We were up and out by 9.30 which is pretty good going for us and we were thankful for an improvement in the weather. It was a lovely sunny morning so we actually got to see the snow capped volcanoes which had avoided us by hiding behind a layer on cloud on our journey down through the north island. We stopped off at various view points along the way and arrived in Auckland mid afternoon. Auckland seemed very busy the second time round for me, third time for Rob! We stayed in a campsite on the outskirts of the city and planned to get the bus into the centre for my interview the next morning. The campsite was great apart from the fact that one of the kitchen doors was missing which made it a little cold at night! We had a quick visit to Pak’n’Save to stock up on a few goodies then came back, I filled out my visa forms and we chilled for the rest of the day and had an early night.

As my

interview was at 10 a.m. we left the campsite around 8.15. It was a short walk to the bus stop and we didn’t want to get caught in any rush hour traffic and end up late - this was definitely an appointment I needed to keep. It was really weird but I started getting butterflies in my stomach on the way into Auckland, Rob told me not to worry and I tried not to. We were a little early so went for a coffee, then headed to the Post Office to pay for my visa and get a receipt. No visitors are allowed in the consulate so I said goodbye to Rob in the foyer and took the lift to the 3rd floor, where I got told that I was too early (a first for me!) and I could stand (they don’t even offer you a seat!) or come back in 15 minutes. I decided I would rather walk around the streets than stand there for the next 15 minutes, it wasn’t the friendliest place I had ever been to. So after pottering around for 10 minutes I headed back inside.