We nearly missed the flight from Adelaide to Auckland despite everything running to schedule – but sitting by the wrong gate 20 isn’t a clever way to catch a plane. (Yes – there are two at Adelaide – at least!)

No matter – we arrived in Auckland after a four hour flight on a very hot sunny evening and found our way to a smart hotel by the Viaduct Harbour with fleets of boats and restaurants and people all packed into a very small reclaimed area which had been developed in response to the America’s Cup races of 2000 and 2003.

The journey around New Zealand was about to begin. The timetable of visits involves both islands, twelve wineries, two longish drives and four separate car hires, one conference and five internal flights. Yes – five! And the planes are getting smaller…

It may be a day or two before the next post… Bear with me…