New Zealand

Somewhere between Santiago and Auckland I managed to loose a day. I left Santiago at 11pm on Wednesday for a 13 hour flight to Auckland - I landed at Auckland at 4am on Friday morning - weird - people tell me I crossed the International Date Line - anyway just hope I get that day back when I fly the other way!!!

I was glad I was not in a hurry when I arrived at the customs and immigration - I think the fact I was coming from South America set alarm bells ringing. I had a full search (not cavity!) and the customs agent emptied all of my bag while he was chatting away and cracking really bad jokes which he found hillarious. He then took a swab of my backback and submitted it for an exposure to drugs test. What was not so hillarious was when I had to put everything back in the bag.

I caught the airport bus to the hostal - Base Backpackers, just off Queenstreet in the Auckland CBD. It was much nicer than I was expecting and had a cafe, bar, internet, full kitchen facilities, a sun terrace and even a spa and sauna.

I was surprised at how cold it was and was begining to regret sending my fleece and sleeping bag back with Jen.

I decided to spend a week in Auckland while I worked out how I was going to travel around the North and South Islands and catch up with this Blog. The blog is now finally back up to date and I'll be trying to do more regular posts!