Hi all,

sorry it's been a few days since last we blogged - been settling in and sorting out our lives here in Auckland! We're staying with a lovely, lovely friend called Lisa - hubby Ryan away on business at the mo' so we haven't got to see him :-(

So, having virtually bought Auck out of fleeces (and a raincoat each!) we're now ready to depart tomorrow morning on our North Island bus pass with "Stray". We've also booked our campervan for the South Island - a luxury(!) 4 berth so that at least we have our own beds and might then survive 3+ weeks together in a small space!! However, as the weather's definitely getting colder, we probably could have done with the extra body warmth of sharing a bed! Ooh er missus!! ;-) ... praise the Lord for hotwater bottles!

We've just been up the highest sky tower in the southern hemisphere - Kim you'd have loved the glass panels in the floor to look through!! We've been up quite a few of these now, so maybe we'll call it a day on skytowers - although it does help us to orientate ourselves around a city.

The first stop on our Stray pass is "Hot Water Beach", so we're hoping it lives up to its name, given the autumn feel here. Glad to hear you're having an English heatwave - guess we're getting our just desserts having had 10+ weeks of hot weather.

Will keep you posted as/when we next get to a computer - looking forward to discovering NZ at a leisurely pace (with woolly hats, hot water bottles and fleecy PJ's..... the latter of which we've already rushed out & bought....brrrrrrr) ...... it's probably not that cold really, it just feels it to us after all those weeks of sweating & complaining that we're too hot in 35C+...........can't win, eh?

Anyway, time to go book a ferry and a train (it's hard work, this travelling lark).... so til next time, bye for now - can't use G'day cobbers anymore, so need a new catchphrase......answers on a postcard to....................

Byeeeeeeee love from Penny & Linda xx