After the delayed flight, which took nearly two days because of the time difference, we touched down in Auckland in the early hours of the morning. It was good to finally arrive in a westernised place, it kind of felt like being at home. We had to make our way to the city, as the airport is quite far out of town. We found a door to door service taxi service, which was a lot more expensive than South America, but it was to be expected. It took about half an hour to reach the city. We needed to be dropped off in Ponsby, as that's where we're staying.

The driver dropped us off right outside our hostel . Ponsby is the trendy area where all the millionaires live, huge houses surround the neighbourhood. We couldn't check into our room yet, so we stored our luggage for a few hours and went out to find something to eat. We found a supermarket and went on a spending spree! It was just like shopping at a supermarket in England. Things we hadn't had in a while and were craving for were; a good cup of tea, they had PG Tips, bread- we saw Marmite (well Vegemite) and jam, biscuits, cereal- I was in my element for now at least! We went back to have our first good cup of tea in a while and some Vegemite on toast. It's amazing how much you enjoy things when you haven't had them in a while.

In the afternoon, we checked into our room, as we were still so tired and jet lagged, we had a nap in such a comfy bed. We awoke just in time for dinner. We could have cooked something at the hostel, but it's fairly busy and quite a few people were cooking. The owner of the hostel told us about the best fish and chip shop in Auckland, so we decided to eat there for a treat as it's New Year's Eve Eve . We ordered a take away and came back to the hostel to eat it. There's a balcony outside our rooms with great views of the Sky Tower, so we sat there to enjoy our fish n chips. The tower was lit up brightly. The food was good, but not as good as a traditional English take away. Some kind of sandflies started eating John's legs alive, so we had to go back inside to finish off.

New Year's Eve

As it was New Year's Eve the next day, we said we'd treat ourselves to some more nice food from the supermarket. We went down there and stocked up on alcohol, sweets, chocolate and stuff for the new year. Afterwards, we went into the centre of Auckland to have a look around the shops. I wanted to look for a new outfit to wear for tonight, and found a really cheap dress in the sale. Our plan is to go for a curry first, then go out and watch the fireworks by the Sky Tower to see in the new year.

We headed back to our hostel and sat in their living room to have a cuppa . They still have a huge Christmas tree up, and decorations, so it still felt really Christmassy. It would have been good to be here over the Xmas period but it's quite an expensive hostel, so we can only really stay a few nights. We headed up to the room to get ready and had a few drinks to get us in the party mood. I found a lovely cider drink from the supermarket earlier, a bit like koppaberg, I was in my element!

A few hours later, we found the local Indian restaurant and had a lush curry, popadoms, mango chutney and a few cocktails. We were so full afterwards, but we walked into town to a few bars, then went down to the Sky Tower. They were playing cheesy music all night and there was a DJ, but there was a good crowd and I felt it was a good atmosphere to see in the new year. We were stood at the base of the Sky Tower so when the fireworks go off at midnight, it's really going to strain my neck looking up! To be honest, we probably would have a better view from the hostel, but we want to be somewhere with an atmosphere. So we stayed there for a while until the countdown began and everyone was joining in. Then the fireworks went off right above the Sky Tower. It was pretty amazing to be here to experience the fireworks to see in the new year. They must have lasted for around 10 minutes, then the crowd dispersed, so we walked back to the hostel a little bleary eyed!

Hiring a car

New Year's day, we were feeling a bit worse for ware, so we didn't really do much apart from try and sort out car hire for tomorrow . We searched online deals and the hostel were really helpful and said they know a company they can recommend. We booked it through the hostel in the end. We are hiring a car from Auckland, then dropping it off at Wellington. We'll take the passenger ferry across the Cook Straight, then we'll pick up another hire car in Picton and drop it off at Christchurch. The reason for doing it this way is that it's much cheaper to not take a car across on the ferry.

Watching the Hobbit

On New Year's Day evening, we were feeling a bit better so decided to venture out. We'd heard that the Hobbit "An unexpected Journey" was out, so we thought there's no better place to watch it than where it was filmed. We went out for a takeaway to cure our hangovers and then headed to the cinema to watch it. It felt a bit surreal watching it, knowing that we'd be heading out to these lush lands. Ever since watching the original Lord of the Rings i've wanted to visit New Zealand, and now we're really here! I'm sure it's going to be an amazing experience travelling around this stunning country. The film was even more awesome watching it in New Zealand.

Picking up our wheels

The owner of the hostel and his mother were so helpful and said they would lend us all the camping equipment, gas stove and cooking utensils. It was so kind of them to offer, and as we're coming back to Auckland to fly out anyway, it made sense to book another night for our return. They saved us loads of money. The car hire people came to pick us up from the hostel and take us to their office to pick up the car the next morning. We wondered what kind of car we would get. When we got there, they said most of the cars had already gone because it's new year and it's also the peak summer time in New Zealand. So we basically got what was left; it was a Nissan estate, silver car. It wasn't too bad though and it's only for 2 weeks.

Setting off on a road trip!

So once we had the car, John had the task of driving it and finding our way back to the hostel. That was hard work, it's a big city and we'd basically gone back towards the airport. We stopped at a home-ware shop to buy some pillows and a few utensils that we needed in addition to what the hostel lent us. We found our way back to the hostel and checked out. The owners mother waved us off and gave us a hug before we left. It felt like she was our grandmother, she was really sweet. Our road trip around New Zealand begins now! Bring it on.