Auckland weekend

We are just back from a long (Thursday to Monday) weekend in Auckland, New Zealand.

It was David Mochrie's 40th Birthday and given that I have known him since we were about 12 months old - we thought a visit was justified to help him celebrate the occasion.

We spent our time (in between eating & drinking) seeing the sites of Auckland - including several volcanoes (did you know Auckland is built on 50 volcanoes), some wonderful beaches, an acquarium and the compulsory Crazy Golf Course.

We had an excellent time. Dave, Nic and Nate were great hosts and put up with our messed up body clock from the mere 2 hour time difference.

Our dinner experiences were exciting. On our first night we went to a local Fish restaurant and enjoyed great food. We were not expecting the entertainment that arrived with desert - the Chef & Owner, clearly rather drunk, made a speech to the whole restaurant about a long held grudge he had against a local waiter and how he had just 'had it out' with him. He then moved on to Auckland's food critics and described how after a bad review he had flown a huge banner above a bridge calling the critic a w**nker. After that he joined our table and spent 30 minutes explaining how he had beat his drug problems. While a great chef - as a dinner companion he left a little to be desired. We'll remember the night for a long time though.

Now, it may have been the Whisky (a lovely single malt) or the many beers, but I have a vague recollection that Dave & I agreed to lose a few kg's and climb Kilimanjaro in 2010. Better get in training as after a few drinks in the week before I also agreed to do a 100km walk for charity - must be something to do with being 40!

Ken