27 January - Auckland - 25 degrees Celcius

The jet lag has me out by four or five hours, so I woke early. I had breakfast with Mum and Jack and then Mum showed me around her garden, which is looking fantastic.

The weather is warm and a little humid. We drove to Mission Bay to meet Richie and I instantly regretted not bringing togs - I can't wait to hit South Melbourne Beach.













One thing I miss already about Europe is an ozone layer. After three hours in the sun at Mission Bay, my arms and face are sunburned.













Richie's puns are as bad as ever ("Juno much about Alaska?") but it was great fun to hang out. I also got Richie's Christmas presents, mainly consisting of Hasbro toys. Glad to see his employer contributing to the spirit of Christmas. Still more than I can say about ABN AMRO and their flash Christmas party.

















I passed out on the flight to Christchurch and was woken by the steward to turn off my iPod as we were landing. Dad was already there and we grabbed a quick beer before the flight to Invercargill. That night we went to a nice local seafood restaurant then I went to bed as I was exhausted. Woke up during the night a couple of times to Cory and his girlfriend in Room 407 kindly revealing the close and personal intimate details of their relationship. :-/