Ok – I would like the rain to stop now!

We Scots pride ourselves in being able to put up with whatever weather conditions are thrown at us. I seem to have gone soft though. Since we arrived in NZ we have had a mixture of bright sun and pouring rain. We are travelling in a camper van for this part of the trip and this afternoon we have been hit by what is known as smirry in Scotland -that fine relentless rain that gets right into your bones and makes everything feel wet and cold. So the van is steamed up with us drying off – but we have the most beautiful view of the beach at Owera just outside Auckland.

On our travels today we visited a museum. The European influence in NZ is of course relatively recent. There is a strong sense of Maori tradition and culture in everyday modern NZ life. Our charming guide at Waitangi – the birthplace of modern NZ – told her tales of history with so much love for those traditions I found it very moving. Her welcome for us as visitors was warm and genuine. I really hope that is how visitors to Scotland feel!

NZ is a truly beautiful country with breathtaking scenery. To me it looks a lot like Scotland – but it is at the same time so different.

Being half way round the world has really mucked up our body clocks. We are awake with the birds and asleep by 10 -despite my son’s best intentions to stay up and party.

This is our second trip to NZ. I remember now why we were so keen to come back….weather conditions are out of our control so we will just go with the flow ( though hopefully not literally!!)