Orca before breakfast

I've been in New Zealand since Monday and so far I'm having a pretty good time. I mean it's bloody cold and feels just like winter in the UK but the scenery is fantastic and that's before I've even reached the south island. I stayed with my second cousin Christine and her husband Peter for the first two nights. They live in a lovely house in Auckland which overlooks one of the numerous beaches. The sea is everywhere you look there because the city is built on an isthmus. It can be quite disorientating! It was really nice to spend a couple of nights in a proper home and Christine had the week off so we went pyjama shopping and took a trip to the museum. But most exciting of all was the sighting of some orca on the beach on my first morning. I was just getting dressed when I heard this shout of 'Bethan! There are dolphins on the beach! No, hang on....big fins, they're orca!' We got straight in the car and went down to the beach, where at least three huge fins were sticking up from the waves. My first whale sighting, it was a good start.

On Wednesday I began my trip on the Magic Bus, I'll be spending most of my time on the South Island but I thought it would be nice to see Rotarua and the North Island ticket was practically free so in the last few days I've been to Rotarua, Lake Taupo and Wellington. I'll be spending the weekend here visiting the museum and generally relaxing before taking the ferry over to Picton on Monday, from where I begin my South Island tour. So tons yet to come...