Had fruit salad for breakfast, then drove to the nearby port to board the 60-second ferry to the bay. It was so close, we could have swam if we'd have wanted to get wet, but since we were spending a few hours wandering the shops we thought it best to take the ferry. Currently Lian is at the age where every second word is poo or butt hole which is quite entertaining, especially how he manages to wean it in to pretty much every sentence. Either that or it's a conversation centered around destruction, fire and blowing things up.We collected a picnic from the supermarket and sat at the park overlooking the waterfront while the boys played on climbing frames. Back at the Tent that afternoon, I lay on the lawn basking in the sunshine and ... read more

We got up at 7am and were on the bus to the city by 8. When I was a teenager, I wouldn’t be seen dead sitting on the second row of a bus - always had to be at the back. Now I’m thrilled if there’s a space on the first few rows so I don’t have to lug my bag to the back. Had a skinny latte at the Harbour then boarded the ferry to meet Dot and Neil, Ellie’s friends from South Africa. The Marian Keys book I’m reading at the moment had me literally laughing outloud, it’s brilliant. Dot and Neil were waiting in their minivan with their two little boys, Lian and Jonas. During the journey, Lian insisted we must be driving in circles. I was very impressed by how much he ... read more

Walked the 2 minutes from Jenny's house to St Hellier beach, and settled on the dark sand in the sunshine. Within 20minutes, a murky black cloud as dense as a slab of concrete had crawled across the sky and it started to rain. Ellie had nipped to the shop so I dashed in to the nearest coffee shop and had a skinny latte. El found me not long after and when the weather perked up, we went back to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Ellie was really excited for our night out with the girls tonight. Her friend Dot (another girl she worked with in South Africa) was getting the ferry over from Waiheke Island to join the four of us for a meal and drinks in the city. Once we'd all got ... read more

El asked me if I wanted to do a sky dive today. Clearly her brain has taken leave of absence. I simply replied “Hell to the No” and she knew to leave it at that. We didn’t actually get out of bed until 11.30am (I’m not kidding when I say we’re suffering from Jetlag... yes I know the time difference is only 3 hours, but we’re wrecked, our body clock is completely messed up. Nothing to do with the wine last night I assure you). Donna took us out for the day in her car for a tour around Auckland. We went passed amazing beach-front apartments and a harbour with some outrageously sized boats. We drove through Parnell, famous for its art galleries, cafés, and charming oldy-worldy shops; then passed Newmarket the main shopping area in ... read more

As usual I was awake early the morning after the night before, so I helped Jessy clean the house then sunbathed on the Trampoline waiting for Ellie to wake up. Josh rang and I arranged that we’d meet him in the city centre in a few hours for our tour around Brisbane. A few hours later on the way to the city, we met a girl on the train. I was pleasantly surprised she started the conversation with us as she looked like one of those moody Too-Cool-For-You teenagers (think they’re called Emo’s or something?). She was lovely and really interested in hearing about our travels as she hopes to do this one day too. Saw the fattest lady I’ve ever laid eyes on. She was wider than she was tall; such a peculiar shape. And ... read more