< Back                                                                                                 Next>

Day '0' - Kia Ora! (Maori for ‘Hello’, ‘Have life’, ‘Be well’, ‘Be healthy’…)

New Zealand is 13 hours ahead of the UK and it turned out that we had travelled forward in time, arriving in New Zealand on Monday the 18th of February. So that evening we met the group and the group leader (Gabi) in the hotel lobby.

Back in the hotel room afterwards, Jeff had a bit of a worry about his packing thinking he had packed too much really. It was very difficult to know what to take because New Zealand is renowned for having four seasons in one day, hence the Crowded House song! We ended up swapping our daypacks too so that Jeff had a bit more room to carry his kit. That evening the group went out for dinner. Some people went to a French restaurant and the rest of us went to an Italian restaurant for pizza and a much-needed beer. We went to bed late that night after repacking our large rucksacks. I slept until 4:55 a.m. and Jeff slept until 2.30am; and the jet-lag began…

< Back                                                                                              Next>