By the time we got from the airport to our accommodation it was around 9am. We knew it would be far too early to check in, but thought this might be a good thing as we wouldn’t be tempted to have a ‘nap’, only to wake up 8 hours later.

Luckily, the place has a pool and gym with shower facilities, so we were able to freshen up – a real bonus for anyone standing within 3 feet of us.

First priority was factor 30 sunscreen. We know that the sun in NZ is extremely strong and found out later that day that the ‘burn time’ was just 7 minutes.

We then went for a stroll around the Auckland Harbour area and sat in the sun for a while, then did a bit of shopping in Queen Street, which has a strange mixture of designer shops, a la Gucci, high street shops and cheap souvenir shops.

Come lunchtime, our watches were telling us it was 12.30pm, but our bodies were telling us different. We didn’t know whether we were tired, hungry, thirsty or what. We stumbled across the ubiquitous Irish bar and stopped for chips and a nice ice cold coke. Yes, coke!

After returning to the hotel to check in and gaze longingly at the comfy bed, we forced ourselves out and about again. A few hours later, which all passed in a bit of a haze, we found ourselves in cool-named Vulcan Lane, at a bar (Vulture’s Lane) serving craft beers (real ale).

By the time we left, at 7pm, we had got to know Jordan, one of the staff, and her brother, who runs the bar. They gave us loads of tips on the best places to eat in Auckland and generally just had a great chat. We may return to do some beer tastings! (Angus:- We will definitely be returning).

At 9pm we were back at the hotel, stuffed with tasty Hell Pizza, struggling to keep our eyes open, so we admitted defeat.

It’s now 3.15am and it appears that Angus has succeeded in Operation Beat Jetlag, whereas I’ve failed miserably! Oh well, I’ll have a read of some tourist leaflets about Waiheke Island, which is on our to-do list.