New Zealand is green.

And I'm not talking about the government policy on nuclear anything or the fact they support organic farmers. The view flying into Auckland this afternoon was very different to the view that I have had when flying over the past month. Australia is really a dry country you can see how low the dams are and the dryness of the bush. Today flying over the west coast of New Zealand into Auckland there was green for miles and it wasn't the dry green we get in Australia but rather a rich fullness. Welcome to the land of the long white cloud...

My last few days in Melbourne (my second home city) were incredibly lovely. As mentioned I spent the first two nights with Danny & Sharon getting to know both of them alot better (they are very cool wonderful people). The next two nights I spent with Rob who is, as always, wonderful but working too hard. He introduced me to a Canadian vampire/cop series which was quiet good (despite dodgey special effects) over chinese take away and the night before we watched "School Of Rock". I also got the chance to catch up with Jason yesterday afternoon. We went to Vegie O ate cake and drank smoothies then ran around Fitzroy Gardens to work off the sugar. We also took a nice walk along Southbank (showed him the Doctor Who chalk drawings which he promply took photos of... why does my life suddenly seem full of Dr Who fans?) and watched the sun set over the Yarra. We also saw a Critcal Mass (the bike riding people) who were doing a ride and holding up traffic (bless them) as we waited for the tram.

I often refer to Melbourne as my second home, and it is a city where I have always felt comfortable. I have visited it on seven occassions (five since last July- you can all guess why I kept going back most recently) and had considered moving over there almost as many times. It is a city where I can get a good feed and well built non-leather shoes. It has some of the most passionate animal activists and a thriving plethera of geeks. Its summers aren't scorching and its sunsets are beautiful. It has cake and culture. But most importantly it has people that I value, love and care about deeply. People who I will genuinely miss and who are the sort that I actively make time for. People who understand me in different ways but more so than so many other people who I associate with on a more regular basis. It means hugs and phone calls get pretty expensive but being able to rant/cry/talk to someone who actually has a clue about why you are feeling the way you is invaluable in the grand scheme of things. In an earlier post I commented I went out to dinner with 7 people I love dearly. The truth is that whilst I love them, each of them understand me in their own way and I am truly thankful for that.

But now I have a whole new city to explore for the moment... excellent.