Return to New Zealand

I'm sorry I haven't written for a while, but I figured my last 3 weeks in Sydney would be very boring to write about. All I was really doing was catching up people, saying my goodbyes and doing last minute shopping and packing - not that exciting me thinks!! But I had a lovely time and I am very sad to be leaving Sydney and Australia where I had a fantastic year and met some brilliant people.

Although I did do a day trip to Canberra which was ok, not the most exciting place on the planet! But I did discover where all the kangaroos have gone! I have very rarely seen any kangaroos on the east and south coasts of Australia and now I know why - they are all hiding out in the ACT! So if anybody comes to visit Australia and all you want to do is see kangaroos then I suggest you go to Canberra, but don't stay too long as there is not a lot to do there!!

I am now back in New Zealand and it has been exactly as I expected - wet and cold!! I have been told it has been one of the worst winters they have had in a long time - just my luck!! I was lucky to stay with some family friends (The Rishworths) for my first 5 days in Auckland. They have been absolutely lovely and took me to their 'summer' house which is an hour north of Auckland. It is such a lovely place and they have their own beach - I am so jealous!! I then hired a car for 4 days and headed up into the Northland. When I visited NZ last year we only made it as far as Auckland, so this time I thought I would venture further! The first day it was torrential rain, so that made driving interesting, at some points I could just see beyond the bonnet! I got all the way up to the Bay of Islands which is definitely the highlight of the Northlands. I found myself a nice backpackers and settled in for the night. The next morning was glorious. I booked myself onto a boat trip around the Bay of Islands. It was so beautiful out there. We even came across two pods of dolphins who were only too happy to jump around in the water for us. The following day I did a lot of driving. I drove all the way up to Cape Regina which is the top of NZ. Surprisingly enough it was a lovely day and the scenery was amazing. I drove in a large circle and eventually made my way back to Wangarai (pronounced 'fangarai' - don't ask me why!). The next day I went back to Auckland, where that evening I met up with Kylie and Chris who I had met back in the UK when I worked for Morgan Stanley. We had a lovely evening and it was great catching up with people I knew.

I am now preparing to leave NZ and fly to Chile tomorrow. I am very excited about it, but a bit worried as well. I have yet to learn any spanish despite carrying around with me 3 spanish books for the last 18 months. I am hoping to do a spanish course once I arrive which I hope will make things easier!! Oh well we shall see how things go...