Ok, here goes, Day 1 Auckland...... Part 1.....

I have arrived.  I am here.  Its real.  So I disembark and my worries over the boarding card are unfounded and by actually declaring my boots hadn't been worn caused more merriment than my cream eggs (thanks mum for my Easter treat).  I an suddenly I am in the terminal visitor information centre, shoving a small forest of trees into my bag as the array of leaflets and free books is mesmorising.

So once I had doubled my baggage allowance three fold I went to find the shuttle bus to my apart hotel for a couple of days in Auckland.

Still hoping to find a local taxi driver on my travels, Nick the Greek bundled me into the van with yet more American tourists.  This band of merry souls included Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard, complete with chewing tabacco, straw stetson, the most incredible flowery shirt I have ever seen and gold dangling anchor earing, A grey haired sweetheart with the most outrageous Tourettes type head tick/twitch and a couple whose every sentence contained the words 'once we get on the cruise ship.....'

We traversed the streets of the city and my place was the first stop, next to the Police station and 2 doors from the drug and homeless shelter.  But lovely none the less!  Well, it would have been if I could have got into my room.  So at 9am, after a 26 hour flight, 3 days (or 2 without the time and day change thing) and smelling like a tramp with more baggage I was told check in wasn't till 2pm. I didn't cry, I didn't swear I just did a little Maysey head wobble and a big sigh,, left one of my bags in the apparent safe room and headed out into the sunshine to wander the streets.....