Auckland - City of Sails (no, they do mean the boat variety, not discounts)

No hassle with the Department of Biosecurity (sic) in Auckland over the Marmite, and from the detail on the customs form it was necessary to declare it, or face a $150 fine if caught not doing so. I wonder what Semtex covered in marmite would smell like?

Eventually made contact with the car rental company – a courtesy phone tucked around a corner - and made contact with an … answer phone – Lucy from Jucy – you had to be there! I left a message about being collected, but on the presumption that we could still be there now, I tried again. Got through to Lucy in person second time, were picked up soon after and after the usual formalities received the “limo”. Did I do right in joking about whether “The Merc” was this or last year’s model? Not even close – a battered Nissan Pulsar with 178,824 km on the clock. We still had to go round and confirm that we agreed where the paint was showing through the scratches, and before we drove off went back to point out that there was an unmentioned cigarette burn in the passenger’s seat. “Oh, we don’t worry about the interior, mate!” … nor the exterior by the look of it. Still the engine seemed smooth enough, and I expect it would go a lot faster if the springs on the driver’s seat hadn’t gone through the floor and were dragging along the road.

And so we made it to Pam’s. No wrong turns, no angry hooting locals, just a little heavy traffic, but at journey’s end. What a lovely spot to live! A view of the sea and the islands and peninsular on the horizon; a matter of less that 100 metres to reach a beach frontage of about 1 km, gently shelving sand with warm water ideal for swimming. Shame that we didn’t get round to it.

Pam had made sure that we wanted for nothing. A lovely little self-contained flat, full of home comforts and supplies, and she had obtained travel guides for helping us to plan our trip. I must say that the tourist industry in NZ gets 10/10 for providing information. We had spotted at the airport and in the car rental offices that The AA published road maps, accommodation and touring guides all for free.

By the time dinner was over seeing and thinking had become just a bit too impossible and whatever time the body thought it was seemed irrelevant.