New Zealand

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Sorry this is a little late, but i have been pretty busy since arriving in New Zealand.
I arrived on Thursday 4th Feb, into aukland. Unfortunatly, i didnt get to see much of Aukland, even though i extended my stay to two days. However, due to the set up of the dorms, i managed to make friends quickly, and got dragged out into a night on the town, both nights i was there which made both the days i was there a right-off! The nights out were quality though, so i suppose it was worth it.
On the Saturday I made the long way down to Napier to stay with Liam (a school friend) who was down here playing in a cricket academy there. They had a nice house, with around 10 of them staying there, which made early nights a no go area! We went out again on the saturday night, and had a great day on the beach on the Sunday, which made my total of sunburnt days up to 3! Out of the 3 nights there, i had 3 curry nights and 3 drinking nights, which meant that i'd pretyy much lost all fitness i had before i came out here! I was sad to leave Napier, due to it being such a nice and sunny place, but i had to head down to wellington to stay with Glen (a Kwiw who came to play cricket in Chepstow last year) for a couple of nights, which was my last stop before heading to Chch.
Another LONG bus journey on the tuesday took me to Paraparamua, which when you pronouce it, it misses out half the letters. i Stayed with glen in his parents house, which was a lovely place, but they were having work done on their bathrooms, and when the builder starts using the nail gun at 8 in the morning, it makes a rather annoying alarm clock! On the Wednesday it was my Birthday, which was a quiet affair, but the family were kind enough to cook me a English roast and made me a Birthday cake. On the Friday, which was my last night at the house, we went out into Para, which ended up a pretty fun evening. I had booked the ferry from wellington on the sunday, which was around 40 mins from Glen's house, so i decided to spend one night in the capital, so booked myself into a hostel in the middle of the city! You may think that on a saturday night in the Capital, that i would be out and about, but i was sooo tired from the last night, that i got all dressed up to go out, and then crashed out around 10 oclock.
Getting the wrong times on the ferry between the two Islands, meant that i had to stay one night in Picton, which is a tiny port village, on the tip of the South Island. i Managed to get lost in the forest when i went on a walk, thinking that i needed to do some sort of exercise before the rugby started, which turned a 20minute walk into an hour and a half, so it wasnt all bad! Another ealry night, meant that the night in Picton was the first day that i didnt have alcohol since setting off from the UK 3 weeks previously. O dear, thats gunna have done some damage to my fitness!
It was a long, but pleasant bus journey down to Christchurch, and finally arived on Monday 15th of February. Dale (my contact down in Chch) picked me up and took me to his house, where i would be staying for the first few days, due to my flat not being ready. The first night pretty much has set the tone for my time here so far. The club had set up a boxing night for that saturday, so i got dragged into doing a boxing exercise circuit, which pretty much killed me! I have now been down here for 10 days, of which 5 i have had training, 3 i have been in the gym, and played cricket on one! After doing no exercise for 3 1/2 weeks, its thrown me straight back into it! I moved into my flat on the Friday, with one of Dale's sons and his friend. Theflat is a nice size for the 3 of us, with a washing machine, which allowed me to do the first washing since i have been away! The Best thing about the flat though, is that it is under the shadow of the AMI Stadium, which is where all the major rugby and cricket games are played in Chch! I went out on the town for the first time on the saturday, after the boxing which was incredibly entertaining. The nightlife seems pretty decent, and i expect i may venture out there sometime soon! I have signed on with an employment agency, and work is staring to filter through slowly but surely at the moment, so hopefully with a regualr income, it will put a stopper in the leak of money which seems to be happening from my bank account!
Anyway, that's about all so far down here, and once again I'm sorry for this delayed blog, and i will try and put up another blog a bit sooner! Must be off got training again soon! Cheers

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