January 19th: The never ending journey
It all started well, we got on the plane at Heathrow. From that point on the journey went pear shaped. We were delayed due to someone being taken ill on the plane, luckily for them before we took off. Not so luckily for us we missed the connecting flight at LA to Auckland. With no more planes to Auckland until the next day we had to fly to Sydney and then onto Auckland.

After 27 hours of flying, eight hours of hanging around at armpit of the universe LAX airport and spending a brief, but nonetheless very pleasant, ten minutes at Sydney, we finally arrived in Auckland.

Sarah, our Kiwi buddy, kindly met us at the airport, scooped us up and took us back to her house at Titirangi. A shower and meal later we felt human again.

We bid farewell to Sarah and Dave later that evening, wishing them good luck for the final preparations for their wedding, which we will be joining them to celebrate in a few weeks. We went to our hotel for a restful night.

January 22nd:
Rebel luggage, Auckland and Whangarei
The next day we went to the airport and reclaimed our luggage from its antipodean adventures. It decided 10 minutes in Sydney wasn't enough. It stayed behind. I have never been so happy to see a bag. We then collected the Maui campervan. Our new home for the next 18 days.

We set off straight away north out of Auckland and up towards Whangarei. Where we stayed for the first night in the Maui at a Top 10 Holiday Park. A clear night and carpet of stars shone out over us. A different night sky, of course, in this part of the hemisphere. Fell asleep while two Tui birds chatted in the background.

January 23nd: North to Paihai & Russell
The two Tui's were still chatting at 5:15am. Do these birds ever sleep? Mart went out and recorded them. I read our SAS Survival Guide by Lofty Wiseman who kindly informed me of what to do in the event of a hurricane, tsunami and other unfortunate situations.

Through the dense foliage and sub tropical climate we traveled north on SH1 towards Paihai. The setting of Paihai is pretty with stunning coastal scenery. A small but busy tourist town.

We departed on a three hour boat trip of the islands and soon came across a school of resting dolphins, that perked up and swam under and alongside the boat, so playful. Many of the 150 islands are privately owned. I lost count of all the sandy coves with clear turquoise and deep blue waters.

We sailed out to the Hole in the Rock off Cape Brett and through the hole. The boat we sailed in was a twin hull catamarans, good fun up at the windy front end of the boat and well worth the Bridget Jones hair at the end of the trip.

We caught the tiny ferry across to Russell. A short hop across the bay. Russell is smaller and sleepier than Paihai. The cicadas serenaded us as we arrived in the town. A patchwork quilt of pastel coloured wooden weathered boarded bungalows lined the road. The surrounding hills were packed with ferns, palms and other trees, I have no idea of the names! We pitched up at yet another Top 10 Holiday Park.