Well, I finally got my arse in gear and managed to drag myself away from Bernard & Amanda's hospitality in their lovely Wellington home. I got myself a bus pass and caught the ferry to South Island.

The countryside in the south island is really beautiful. Now that NZ is coming into its autumn, the golden browns and yellows of the imported deciduous trees are highlighting the deep greens of NZ's native evergreens. The precipitous cliffs and steep-sided valleys through which my two-week old bus took me were a delight to behold in the generous golden sunshine. And Nelson, my destination, is a really sweet city. Not too big, not too small, it rests at the edge of a delightful bay with its own 13km naturally-formed boulder barrier (apparently there's only one other like it in the world, at a town called Miyazu in Japan).

Here in NZ one is expected to do adrenaline-pumping groovy young activities, so I decided to be a sheep and pay up for some high-octane fun: Paragliding is great!! I did a tandem flight with a local company on possibly the bluest-sky day they have had in a month. The thermals were all doing the right things, and the views over Nelson and the bay were stupendous. The photos are going to be quite something!

I have been to the cinema a couple of times here in Nelson. On the first occasion I ended up chatting with an Australian girl who was also travelling on her own. We went for a bit of food and a coffee. I hope I helped take her mind off her rampant homesickness - and she's only away for a week! It still surprises me, though, that I've not suffered as extreme homesickness since January as I did in Madagascar. Perhaps because it was the run-up to Christmas and family was very much in my mind. Which isn't to say I don't think about the people I love back home on a daily basis. But somehow it doesn't hurt too much to be away now.

Anyway, back to the story: I got to know Baz, a chap in my dorm, and his German friend Claudia and we went together to the Saturday Market in Nelson. Very good! So much freebie tasting possibilities! There was fruit, sweets, olive oils, nibbles, mustards, pretty much a whole antipasti course on offer. Which meant I could skip lunch and head straight to the winery tour. Twenty-five wines spread over five vineyards. And actually I didn't much care for more than about three of them! Oh what a developed palate I must have (or something poncey like that). That night I got in a crate of beers and the three of us sat in the lounge of the hostel chatting and talking about films I haven't seen but should.

The flight was uneventful. I slept so well, I didn't even wake up for breakfast. There was no turbulence, no emergency landing, no fire engines rushing towards us on the runway. Which was nice.

Sydney airport was dead as a proverbial at that time in the morning. I made my way to my connecting flight and hunkered down on some seats for a bit of extra rest. Sleep wasn't really an option - I swear they make those benches deliberately crap to sleep on - but I did manage to doze for an hour or so, until a group of middle-aged men sat down right next to my head and started talking very loudly in a very percussive language. I beat a retreat and found that in that hour the airport had collected hundreds of passengers.

With still a few hours to go, I thought I would treat myself to some breakfast. I had a very Western-style cheese & ham toasted focaccia with a skinny flat white. No, I don't mean I shared a table with a malnourished, malformed caucasian lady. This is how in Australia one refers to a latte with less froth and made with skimmed milk. And I thought I knew about coffee! Anyway, it was tasty, which is the main thing.

My second flight was equally uneventful but sadly much more crowded. Luckily it was only going to last three hours. Then I touched down in Wellington and made my way through New Zealand customs and passport control. The queue to get out of the baggage hall was longer than the queue to get into the country!

I made my way into town on the bus, and found Bernard's house no problem thanks to the helpful bus driver. Bernard was there waiting for me, and it was just like when I visited him in Dunedin: really nice happy vibes and loads of questions about what had gone on in our respective lives in the last few years. After a nice cup of tea and a catch-up we headed out to meet up with his fiancee Amanda and some friends of theirs for lots of wine and food and then more wine. We finally got back home at about four in the morning. Wooooh! I'll have to get used to wine again!

The next few days were very relaxing, especially for me as I didn't have to go to work! I seem to have developed some form of narcolepsy, because I am finding it very hard to get up in the mornings. Is it jet-lag, or is it just that I've been living la vida loca for the past three months and can't hack it any more at my age? Only time will tell.