NZ

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On arrival in New Zealand I was really looking forward to catching up with my family and also to having some home comforts after a few nights of slumming it in Sydney. My auntie cooked a big roast dinner for us all, which was the first I'd had in over two months, and I caught up with my her, my uncle and my cousins, all of whom I hadn't seen for 5 years. I also met back up with Claire who was also in New Zealand.

I spent the weekend with my family and then left Auckland along with my sister's friend Dean, who conveniently had a company car and free petrol! Very handy as otherwise we had been planning to travel north on the Kiwi-Experience bus, which would have meant being stuck on a bus with 18 year old backpackers nursing their never-ending hangovers and trying to pull each other. Urgh. We headed to a place called Tutukaka, from where we were going to dive at the Poor Knights Islands, which is reportedly one of the best dive sites in the world. I booked to go diving there last time I was in New Zealand but it was cancelled due to bad weather, so I was really looking forward to finally getting to go there and was praying that the weather would hold out.

Conditions were quite rough when we headed out to the islands and typically it was the coldest day I had in New Zealand, but the diving turned out to be great - there were heaps of fish along with stringrays and eels. One stingray came swimming right towards me, which was a bit scary (I kept thinking of Steve Irwin) but once it got to within a few inches of me it turned and swam away. They've got bad eyesight apparently so don't spot you until they're right in front of you. On the way back the skipper let me drive the boat, which was cool - just as well no-one had told them about my moped-crashing escapades!

After Tutukaka, the next stop was Paihia, from where we planned to go sailing round the Bay of Islands. As Dean had brought camping gear the other two were quite keen to camp, instead of staying in a hostel. I'm not a huge fan of camping but reluctantly agreed once Dean assured me that he had brought inflatable mattresses for us to sleep on - I hate those crummy foam mats. I also hate putting up tents, which is why when I went to Glastonbury I took one of those fancy pop-up ones (the fact that I couldn't put it back down again was irrelevant). So when Dean got the tent out of the car my heart sank - it was a huge, old-fashioned one with about a billion rods and pegs and no instructions. Claire looked equally unimpressed, so we both stood there with our best dumb blonde expressions on our faces while poor Deano battled away with the mammoth tent. As usual it worked a treat - 45 minutes later the tent was assembled and we could sit down, relax and take in the view. Which as it happens was rather stunning - a pretty little cove with clear blue water, a sandy beach and surrounded by lush countryside. Very nice.

The next day we got up early to go on our sailing trip only to be told some most unwelcome news - we had move the bloody tent! We'd asked the previous day if we'd be able to extend our stay and been told that we would, but the dozy receiptionist had forgotten to mention that we would have to move to a different site as this one was booked for the next seven days. I was outraged. OK, so I hadn't actually contributed much to putting up the tent in the first place but it was the principle of the thing. It was early and I'd been looking forward to a leisurely breakfast and now I had to carry and help re-assemble the massive tent before I'd even had a cup of tea. Bloody hell.

Once we'd shifted the tent and eaten our breakfast in record time we headed over to Paihia, stopping on the way to get some drinks and snacks. We walked past the information booth where we'd purchased tickets for the trip and were told that we'd better get a move on cos they were just about to leave without us! We ran over to the pier and luckily the boat was still there so we quickly climbed on board and took our seats. The sailing trip was fab and we got to assist with steering the boat, pulling ropes, etc and generally helping out with the sailing, rather than just passively travelling by yacht. It was a gorgeous day and the scenery was stunning so it was a great day to be at sea.

The next day we did another trip, this time up to Cape Reinga at the very Northern tip of New Zealand. We travelled along Ninety Mile Beach, which apparently is sixty miles long (!), and then headed up to the Cape where we saw the famous lighthouse and the point at which the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. It was quite bizarre as if you looked left to the Tasman side there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sea was a stunning blue colour but if you looked right to the Pacific side it was grey and cloudy and the sea looked a murky grey/blue. Unfortunately we were headed for the grey side but the weather held out and the cloud started to clear by the time we arrived at the next destination - the sand dunes. We all had a go at sandboarding on the dunes, which was fun apart from ending up with sand in my nose, mouth, ears - well eveywhere basically. The walk to the top was also absolutely knackering and we were all fit to collapse with exhaustion by the time we actually made it - they need to install a chair lift!

We spent one last night at the Bay of Islands and then headed back to Auckland just in time for my cousin Marc's engagement party. As the only family I see in the UK are my mum, dad and sister it was quite a novelty to go to a family function. It was good to get a last chance to hang out with them, despite my uncle taking the opportunity to embarrass us in front of everyone by thanking us for coming and telling everyone that 'they've got no jobs, no men, but boy have they seen the world!' The following day was the final day of my trip and I just about had time to go for coffee with my family before heading back to the airport and catching my plane back to London.

So after an amazing trip I'm now back in London and fully submerged back into the world of work and the hectic London social scene. Whilst I haven't been depressed at all about being back, I'm already planning my next trip. Next destination - South America! Watch this space!!

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