here. Today we're off to Bondi, to the hotel that we booked courtesy of Pete and Melissa. It really couldn't be any better. And I hear it's raining at home, sorry!

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