Well where to begin….not updated this for a while but our time in Auckland is coming to a close, in fact just 3 weeks to go now until we are joined by our Mums in the “land of the long white cloud” (New Zealand by the way not Birmingham in case you were wondering.) Seems fitting now to get our blog kicked up the arse again and back into swing for you party poppers back home

Cast your mind back to the last post when we were about to head to Lake Taupo and this where our story shall commence. Spent Easter weekend at Australasia’s largest freshwater lake and is a mecca of holiday homes, activities and restaurants ready to take your money when you’re least expecting it. Lake Taupo was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions, the largest was reported being seen in Rome! Luckily this was a long time ago so the chance of being hit by a falling piece of lava is slim. The backdrop is stunning with the far end showcasing the snow capped peak of Mount Tongariro.

On our return trip to Auckland we stopped off in Waitomo which is famous for its glow worms. Waitomo is Maori for “the Stream which flows into the Hole in the Ground”, say it as you see it I guess. We went on a tour of the underground caves at night to see the glow worms which glow to entice wee beasties to fly near them and get trapped in their sticky web kinda thing and then munch away. Yum yum I hear you say, but at night the worms are mesmerising to see, well worth a visit! Our hotel though was more akin to Fawlty Towers, perched at the top of a hill and was last renovated around 20B.C.

After Easter we were boring farts to be honest as we got stuck into the work lifestyle and done a few trips around Auckland. Known as the city of sails due to the 150,000 sail boats in the harbour. It’s landscape has been formed by the 50 volcanoes in the region and to my surprise not all of them are extinct, a day trip from there is to Rangitoto which was the last to erupt, so had to go as well. Luckily it never erupted when we were on it which is always a bonus. We have working/living in a place is the best way to properly experience the country and it’s easy to see how many wind up staying here for life. There are a few “Kiwi-Isms” which I will try to summarise below:

• The vowels are simpler, throw away your fancy A,I,O and U as everything is replaced with the letter E. Now this is fine when you order a bEEr, simple. The problem is understanding when someone tells you to “WEEEETCH WEEEERE YEEEER GEEENG” which to the Lehman is “watch where your going.” Very confusing.
• Kiwi Dip – now whoever thought up mixing reduced cream and dried onion soup, must be a millionaire now. Sounds a strange combination but it works.
• The must have accessory for Aucklanders is a cup of coffee, the march to work in the morning isn’t complete until they have been fuelled with a Trim Latte or Flat White, clutching their recyclable cup infront of them like their life depended on it. I think it’s similar to how Popeye must feel about spinach.
• Egg Chasing….now this is rugby not literally chasing eggs but it’s huge over here and I hate to say I have been converted with the world cup but more on that later. The All Blacks are treated like royalty and many a kid shuns the dream of being an astronaut or a dinosaur when they’re young…they all want to be an All Black.

Consider yourself briefed now into Kiwi lifestyle, and a popular weekend past time for many is to head to their holiday home/bach. They are called Bach’s which is short for Bachelor Pad as workers used to build a wee house for themself when they were away working, and are now used as holiday homes. Some are literally a wee wooden hut but can be sprawling multi millionaire pads. So this is exactly what we done for a long weekend, booked a bach and headed to the Coromandel region.

For those of you who know Katie, she isn’t very good with windy roads, and unfortunately this is the most windy I have ever seen, and I couldn’t help but sing the long and winding road all the way which resulted in a bruised arm. The Coromandel region is like stepping 50 years into the past and is truly lovely. Such a simple way of life and people are genuinely friendly! We stayed in Whitianga in a bach which was perfect for our weekend, with 2 bedrooms and even a kitchen.

Visited Hot Water Beach which once again, say it as you see it, is a beach with hot water. It lies on a thermal spring so you bring along your spade, dig a hole and there you have it, your very own spa. It does get very busy though in fact during the summer the population swells from 270 to 7,000! Further up the coast is the spectacular Cathedral Cove, which is set far away from any roads etc and it’s managed to maintain it’s unspoilt beauty. Takes around 1 hour to walk to but it’s well worth it when you arrive at the limestone arch.

An unknown fact is actually the Maori for Taylor’s birthday is “Rugby World Cup” so was fitting seeing they knew I was arriving they put on a wee tournament for me and even a Maori show and firework show on my birthday. Anyway I’m sure you have noticed that New Zealand is hosting the Rugby World Cup and Auckland is buzzing with all different nationalities, cultures and camper vans! The transport of choice for the group stages was to follow your team by campervan, so New Zealands roads were full of them driving the length and breadth of the country. The opening ceremony fell on my birthday so went out into the city for a few too many drinks but as the powers at be were predicting around 50,000 people turning up, around 200,000 actually did. Auckland groaned under the pressure but all in all it all ran smoothly I think.

We managed to see Scotland vs Argentina and England but got robbed on both occasions, we did however manage to meet up with Shonagh and Barclay who were over form back home following Scotland. Great to have some Scottish banter and start pronouncing our A,I,O and U’s again. The Scotland Argentina game was in Wellington, so spent the weekend in the countries capital  soaking up the atmosphere and even caught some Highland Dancing and Folk Singing in Te Papa. I personally loved Wellington, just a great vibe about the place.

To get back we jumped on the Overlander Train from Wellington to Auckland which tours through the National Park which is home to 3 volcanoes, including Mount Doom from the Lord of the Rings films. It’s voted the 3rd best railway trip in the world to take and although a very long trip, we enjoyed it muchly especially the viewing carriage at the back which had the windows enlarged so you can see more.

Auckland was turned into Edinburgh for the Scotland vs England game at Eden Park, as although there were plenty of Kilts around, the Kiwi’s backed the Scots as well for the game, so the stadium felt like Murrayfield! We went to a Scottish night which had the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Scots Comedians, Irn Bru, Tunnocks Tea Cakes and even deep friend Mars Bars! Once again we were robbed at the very end and the Scots were sent packing from New Zealand, and we said goodbye to Shonagh and Barclay for the final time and thanks again for taking our bag of stuff home and glad to say your bag of food/lemon curd has been put to good use.

That brings us up to date now with our Kiwi Life, and as I write this we are planning our mums trip in New Zealand which has been nick named “Odyssey Overland- Kiwi Style” sorry for stealing your name Pete and Kirsten but it’s got a certain ring to it Infact this time last year were were nearing the end of our Odyssey trip in Kuala Lumpur can’t believe how quickly it has gone. We’ll keep this updated from now as we hit the road again round New Zealand and the plan of the Trans Siberian railway adventure on our way back to the homeland. Ciao for now…..

P.S. Photos have been updated on the WebAlbum.

First of all apologies for the lack of updates but we are back in working life and regular updates would consist of the below routine:

7am : Get up

8am : Go to work

12pm : Lunch

5pm: Get back from work

6pm: Gym/football/dinner

10pm: Bed

Now is the time for an update ; one year on from leaving the motherland for pastures new. It has just flown by and what we have done still hasn’t sunk in. Anyway we have settled very well into Kiwi life, I started working for JBWere Private Wealth Management in the city at the start of February.  The office is on the 38th floor of the Vero Centre (known locally as the toilet due to its toilet seat shaped top.) View is stunning from there looking over the Haurakii Gulf, surrounding city all the way to Manakau Harbour. Katie worked for a while in a restaurant/bar in Takapuna on the North Shore but this was just something to fill in time whilst looking for something 9-5.

We lived with some mates in the North Shore which is renowned for its beaches, bars and general laid backedness (if that's even a word) The house had a stunning view over the Hauraki Gulf onto Rangitoto Island which is an extinct volcano, we often just sat with a drink while admiring the view from the pool. Infact its surprising the amount of volcanoes around the city…..fingers crossed they don’t go off! (Don’t worry Mum they’re extinct)

We stayed “on the other side for 2 months and I won’t bore you with everything we done but highlights include seeing Train in Takapuna, somehow landing seats 2 rows from the front causing “Hey Soul Sister”to be lodged into the depths of our brains for about a week.  Also managed to sneak in seeing the Blues vs Crusaders Super 15 rugby game with all the Americanisms like side entertainment and cheerleaders, luckily the rain held off for us.

Auckland hosts a yearly Lantern Festival to celebrate Chinese New Year, in the midst of the Auckland Skyline. Very much like stepping back into South East Asia with food markets, spectacular lanterns and a smattering of Asian music. Saying that, there is a huge Asian community in Auckland so if there was a lantern festival every weekend I’m sure it would be packed.

One event which has overshadowed our stay has been the natural disasters which have hit Christchurch and Japan. Unbelievable and so sad to know  people who have been affected directly  by these events. Was quite a shock actually being warned about a Tsunami, even though it is just part of life down here having earthquakes and tsunami alerts……being from calm Scotland where the occurrence of such disasters are about as likely as a Scotsman Morris Dancing while enjoying a spot of cricket!

Katie has recently started a new office job involved with the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which works out much better for us, as working opposite shifts from each other just doesn’t suit the Taylors. We upped stix from North Shore and moved to Parnell in the city centre, which has a very Scottish village kind of feel to the place full of pubs, restaurants and cafes. Most importantly its about a 20 minute walk for both of us to our works and is conveniently close to Rangers Supporters Club….oh yes!

First weekend in our new digs I managed to snap my finger playing football for my new team (Celtic Supporters Club…..who’d of guessed that!), not just a simple injury though. Oh no I never do injuries by half and I needed 3 screws and a plate to fix my finger. I did however get a tour of Auckland Hospitals and not many people can say that! Luckily it will heal in time for our visit to Rotorua, Lake Taupo and Waitomo Caves this Easter Weekend closely followed by the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

As we hit our one year anniversary of leaving the UK, and the next London to Oz trip departs…..we hope all the Odyssey Overlanders Year 2011 have a blast and feel free to give us a shout if you end up over here for the Rugby World Cup.

PS. Photo Album has been updated for your perusal.