Friday 1 April, Wellington to Auckland

Check-in for the Northern Explorer train was 7.30am. Our apartment was a few minutes from the station, but with all our bags we had to order two cabs. On board, the carriage was identical to the Kiwi Rail train we took in the South Island, which should have come as no surprise. We leave just before 8.00am and are due to arrive in Auckland by 7.00pm, an eleven hour 646km journey. An informative commentary over the earphones, buffet car and open-air observation car are some welcome diversions. We catch up with some reading, writing journals/blogs, and enjoy our cooked lunch which was pre-ordered and very good quality, much better than most airline offerings.

Amongst other natural features we have views of snow-capped Mount Raupehu, one of three active volcanoes in the World Heritage listed Tongariro National Park. We will see these closer up later in our trip. As far as man-made features are concerned, we cross several impressive viaducts and the Raurimu Spiral which takes the train down 139 vertical metres over a 6km curved track.

Arriving in Auckland we have a Maxitaxi waiting thanks to the train staff who have ordered it for us. A short drive in the rain to our harbour-side hotel where we ascend to the 36th floor and our apartment with 270° views over the city and harbour. We are all a little tired after the long trip but we find a small Mexican restaurant on the busy Friday night and after a quick meal, hit the sack.

Saturday 2 April, Auckland Explorer

Kathy and Tony have visited Auckland several times so are pretty relaxed this morning. The two couples head off after having a coffee on the waterfront. Tony is a man on a mission, he has to find a nice restaurant with harbour views with space on a Saturday night. No jeans tonight. After a combination of web resources, local knowledge from the Hilton Concierge (no we were not staying there) and some good old Morgan common sense we pick the Euro Restaurant. Now all Tony needs is a new shirt, as he had to bin his "decent shirt" earlier in the trip.

We enjoy the view from our apartment with a drink on the balcony before heading to the Harbourside Ocean Bar for cocktails on the first floor. Then a short walk along the wharf to the Euro Restaurant for dinner. The food was fine, but the noise from an adjoining venue, and a somewhat grumpy waitress, took the edge off the evening.

A few showers during the day that the locals seemed to welcome, but otherwise a relaxed day in New Zealand's commercial capital.