Well its certainly been a while. We have now left Auckland... finally.

Our last weekend there was pretty good. We did the Auckland Bridge Climb which wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I still wouldn't fancy being up there on a windy day though.

We also went to the Symphony in the Park, a free open air concert in the main park in Auckland. Loads of people bring picnics, wine etc. There was such a good atmosphere, I don't know if it could happen in Ireland!!!

Lasers and Fireworks at Symphony in the Park

I got the job of finding somewhere to live in Wellington while I left Mark working in Auckland. And contrary to popular opinion I didn't use it as an excuse for drinking and partying ... well not all week anyway ...

Our new place

We drove down to the Wellington which was about 700 kms. It was mad to see a mountain covered in snow in summer.

Mt. Ruapehu

The weather was fabulous on our first weekend in Wellington. We hit the beaches and did some exploring.

Linda, Faye, Catherine and Andy

Last weekend we went camping in the Wairapa, a national park just east of Wellington. This is the most southerly point on the north island and we were "supposed" to be able to see the south island from this lighthouse. 250+ steps later and all we could see was the wide blue ocean!

Although when it started getting dark later in the evening we were able to see the top of the snow covered alps on the south island from the pub beside our campsite.

Its a long way up

On the way to the lighthouse we passed this seal colony. It certainly seems like a good life, swimming, fishing, and baking in the sunshine....

Show off

The Wahoine Gorge contains the longest swingbridge in the southern hemisphere - Kiwi's love these stupid claims. Its a footbridge made with steel rope and netting over a valley. Only one person at a time can go over on it, very scary - especially because the netting was broken in places and when you are in the middle it really wobbles and feels like its about to turn upside down!

'Course, Mark loved it.