Singapore Airlines once again AMAZING service is all I can say, the staff were exceptional!! Smiling and constantly coming around with drinks, collecting rubbish, there wasn't 1/2 that went by that they were offering you something, the opposite of Swiss Air from the previous evening. The flight was chocka too - Good on Rod for taking the middle seat, I have to have an aisle otherwise it does my head in and claustrophobia sets in. My mind wanders back to the last time that I flew Singapore Airlines and it was on a educational to Turkey, (my nightmare trip, if it hadn't been for my roomy I would have gone crazy) Singapore Airlines service had been outstanding then too. You may pay slightly more at times for them but the seats are comfortable, there is more room and the staff really live customer service.

So 9hours 10 minutes later we landed, declared that we had been on a farm in the last 30 days, they asked did you bring anything us back, my reply was "Only memories" the customs officer actually smiled, and then they took the shoes off my feet sterilised them, gave them back soaking wet and I couldn't be bothered to find another pair in my bag so I walked out of Auckland Airport in my socks into the crisp clean air of New Zealand, mmm smeels like home. Every country has its own smell don't you think? Rods son was there to pick us up - wonderful!!  

First day back and had to deal with getting new credit, eftpos, & internet security banking cards authorised, yawn yawn back to reality, oh I would like to be just getting on my beloved bike and riding to the unknown, instead of standing in these queues waiting to deal with all the performance with banks. We were treated to a fantastic reintroduction to the melting pot of our multii cultural society we live in here with the Onehunga Nightmarket. WOW it was loud, crowded and the cross section of food was amazing, it really surprised me, there was, Greek, Hungarian, loads & loads of Asian, junk food and by the look of some of the regulars, you wouldn't want to dine here too often as its not health food a lot of it. It was great to visit this with Warwick as we have been to so many markets in France and the contrast is unbelievable.

So home, thanks for reading this account of our adventure, I'll apologise now for all the spelling and grammar mistakes along the way but I had better things on my mind, this blog will now be edited and possibly expanded on and turned into a book for us to look back on in years to come. As for Pascal he has decided to carry on writing another blog.  "Pascals adventures in the REAL NEW ZEALAND" which is really for all the wonderful friends we have in Europe to see how life really is down under and hopefully it will tempt them to make the journey across the world to visit us so we can spoil them like they have spoilt us. Its also to remind them that I am here as a travel agent to help organise things for them or their friends to experience the REAL NEW ZEALAND - just like we have discovered the REAL FRANCE. 

Whats next.......

We do have a few ideas spinning round, we've been bitten by the bike, I realise we can go anywhere by bike, any distance, its called slow travel & I LOVE IT!!