((NB: If you haven't been to New Zealand before - The following is my initial thoughts and feelings when I first hit New Zealand after having had two of the most bizarre months in South America and Polynesia - We had some fantastic experiences in NZ and I'll be updating the site with them soon - Dana ))

We are in a trailer park. Honestly. My boyfriend, Tim keeps on speaking in a stupid Deep South, American accent and what with his hair looking as bad as it does, those ridiculous side burns and his belly having quadrupled since Venezuela he's fitting in quite nicely.

Its REALLY COLD and it WONT STOP BLOODY RAINING!!!! We are so bored that I am finally catching up on my journal and Tim is amusing himself by scaring the gulls and then purposely coaxing them back so that he can scare them away again.

We are not actually in a trailer, thank God, although I do feel like Eminem's sister before he got famous. We are in a really run down cabin that has a kitchen and dining area and a separate bedroom with three bunks in it and no bathroom. Outside my window there are loads of caravans and other cabins. They are horrible and run down. They proudly terrace the coast of the beach here.

It would be a lovely coastline if it wasn't for this bloody trailer park. Unbelievably, this place is down as a highlight in the Rough Guide. Someone is either having a laugh at the reader's expense or they haven’t been back to check this place out since the 60’s. Lonely Planet, I take back every complaint I have ever made about you.

We've not seen that much of New Zealand yet, but so far it's proving way too much like home for me. We haven't been to the South Island yet, which is supposed to be better than the North. The countryside is beautiful, but the architecture in many of the towns is horrible. The houses in all the towns we’ve been to so far all look exactly the same - bar Auckland, which looks like the South Bank in London.

The Sky Tower is very cool though and the skyline of the city at night looks really nice. In every town we have been in, the houses are all one storey boxes made out of panelled, white wood with tin roofs. They look like post war pre-fabs.

The moment you get two km out of the towns, though, the countryside is lovely. It's so green and lush and everywhere you look there are volcanic hills bursting with amazing trees and plant life.

We’ve just found the towns so bloody dull though. Everything shuts at five and the pubs are full of British backpackers on their gap year. No joke, we are the oldest travellers we have seen. The worst thing is EVERYONE SEEMS TO BE ENGLISH - even the bar staff! Where are all the New Zealanders? Do the Maori's actually exist?? I'm wondering whether all the Kiwi's aged between 20 and 30 are backpacking themselves - probably back at home - because they're not here.

I think we are both a little bit stunned because we've arrived here after two months in South America and , Polynesia proper. It's very easy to forget that this is technically still Polynesia.

There are often signs that remind you though. The conical black mountains are very similar to those in Tahiti. The Maori language is similar and of course the Maori people look similar (not that we've actually seen any people of Maori desent yet). When we were driving back from the Coromandel Peninsula we saw a parrot, wild, sitting on the roadside. The weeds that grow wild here are gorgeous flowers - people in London would pay a fortune for them.

But in the towns it just all seems so normal - as if someone accidentally dropped us off in Heathrow - suddenly we are bombarded with images that you don't normally take in consciously at home, Lloyds Bank signs, McDonalds, cash points everywhere, Christmas decorations, the Guardian Weekly, birthday cards, the ability to put even three dollars on your card, fish and chip shops all over the place, burgers, cooked breakfasts and, of course everyone speaking English.

There's nothing wrong with any of that of course, I'm already looking to having my hair cut, buying some decent clothes and beauty products and finding an internet cafe that actually has a decent connection. And of course for the first time in ages I can actually get a decent glass of wine - HURRAH! We're just suffering from serious culture shock I think.

Apart from the horrific architecture in all the towns so far except central Aukland (sorry all my Kiwi friends), it’s a lovely place. The people are really welcoming and friendly. The kind of people that go out of their way to help you, even if they just overhear that you might be lost or need help they offer themselves without being asked. For someone from London it's just so lovely.

We've watched TV for the first time in months and it's hysterical. They have a late night music show which is appalling. They show a film every night though which is good and some of the adverts really have me in fits of laughter. My favourite is the car windscreen ad whose catch phrase is 'show us your crack'. They'd never allow us to get away with that at home - pure class!