It's been a month now, since we arrived in Auckland. A month full of flat hunting, job searching, socialising, sightseeing and family time. It's been great! And busy.

When we first arrived, we were picked up by Neil, Ash's uncle. Ash's Nannan had been in Australia for Christmas with her family, and had flown over to New Zealand to spend a bit of time with Neil, Susan, Jess and Cameron (her son and his family). We booked our flights to Auckland not knowing she was going to be there, but when we found out that our visits were going to coincide, we thought it would be a lovely surprise for her! So, Neil picked us up alone and drove us to his house in Browns Bay, about 40 minutes from the airport. We walked up his stairs to the lounge to say hello to everyone...Ash's nannan was very shocked to see us there! We had told her we wouldn't be able to make it up to see her...SUPRISE!!

That evening, we went out for a lovely meal in Browns Bay and caught up on everyones news. When we got home, Ash and Neil managed to clear up a crate of 24 beers...Ash was a bit worse for wear in the morning! (Neil was fine..haha). But we managed to drag him out of his hangover and went to Butterfly Creek...a sort of farm/animal sanctuary. We saw a crocodile being fed, watched an Alpaca regurgitate its food a lot, and fed some goats and sheep. It made a change to capturing them and chopping off their tails!

The following morning, we caught the ferry over to Maraetai, to stay with Colin, Sue and Callum for a few days, until we sorted ourselves out with somewhere to stay in the city.

After one day of relaxing on the beach and jumping off the wharf, we headed over to Auckland. It was our mission to find somewhere to stay for the next day. We rang around a few places, went to view a few student flats (cheap and nasty), but to no avail. We met Neil for lunch, then looked on Gumtree, where we found short term accommodation (so short term that we would only get 4 hours notice if we had to move out!) in the Metropolis, which is the third highest building in Auckland...and also happens to have a 5 star rating! And it was reasonably priced...yes! We went to meet the guy who owned it (Jason) and went up to see the apartment. It was on the 14th floor, had a great view of the Sky Tower and over Albert Park and was fully self contained...washing machine and everything! It was perfect for us, so we said yes. Jason then gave us the key card and we were free to move in the next day. Awesome :)

The next week was filled with looking for places to rent longer term and with travelling around on public transport trying to sort us both out with jobs. It was a busy week. On the friday night, Jason (the guy who owned the apartment) invited us out for a drink with him, his girlfriend and some mates. His girlfriend, Lorna, was from the UK and had gone to Sheffield Uni, so we had something in common! We drank at a local bar first and got to know everyone, then we went back to Jason's apartment, which was on the 10th floor of Metropolis and drank there. We then got a taxi to his friends cowboy themed party in a bar about 10 minutes out of town. It was such a good night and was great to meet some locals and make some new friends.

I'd emailed one guy about his apartment he had to rent, and he rang me back straight away. His name was Johnnie Schubert (he told me to look him up on Google...and that he only walks on water every third friday! Haha). He was an American guy, so very friendly, who was going away to Hawaii to do some work on his PhD about using tablets as a form of education (or something). Anyway, once he'd talked at me for about half an hour, he told me to come to view the apartment tomorrow night, at 6. He said he was going to invite a couple of his friends, 'Mark and Kylie', who had lived in his flat 2 years previously. They were from Manchester and he said he thought we would 'hit it off' and they'd be able to give us some advice on living in Auckland. So, the next night, we trotted off to his apartment, where we met him in the bar downstairs. Mark and Kylie turned up and we all sat and had a drink for a good hour, before we'd even been to see his place! Anyhow, Mark and Kylie turned out to be really nice, and they came back to our apartment later on. So, Johnnie's apartment didn't really turn out to be what we were looking for (but we felt awful telling him this after everything he'd done for us!), but we still see Mark and Kylie regularly! So it wasn't all to no avail...we made some friends out of it. Schubie (as we all called him) had also invited us to his leaving party the next week believe it or not!! So the following week, we went to his 'party' which was really rather strange...he made us all wear different hats and pull prizes out of a bag (when I say prizes...I mean like some plastic beads, bangles, a rubix cube) and when we pulled the prizes out, he'd give us the story behind the hat that we were wearing!! Ash finished the rubix cube in one minute 40 seconds...much to the amazement of everyone there! And for that, he won a trophy...yes...Schubie had a trophy. A different sort of party than we were used to...But good fun all the same, especially when copious amounts of wine and beer are involved!

Whilst staying at the Metropolis we decided to go out and see a film...The Hobbit 2 to be precise. On our way out of the apartment we saw that some one had thrown something from one of the balconies and it had smashed through a glass canopy overhead, luckily not hitting anyone below as there was a restaurant situated directly below the balcony. The police were there taking evidence of the glass and cleaning up. We went to watch the film at a cinema on Queens Street. We saw it in 3D and in IMAX, even Cesca said she enjoyed it (WOW)! After the film we headed home and as we arrived at the apartment we asked one of the waiters at the restaurant what had been thrown off of the balcony, to which he replied, 'it was a girl that jumped off the 10 floor and came straight through the glass canopy'. We were stunned, they said she was still alive when she hit the floor but didn't stay alive for long, poor girl. A few days later, we moved to the flat next door to hers! A weird feeling.

Jason and his girlfriend proved to be very handy and generous people to know. One weekend, they asked if we wanted to go for a walk with them to the Waitakeres...a place east of Auckland on the coast where there was a lot of tramping and wilderness. It was a lovely place and you felt like you were in the middle of nowhere. They also invited us to play touch rugby one evening, which was a bit different! None of us knew how to play (besides Jason) and it's not an easy game to play! There are a lot of rules...

In between all of this, we had found somewhere else to stay. We were moving to Northcote, on the North Shore (about a 5/10 minute drive to Auckland CBD). We would be living on what we later found out is the roughest street around...Tonar Street. Apparently it is notorious for drugs and crime...great! But the house we would be staying in was lovely. It belonged to Rose and Dave, two Phillipino's who'd moved over to New Zealand fifteen years ago. Also in the house lived their nephew, Joseph, who was a nurse; Jen, an english girl who went to the University and Sophie, their daughter and her husband Ronald and their child Connor who lived in the house built in the garden for them. A busy household! But it was clean and tidy and cheap, perfect for us. Neil gave us a hand moving (we had seemed to accumulate a lot of new things!) and then we were in and settled.

Next job...buying a car. Over the past few weeks, we had been travelling to and from different job agencies on the bus and realised that when we actually got a job, we woud definitely need a car! Apparently, in New Zealand, it isn't a luxury to have a car, it's a necessity. But with limited finances, it was going to be a struggle!

We went to Ellerslie Car Fair, as recommended by a lot of people. It was like a car boot sale, but for cars. We headed straight to the 'Less than $5000' aisles and started our hunt. But what a load of rubbish there was! We'd been warned against the Asians selling cars which 'their friends had asked them to sell'...basically stolen cars! And approxiamtely 90% of the cars there were being sold by Asian people! After a few laps, a car caught our eye which we had obviously missed on the previous rounds. It was silver and looked like a little box on wheels! But, it was in much much better nick than most cars there. It looked like the owner had even decided to wash it. The owner was a nice old little Kiwi man who traded cars for a living.Trustworthy hopefully! After a little test drive, we decided it was a good little car and made an offer. The man was selling it for $1700, but we told him our maximum budget was $1500. Which he declined, and said his lowest was $1600, so we walked away! As we were walking away, we said to ourselves...we're letting this good little car get away for the sake of £50...£25 each. So back we went and shook the mans hand. We had wheeeeeels! As easy as that...we drove the car away and it was ours.

We had freedom! And it was awesome. Our first big outing was to Mount Maunganui, a seaside resort about 3 hours away. We were going with one of our friends, Lorna. We got there in the morning. We walked around the Mount, which was beautiful, surrounded by the sea. After a drink, we went to pick up a surfboard, which belonged to Jason and was held in his parents holiday apartment there. Then commenced a long afternoon on the beach! The waves, renowned for being ideal for surfing, were MASSIVE. Ash and Lorna tried a bit of surfing then gave up as the waves were so big. So instead we played in the waves, jumping and diving. It was a lot of fun! That evening, we were staying in a local hostel, so we went to check in. After that, we went back into town for some cheap dinner, which turned out to be a very tasty turkish kebab! And then for the big challenge...climbing the Mount in about 20 minutes in order to make it to the top in time for sunset. Lorna, being a personal trainer, practically ran up whilst we both puffed along behind her getting increasingly red faced! But when we got to the top, it was worth it. 360 degree views of beautiful seaside and beaches and wilderness. The walk down was slightly less exhausting, and once at the bottom we went straight to the salty hot pools, a treat to warm down from all the exercise and nice ambience due to the lighting as it was now dark outside.

The next day was spent on the beach again, but this time with slightly more manageable waves. We both had a go surfing...Ash with more success than Cesca! And we tried a bit of snorkling, but the water was not clear enough. We left early afternoon and had a couple of stop offs on the way home. One was at Maclaren falls...a magnificent array of waterfalls and massive rock pools. The second was in Matamata, the home of Hobbiton, to have a photo taken on the famous chair.

All in all, an awesome weekend. The delights of New Zealand! Made even better by having a car :).

After this weekend, we spoke to Lorna and Jason who said they were looking to move out of their house and wondered whether we'd be interested in sharing. Which we were. It would be much easier and cheaper for us to share a large house with others. Not only does it cut costs of rent and bills, but it is also like a instant social scene as well. Lorna and Jason have some lovely friends who we've met a few times already. So it was perfect for us. Not long after this, and some hard work from Jason and Lorna, they found the perfect house. It's in Remuera, apparently the poshest suburb of Auckland with the highest concentration of houses worth $1million or more. And the best thing is that it barely costs more to live there than it does living in Northcote on the roughest street! The house is amazing and we're all really looking forward to moving in. Photos to be updated!

Amongst all the great things that have happened over the past few weeks, we have had an undercurrent of bad things...to do with the car.

On Ash's second day working at King's College in Middlemore, he came back to the car to find the back window smashed in and an attempt at hot wiring. Which had fortunately been unsuccessful. What a blow! He called the police who said to drive home and they'd send forensics round, as the criminal had left a trace of blood on the door. It makes us so angry though, that some mindless thief can do that to your hard earned property, then you are the one who has to pay for it! How is that right?! Fortunately, there was nothing mechanically wrong with the car, it just needed a new back window. We went to a place called 'Pick-a-Part', where you find a car the same make as your own in a scrap yard, then take the piece off of the car that you want. So we removed a back window from another Mazda Demio, paid only $25, then Ash and Neil fitted it themselves. So not too expensive, just highly inconvenient!

That sorted, the next problem was just around the corner. We were driving to Tradestaff, for Ash to sign some paperwork, and Cesca said the car wasn't driving very well. But it seemed to be going ok, so we entered onto the motorway. It was fine for about 5 minutes, when the car started losing power. Fortunately, we were just by an exit, so pulled off onto the slip road. Before we reached the end though, the car had completely lost power and Ash had to push it off the rest of the way. An even bigger stroke of luck was that we were only round the corner (in pushing distance) of a garage! So we took it there, both of us just thinking about how much this might cost us, as we had no idea what was wrong.

An hour later, we had a new fuel pump and a fully functioning car again! we were however, $250 worse off. Still, it could've been a hell of a lot worse than that!

To finish off the myriad of problems this car seemed to give us, someone then went and reversed into us. Seriously?! This idiot, who blatantly knew we were there, just failed to look in his mirror and reveresed into us. It was a very slow collision and foruntately there was no damage done...but we were furious!! What else could go wrong!! But, bad luck comes in threes, and that was now three. We have our fingers crossed for no more car dramas...we can't afford anymore!!

So, as we stand at the end of this long blog entry, we are both employed, have a car and somewhere very nice to live for the forseeable future and some friends. It's only taken us over a month!! Which feels like forever.

Please keep tuned for more updates! We promise they will come sooner than the previous ones...