Albert Park

---

I know, I know, I'm still in bloody Auckland but this place is like a black hole - escape is near impossible. There is good news on the event horizon though because Adam has finally arrived! HURRAH. I dont know if I've explained, but Adam is an old mate from Uni, who I did the great Lands End to John O'Groats bike ride with me many, many moons ago. He's in the middle of a year travelling and happens to be spending a month in NZ at precisely the same time as me, and is up for hiring a car to get around, which should save us money and give us a bit of freedom. Anyway, he arrived at the hostel 2 days ago looking like the Wild Man of Bourneo, (whoever that is?!), with a huge gingery beard and a mad semi-mullet barnet and so it looks like I'm almost ready to get this band wagon on the road!


Spent several hours on the phone to different car hire companies getting quotes, before ringing up this guy - Nigel - who was chatting me up in Kamo bar the other day. He'd happened to mention that he was some big Sales Director of Quality Rental Cars and that he might be able to sort me out with a good deal, wink wink, nudge, nudge. Now I'm never usually one to turn down a bit of quid pro quo, but Nigel was getting on a bit, and I doubted whether he could really meet my expectations and come up with the classy convertable Cadillac I was dreaming of, so at the time I took his card and moved on. The end result was that I gave him a ring and he wangled me a pretty good deal on a little motor that we pick up tomorrow - bish, bash bosh, jobs a gud un 😉

Conned Adam into doing the sky jump today! HA HA! He knew he there was no way he could sneak out of it and travel with me for a month ripping the piss out of him!

ARE YOU YELLA McFLY ?!!

Sadly, Adam is insisting on another 3 days in Auckland so that he can wind down after his mad adventures in South America and Fiji, so it looks like I'm not quite rid of Auckland just yet 😞

Picked up some suppiles for the road trip, including The Proclaimers Greatest Hits!!! !!! Ha Ha - Get your jeans, wooly jumpers and NHS specs out! Classic.

---