Final days in Auckland

So here I am again in Auckland - this time getting to see a little more than just the airport.
First impression - I'm glad that the job will be based in Wellington.
I was quite sad to leave this morning to head North...I guess that is a good sign really!

On the flight up I was sat on the LHS of the plane which was a little unfortunate as we were flying North so I saw lots of sea...oh...and Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings! Not sure the name of the volcano, but there it was poking up about the clouds, the only elevated object for miles and miles. It split the cloud around it. I managed to get some video so will share that once I am home.

I spent my last evening in Wellington eating in the Crazy Horse restaurant over the road from my Hotel. It is Wellington's best Steak House...according to them of course...but it was rather excellent food. The New Zealand Pinot Noir is also very good indeed...ideal to wash down a decent piece of pink cow!

So that's it really - mission accomplished.

Some other quick NZ observations;

- far less PC than the UK - which is refreshing. They even say 'bloody' on Breakfast TV and on Wednesday morning the presenter, in response to the new government's proposed carbon tax said that it was 'the bloody dairy farmers fault!' In the UK that would immediately have 10,000+ complaints and be posted all over the BBC website!

- they have a large alcohol problem...people do seem to drink more than even we do in the UK, but you don't see violence on the street.

- they have the worst child abuse record of the developed world, especially in Mauri families - which is not something that I have heard before. A case similar to the one that was hitting the UK media when I left to come here has also happened in NZ, but it appears that it is quite a frequent occurrence. The government are just getting really strict on the issue it seems.

- It's windy! When the Southerly blows in across Wellington, it is really windy, but then the skies clear and the blue skies return. They don't seem to get the grey overcast cloud that the UK gets.

- The people are very friendly - there is no animosity towards Brits, probably as there are so many Scots here!

- The Asian influence is huge. In the same way that there are many Indian's in the UK, NZ has many Chinese, Japanese and Hong Kongers (what are they really called? Chinese now I imagine...) but that means really good Asian food, especially Malaysian and Sushi!

- The new prime minister, John Key, is very accessible and seems like a decent bloke. He even phoned in to the Radio 1 equivalent here and chatted for 10 minutes. You'd never get Gordon Brown doing that!

- Living and working here will be good fun!!

I doubt I will get the chance to write any more now.
I have the day to kill tomorrow with a check out time from the Hotel of 10am so I am hoping to get to the airport in time to find a shower before the Hong Kong leg.
I think I am going to head into the city centre for a look around and then come back out to the Hotel to collect my luggage before starting the journey home.

So, until I see you all back in the UK...
Have a good weekend!