Auckland

The steady patter of rain greeted us as we leisurely rose from our bed. Fortunately jet-lag had not caused us to wake in the middle of the night but we still woke early. The sun doesn't rise until 7:30am so the crack of light from our curtains was still only a dim beam pushing its way into our bedroom.

Despite previously changing our minds on the subject, we were certain that today we would 'rest'. After breakfast we wandered into Auckland along Queens Street, which at first descended steeply before levelling out into the city centre and toward the harbour. The day felt like a warm wet October with shades of red and gold falling from trees and people walking by huddled into jackets and umbrellas. Apparently the weather is cold for Aucklanders but after experiencing camping in Yellowstone we didn't feel it too badly (Alex was in a t-shirt).

We headed to the offices of Kiwi Experience, the company that we will be touring New Zealand with, to finalise our booking and clarify some questions. The young woman we spoke to, who wore a scarf in her heated office to keep warm, was very helpful and we came away feeling very excited about the first leg of our trip up to Paihia and the Bay of Islands, which starts on Saturday.

We strolled around the city, gaining our bearings as much watching those around us. Although sleep had helped we still felt stretched out and it wasn't long before we returned to the hostel. We ate bright pink salmon, locally sourced and smelling of the sea, with fresh vegetables, in the hostel's spacious kitchen. The steam off the plates rising to our faces. Others were eating cheese on toast and pot noodles but the fresh food was what we needed. The rain continued and darkness had fallen as we returned to our room, fighting back sleep for as long as we could, to bring ourselves in line with our new time zone.Read more