[lockstock]

Well, I've made it. over 30 hours on the road and in the air I've arrived. I'm sitting in an internet cafe (never used one of these before either) in the centre of Auckland and thought I'd give it a go.

Landing at Auckland was an amazing experience - bright crisp sunshine and an overwhelming sense of belonging. I have hardly slept for more than a couple of hours on and off since I got on the plane at Birmingham. (Emirates airways - seemed quite good but nothing to compare them with. Great food and passable service) I was prepared for the change of planes at Dubai airport (a very warm building site at the moment) but the refuelling stops at Singapore and Brisbane were a bit of a bonus (didn't realise!)

However - if I learn nothing else from this reccie it's that if/when we come for good we will have at least a couple of days stopover somewhere. Saving up to go business class wouldn't do any harm either!

Anyway, just wanted to share a magic moment with everyone. Off back to the hotel to plan the rest of the week's adventures:exit

[ellenmelon]

welcome :) hope you have a great time!

[Kim39]

Welcome to NZ. Hope you find the reccie worthwhile.


Kim

[Silverwing86]

Welcome to New Zealand :clap and enjoy your recce trip !

Silver

[holland]

Have a great time Lockstock! Enjoy

J and G x

[thirtysomethings]

Excellent lockstock glad to hear you made it :) I guess the extra stops must help for stretching the old legs :)
Have a good recce :)

[Carey]

Well done, good positive start! Have fun, enjoy and keep us informed of your progress!
Good luck!

[migratory birds]

Nice to hear of that "overwhelming sense of belonging"...I felt that way when traveling in the backcountry of China and in the cities of Viet Nam.

Congrats on completing the physical part of the journey - the packing, closing up house and flight!

[M&J]

Good luck with the Reccie.

We flew Emirates and found them excellent, also out of birmingham. Make sure you join the Skywards club as you can use the points to upgrade to Business Class and they offer a dual class offer, economy to Dubai the business via Melbourne. Definately worth looking into.

Have a great time exploring.

Jo

[swissmissdesigner]

Have a great time in NZ and good luck!!!

Anna

[jackie m]

Welcome & enjoy I'm sure you will have a fantastic time:nice1
Jackie

[lockstock]

Thanks for all the good wishes and tips. I slept well last night only I forgot to trun my mobile off and someone called at 4.30 NZ time. Didn't recognise the number so- tough. My OH has been instructed that if anything has gone wrong at home I am not to be told unless I can do something about it from here. Probably NZIS saying send in your passports you're in (Iwish)

Interesting day. Did the Sky Tower. Then the fish tunnel thing and then the Museum and Maori cultural experience. All had to be done really - good value and worth doing.

I still feel like I'm walking on a trampoline after all that time in the air. It must have affected my inner ear stabilisers!

There's a TV in my room. Corrie from a year ago and even more Location Location Location (!) the title music of which woke me from a short doze. Am I watching too much back home I ask myself.

What brilliant weather - cold but gloriously sunny. All change tomorrow apparently.:exit

[holland]

oooo lockstock, sounds like you are having fun! Im sure your inner ear will stabilise soon!!

have a fab time

j and G x

[Joanne100]

Welcome to our beautiful country, hope u have a great time here, bet u wont want to go back!
Joanne

[lockstock]

So, slept half the night and woke bright and early at 4am. I eventually left the hotel at 9 to see where the traffic I got caught up in would take me. Well, it seemed to make more sense to follow other people since I don't have a clue where I am! Ended up in Parnell after a while so parked up and bought a sim card for my spare phone so I could make calls in NZ without clinging on to a street phone. I made a couple of calls and ended up in Howick checking out a potential job.
Off to Hamilton tomorrow to follow the job lead.

It's all getting quite exciting now. Apart form this internet cafe where I appear to have chosen a chinese character keyboard and can't type properly. I give up. It's too much like hard work.

Getting the hang of city driving though.