The Kiwis are one of the friendliest nations out there. If you like adrenalin, natural beauty and the outdoors than New Zealand is the place for you!

Living in Auckland was great fun, as there is always something going on and something to see. It's known as 'the city of sails' because the people here are so passionate about sailing... with the beautiful scenery and blue water around it is easy to understand why. Not many people know this but Auckland is actually the 3^rd largest city in the world in terms of land area... but they only have a population of 1 million, so there is lots of space for everyone!

New Zealanders from outside Auckland think it's a busy, hectic place full of traffic jams, but after living in Shanghai I assure you that is not that case!! The nice thing about Auckland is that there is plenty of open space and green sites to relax in. Every house is different and has lots of space, not like the crowded housing of the UK. It also has everything you can possibly want in terms of food, shopping and nightlife. The Viaduct (the city's waterfront) is home to the nightlife scene and also where all the restaurants can be found.

Auckland also hosts the largest structure in the southern hemisphere (something Aucklanders are very proud of!) - the Sky Tower. When I first arrived, I took a trip up to the top, which was great fun. Some people in the see-through glass lift didn't seem to agree with me, though, and they went a funny colour as we watched the floor disappearing from underneath us! The view from the top was really impressive. I have been lucky to go up the CNN tower in Toronto (the tallest structure in the world) which makes the Sky Tower look small, but the view from the Sky Tower was actually more impressive (sometimes bigger is not better!)

The trip also allowed me to get a good understanding of the geography of the city. There are many extinct volcanoes surrounding the city, which make for a really unique topography. Some people will say there are 40, others will say there are 44 or 47... I don't think anyone really knows.

Another great attraction was the Auckland Museum, which is only a short bus ride from the city centre itself and covers New Zealand's history. The museum is up there with the top museums in the world for me, along with the Apartheid museum in Johannesburg.

New Zealanders are also very passionate about sport, particularly Rugby. In fact they are so passionate about Rugby that it tends to dominate the news. I was working in New Zealand just before the start of the Rugby world cup, and the main news story on all the papers was the fact that the New Zealand Rugby team were flying off to France, and which brand of toothpaste and sleeping pills they were going to have on the plane. I wasn't there when they lost to France in the quarter finals but apparently they were not amused!

I was lucky enough to play Rugby there too... well, until I dislocated my shoulder for the 5^th time! Thankfully the health care was so good that they managed to fix me up in no time!

Outside of Auckland there is plenty to see and do. New Zealand actually looks a little like the UK in areas with its rolling, green hills... I went skiing on my birthday in August, which was a first!! I also did the 'Tangariro Crossing', New Zealand's best one day hike, visited Rotorua (famous for its geysers and bad smells!) and spent some time in a beautiful bay of islands at the top of the North Island. Another favourite spot was Taupo - a lovely, small town on a lake with a backdrop of snow covered mountains.