New Zealand

North Island (southbound)

We arrive in Auckland around lunchtime on Wednesday 28th November. We'll be back in Auckland at the end of the trip, which is just as well as I spend virtually the whole two days writing my Australia journal. So if anyone wants advice on internet shops in Auckland, just let me know!

Friday 30th November is important for two reasons. Firstly, we're starting our trip round New Zealand on the Magic Bus. And secondly, it's my 30th birthday!

The Magic Bus is a bus service designed especially for backpackers. It covers a set route round the country moving on pretty much every day, but allows you to get off, spend a couple of days in a place and get back on the next bus. We'll take it from Auckland down through the North Island, take an anti-clockwise loop round the South Island, and then return to Auckland through the North Island.

Day 1 takes us from Auckland to Rotorua via Waitomo. First though we have a drive up Mount Eden, with views over Auckland, good planning as at least I have an idea what the city looks like now!

In Waitomo we visit a cave system with stalactites, stalagmites, etc. We then take a short boat trip within the caves where we see thousands of glow-worms above our heads. You could be confused into thinking you are looking at the night sky, with many more stars than usual!

We arrive in Rotorua (the main town in the Bay of Plenty area) around 5pm and it starts raining. We have less than an hour before we are picked up for our evening entertainment - a Maori Hangi. This is a feast accompanied by traditional Maori song and dance. We've been told by a number of people what a fantastic experience this is, so I have high expectations. I'm disappointed immediately though, because it appears we have to wait until after the entertainment before we can eat. And I'm starving already! So I don't enjoy the song and dance too much because I can't help thinking about my dinner!

The food, when we finally get it, is fantastic though. Basically it's a selection of meat, fish and vegetables, and it's all been cooked underground. A lot of people complain about the smoky taste, but I don't have a problem. It seems an appropriate treat for my birthday dinner!

After the Hangi, we head back into Rotorua and go round to the Pig and Whistle along with some of our fellow travellers including Erin and Nancy from Canada, Mattias from Sweden and Brendan, a retired man from Ireland. The night is unremarkable and is pretty much winding down until Conor happens to mention that it's my birthday to a couple of girls - Gemma and Denise - who are on the Magic Bus going north. They sing Happy Birthday to me and the barmaid overhears and gives us a free round of shots. More rounds of shots appear and we eventually end up in what can only be described as a Maori disco, dancing to Abba! The funniest thing, in my opinion, is Brendan showing us all up on the dance floor!

Next day we see a number of the geothermal facets of the landscape which Rotorua is famous for including the Lady Knox Geyser and boiling mudpools. Our overnight stop is Turangi, which is the stereotypical one horse town, but without the horse. We had planned to stay a couple of nights here in order to do the Tongariro Crossing, reportedly the best one day hike in New Zealand. However the weather is very bad and we're advised not to do it, so after a barbequeue and a few drinks in the hostel at night, we head on down towards Wellington next day. The Magic brochure says "There will be some great opportunities for some stunning photographs today". Well, we drive along the Desert Road through Tongariro National Park, and we can't see a thing because of the low cloud. Our driver Karl points out where each of the mountains should be!

We arrive in Wellington at the south of the North Island mid-afternoon with just enough time for a quick look around. It seems quite a pretty city as it's very hilly, and the hills come down to the focus of the city, the harbour. Again our hostel has a restaurant and bar, and most of the group from the bus gets together there. The bar is running a Killer Pool competition and about 25 people enter. The idea is that each person starts with three lives and gets one shot at a time; if you miss you lose a life. There are a bunch of very arrogant English guys playing and they obviously think they are the best. There's therefore a huge cheer from our group when Nancy beats them all and wins the $50 prize!

Next morning we're up early for the ferry across to Picton in the South Island. The first three days of our Magic experience have been OK, but it's a shame about the weather. Travelling with Magic is really brainless. You just get on the bus at the time the driver tells you to. He drives you door to door from one hostel to the next with a few stops for food or sights in between. And the driver even books the hostels for you. We�ve has the same driver - Karl - all three days. He�s a bit of a character, so it�s a shame to be leaving him behind.

South Island (west coast)

We've been told that the South Island is much more spectacular and the views from the ferry as we sail through the Marlborough Sounds towards Picton seem to back this up. The bus journey from Picton to Nelson gives us a little excitement as the road was closed in the morning due to landslips caused by the recent heavy rain. Fortunately they've cleared enough of it away for us to make it slowly through the affected sections.

There are another three Scots on the bus, including Allan and Alistair from Aberfoyle and Blairgowrie respectively. They are both farmers' sons and have just finished a degree in agriculture at Aberdeen Uni. We have a few drinks with them in the Victorian Rose and they seem like a good couple of guys, which is just as well as it looks like we'll be travelling with them for the next few days!

On Tuesday we have an early start as we're off on a hike in Abel Tasman National Park. This involves a 2 hour bus ride followed by an hour in a boat. Most people, including Allan and Alistair, are doing a 13km/4 hour walk and get off the boat at Torrent Bay, but myself, Conor and an English guy called Mark have been more ambitious and stay on the boat until Bark Bay which gives us an extra 7km, supposedly giving us a 6 hour walk.

The walk is not particularly spectacular to be honest, apart from one of those rope suspension bridges early on. We get to Bark Bay reasonably quickly and realise that if we speed up a bit we should get to the finish point at Marahau in time for the 3:30pm bus, otherwise we'll have to wait until 5:30 for the next one. So we really fly along for the next couple of hours, passing people like a steam train. Around 3 o'clock we catch up with Allan and Alistair, along with Helen (an English girl who was on the bus into Nelson as well), and an Aussie girl called Julie. They're amazed, and a little embarrassed, that we've covered so much more ground than they have, but at least they've been able to relax and enjoy the views a little!

At night we go back to the Victorian Rose (well we deserve it after getting such good exercise) and meet up with a bunch of people who we were travelling with in the North Island, including Mattias, Erin and Nancy who have just arrived in Nelson. Mattias has decided to skip Abel Tasman and jump on the bus with us tomorrow. We're pleased about this as he's a funny guy and a good laugh. Allan has his kilt with him and decides to wear it to the pub tonight. He gets a little attention of course, and gets excited when he feels someone stroking the back of his leg. He is disappointed when it turns out to be a 50 year old woman!

On Wednesday we start our run down the west coast. Most people do the 4 day run down to Queenstown without spending any extra nights, so we should be with mostly the same crowd for a few days. We'll also be with the one driver for this time, so it's a good thing that Peter seems like a good bloke. It has to be said that his taste in music leaves a little to be desired though! We strike up a bit of a rapport with a couple of girls who have been on the bus with Peter for a couple of days already and persuade them to put some decent music on. Jyoti (pronounced Joe T) is from Australia and Graihagh (pronounced simply G by most people!) is from Linwood in Scotland.

The Magic brochure says "Prepare yourself for some breathtaking scenery over the next few days". The road follows the Buller River for a while and the scenery is certainly quite impressive, but we can't see everything because of the clouds. We have a few short stops on the journey including a visit to the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki. These are limestone rocks which have formed into what looks like stacks of pancakes. I think they'd be more enjoyable if it would stop raining!

Our overnight stop is in Greymouth and we stay at Noah's Ark hostel which is certainly worth a mention. All the rooms have an animal theme with pictures of the particular animal adorning the walls. They've put myself, Conor, Al, Al and Mattias in the Monkey room. No smart comments please. We have a good laugh when we discover that most of the girls are in the Dog room and the Cow room! The hostel owner is very friendly and even gives us a lift to the Railway Tavern for our $3 BBQ. The place is only about 100 yards away across a footbridge, but it's raining particularly heavily and we're happy enough to accept the lift which is probably a 2 mile drive as we need to negotiate the railway line.

The Railway Tavern is more like a social club than a bar, and the lights are very bright. After dinner though, the lights get turned down a little and we get on to the business of the evening - karaoke! Jyoti and G try to get the whole bus up to sing, but they choose a particularly difficult song and it's awful embarrassing! Still, it gives a laugh to those who don't join us, including Scouse Emma, Big Emma and Rachel - from the north-west of England - who have been hiding in a corner. They tell me that they are terrible singers and then proceed to sing along perfectly with anyone who is up at the mike. In the end they are persuaded to get up and give it a shot, and there was really no reason for them to be so shy!

Next day our destination is the town of Franz Josef. On the way we make a couple of stops. One is at Hokitika where Mattias insists that I should be looking at the New Zealand jade which is in abundance in the shops here, but I prefer to get myself a toastie for breakfast. Then at Ross, an old gold mining town, we're given a lesson in panning for gold and then get the chance to put our new skills to the test. Five dollars seems a bit steep for a Scotsman to pay for a few speckles of gold, so I decide to supervise the Emmas and Rachel instead. It's easy to appear knowledgeable when you don't actually have to do anything yourself.

The highlight of a visit to Franz Josef (and of a visit to New Zealand in many people's opinion) is the hike up onto the glacier which sits in the mountains above the town. We're worried that we won't be allowed to go up because of the heavy rains of the last few days, and on arrival early afternoon we're told that all the morning hikes were cancelled. However, they've decided that it's safe enough for us to go up this afternoon. Virtually everyone on the bus rushes to get their gear together to do the hike. However, Allan and Alistair say there's no way they are going back outside because of the weather. It's strange that it's the two farmers who are scared to go out in the rain!

The company arranging our hike provides us with a lot of clothing for the hike, including boots. I'd rather wear my own hiking shoes, as I spent long enough in the shop making sure that they're comfortable. The boots we're given are soaking already and absolutely disgusting. I try on 3 pairs before I find a set that sort of fit, but my left foot is a little cramped. We have a 10 minute drive before the hike starts and as soon as we get going I understand why it's not a good idea to wear your own boots. We have to wade through a river up to our knees!

After another few minutes we stop and our guide tells us that the usual route is to go straight up the river bed. However the river is so swollen that it's too dangerous, so we'll have to take a detour through the bush which will add about 40 minutes to the hike. He also mentions that it's been two years since he has had to take this route! Almost as soon as we get going we meet some people coming back down who tell us they turned back because it's so horrendous up there. It doesn't put us off though and we press on up the track which is challenging but not too tough. At one point there are ropes tied to the trees to help us out, and it would be very difficult without these. Once we get back onto the main route we have to cross a fast-flowing stream and it nearly knocks me over. In fact a couple of the girls do get knocked over and have to be rescued by the guide.

Eventually we make it up to the glacier where we put our talons onto our boots. These are spiky things to help us get a grip on the ice, and without them we'd be falling all over the place. We walk on the glacier for probably about half an hour. It's a shame that we don't really have a view down the valley to the sea because of the rain and cloud, but being on the ice is a fantastic experience in itself. On the way back down the talons don't help G too much as she goes on her bum at least twice. And we have a bit of a scare when Peter, who was the back marker in the group, doesn't appear for a few minutes. Our guide goes back to look for him, but it turns out he had just stopped to turn some of the ice yellow! The funniest moment occurs when we watch G get stuck trying to get over a fence. She grabs her foot with both hands to try to lift it over but without success. Then someone shouts and asks why she doesn't just go round the fence - the end of it is only a yard away! She's suitably embarrassed and explains that she had her head down to keep the rain out of her face, so she could only see about a foot either side of her!

We then re-cross the stream where I nearly got knocked over earlier. It has swollen even more and is pretty dangerous so we have to cross it in fours, with our arms round our companions� shoulders in order to provide a bit of support for each other. Then we get back to the track through the bush and I realise that there is water running down everywhere - essentially our track has turned into a river. At one stage I nearly fall and try to grab onto the nearest object. Fortunately I miss, as it's Katy's leg I try to grab. Katy is a blonde, blue-eyed 20-year-old who studies at Tufts in Boston, and was unanimously voted the "Babe of the Bus" when Conor carried out a straw poll earlier on. She's the last person I'd want to upset! I manage to negotiate the worst of the track without any more incidents, but once we're down on the really easy part I slip and end up on my backside, much to Mattias's amusement.

When we get back to the hostel we discover that there are no dryers in the laundry room. How are we going to get all our gear dry by the time we get on the bus tomorrow morning? We retire to the Blue Ice Cafe for pizza and beer, and the chance to boast about our exertions to Allan and Alistair. We also chat to a Japanese and a South Korean girl who were on the hike and who seem to giggle all the time, even when nothing funny has been said. Conor: "I can't work out whether whether I'm going to find Asia enchanting, or just really annoying".

Next day we're heading for the town of Makarora, population 40. To get there we have to traverse the Haast Pass, and for once the weather seems to be improving so we get a look at some tremendous scenery. We arrive in Makarora early afternoon and the weather is gorgeous. I manage to put my shorts on for the first time in New Zealand! Makarora is in a lovely setting, sitting in a valley with mountains on either side, and while some of our crowd are off doing exciting activities, a few of us just enjoy the view.

There is absolutely nothing to do in Makarora, and Peter tells us that the typical Magic Bus crowd goes a bit wild in the hostel with drinking games, etc. We need no further invitation and there's pandemonium for a while as a rather violent game involving forks is played. There are a few different games going on around the room, and Conor and Allan even manage to turn volleyball into a drinking game.

Fortunately we've got a relatively late start on Saturday morning as there are a few sore heads around. There's a bit of excitement when we get a small earthquake at around 8am. It lasts for three or four seconds, and I'm in the best place to be in such a situation - on the toilet! I'm later told that the quake measured 6.0 on the Richter Scale, but I'm not sure I believe it was that strong.

After an afternoon�s respite, it's raining again. We drive to Wanaka for our lunch stop, and we have a lot of fun at Mattias's expense. He has decided to stay overnight in Wanaka and join us in Queenstown tomorrow. He's told us that it's because there's lots of interesting stuff to do in Wanaka, but we reckon it's because Katy is staying over there as well! However at the last minute, Katy decides that she needs to see a doctor and is heading straight to Queenstown, leaving Mattias in Wanaka on his own!

On the way into Queenstown the weather clears up again, and we have a quick stop to see the world's first bungee. I've never seen anyone do bungee in real life before and it looks absolutely terrifying. It's a fantastic setting though, on a bridge spanning a river running through a gorge. Katy's supposed ill health doesn't stop her having a shot!

In Queenstown we're staying in a hostel called Southern Laughter, which has Far Side cartoons and jokes all over the walls. My favourite line is "If at first you don't succeed, don't try skydiving", which is rather appropriate as Conor and Allan are planning to do exactly that tomorrow. Today is the end of our time with Peter driving us, and we'll lose a lot of our fellow travellers soon too, as different people are spending varying amounts of time in Queenstown (three nights in our case). We have a huge get-together in The World, where rounds of shots are served in teapots. Large quantities of tea are therefore ordered.

On Sunday we take the gondola (cable car) up the mountain beside the town, and the views from the top are stunning. Queenstown sits on Lake Wakatipu, and seems to be surrounded on all sides by mountains including The Remarkables, which I think top out at around 7000 feet. There's also a bungee up at the top, and we watch for a while and have a laugh as an 8 year old boy shouts "Don't Do It!" every time someone is about to jump. Conor and Allan head off to do their skydive, and Alistair and I bump into them in town half an hour later. They're carrying a six-pack of beer, and we assume the jump has been cancelled. However, they tell us that they're a bit scared and thought a couple of beers would calm them down!

At night we have a quiet couple of drinks, listening to Conor and Allan bragging about jumping out of a plane. At the end of the night we say goodbye to G and Joe T who are leaving tomorrow. Just as well, G gave me far too much stick in the pub last night!

On Monday we're up early as we're doing a day trip to the Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park. It�s about a 4 hour drive away, and I've organised the hire of a minibus. There are eleven of us from the Magic Bus heading there together - Conor, the lads, the Emmas + Rachel, Mattias, Katy, Helen and Marie-Chantal. Marie-Chantal is a French-Canadian and a bit of a psycho if you ask me. She had offered to drive which worried me a bit, so I'm delighted that Allan and Scouse Emma have agreed to share the driving with me. Myself and Allan take the outward journey, which starts as a winding road along the foothills of The Remarkables. As we get close to Fiordland, the rain starts and things cloud over yet again. We drive through the Homer Tunnel with just a few kilometres to go. I've been told that the view as you come out of the tunnel is stunning, but what can we see? Clouds!

Once we get down to the Milford Sound itself (apparently technically speaking it's not a sound, but a fiord) we go on a 90 minute boat trip. We're disappointed that we can't see very much; certainly we can't see the peaks around us as they are shrouded in cloud. However, it's still impressive. The sides of the fiord are steep, some of them covered in trees which come right down to the water. In other places is bare rock, and here there are waterfalls coming down all over the place because of the heavy rain. Some of the waterfalls seem to appear straight out of the sky.

We shouldn�t really be surprised about the weather as Fiordland gets about 6000mm of rain a year. (In comparison the Amazon Rainforest gets 8000mm.) It would be nice to see things as depicted in the postcards for once though.

On the boat Conor and I make fun of Mattias (again!). He tells us that after giving up on Katy he had a bit of a romantic moment with Emma (an American girl and the third Emma on our bus the last few days) after we left the pub last night. We take great delight in telling him that we reckon he is the 4th guy Emma has kissed in the last 5 days. Mattias�s English vocabulary now includes the word �slapper�!

Emma takes the first part of the drive back, and Al, Al and myself in the back seat notice a distinct smell of diesel fumes. Once Allan takes over the smell goes away. I�ll refrain from making any comments about women drivers! About 30 minutes out of Queenstown we have a bit of drama as we get a flat tyre, and at first we can�t find the jack. We have no mobile coverage and a few people are a bit worried, but then big Emma comes up trumps, finding the last piece. It�s still a struggle as the jack isn�t that easy to use, but Alistair is the main hero as we finally get the tyre changed and get on our way.

Tonight we�ll be saying goodbye to most of our friends of the last few days, so we go back to The World for a few pots of tea to �celebrate�. We won�t see Allan and Alistair again as they�re heading down to the south coast to stay with some relatives for a few days. It�s a shame as we�ve had a good laugh together. We may see the Emmas and Rachel later on in the North Island. Conor and I agree that it�s a pity we didn�t get to know them better earlier in the trip, as they�re great fun.

South Island (east coast)

Next day is Tuesday 11th and we get the bus to Dunedin. Obviously you can tell by the name that there�s a little Scottish influence there. Our driver tells us that the town was founded by a Scot and that it retains its Scottish heritage in that (a) it has the southern hemisphere�s only tartan shop, (b) the rugby team is called the Otago Highlanders, and (c) �they speak with a dodgy accent down here as well�!

Our first night in Dunedin we head out to the Otago Peninsula to do some wildlife spotting. We see yellow-eyed penguins, sea-lions and fur seals, but unfortunately there is no sign of the top attraction, the albatross.

After the excesses of the last week and a half, we decide to go for some detox treatment and not drink while we�re in Dunedin. We have a relaxing two days, only spoiled by a round of golf where I struggle to a 152.

Dunedin has a few signs of Scottish influence that I can see, in particular the concentration of Scottish street names, and businesses such as the Robert Burns Hotel. But really, it doesn�t seem that Scottish. On the other hand, I do manage to pick up a bottle of Irn Bru!

On Friday we�re back on the bus again heading for Christchurch. On the way out of Dunedin we stop at Baldwin St, officially the world�s steepest street. I�m one of only three people to make it all the way to the top; it�s good to see that I�ve retained a small amount of fitness!

In Christchurch, supposedly the English city of New Zealand, we finish the detox treatment as we really have to have a Friday night out! It�s a quiet enough night though as we�re up early on Saturday to take the Tranzalpine railway (know as one of the world�s great rail journeys) through the mountains to Greymouth on the west coast. We get good weather for a change and we�re glad we shelled out for this trip as some of the views are stunning. We have an hour in Greymouth before the return journey, and I�m amused to find that it actually has a main street with shops, restaurants, etc. When we were here with the Magic Bus I only saw a hostel, a footbridge and a karaoke bar!

Back in Christchurch a quiet night is planned, but I bump into Paddy and Mandy (an Irish couple we met on the North Island) and arrange to meet them in the pub later on. Conor tells me that he�s too tired to come with me, but next morning he admits that he just couldn�t be bothered unpacking his bag to get his boots out!

On Sunday we move on to Kaikoura, a town with a fantastic setting of ocean on one side and mountains on the other. We go out on a boat looking for dusky dolphins and we�re not disappointed as we find a pod of about 300 of them. About half of the passengers are on the famous dolphin swim, where they don wetsuit and snorkel and jump in amongst the dolphins. However, Conor and I are happy to watch from the boat, and it�s great fun. Some of the dolphins attempt to play with the boat, swimming alongside and trying to race us. Others are going through a repertoire of tricks, jumping out of the water and doing back flips, etc. And they are totally wild � none of it is rehearsed.

When we arrived in Kaikoura, I thought it was a shame we were only staying the one night as it�s such a lovely setting. However, I soon realize that aside from the dolphins there�s not much else to do here, so it�s just as well we�re leaving tomorrow!

North Island (northbound)

On Monday 17th we leave Kaikoura for Picton, and get the ferry back across to Wellington on the North Island. After about a week of nice weather it starts raining again!

We meet up with Mattias again on the boat, but now our supply of ammunition against him has well and truly dried up. We last saw him in Christchurch, but there he had his sights focused on yet another girl so we didn�t see too much of him. This girl was a lovely 20-year-old Swede, and now he has a big smile on his face. We don�t know whether to be jealous or just plain impressed!

On Tuesday we get back on the bus heading for Taupo, but I�ve decided to split up from Conor for a few days as I want to spend some time in Napier. The town was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt in art deco style. There may be interesting architecture here, but it�s difficult to look up at buildings when the rain is pouring down!

Napier�s other claim to fame, and the reason I�ve stopped here, is that it�s in the heart of the Hawkes Bay wine country. On Wednesday I go on Vince�s wine-tasting tour as recommended by the very friendly hosts in my hostel (the only ones so far on the trip to have remembered my name!) In contrast to the wine-tasting trip we did in Australia, this one is much more personal as we have only seven people in Vince�s small van. He is very knowledgeable about his wine, so it seems a pity that he has to drive us and can�t have a glass or two himself. He selects the wineries we visit based on the group�s taste in wine, and this leads to a very enjoyable afternoon.

On Thursday it has stopped raining and I take a walking tour of art deco Napier. This is very educational; if anyone wants to know anything about art deco architects then I�m your man! Be quick though as I�m sure I�ll forget it all in the next couple of days.

I pick up the Magic Bus in the afternoon for the two hour journey to Taupo. I�m amazed to find that of the 18 passengers, 15 are girls. Of course, I just sit up the back and don�t talk to anyone! At night I�ve arranged to meet up with the Emmas and Rachel who have made it back to Auckland already, but have come down to Taupo to do a skydive. When I meet them in Finns they�ve been drinking for about an hour and a half already. Drinking games involving forks, thumbs, left hands and much more are played and it�s a lot of fun, but I don�t think we have a serious conversation all night.

We meet a couple of the girls who were on the bus earlier on. Vicki and Karen tell me that they haven�t really enjoyed their time on the Magic Bus as most of the people they�ve met have been really boring. In a separate part of the conversation, we realize that we have mutual friends, as they met Allan and Alistair on the North Island first time round. I�ll need to drop the lads a line to tell them that they�re boring!

Rachel and big Emma have disappeared, but Scouse Emma, Vicki, Karen and myself go round the corner to the Holy Cow. This is a backpacker bar famous for it�s dancing on tables, but we keep our feet firmly on the floor. After all, this sort of behaviour should be kept for Australia!

Next day is a lovely day. This is strange as I wanted to do the Tongariro crossing (the hike we missed out on during our journey south), but was advised not to because the weather would be bad. It�s probably just as well though, as I�m in no fit state to get out of my bed, let alone attempt a 6 hour hike!

On Saturday I get back onto the Magic Bus and discover that the driver for the last couple of legs will be our original driver Karl. The bus stops in Rotorua for lunch and here I meet up with Conor again. Sarah is with him, as she has come over from Australia for a few days. Our destination today is Mount Maunganui on the Bay of Plenty. Our hosts at the Pacific Coast Backpackers have freshly baked scones with jam and cream waiting for us! Mount M is a beach resort, and Karl takes the bus out at night so we can eat fish and chips on the beach. He then takes us over to the other side of the isthmus to see a fantastic sunset.

Sunday is our last day on the Magic Bus, as we head back to Auckland. As we drive into the city, Karl plays Queen�s �A kind of Magic� which he admits is a bit cheesy. It makes me feel a little sad though, as we�ve met a bunch of fun people on the bus, and had some great laughs.

When we check into our hostel we bump into Oliver, a German guy who we met in Australia on our trip to Ayers Rock. For the first time on the trip I complain about my room as I�m sharing with a guy who smells of just about everything you can think of. On going into my new room I find that I�m now sharing with Oliver, and he pours me a glass of wine. What a world of difference! When I announce that I�m going for a shower, he says, �Yes, or next it will be me asking for a new room.� Pretty funny for a German!

Tomorrow Sarah will be going back to Australia, and I discover that she found the comments in my Australia journal about herself and Conor quite upsetting. I tell her that it wasn�t a personal thing, and she says �So you don�t hate me then?� Perhaps I�ll have to choose my words more carefully in future!

Monday is Christmas Eve, and it still doesn�t feel like Christmas! Perhaps the biggest thing for me is that it stays light so late at night; in the south it was light until about 10pm, just like a Scottish summer. The main sign that it�s Christmas in Auckland is the giant Santa on the outside of one of the shops in Queen St � it covers about four floors. However, there is none of the Christmas Eve atmosphere that there would be in Glasgow. Most backpackers have gone to beach resorts for Christmas, and our hostel feels like a ghost town.

At night we meet up with one or two people from the Magic Bus. They head off early and Conor and I go to Margaritas nightclub where we�ve been assured we�ll have a great time. However, at midnight the lights come on and everyone goes home!

On Christmas Day I set out to go to the beach, just because I can! I�m wearing my shorts, only the fourth day in New Zealand the weather has been good enough. I get lost quite quickly and decide to go for a wander in the park instead. When it turns Christmas Day back home I phone and talk to my friends who I would usually be with at this time. I then head back to the hostel where we cook Christmas dinner. OK, so we cheat and have chicken rather than turkey, but at least we make the effort! A bottle of wine and some Christmas shows on the telly round off the day.

On Boxing Day, I make a few phone calls home to my family while they�re still celebrating Christmas Day. Then it�s off to the airport for our flight to Singapore, our gateway into Asia.