On reflection, I may have been a little harsh on Blenheim. In daylight, it seemed to be an improvement on Stevenage. It can't help it that it's not California, or the Cook Islands - and most of all, it can't help it that it's winter. Did I mention that it's cold? That's because it's winter. I think my brain just computed that fact this morning. What's going on? I never signed up for two winters in one year... well, technically I suppose I did, but I wasn't prepa...

Woke up in my trendy chic (and cheap) hotel this morning because something was buzzing in my room - there were so many lights and gizmos that it took me ages to realise that the phone wasn't properly on the hook. Which concerned me slightly, as several hours earlier, I'd called my nan to wish her a (belated) happy birthday. So, with some trepidation, I called reception to ask how much my call to England had cost - $1.72, phew. I went back to sleep and later rang ...

I'm writing this entry retrospectively to fill in the gaps - another one from today to follow. The last couple of days in Rarotonga were uneventful - I knew that New Zealand was quite likely to be busy so I quite fancied chilling out. On my last night, I was due to attend an Island Night with Ingrid, as her grandson was performing at it - but she was ill (originally thought it was dengue fever, but turned out to be food poisoning - hmm, wonder if she had fish) s...