So, after nearly 24 hours on an aeroplane I made it to Sydney! The flight wasn't too bad - made slightly better by the fact no one was sitting next to me so I could sprawl out across the seats! We got off at Singapore while the plane refuelled so I got to stretch my legs for an hour before starting the next 10 hours!
I was absolutely shattered on arriving at Sydney airport and was not up for facing public transport so I opted for a taxi (bit flash for a backpacker I know!) We set off in the taxi and it quickly emmerged that the taxi driver didn't actually know where 'Bounce' the hostel I had booked into was. Good. I was so tired that i wasn't much help and left him to work it out - we made it eventually!

The hostel was really nice and all the girls in the dorm were really nice and from England too. Considering the drastic time change, I was impressed that I managed to sleep in until 5am the next day! That morning I walked to the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. However, it soon appeared that I had brought the great British weather with me and it started tipping it down. (what was that all about? It' s not meant to rain in Australia!) It is all a bit strnage being here in Autumn with leaves falling from trees and darkness setting in at 5pm! I decided to go to the Rocks Discovery Centre to seek some shelter (and it was free!) The Rocks is the area of Sydney where some Aboriginal poeple originally lived and later became an area where people from Europe would arrive and settle. Some of them would spend 3 months in a cramped boat to get there - made my 24 hours on a plane seem like nothing! I spent the afternoon walking around Sydney and darting in shops to avoid the rain.

The next morning I awoke at 2am - not cool. Later in the morning I walked into central Sydney and went to Darling Harbour. By lunchime I was so tired that I decided it was time to head back to the hostel for a nap! In the afternoon, I watched a film with a girl from the hostel and later on walked back to the Harbour Bridge and Opera House to see it all lit up at night :-)

On Friday, I landed in Auckland, It is so different here from Australia, Very scenic and pretty! I'm staying at Nomads hostel which is Ok. I met some other girls in my dorm - Ashlie, Sophie and Anais who had arranged to hire a car the next day and had a spare seat. So on Saturday morning we headed off on a road trip to the Bay of Islands. It was really good to get out of the city and we had some amazing views. We stopped at a couple of lookouts and then had some lunch in Whangarei. This is where the funniest, cheesiest 70s CD ever was purchased and put on repeat in the car! After several hours in the car we reached the first beach. It was so nice and the weather was amazing. We spent the rest of the afternoon stopping off at various beaches and came back to Auckland about 8:30pm. We never quite made it to the Bay of Islands but it was a good day!

Yesterday I went into central Auckland and as the weather was so nice I decided to go up the Sky tower to look out over Auckland - it's the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere! The views over Auckland were amazing. You could see Mt Eden, One Tree Hill, the harbour and harbour bridge. Some of the floor was glass so you could see right down to the ground - a little daunting! In the evening I went for some drinks with Sophie and Anais and some others. Another day in Auckland today and then setting off on the Kiwi Experience in the morning!

Love xxx