Arrival in Auckland

After several months of planning and and a couple of weeks of travelling we arrived in Auckland to familiar sights - wet tarmac, streaming windows and grey skies! However this did not last as down here Summer is on its way and the weather improved overnight giving us a chance to bus in to the city and start to navigate the various layers of bureaucracy that surround importing the van.

Our hosts in Orewa, Sue and Danny made us very welcome in their spacious and comfortable home which has provided the perfect base for directing operations with the local shops providing a good range of services and plenty of local walking.

The recent weekend was a bank holiday so Saturday saw us on a creek walk passing through bush where Indianna Jones would have felt at home and reaching Dacre Cottage a shoreline bothy where a work party were carrying out maintenance.

On the Monday we ferried over to the volcanic island of Rangitoto formed less than 600 years ago and providing a remarkable view over Auckland and it's Skytower from the high point of the crater rim.We were even able to see the vessel containing the van unloading its cargo - the commercial port being right alongside the marinas and ferry terminals.

This week has been spent settling invoices, completing forms and planning our journey ahead - the cost of bringing the van over plus on the road expenses has worked out at around £10 a day - compared to hire costs of at least treble this - thanks to the lowly performance of sterling - plus we have been able to bring over all the outdoor gear and bikes.

A recent Skype video call to Brecon confirmed that Amber is very content in her new home or at least a dog looking very much like her and contact with friends and family has been maintained through Skype, emails and cell phones - the internet has made a trip of this complexity very easy - hats off to those pioneers of the 60's and 70's.

More news in a week or so when we hope to have had a trial period away, reinstalled gas and prepared for a general drift south - for fellow map enthusiasts seeing the sun in the north has taken some adjustment, dare we break out the compass!