New Zealand, not Tom Zealand

Happy Christmas, Hannukah and or Kwanzaa to all the boys and girls reading the musings of Harrogate's favourite tiny eyed traveller.

I trust all readers are overfed and financially ruined following the festive break. Not being home for Christmas has been interesting and only slightly lonely. There are a few key factors that I can't help but think about. How was Major Tom's on Christmas Eve? Where did everybody go after MT's as Rehab is now shut? If I had been home, would I have ruined Christmas day again by being so hungover I had to chun before eating? There's also the fact I've not had a festive bake or festive dippers from McDonald's and quite frankly an outrage on both parts.

So New Zealand, walking through the airport I got to live out a life long ambition and became part of the hit TV show Border Patrol (I'm fairly certain). The couple in front of me from Guangzhou had decided to ignore all legislation and brought what looked to be 5kg of dried prawns although that was never clarified.

For the first time on my trip I got to see a familiar face when stepping off the plane. The man, the myth, the legend that is C-Breezy (Chris Barlow for those not aware of his rap career). Chris has been kind enough to not only pick me up from Auckland airport, but to let me stay with him and generally make sure I enjoy the finer things NZ has to offer. Some of these fine things include Pineapple Lumps (8.8/10), Tim Tams (8.4/10), L&P (9.3/10), Potato Topped Pies (9.1/10), Hundreds & Thousands biscuit's (8.2/10) and other boring stuff like waterfalls and culture etc.

Despite what Jonny Amaku and TLC have to say,  I have continued to chase waterfalls and there is a shit tonne in NZ. I am in waterfall heaven. Whilst visiting Rainbow Falls in Kerikeri I even got to walk swim in the lake underneath. Whilst basking in the majesty of nature there was quite the commotion behind me, followed by a splash. It seems a drone that was being piloted had cut out/turned off/broken and fell in the water. Needless to say the German tourist gave us all an education in swearing in his mother tongue.