Back in Kiwi land

Gidday,

Yes, I know, 2 posts in the same day! I've been spurred into action (cheers Chris...).

Saturday morning Will & I touched down in NZ after 24 hours on a plane, broken up by 2 hours in a transit lounge at LA. My brother landed an hour or so earlier after his 3 day stop-over in San Francisco, & mum & dad were at the airport to meet us & drive us back to Hamilton. It is lovely to be back, but kind of strange after 3 years out of the country. Everything is kind of familiar, yet vaguely different. Saturday was bit of a write-off, we kind of just pottered around, then went down to the local pub to meet up with a few rellies in the early evening. Dad cooked a lovely meal, then we were zonked by about 8pm & ready for bed!

After a good nights sleep, I felt surprisingly good on Sunday. The weather was superb, & Will & I went for a really nice walk around the Hamilton Gardens, one of my favourite places in Hamilton. We then got picked up by mum & the bro, & continued out to Leamington to visit my nana, via a quick walk-around & drive-around of Waikato uni & St Peters school respectively. It was then home for a fantastic BBQ with the kind of steak I can't afford to buy in the UK, & some good NZ wine, which I'm planning on making the most of while I'm back. Have also been loving Monteiths Summer Ale which was a favourite drop before I left...

Monday was the start of our big adventure. Rotorua was the first stop where we caught up with Chris, a good family friend, who sent us off on a 2 hour walking tour of Rotorua. It was great, one of the things Will wanted to see was boiling mud pools, so he was more than happy. It was then onwards to Taupo, via a drive around Reporoa where I grew up. That was definitely strange to visit, I hadn't been back for at least 7 or 8 years. We also stopped at Huka Falls, which always impress me, no matter how many times I see them.

In Taupo Will had his first taste of good ol' kiwi fish & chips (much better than the English version!) & also his first taste of paua fritter, washed down by L&P. We ate them on the lakefront, looking out over a snow-capped Ruapehu.

Finally, a few hours later, we arrived at our destination: Palmerston North. We have 3 days here while Will attends a robotics conference at Massey University. He is presenting his paper today so hopefully it goes well. Palmy wouldn't exactly be where I'd choose to spend 3 days of my holiday, but it got Will a free flight over here, so I can't really complain... We are staying in a hotel right in the city centre, directly opposite a pak 'n' save, so I'm pretty happy! I'm planning on spending this time shopping, sleeping in, & basically just chilling out a bit, as the rest of our trip is pretty frantic!

Thursday evening after the conference finishes we'll drive down to Wellington, then my sisters wedding is there on Saturday. Sunday we'll have a look around Wellington, including Te Papa (the national museum), then early Monday morning we cross on the ferry for the South Island leg of our adventure... No doubt you'll hear all about that later...