Auckland is a very photogenic city, like something out of a travel magazine: all sparkling blue water, shiny white boats, and sexy people (not just us). All we did was add to the ambience...

Auckland is also a lot more London-like than anywhere else we've been on our travels: It's cold; you can buy conveyor belt sushi; there are loads of shops where Daniel can look bored and follow Celia around saying "Do you need another strappy top?", or "How many cocktail parties are you planning on going to in the next three months?"'; And people WALK. It's so nice to be in a place where the pavements are full and lively. They take it to extremes though, elevating a road crossing to a free for all that can get a bit manic as 400 people get across the road in any direction they want. We started to get a bit homesick, to be honest.

We tried to alleviate this by hanging out in cool coffee shops (We didn't really have a choice about this - Mum/Carole has a bit of a coffee "problem"). New Zealanders are as serious about their coffee as their wine. (Perhaps more so. In Samoa, where we Brits would bring Marmite to the breakfast table, the kiwis all had coffee and mini cafetieres). This is demonstrated in their amazing coffee shops. We're not just talking Auckland: in the tiniest middle-of-nowhere towns that seemed to have not much going for them (except maybe some famous toilets) we'd find a cafe that served 'n' different types of coffee, tea, chai, plus excellent food that wouldn't be out of place in an Italian deli. We are hoping England will catch up soon (and Starbucks doesn't count).

We did some great things, like have dinner at the top of the Sky Tower and see penguins (not at the top of the Sky Tower). We had a fantastic time here and in New Zealand in general, and we want to say a big thankyou to Mum/Carole for putting up with us and being a great travelling companion!