I love cities. It was great driving over Auckland Harbour Bridge on my last Intercity bus trip as we approached the skyscrapers and buzz and energy of a metropolis.

I watched the sun set from the Sky Tower, visited the art galleries (where my favourite exhibit was a video of a man and his dog having a standoff over a tennis ball), mooched around Queen Street and K Road, and took the ferry to Devonport, where I climbed Mount Victoria for a panoramic view of the harbour.

I had some unexciting errands to sort out, like sending 5 kg of stuff home. I am a hoarder by nature and find it hard to part with things, so my cheapo coat and Russian boots are now on their way to Europe at hideous expense since New Zealand has no sea mail (why not? it's an island for pete's sake!). I also had to flog a couple of books, for which I was paid hear-breakingly little at the second hand book shops. I needed a Yellow Fever jab for South America and I detest injections so the doctor and I had a brief stand-off while she circled me holding the needle and I backed into a corner clutching my arms (although I didn't actually feel it in the end).

I met up with Helen and we had a messy night involving a bottle of Absolut Rasberry and an after-show fashion party at a swanky bar with Rachel and her friends Simon and Preston.

People had told me Auckland wasn't up to much, but I really liked it and preferred it to Christchurch and Wellington. It was a nice final stop in New Zealand and I felt quite sad to leave.