My first few days in NZ...

It's now Friday evening and I've been here 3 days and done so much! I managed to get some sleep on Wednesday which sorted my jet lag out and then went out for dinner at the harbour with Katy's friend Caroline and her husband Chris who have been travelling around Australia and New Zealand and are spending a few days in Auckland. We also met her friend Jill who lives in Auckland and she gave me lots of helpful tips about settling in!

Yesterday, I went up the Sky Tower which is over 200m (apparently bigger than the Eiffel Tower) and the views from up there were amazing! It's been beautiful and sunny since I've been here and the sky was so blue, I could see for miles. I ate lunch up in the Sky Tower cafe and contemplated doing a Sky Jump (base jumping with a wire) or a Sky Walk (where you walk around the outside of the tower with nothing to hold onto and only an overhead harness to stop you falling! Eek!) but surprisingly decided neither were really for me!

After climbing the Sky Tower, I took a bus around the city and saw loads of really nice areas outside of the main city centre. I'm trying to find a place to live so it was good to see where I might like to make my home! I found a lovely park to sit and spent the afternoon sunbathing and reading so I just fel like I'm on holiday at the moment really! Think it'll be a bit of a shock when I have to start teaching again! Last night the hostel I'm staying in were giving everyone free pizza so that was dinner sorted! :)

Today I went to meet Caroline and Chris again for breakfast as they leave tomorrow-we went to a little cafe in Ponsonby which is a lovely area where I'd quite like to live if I can find somewhere.

This afternoon, I took a boat over to an island called Rogintoto (not sure about the spelling!) which was formed by a volcanic eruption from under the sea! It was covered in lava rocks and there were loads of plants there because it's so fertile. It last erupted 600 years ago but it's now dormant (but not extinct!) which means it's sort of sleeping and probably won't erupt again. It was pretty steep climb to the top and boiling hot but it was worth it: the views were spectacular! I could see the Sky Tower and all of the islands in the gulf around Auckland (there's about 50 of them). It was really beautiful and although my photos don't do it justice, I'll try to get some on here soon.

Tomorrow I'm meeting Michelle, my friend Nat's old housemate who is from New Zealand and has recently moved back. I'm also planning to view some flats so fingers crossed I'll find somewhere as I'm not enjoying the top bunk of the bunk bed I'm currently staying in! I can't get down and it's probably very amusing watching me try!!

Missing you all and hope you're getting on okay with your new teachers, 4E!!

xxx