Hi there.

Here's a bit of an update as I'm in HK airport waiting for the flight to Auckland. I can't upload photos on the PC but hopefull I'll be able to do so as we travel around NZ,

Things have gone well so far. I met up with everyone at Heathrow and there are 28 people in the group of which 6 are men.

The flight was OK considering it was 10 hours and we arrived in HK on Friday evening. We stayed in the Island Pacific Hotel which is on the west side of HK.We had a quick wash and brush up and then took a tram to the Central district for a meal and drink.

The next morning we were up bright and early as our coach left at 9.00am. We visited the Peak which has great views of the city before moving on to visit Aberdeen harour and Stanley market. At the market I was part of a little splinter grou who opted to take a seat on the harbour front and enjoy the sunshine of a cooling beer. It was great.

The afternoon was free time so had a little walk to take in the atmosphere. In the eveening a group of 3 of us headed off on the Star ferry to visit Kowloon. We looked at the shops etc and then found a quiet little bar for a couple of drinks before heading back.

This morning, Sunday, had a chance for more exploration so took in a few sights and also travelled on the longest escalator in the world which took us from the sea front well up into the city. The bad news was that we had to walk back down as the escalator only goes one way. Anyway we really enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells. In the afternoon we transferred to the airport and it should be leaving in about 2 hours.

So bye for now and New Zealand here we come.