Heaven

Here I am, above the clouds. This was my first day at Treble Cone. It was marvellous. Got my bargain new gear out, skied the bumps on my first day and it was all topped off with a great lesson with Jesse from Vail. The North Americans are always the best - just so focused on you! He was also a fantastic skier, so light on his feet, I could have watched him for hours. Jesse says I'm a sandbagger. An American term for people who say they're not that great at something but actually they are.... obviously he was referring to my skiing, I told him that was actually the story of my life.

New Zealand is stunning. It really is pretty much one big national park. Which is probably why there are so many tourists - 2.4million a year to be precise. And with a population of just 4.1 million, they are truly everywhere. Getting off the beaten track isn't easy; I managed to meet some 30 something kiwis in Christchurch over a few beers and an All Blacks game, great to meet some real people and not just travellers. I'm not entirely sure I'm cut out for travelling proper; I'm too lazy to pack up every day or two and move on. I like getting the feel of somewhere and seeing the same people for a little while. And of course I need a focus! I'm actually starting to miss work now. Yes, I know.... am I mad? Never mind, skiing is the new project. Oh how tough.

Here's the view I was taking in when I got a very wasted phone call from the gang on Saturday night/ Sunday morning, celebrating Greig's birthday. Me: 12.30pm, on the bus to Wanaka, just passing Lake Tekapo. Them: 1.30am. Iain's flat. And yes Iain, I feel very pure and virtuous, of course I do, I am as far away from your bad influence as it's possible to be! (-; Thanks for ringing. It really did make me giggle for a long time afterwards. And the rest of the bus too I suspect. It was lovely to hear all of your voices, even if they were a little incoherent. Oh, and Shim, my tooth is OK again now. Phew! It was obviously just having an off day.

Auckland

Here I am on the other side of the world. It's rather rainy and cold, but there's still not a lot of snow. I've been faithfully doing my prayers to the snow Buddha in the morning so I'm sure it'll come by the time I get down to the South Island next week. Found a lovely little house in Parnell, just out of the city centre, full of shops selling lovely cafe lattes and lots of Germans. Und ich kann noch Deutsch reden so I'm pretty proud of myself. I kind of thought New Zealand was the same size as the UK... and I'd get down south in about 6 hours or so, but no. It's taking 3 days on the scenic and environmentally-friendly route.

As for Auckland, it's nice. Safe, friendly, nice. Greig, you'd hate it. It doesn't have an edge at all. Even the supposedly trendy K Road is really not that trendy. I like it. I've had conversations with people at the bus stop and in shops and cafes. People have time for you. I was even invited in to an agency the other day for a look round after I got stuck staring at the cans of inspiration on sale for just 15 dollars. One of the agency's guiding principles is to go sailing every Sunday. Let's just say I can definitely see the appeal of living and work down under. Lots of sunshine, water to play on and cute little extinct volcanoes. What more do you need?