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I've just arrived in Auckland Airport and it feels so good to be back in NZ.   I had to unpack all my carefully-bundled luggage to get through Bio-Security; then pack it again to be transferred to my Rotorua flight.  Now I've got a couple of hours to wander around Auckland Airport; thank goodness for free internet!!

It was good having a 'holiday' in Vancouver before we left - we stayed at Jane's place for 4 nights; she was amazingly generous (well over and beyond any usual expectations - taking us shopping; and even to the airport!)  I had a dream shopping trip to Vancouver's famous MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-Op) - a bit like our Kathmandu but much better quality and CHEAP CHEAP prices.  So I now own a fancy MSR multi-fuel cooker for my next big trip....

On Wednesday Jimmy wanted to make phone calls and pack and catch up with people; so I headed up Grouse Mountain.  It was a stiff bike ride straight up (legs have forgotten how to climb already; after only a few days off the bike); then a 1 hour walk up to the summit.  It is called the Grouse Grind and it was much more effort than I thought it would be.  There were loads of people doing the Grind; all age groups.  The most irritating were the teenage boys who would pant right behind me; overtake, then stop for a rest; so I never got rid of them.   At the top was a gondola - the alternative route up - and a cafe, a souvenir shop selling "I want to Grind" T-shirts; and 2 grizzly bears in an enclosure.  They were rescued as orphan cubs years ago, and now live on Grouse Mountain.  While they weren't doing any wild exciting things it was still fun to see them - and they are surprisingly TeddyBear-like - they would sit with their feet straight out in front and rub their eyes; very cute and cuddly-looking!

There was also a really cheesey scripted Logger show - two guys acting like foolish loggers; but was fairly entertaining in that 'got nothing better to do' kind of way.

I nearly bought a pair of fashion gumboots to complement the two other pairs of shoes I have bought on this trip; but ended up with a hammock instead.  Jane would drop us off in town and give detailed instructions on where we could walk - we would make it about 200m to the nearest coffee shop/market/point of interest and just stay there!  I think we spent an entire afternoon just hanging around the Granville Island public market; eating fresh fruit and people-watching.

The flight home was long.  13 hours and a night-flight and I didn't sleep very well.  Fortunately the practice Manager at work offered me Monday off, and I accepted!