Not too much to report...

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I don't think Australia and I were destined to live happily ever after. I had some wonderful times there, met some very warm and lovely people, and saw some beautiful sights - but I also found the east coast pretty samey, the weather extreme and somehow I don't feel we were well suited.
As I mentioned in the last post, I've been to New Zealand before, so knew to some degree what to expect when I arrived in Auckland - and immediately felt a kind of relief to be here. I came out of the airport to warm (but not overbearing) sun, beautiful light, and the promise of some wonderful scenery. Its also alot cheaper here for a travelling Brit - a nearly 3 to 1 exchange rate - which means you can enjoy the high standard of food and wine here at a very reasonable price!
I'm staying at my friend Mitch's house, near the trendy Ponsonby area of Auckland, which has a lovely view over a rugby field to Cox's Bay, part of the inner harbour. Its a great place to relax and enjoy not having to move on for a little while.
I knew already that there's not an awful lot to the centre of the city, mainly I think to a badly designed harbour, with the industrial port smack bang in the middle. But Auckland definitely has its charms, and yesterday I viewed the striking skyline, with the north shore and nearby islands, from the top of Mount Eden, one of the many now defunct volcanos that Auckland is built on. I believe there are some not-so-defunct volcanoes here too...
I have also already managed to see some of the fabulous New Zealand countryside. We went up to the far north of the Northland, a stunning drive to a beautiful area called Doubtless Bay. Incidentally, of course most of the places I have encountered in the last few months have their names because of Captain Cook - but this is one of my favourites - as they sailed into the area he said "Doubtless, a bay".
Mitch has some land up there with wonderful views and we were going to camp, but the tent poles had got left behind! Slightly relieved about that I have to say, as it would have been very basic, no amenities camping. And there are popular resort towns here so not a problem to find a place to stay in this neck of the woods. I'm glad I got to come up this way, as the ticket I've bought to travel around the North and South Islands doesn't take me there.
Other than that, the last week has involved a bit of socialising with some radio folk - the radio world is very small really, and there's lots of crossover between the Antipodeans and us Pommies. I even caught up with a guy who I recognised as having worked at XFM (they have the same parent company as Classic).
And I'm hoping soon to meet up with Sarah and Andrew, Kiwis who used to sing in Coro and moved back here a few years ago.
After a few more days here, I'll be off on a thing called the "Stray bus". Its supposed to cater for people who want to get off the beaten track, and I believe has a higher average age than that of its competitors, like the infamous (amongst backpackers anyway!) Kiwi Experience, where the main aim is to go to the famous places on the map - and then get drunk. The Stray bus believes "a beer tastes much better after you've had a great experience". A good saying I think.

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Photos

Auckland
As seen from Mount Eden

Cox's Bay
Westmere, Auckland.