Arrival

So I made it! Im here in Auckland!

The flights were fine, long, but fine. We left LHR about ½ an hour later than were were due which started to get me worried that I was going to miss my connection in Singapore. There was only 1hr allotted between my first flight landing and my second departing. Luckily the steady 70km/h tail wind helped us to land bang on time at Changi airport. I had checked-in on-line and had managed to choose my seats for the flights which meant I was able to sit by the window on the upper deck of the new Airbus A380 - pretty cool. Sitting next to me was a young doctor from Singapore who had been attending a lecture in Manchester. He was friendly and we had a good chat about Singapore's climate!

After making a mad dash for it through the immensely long Terminal 3 at Changi I made it to gate A21 and boarded the flight bound for Auckland. It was 8.30am and already 27 degrees and 99% humidity. The sun had risen in a cloudless sky. The flight was troubled with turbulence but i managed to get a bit of sleep despite to fierce air con.

We landed 40mins early but this was offset by the time spent queuing at immigration as there was only 1 member of staff checking passports. I was met by Rob's sister, Shelley who had very kindly agreed to pick my up and accommodate me that night. It was really nice to not have to worry about finding somewhere to stay and her sofa was so comfy after being cramped in economy for 24hrs.

This morning Shelley even took me to a backpackers which was great, even if she did lock her car keys in the house! So im staying in Uenuku Lodge in Ponsonby. I got a top bunk in a cosy 4 bed dorm with decent 'room-mates' a Japanese guy who has spent the last 2 years in Australia and now has a 1 year visa for here. Also a French girl who has also got a working visa. Once settled I went for a mission of a walk around the city to try and reset my body clock. I got a local sim card for my mobile and managed to get a good deal on a hire car - $13 a day, which i about £5.20. I pick it up tomorrow. I did a bit of food shopping in a New World and managed to avoid an (inevitable) torrential downpour!