..  that it snowed yesterday on the way back from Doubtful Sound..  When we got here, it was FREEZING cold, and all the mountains had a great new powder coating..  It was a tad warm today, so a lot of it melted, but there's more snow on the mountains then was there when we arrived..  The weather here is so off and on, it's kinda bizarre.

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Today I did the Canyon Swing.  It was THE SHIT!  I didn't think I would be scared, but when you're actually there on the platform, harnessed and hooked up, it's just terrifying.  They kept trying to get me to move closer to the edge, and my feet just turned to lead..  I basically freaked the hell out.  They didn't push me to do it, just let me figure it out for myself..  Finally, I just realized that there was no way that I WASN'T going to do it since I'd paid the money,  was harnessed up, and there were two guys that had already gone ahead of me.  I'm not a wimp by any means, but it was pretty tough..  Here's a vid..



Then, instead of my Indian food, we went for seafood instead.  They don't do seafood the way we think of it, it's kinda crazy stuff, usually cooked with some strange cream sauce or something sweet.  So Navarre got eggs benedict with smoked salmon (that was to DIE for..), and I got a ham and smoked hoki fish cake with a poached egg and a mustard sauce.  Also to die for..  I also had 2 lovely big beers, since I jumped from a very high platform today and I deserved it..  And the music they were playing at this place was AWESOME..  I came back and looked a bunch of it up..  One band I have to download for sure is Salmonella Dub.

Then we just kind of bummed around the lake, got gelato, and leisurely made our way back to the room here.  Now we're just hanging, because we're kinda too broke to do anything else, and again, I deserve the leisure because I jumped from a very high platform.  Yeah, I'll be milking that for a while..

Here's a video by a guy named Tiki Taane.  They're playing this song everywhere, and I LOVE it..  There's always one song from every trip that stands out..  In Germany, Bonz and I kept hearing Life after Love by Cher..  In Mexico, Navarre and I discovered the joy that is Gasolina.  And here in New Zealand, the song of songs is Always on my Mind..  I need to travel enough so that I can compile a CD..



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Birds we've seen here:

(Livestock)
Ostriches
Emus
Turkeys
Peacocks
Chickens

(Wild)
California quail
House sparrows (natives call them brown bush robins)
Several species of duck and/or mallard
Pukekos
Blackbirds
White swans
Black swans
Geese of some sort
Tuis (they sound like R2D2)
White faced heron
Native parakeets
Red-billed seagulls
Black-billed seagulls
Black backed seagulls
Several species of albatross  (ALBATROSS!!)
Shags
Kestrels
Kiwis
Some sort of hawk that we keep seeing everywhere
Shearwaters
Cape pigeons
PIed stilts
New Zealand pigeon
Fantail

We didn't see any penguins or kea birds.  We'll just have to come back..

.... was KILLER!  Seriously, who gets to go look at glaciers?  It's surreal.  It looks like it's really close, until you realize that those tiny black specks on the glacier are PEOPLE..  I took a pic at full 10x zoom, and they still look like specks.  It was pretty kewl.   There was a ton of walking tho, and I really wasn't up to it.  But I AM getting better..  

Once we left the glacier, we went to a great little bar in town called 'The Monsoon' where we had some kick ass burgers and I had some more kick ass NZ beer..  They were also playing pop videos, and the music here is just SO good.  They really like the weird, groovy music that's difficult to find in the states..  Kinda accoustic/folk/funk type stuff..  I've been spending time trying to find some of it on iTunes, but to no avail..

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The next day, we made the drive South to Queenstown.  We left at 6am.  It was supposed to take 6 hours, but it took 8 because there were so many rivers/waterfalls/glaciers to stop at that we couldn't help ourselves..  Also, on a bizarre side note, we were driving along and saw a couple from Israel that we saw a couple days before in Abel Tasman..  They were on the side of the road at a scenic overlook.  It was bizarre..

We got here, checked in to our really cute little B&B, and took the car back to the airport to turn it in..   

Queenstown is the perfect little alpine city..  (We're in the 'Southern Alps' so it fits..)  From our hotel balcony, we overlook a lake and snow-capped mountains..  And the owners here are really sweet..  We've gone into town twice, and it's a crazy climb back up the hill..  But there are cute little shops, and we sat by the lake for a while..  It's been pretty mellow.  We even ordered pizza since we found a good place here..  Mostly we've been chilling..

Today, though, we got up and got picked up at 6:30 for our Doubtful Sound cruise..  It was AAAWWWEEESSSOOOMMMEEE..  It was like a 3 hour drive, then a 30 minute boat ride across a lake, then another 30 minute drive all over this crazy steep, twisty gravel road, and it just opened up into the most amazing place I've ever seen..  It was stunning..  

We didn't see any seals, dolphins, or penguins, but the scenery was just outstanding..  I got lots of pics..  And now, when I come home, and I'm feeling goofy, I can just say that I'm PINING FOR THE FJORDS!!!  :-)

Tomorrow I'm going on the Canyon Swing..  http://www.canyonswing.co.nz/index.php ..  CAN'T WAIT!  Navarre refuses to go, of course..  Weenie..  :-D

But there are loads of Indian restaurants here in town, and I get to get some Vindaloo for my bravery..  Life is good..  :-)

 We’re here at a lovely little lodge/ B&B at Franz Josef national park.  And we slept in until 11am this morning.  Which is terrible, and hedonistic, and a rotten waste of this beautiful glacier behind us that we should be exploring by now, but MAN it felt good.  And Navarre’s having some really bad stomach problems, so we may not do too much exploring.  Oh well.  We got some great pics of it yesterday, so if that’s all we do, I’ll be satisfied.  Also, the weather is really rotten, and we’re up in the clouds as it is.  The glacier is even higher up, and I just don’t think that today is the best day to go traipsing through the rain and nastiness with Navarre needing a bathroom break every half hour.

 

I only wish this place had ‘net access tho.  I could work on photos and upload, and maybe even catch some folks in real time.  They don’t have a phone either.  LOL  So at the very least, we’ll prolly go into town and find a ‘net café and/or a payphone.

 

Yesterday we got up EARLY EARLY, and got onto the Trans Alpine train.  WOW.  It was stunningly beautiful.  And of course, the batteries to my camera died in the first hour, and the other batteries were packed away and checked in the luggage cart.  So I had to just sit and LOOK at everything.  It drove me insane for a while, but then I just relaxed and enjoyed..  It was amazing. 

 

Navarre spent hours out on the observation deck snapping pics, so I get to pilfer some of hers..  :-D

 

Then we walked all over the town of Greymouth, looking for the Thrifty car rental place.  Actually, Navarre did.  I had a nasty headache, and sat my booty down at a coffee shop and politely informed her that I would stay with the luggage while she went looking.  She found it, and picked me up in the cutest little blue-grey Suzuki.  I LOVE this tiny little car.. It’s so damn cute!

 

So we drove down the coast to the park..  Beach on the right, snow-capped mountains on the left.  It was awesome.. 

 

We got here too late to do any exploring, so we dropped our stuff and went into town for food.  We ate at a place called ‘Ice Blue’..  Navarre had lamb shanks (she’s had like 4 different variations of lamb shanks since we’ve been here), and I had pasta with a bacon/mushroom alfredo sauce.  And MONTIETH’S CELTIC ALE..  The beer here is SOOOOOOOO good!  So we ran to the grocery store so Navarre could get some milk, and I could get another 6 pack of Monteiths, but I got the Summer Ale.  Stoked to try it..  I’d like to bring home some 6 packs, but don’t know how that will go.  I’ll probably just spend the rest of my life trying to find NZ beers in the US..  Oh well.  There are less worthy life quests.

 

Now we’re watching ‘Biker Build Off’, and Navarre is feeling a bit better.  So I’ll hop in the shower and we’ll drive around as long as she’s able.  YAY!  *we get to see a glacier!!  we get to see a glacier!!!  woot!!!

…  we did a lot today.  We got up at the crack of dawn, cleaned out the camper, made our way to the post office, mailed our shit ($441NZ), checked into our hotel, took the camper back, came back to the hotel for a 2hr bath/nap/room service break, and then walked all over Christchurch.

 

We got a little testy with each other.  Partially because neither of us got much sleep last night, and partially because we just had so much to do..

 

But Christchurch is really pretty.  There are such beautiful old English-style churches everywhere, and I got some amazing pictures.  There’s a beautiful Cathedral in the middle of a big square that I could have photographed for hours.  The architecture is just lovely.  In the Cathedral Plaza, there was a group of obnoxious teenagers playing with inflated condoms.  Just goes to show that teenagers are rotten everywhere you go.

 

The roomservice was also to die for.  I had a great chicken laksa, and Navarre had smoked salmon hash..  It was also pretty expensive, so we then indulged ourselves in McDonalds for dinner.  Yum.  J

 

Tomorrow we have to be up and packed, in the lobby at 7am, where a car will pick us up and take us to the Trans-alpine railway station.  There we’ll board a train to take us to Queenstown.  And we’ll be there for 6 days.  Life is good.

 

The best thing about being in a hotel room is that you don’t have to find your shoes to go to the bathroom.  I feel like I’m just bathed in luxury here.  A bed even.  Aaaahhhhh…

 

Going to go to bed relatively early, and hopefully tomorrow will be easier and more congenial. 

 

Love you guys!  Hope everything is good! J

 

...  a freakin' SPERM WHALE today.  No shit!  I was about 20 feet away from a SPERM WHALE!!  It was killer.  I got probably 50 pics, including 2 crummy pics of it breaching, and one really GREAT picture of it breaching.  Lots of fin mostly, but it was GLORIOUS!!  And what's really kewl is that you can see the mountains on the mainland in the background.  Great pics.  Can't upload them, however, because the wireless is fried here, so I'm on their desktop..  :-(

We're so sick of the camper that we can't stand it..  We turn it in tomorrow, and we decided to just get a little cottage so that we can clean the bejeezis out of the camper so it's all ready to go tomorrow.  Of course, on the last night that we have it, Navarre tried to pull into the carport of said cottage, and bashed the top.  We probably shouldn't even bother cleaning it, since the repairs will be so expensive.  Although we DID buy the expensive insurance, so we have our fingers crossed that it won't cost us anything.. 

I also had delightful fish and chips, and Navarre had some lovely seafood chowder for lunch.  Honestly, the food here is a bit hit-or-miss..  Everything is SO sweet!  I would kill for pizza, but they make it with BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce.  And I got nachos yesterday, which were made with baked beans instead of refried or black beans.  I just get really tired of the sweet stuff.  And although the fish and chips today was lovely, the ketchup has ginger in it, and is also WAY too sweet.  So, here I am in total paradise, bitching about the food.  Typical, whiny American.  LOL

That's mostly it..  Just a long drive after the whale watching down here to Christchurch.  Tomorrow we have to truck around and find a post office to send a bunch of stuff home, turn in the camper, organize ourselves for the train trip on Tuesday morning, etc., etc, etc..  It's going to be a crazy time here.  And one thing we REALLY wanted to do, a sunrise hot air baloon ride, is totally out of the question.  Bummer.  We'll just have to come back I guess..  :-)

Uploaded some more pics to http://photobucket.com/trippingvine ..  There are some pretty good beach ones in there.. 

... from Blenheim to Kaikoura today.. This was by FAR the most beautiful drive. The first part started like all the others, hills, sheep, vineyards, etc.. But then we started driving along the coast. It's really rocky and stark, and reminds me a little of Maine..

But we saw three really amazing things. We saw a lot of mountains with snow caps. I'll just never get tired of that. THEN, we saw this beautiful view of the beach on the left, at about 11 o'clock, and a snow capped mountain on the right, at about 1 o'clock. It just seems so wrong and strange to see both together, but there they were.. And THEN, I just happened to look over the ledge to the coast, and there they were, DOZENS OF SEALS! JUST LAYING THERE!!! So we got out and immediately started snapping pics. Now if we can just see a penguin, we'll be happy campers.. I think I saw a dolphin or two out in the water, but Navarre DEFINITELY saw two jumping up out of the water..

We went into town and signed up for the whale watching tour tomorrow, and we're pretty stoked about that. It's expensive, but seriously, when will we EVER get a chance to go see a sperm whale again? NEVER. That's when..

We also bummed around town and had a great hot meal. There's a beer here called Speight's Old Dark, which is my new favorite. It's dark and malty, but not hoppy at all. Very smooth and drinkable. I LOVE IT!

After whale watching tomorrow, we drive to Christchurch and have our last night in the camper. Navarre's VERY happy about that.

BY THE WAY, I've been trying to email Mom and Dad, so if you guys are reading this, I'm having trouble with my email program.. Entourage doesn't use any of the authentication methods avail on this stupid 'net, so please don't think I'm not talking to you.. Mom, I'm severly bummed about Jimmy's leg.. I hope everything is OK, hug him and Bonz for me.. Also, thank you SO much for looking in on the doggies. I know they appreciate it.. Dad, that's really kewl about Carlos! I'll try to call him, but we'll just be in Christchurch for one day so may not get a chance..

Love you guys! :-)

LOVE IT!  For real tho!! 

We drove from our lovely little perch up on the beach down through Abel Tasman park.  We had some concerns about trying to take one of the tours, but we just lucked into a boat tour leaving at 1:30..  It was 1:06..  So we stowed our stuff in the camper really quick, and prepared to board a lovely speed boat/aqua taxi which afforded us a round trip around the whole of the park.  We had to stop and drop off/pick up lots of hikers at various beaches, but it was the SHIT!!!

We saw seals.  YEAH!  SEALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Also, there was a penguin swimming along, but the guide saw him, pointed him out, and he quickly disappeared underwater.  Bummer.  We never actually saw him.  BUT WE SAW SEALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And we want one.  We're going to try to figure out how to take one home with us.  We may have to buy it a seat next to us on the plane.  And we'll definitely have to figure out how to fill in the pool again.  But IT'S A SEAL!!!!  Who cares??

After our lovely boat ride (did I mention the rock formations were also just STUNNING?), we hopped back into the camper and drove down here to Blenheim, NZ, close to Nelson..  So we're here now.  Really, NOTHING good happened aside from the boat ride, and there's just not much to write about that.  So it seems like a short entry, but I assure you, it was a brilliant day.

One thing I know for sure, Navarre will never again consent to driving the mountain roads in NC..  She's really been a champ at driving these INSANE roads down here.  I took a pic of one winding up a mountain, and I'd post it, but it would take me an hour.  So I'll post it at some time when the 'net is better..

Oh, and I got a hat.  It's black courderoy affair, and it's lovely.  I'm very happy.

The camper is getting old though.  We've done the camper thing, and we're OVER it.  Having lots of stupid little tiffs..  The hotel will be a welcome break..

Love you guys!  Hope everything is good! :-) 

Wow..  People told us that we'd like the South Island better, but we were completely baffled..  How could anything be prettier than the North Island?  

But WOW!  It's just more rugged, the mountains are higher, the beaches are more remote and lonely, it's just a whole new level of breathtaking..  Pics will follow at some point, because it's taking me forever to go through and pick the ones I want to post..  I've taken SO many..

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This morning, we got up at the crack of dawn and hit the road to board the ferry in Wellington.  It was such a crazy procedure..  We parked in the belly of the beast, and then walked around upstairs, mostly trying to find places to sit, and eating a crummy lunch..  But it was nice and mellow, and we got a touch of cruise-ship syndrome, where we just couldn't keep our eyes open.  So we had a lovely nap..  

When we woke up, we were boating through these beautiful, craggy mountains.  It was amazing.  

We got off the boat, and started the long drive up here to Pohara Beach, just North of Abel Tasman national park.  We got on this crazy twisty road up the biggest mountain we've conquered so far.  In a stupid camper van, that's quite a feat.  Navarre's a rock star.

There was a lookout point, where Navarre took a quickie nap, and I did a 15 minute walk up this really great trail lined with these bizarre basalt formations on either side..  At the end of the path was the MOST beautiful view of the valley we had just travelled through.  I can't even say how stunning it was..  The mountain we climbed had snow at the very top, even though we didn't get up QUITE that high.

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So now we're here at the camper park, and we're parked right on the beach.  It kicks so much ass..  I freaked out and jumped out of the camper before Navarre had even parked it, and started roaming the beach looking for seashells.  Got this great pic of rays of light coming down through the clouds onto a far shore..  Stunning.  And we picked up some really amazing shells to boot.  

There was an older lesbian walking along the beach with a horse and a dog..  She gave us a husky lesbian 'Hello', (known the world over to our kind), and I've been trying to get Navarre to use that as an opening to her newest romance novel.  I got pics of the horse prints in the sand, and mixed with the rays of light, it would make the perfect cover.  So I'm hoping she'll do it..

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Then we hoofed it down to a restaurant down the road called 'The Penguin Inn'..  Navarre had a huge lamb shank in tomato sauce, and I had a beef/black mushroom pie with nummy puff pastry over the top.  I'll post pics when I can..   I've also been drinking Speights Old Dark beer, which is divine..

It was there that we found out about the penguins here.  We hoofed it a little towards town to see if we could find some, but didn't make it.  They're apparenly about 10 inches tall, and they hang out in the ocean during the day, and then cross the road to nest in the bush on the hill across the road.  They're trying to raise money to build clutches for them on the beach..  I wish we could have seen some, but oh well.

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Tomorrow we're going to try to get up early again, and go sea kayaking in the Abel Tasman park.  We're also going to bum around town, and then find another place to stay tomorrow night.  It's really pretty here, but we need to get South so that our drive to Christchurch isn't quite so harrowing.

But right now, I'm tired, and going to bed.  I love you guys, and miss you, and hope everyone is well! :-)

Basically, we just trucked it up the West coast a bit to Paraparaumu Beach for tattooing goodness..  Unfortunately, the artist in residence didn't have time to fit us both in, so I let Navarre go ahead since this IS her birthday trip after all..  She got the most BEAUTIFUL tattoo of the North and South Island.  The North island has the NZ flag, and the South Island has a silver fern frond..  I'll still be getting mine, but I'm kinda bummed that this girl couldn't do it.  It was pretty cheap, too, considering how good it is.  I'm envious, but happy for her.



I'm going to get a silver fern frond over my left shoulder probably down in Queenstown, because we'll be there for 4 or 5 days and I'll have plenty of time..

We also bummed around the beach a bit, and it was really strange and beautiful.  The sand is dark grey, and when you look across the water, there's a big, mountainous island..  Apparently, when trees die there, they wash across to Paraparaumu, because there was the most amazing variety of driftwood..  Also some strange skulls and bones, which I got pics of..  Lots of yummy texture and funky shapes, so I took about a billion pics..

Speaking of pics, I uploaded another 4 days worth.  It takes forever just to go through and pick the ones I want, so that's why it's taking so long.  But go to http://photobucket.com/trippingvine, and they're there..  At some point I'm going to go back and photoshop everything and organize them into albums by location, but right now I'm just doing what I can..

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We came back and drove around Wellington for a bit trying to find the souvenir coin machine that's supposed to be in the city.  I found it, but after the shop had already closed.  Dammit.  

Tomorrow we're jumping on the ferry to go across to the South Island.  It's supposed to be a very choppy, tumultuous, 2 hour trip.  Should be fun.  I'm stoked to go, because the South Island is supposed to be even MORE ruggedly beautiful and less populated..  According to a guy I talked to, about 80% of the NZ population lives in the North Island, mostly in Auckland and Wellington.

I'm happy to go, but sad to leave the North Island.  There's so much good stuff up here, and I feel like we just barely scratched the surface..  Oh well..

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I love you guys, and miss you, and hope everything is good! :-) 

..  from Napier to Wellington yesterday.  The trip was kewl, mostly uneventful.  Beautiful, of course..  

We hit another bird, one of the pretty green native parrots unfortunately..  :-(  We saw some GORGEOUSLY huge mountains..  Stopped at a really pretty overlook and got some good pics.  Got into a SLIGHT tiff trying to find the camper park, but finally found it..  And then I sat in the 'net room and worked on putting together some photos to share.

If you wanna see them, they're at http://photobucket.com/trippingvine ..  I know there's an easy way to add them to this blog, but I'll be buggered if I can figure it out..  :-)

You have to click on the 'New Zealand' album on the left..

They haven't been properly photoshopped yet, so don't be too harsh..  Some need some adjustments, but I tried to pick the best of the best..  But so far, this is just from the first 3 days.  OUCH, I have a lot of work to do!  :-)

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Basically, Navarre sat in the camper all night reading while I sat in the 'net room picking through photos and reducing the sizes so that I could share them.  

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Today we went into Wellington to find the local Harley Davidson dealership.  It smelled like home.  And we met a man there that was SOO nice.  He told us all the best places to go on the South Island, and showed us some specially made French air shocks geared toward my Nightster, so we're prolly going to go home, make some $$, and place an order to have them shipped home..  He was a super nice guy.  He told us about an overlook at the top of a long, windy road that gives you a 360 degree view of the whole city.  On a clear day, you can even see the South Island across the straight, and we could just barely make it out.  It was STUNNING!  And Navarre just keeps blowing me away with her driving skills.  At one point, we ended up on a 1 lane rd between an Asian man who wouldn't move and cars on the other side.  We got stuck, and she had to BACK up again between said Asian man and cars.  She kicks so much ass with the driving..

Then we just bummed around Wellington/Lower Hutt..  That was mostly it.  We're going tomorrow up to Paraparaumu beach for tattoos and, if I have MY way, pizza.  I would freakin' KILL for pizza right now.  It's funny the things you miss..

Then we get on the ferry Thursday for the South Island.  Woot!!

And here I am again, in the 'net room working on photos, desperately reading and re-reading every email from home.  Navarre is in the camper, reading.  More camper food tonight.  Yaaayy..  :-|

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But we've decided that if we're going to move here, we're living HERE in Wellington..  It's stunning.  There are mountains, beach, a river, pretty much everything pretty you'd like to look at.  And there's a thriving art community down here, so I could be happy and make a living, and there's an HD dealership, so Navarre could fix bikes.  We just have to figure out how to ship the doggies down and get everyone down here for visits..

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OK, back to photos.  Love you guys.  :-)

 

It was a long drive.  Like a long, LONG drive.  The drive today will be even longer.  But it was truly beautiful countryside we went through yesterday.  It went from relatively flat farmland into craggy cliffs with bizarre rock formations and extremely steep hillsides covered with sheep.

 

We stopped at the Pouakani Totara tree walk a little ways out of Waitomo.  Navarre was being kind and letting me go see the big tree, and she IMMEDIATELY regretted it.  A walk that should have been 20 minutes was about 2 hours because of my obsessive tree photographing habit.  But I just couldn’t help myself.  Everything was lush, green, overgrown, twisty, and a little decayed.  It was my DREAM photography environment..  I took some great shots of bark textures, moss, ferns, tree canopies, pretty much all my favorite things.  I also got some good ones of her further along the path, glaring back at me.  She hated it. 

 

But the tree itself was stunning.  It was almost as kewl as Tane Mahuta..  It was a different kind of tree, not a Kauri but a red pine.  It has a really kewl Maori name, but I’ll be buggered if I can remember it.  It had a load of plants growing up in the joins of the branches, which is really amazing to me.  It was younger than Tane Mahuta as well, only 1750-1850 years. 

 

Then, as we progressed onward, we got pulled over by an extremely polite NZ police officer for going 118km in a 100km zone.  He was so pleasant and apologetic about the $120NZ ticket he gave us.  And we were pleasant and apologetic back.  Such a strange country..

 

We also hit a bird.  L  I just heard a thud, and Navarre started freaking out..  It was one of the cute little brown ones that we’ve been feeding breadcrumbs to.  L

 

We zipped through Taupo, stopping for about 20 minutes at a little park to take pics of the lake and a snow-capped mountain off in the distance.  It was really kewl, and looked like a great little city.  We thought about stopping there, but that would have made our drive today a lot more cumbersome, so we continued South to Napier.

 

We didn’t get to see much of Napier either.  It’s a cute little beach community with tons of restaurants, marinas, etc..  I would have liked to spend a little time there, but again, the drive today is kinda daunting, so it’s just as well that we continued on.  (Side note, Navarre just freaked out and started pointing straight ahead, squealing ‘Snow on a mountain!  Snow on a mountain!!’..  That was my cue to pull out the camera and start snapping like mad…)

 

So today we’re going to end up in Wellington, which is the farthest South you can go on the North island.  We’re going to zip back up about 45 minutes on the West coast to Paraparaumu Beach, which is where a world famous tattoo studio resides.  We have a feeling it might be closed, because we tried to get in touch with them twice from the States, but to no avail.  If they’re open, we shall become further tattooed.  If not, we’ll wait until Queenstown.  I hope they’re open.  They really are very good.

 

And then Thursday morning, we take the ferry across to the South Island.  Everyone up here RAVES about the South Island.  That’s where everyone up here goes for vacation.  It’s so INSANELY beautiful up here, that I can’t even imagine what it will be like down there.

 

I got to talk to Mom and Papa today, which was really nice.  Everyone got together at Grandma and Papa’s house, and it was really kewl to say hi to everyone.  I miss you guys, and love you, and will see you soon!  (Kiss JimJim and Los Doggies for me! J)

 

OH!  Almost forgot, when we were in Waitomo, I DID get to go to that café up on the hill.  It’s called Huhu café, and I had a lovely cappuccino, beetroot/pumpkin soup (they’re crazy about pumpkin down here), and pasta with asparagus, tomatos, and spinach.. 

 

Then, we woke up the next morning and did the Ruakura cave, which was AMAZING!  It was just beyond unbelievable..  The stalagtite and stalagmite formations were just SO beautiful.  And there’s a river rushing through where we could have gone ‘black water rafting’ in the pitch black, but we didn’t realize that until it was too late.  It was a 2 hour tour with a really great tour guide, and it was just one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen..  I used up my memory card in my camera, but Navarre dutifully snapped a couple hundred pics with my gentle urging.  J

 

 

 We decided to skip the geothermal goodness in Rotorua because we seem to be hemorrhaging cash at an increasingly alarming rate.  We’ve gotten all of our souvenirs, however, and we’ve been doing really well with eating RV food from the fridge.  I’m a little sick of it, but it’s really the only way to make sure the $$ holds out.  Navarre couldn’t care less, but she doesn’t eat much anyways, and so it’s just not a big deal to her..  I think I may be able to whine my way into going to a cute little café up on the hill from our RV site tonight tho..  Cross your fingers for me..

 

There also aren’t that many ‘attractions’ that we intend to go see from here.  Everything on the South island is pretty much booked ahead, and we’re just going from town to town until we get there.  Of course, the hurtling myself off of something enormous will cost some $$, but the Doubtful sound cruise/train trip/etc are all paid for.  Although it just occurred to me that the whale watching is not.

 

Whatever, we should be able to make it OK.  And we got a carved wooden Maori war club last night, which looks like a big paddle.  So if Navarre gets outta hand I can give her a good swat.  So the relationship is in full working order even though we’re living in roughly 50 square feet together.  Life is good.  J

 

So now we’re in Waitomo, home of the world-famous Glow Worm Caves.  It was one of those things that you see on all the New Zealand DVDs, and so you just absolutely HAVE to do it, but once you do it, you’re a little disappointed.  The cave part was really kewl.  I’m an Earth sign with strong Water signs in my chart, and so something about a cave dug deep into the earth by a rushing river makes me very happy and peaceful.  But the glow worms were just in one small cavern, and it just wasn’t as kewl as you would think..  Also, there were a ton of really beautiful rock formations on the drive here, and that made me happy and peaceful as well.

 

Got some good pics.  But not of the cave.  Can’t take pics inside the cave.  L  I don’t even know what to do with myself if I can’t take pics.  I might buy a postcard or two.. 

 

Tomorrow we’re going the Ruakuri cave, which has no glowworms (they’re just fly maggots anyways, which kind of kills the magic), but it’s supposed to be a truly spectacular cave.  AND CAMERAS ARE WELCOME!!!!!  Woot!

 

Then we’re going to drive South to Lake Taupo, which is rumored to be spectacular.  But so were the Glow Worm Caves, so I’ll decide when we get there.. 

 

Something about the water here is making my hair SO unbelievably soft..  Which means it’s frizzing like mad, but I don’t care because it’s just so soft..  My skin feels really good too, although my face is breaking out.  And my cheeks are all red with windburn because we keep standing on hilltops and the like.  I really love this place..  I miss everyone, and I miss my doggies, but I love it here. 

 

Navarre’s totally ready to move.  She keeps asking if I think that I could work in design down here, and to be honest, there’s so much beautiful design down here, I would be a little out of my league.  Even the signage and branding of the Waitomo Caves is stunning, simple, and striking.  I don’t know if I’m that good yet.  J

 

Also, the silver fern leaf is this really kewl reoccurring motif that I just LURVE..  It’s so pretty and natural, and it says a lot about the country that they would embrace a symbol like this.  We passed a village on the way here that was totally hydro-powered, and there really is this drive to maintain natural beauty here.  Although we passed a lot of previous rainforests that have been cleared for pastureland as well.  So I guess there’s more money in livestock than preservation, just like anywhere else. 

 

We passed one pasture that was filled with Shetland ponies..  I want one now.  So we’ll be bringing home a lamb and a Shetland pony..  The dogs will be beside themselves with joy..  Not sure how we’ll work that with customs..

 

Now that we’ve figured out this RV living thing, I’m starting to dig it.  You have to plan your bathroom breaks accordingly, but it really is kewl that everything is right there when you want it..  It’s kind of like halfway between camping and hotelling..  Now that we hit on the idea of just leaving the bed made all the time, it’s a 15 minute process of putting the luggage on the bed in the morning so it doesn’t roll around as we drive, and putting it back on the floor, front seats, etc. in the evening so we can sleep.  We’re totally getting the hang of it, and Navarre KICKS ASS with the driving.  I felt a little bad about not volunteering to help with the driving, but she said she’s really happy to drive, so I’ll let her just go with that feeling..  And I drive everywhere at home anyways, so it all evens out..

 

As long as all the RV parks have ‘net access, I’m a happy camper.  So to speak.  Ok, that was lame.

 

OK, enough of my digressions from digressions.  I’m drinking and so I think I’ve blathered a tad.  (I really have to bring home some of this L&P (Lemon and Peroa), because it’s just SOOOOOO good with bourbon!

 

I love you guys, miss my friends and family, and I hope life is really good for all of you.  J

 

 

 

 

We did SOOOO much yesterday..  It was pretty much my favorite day since we’ve been here.. 

 

First, we ZORBED!!!  When you first pull up to the place, your first reaction is ‘that’s it?’..  We were a little bummed.  On ‘The Amazing Race’ they roll down these huge green hillsides among sheep and it just looks awesome.  Where we went, there was a very short roll down a hillside with deep ruts dug into the ground, so that you stayed on path..  It seemed like such a letdown.

 

Furthermore, we couldn’t do the dry type where they tie you in because of wind.  (?)  So we had to do the wet type where you slosh around inside the ball.  It’s very cold here, and that just sounded like a bad idea to me, but we were bound and determined that there WOULD be some Zorbing action on this trip.  When we first started discussing it, we just kept geeking over the Zorbing, and by GAWD did we Zorb!  It was great!  What takes about 30 seconds feels like 5 minutes when you’re inside the ball sliding around.  I made most of the trip on my back with my head pointed downhill, shrieking and laughing the entire way.  It was fabulous. 

 

The strangest part, however, is when you do the Superman style jump through the hole to get into the ball.  The second strangest part is when you slide out, water gushing around you.  It’s like childbirth.  A little icky. 

 

But I would HIGHLY recommend Zorbing to anyone who gets the chance..

 

Then we went to McDonald’s.  Which cracks me up.  My sister and I went a long time ago in Germany, just to see if it was that different.  And it was.  In fact, some local girl kept talking smack about us, and we nearly got into a fight there.

 

Here was different.  Their McDonald’s is HUGE!  And it was packed.  And the food was about 10 times better.  Even the packaging on my Quarter Pounder pointed out the various parts of NZ where the beef and cheese come from..   Navarre got a choccy shake, which tasted totally different and slightly minty.  It was strange, but delish.

 

I took some pics of giant red pines in the parking lot.

 

We got dressed up and hopped a shuttle around 4 to go for the Maori Hangi.  I can’t even tell you how un-freaking-believable that was.  It was just breathtaking..

 

We walked around the village of Te Pui, where there’s a traditional carving school, traditional weaving school, and lots of fun geothermal goodies.  We saw a mated pair of kiwi birds there on display (they’re much bigger than we thought), learned how to use NZ flax to make skirts, etc., and got to see the geyser go off twice.  It was just the bomb.  And I don’t use the b word lightly. 

 

Then we got together for the Hangi feast, but we first went through the challenge ritual where the warriors emerge from their meeting house, grunting and making crazy faces, waving weaponry around, etc..  I got some good pics.  

 

Then we went into the meeting house, where we saw the traditional dances, story telling, etc..  It was great.  Got some more good pics.

 

And the feast was killer.  There was a buffet of all sorts of local seafood, but the best part is when they brought out all the food that had been steaming for hours in the pit..  There was chicken, pork, lamb, corn, pumpkin, but my FAVORITE part is these little yellow sweet potatoes they have here.  They’re tiny and carmelly yellow, and they soaked up all the smoke flavor.  So they were sweet and smoky and had tough skins..  Now we just have to figure out how to build one of these steam pit thingies in the back yard.  And hope the doggies don’t fall in. 

 

We then hopped a little trolly to go back down into the valley and view the geyser, which is lit up at night.  It was a totally different experience at night.  Everything just looked iridescent and mystical..  They served hot choccy and we sat on these rocks that are heated from beneath, so even though my dressy outfit is entirely inappropriate for how cold it is here, I was warm and happy.  Got tons of good pics too.

 

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So now we have about 5 min to check out, so I’m uploading this and we’re heading to go see more geothermal stuff.  Then it’s off to the glow worm caves in Waitomo.  And a grocery store.  Because I’m outta Diet Coke.  It could get ugly.  J

 We were expected to spend an extra day in the Northland, but we managed to pack everything in yesterday that we wanted to see through sheer excitement.  So here we are in Rotorua, a day early.  Which is good, because there’s a ton of stuff we want to do here, and we may not have had enough time to do it otherwise..

 

So we’re booked for the Hangi tomorrow, which is the traditional Maori feast.  We had 3 to choose from, and we chose the one that gives us a tour of their weaving and carving school, which is pretty tight since we’re both kinda crafty.  There’s also a tour of a geyser.  And we’re ZORBING tomorrow!  Woot!!!  We’re getting up first thing and we’re prolly going to be the very first dorky tourists waiting in line..  Can’t freakin’ wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The next day we’ll do the tour of all the geothermal spots, and head over towards Waitomo, which is where we’re taking a boat tour of the glow worm caves.  There are also hot springs to bathe in here, and we’re definitely going to try that..

 

The RV park we stayed at last night was stunningly beautiful.  We were perched on top of a windy hill where it rained off and on during the night.  In the morning, we awoke to find ourselves in the middle of BEAUTIFUL farmland, surrounded by sheep, cows, big trees, and a lake off to the side somewhere.  Stunning.  The RV park we’re at tonight is next to a major road, has tiny little cramped spaces, and is PACKED.  But the ‘net access is plentiful and relatively cheap, so life is good.  And it’s nice to be parked in the same place for 2 nights.  It feels almost cozy.  I’m enjoying the nomadic lifestyle (now that we’ve figured out the bed situation), but it really DOES feel good to be somewhere for a few days.  I think we’ll be here for a third night, unless there’s another one near Waitomo..

 

Navarre drove us for 7 hours to get here.  I keep offering to drive, and she keeps turning me down gently, and I’m PERFECTLY happy with never learning to drive on the left side of the road.  I think I’ll try to see how long I can milk it for..  She’s really pretty good at it anyways, and I keep telling her that, thinking that the ego trip might keep me a passenger for the next 12 days.  :-D

 

The countryside wasn’t quite as pretty today, though, but I DID get a lot of good shots again.  OH!  And there are two crazy business names today.  We passed the ‘Swinging Cow’ café, which had a picture of a cow from behind, with udders featuring prominently and tail swishing seductively.  We didn’t stop, because, well, ew.  Can’t go there.  J  The second place was ‘All Thai’d Up’ restaurant..  Funny.  These people are bizarre.

 

We also stopped for about ½ hour at a really pretty beach where we found a bunch of great seashells.  I just hope we don’t have problems either shipping or flying them home..  We might.  Which is a bummer.  I found a really perfect one, like one that you would buy at a shell store..  Navarre also found some really beautiful scallop shells.  It was a good day.

 

Now I’m sitting here in the ‘internet lounge’ (a small room with 2 couches and 2 computers, but lots of plugs for laptops) with an Australian backpacker with the BIGGEST plate of pasta I’ve ever seen, and two polite children whose accents I can’t place.  Navarre is sacked out in the van after her long drive.

 

We’re watching ‘friends’ which is interspersed by subway commercials, where they’re advertising a ‘Moroccan Sub’ with spiced lamb..  It’s really strange, they watch ALL of our shows.  ‘Daddy Day Care’ is the Friday night movie.  But there are a TON of Germans and French people here..  I don’t think we’ve run into any Americans at all..  It’s just odd and exciting all at the same time..

 

We’re bringing ‘Crunchies’ bars home for everyone..  And more of those roasted chicken potato chips.  And L&P soda, which is lemony and delicious, and tastes lovely with Jim Beam.  So we’ll have ‘NZ Junk Food night’ for Survivor when we get back and everyone’s home from various vacations..

 

Damn, this has been a good trip so far..  We’re lucky girls..  :-D

 

OH!  And I decided that instead of getting my ‘Druid’s Egg’ tattoo (by an artist named Jen Delyth), I’m going to get a really simple, cheap, and easy silver fern frond.  It SCREAMS New Zealand, as it’s one of their national symbols, and it’ll take less time and be cheaper.  Which is good.  Navarre still wants to get the outlines of the islands, with prolly a NZ flag in the North Island, and a silver fern frond in the South Island.

 

STOKED!!!

 

 

 We did a LOT of shit today.  Like a LOT, LOT of shit..  We woke up and gathered ourselves after our first (surprisingly pleasant) night in the RV.  We got up crazy early, showered, took pics of the campsite, etc.  And then we headed to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the Maori signed a peace agreement with English settlers back in 1994 or something.  It was a long time ago.. 

 

It was spectacular.  You walk through this really dense rainforest area on these slippery wooden pathways to find yourself on a huge, grassy hilltop overlooking the Bay of Islands.  There’s a big Maori canoe, the house where the treaty was actually signed, and the Meeting House.  The Meeting House is the one you see pics of in everything about New Zealand.  It’s a big white house with red wooden carvings all over..  And the inside has even more beautiful carvings from floor to ceiling, each one done by a different tribe, so they all look unique.  It’s pretty spectacular actually.

 

After Waitangi, we headed to a little nearby beachtown and walked around a couple stores and sat next to the beach for a bit.  It was just a lovely way to wind down.  We saw two seagulls mate.  It wasn’t very impressive.  It was quick and silly looking.  Glad I’m not a girl seagull.

 

Then we got on the road for AGES to find ourselves in the Kauri forest.  It was completely unreal.  Like stepping back in time about 20,000 years.  There were more of those bizarre huge ferns, but EVEN BIGGER!!!  And then we saw Tane Mahuta, the largest tree in New Zealand, and one of the biggest and oldest in the world. 

 

Now, those who have traveled anywhere with me know that I have a certain strange fondness for trees, and most especially taking pictures of trees.  But this behemoth brought tears to my eyes.  I’ve heard about big trees, but I just had NO idea..  Even Navarre, who is often annoyed by my stopping to take pics of trees, uttered a low, but heartfelt ‘Whoa!’..  It was spectacular.  The bummer part is that it was really difficult to take pics that would show the magnitude of this enormous tree..  I had to bend my head straight back to see the top, and there was like a whole other eco system up there.  There were trees growing from the soil caught in the limbs of this tree.  As far as they can tell, it’s at least 2,000 years old.  It was mind blowing.  It was spiritual.  I want to live here.  (If you look closely at the bottom of this pic you can see Navarre waving..)

 

We also stopped at this really great scenic overlook at **********..  It was great, you could see the Tasman Sea on one side, and an inlet on the other, and we picked up lots of jade in the gravel on the way back to the RV..

 

We got on the road for a bit longer, and here we are, at an RV park in Mata-something..  Neither of us can remember the name.  They all start blending after a while.  We’re just eating Anzac cookies (will be bringing some home), and I have a lovely Jim Beam and Ginger Ale.  Life is good.

 

We won’t be able to get online tonight, tho.  We got here after the office was closed and I couldn’t buy a ‘net access card.  So we’re going to find a ‘net café tomorrow so that I can upload this.

 

Hope life is good for everyone back home!  We miss you guys!  :-) 

Ok, this morning we woke up at the crack of dawn again.  I'm actually getting kind of good at this waking up and being semi-aware thing..  There's a lot of good stuff to be semi-aware about here..

We ate a protein bar/slimfast bar brekkies and hopped a cab to the Britt's motorhome rental place..  There we watched videos about driving laws, has a lovely Maori guy with the kewlest haircut show us how to do everything in the RV (we didn't catch a damn word of it), and then took off for our super fun adventure.  Well, Navarre took off, because she was the only one brave enough to try to drive the thing on the wrong side of the street. 

We got lost.  Twice.  And then finally found the grocery store that the guy had circled on our map..  And here's where the food pron begins..  Cover the eyes of anyone NOT into food sensuality..

We got:
- 2 microwaveable meals, a veggie lasagne (ate it tonight, it was fabu, had pumpkin in it), and thai chicken curry
- A metric TON of ramen noodles.  We're trying to be cheap.
- Really good New Zealand skim milk, which tastes different from ours.  Not sure why, but it's lovely.
- Sammich stuff, including wheat bread, garlic and chives mayo, whole grain mustard, ham that tastes more like salted pork loin, garlic salami, smoked cheese singles, chive cheese singles, light peanut butter, and apricot jelly
- Cheese scones
- Anzac cookies (they have coconut and toffee bits..  mmmmmmmmmm.....)
- Diet Coke
- Miscellaneous candy bars, including our absolute favorite, something called CRUNCHIES..  Navarre eats one bite, very slowly, and I devour the rest.  It's kind of like crispy spun brown sugar formed into a block and covered in Cadbury choccies.  NUMMY!
- 3 fascinating flavors of chips, including tsaziki (?), roasted chicken with tarragon, and something else that I can't remember but was equally as bizarre
- Lots of high-protein soups for Navarre
- A ginormous bag of cashews, again for Navarre's protein intake
- That's all I can think of, but I'm sure there was a ton more..  Will report on the yummy things as I try them..

Then we got on the road.

Now, Auckland is a unique, beautiful city.  But it gives you NO sense of what the rest of New Zealand is about.  So I guess it's a good place to acclimate after a harrowing flight..  BUT, once we got about 1/2 hour out of the city, we might as well have been driving on another planet.  It's like the most breathtakingly beautiful parts of the mountains in TN and NC, but with plants out of Dr. Suess.  And SO many shades of green.  It's Spring here, so there's that iridescent spring green, but also shades of blue green, yellow green, dark, light, honestly, I can't even describe it properly.  We saw our first hilly pastureland,dotted with sheep, and we both just gasped, totally stunned at the beauty.  And it just got prettier and prettier the farther North we got. 



THEN, you're surrounded by all this beauty, and you look down a valley to the East, and THERE'S THE OCEAN!  No kidding!  It was truly bizarre.  It's really one thing to imagine how pretty a place is, but it's really surreal when faced with it.. 



My favorite part was one such moment, but across the ocean was a huge volcanic peninsula..  So, you're looking across these blindingly green valleys dotted with dark pines, to beautiful blue sparkling water, and there are these HUGE volcanic rock formations out in the water..  It's bizarre.

Speaking of, everything IS volcanic out here, so don't mean to make you worry Mom, but we could blow at any minute.  :-D

Then there are these really bizarre palm trees everywhere.  They look kind of like a regular palm, about 10-20 feet tall, but the color is a little off..  The leaves are a little too delicate, and the trunk doesn't look quite right.  Then you REALLY look, and you see the curled fronds sticking out the top and you realize that they're freakishly HUGE FERNS!  There are also really big, ancient oak trees with like 4 or 5 different types of plants growing up in the branches.  I swear, it's like we're on another planet..

I'm also seeing a lot of wisteria, and I even saw some edelweiss as we were leaving Auckland today..  We're noticing more and more that there's a strong German influence here..  Interesting..

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Navarre has done really well with the driving on the wrong side of the road thing..  Except for the 3 or 4 times I tried to gently let her know she was about to run off the road on the left side, and she turned around and yelled at me for telling her.  I asked her if she wanted me to NOT tell her and let her run into other cars, ditches, fences, etc., and she yelled that yes, in fact, she does want me to keep my mouth shut.  Otherwise, we're getting along really well.  It's my turn to drive tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll be the very PICTURE of calm, cool collectedness.  (Yeah, right..)

We made our way to the Bay of Islands up here in the North of the North Island, and it's awesome.  It was really cold and rainy today, but it was great to be out in the freezing ocean wind..  We drove through the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but decided to wait until tomorrow to go explore because the weather is supposed to be much better.  I also saw a great old cemetery to go photo, and we both want to spend some time walking on the beach. 

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We finally found our RV park here in Kerikeri, and parked the behemoth.  What's a good way to make everything WAY more of a pain then it has to be?  Do it in an RV!!!!  The only thing more obnoxious would have been if we were backpacking with 3.5 weeks of luggage and sleeping in yurts that we had to construct new every night from skins of the animals we had killed that day. 

Ok, I'm whining.  But this thing was made for short weekend jaunts, not two fat Americans with 3 huge bags each and a serious souvenir-buying problem.  And we've got it for 2 weeks.  AND the power cord for my computer doesn't fit into the plug, so I'm using Navarre's.  Which is OK, but my pics are on mine.  So we have to find a 'net cafe and soon so that I can charge my mac, and upload some pics without blowing up their pipeline.. 

So, it took us about an hour and 1/2 to figure out how to get the bed together and what to do with our luggage, but we finally figured it out..  Life is good again.  We're just going to leave the bed made, and pile the luggage on top while we're driving.  None of this tearing down and reconstructing every night BS..  It's just too much energy.

So that's pretty much it..  It's still pouring outside, and we're snug and happy in our little RV..  I'm writing this, and she's sacked out..

OH!  And the funny business name for today is the 'Porkmore Lodge' in one of the seaside towns we passed through.  Makes you wonder if they eat a lot of pig products, or........

Navarre and I have been through some really unique transitions over the past few years.  I had a hip replacement and a hysterectomy.  She had gastric bypass surgery and lasik on her eyes. 

 

Now that things are settling a bit for us, we really haven’t traveled much.  There was the trip to Key West in January, but Navarre was still quite large then.  NOW, the differences are screamingly evident.  Navarre can outwalk my tired old fat butt any day of the week.  I’m a little bitter about that.  (not really)  I’m really glad that we did get all of our surgery out of the way before this trip, tho, because there’s NO way we could have enjoyed it in the shape that we were in before.  My hip is holding up really well, and Ms. Training for a Mini-Triathlon is really annoyingly energetic.  Life is good.

 

 

We got up obnoxiously early this morning.  As a student, any time before noon is obnoxiously early.  But we got up at 7:30, got ready, and hit a little bistro here in the Sky City complex.  We got AWESOME eggs benedict done up with smoked salmon.  They were served on slices of baguette instead of English muffins, and came with the requisite New Zealand roasted tomato on the side..  It was UNBELIEVABLE.. 

 

Then we hoofed it to the camera store.  I got a really nice Canon (which is what I had before), except it’s an 8 mega pixel with 10x digital zoom.  What I had before was a 5 mega pixel with 10x digital zoom.  So it’s a much better camera.  And the price was pretty decent.  I’m still really bummed though, because A. That was money I didn’t want to spend, and B. I was unnaturally fond of my camera.  It took great shots.  It made me happy.  She was a good girl, and I loved her, and I’ll miss her.  L

 

We then found a little souvenir shop and got some goodies, and then hit a Borders-like bookstore on the way back..  I was blown away that I couldn’t really find any books I wanted.  That NEVER happens.  Navarre didn’t have much luck either, which is really bizarre for us..  Then we sat at Starbucks for a bit and watched the Aucklanders cross the street.  It’s funny how universal Starbucks is.  We could have been on any street corner at any Starbucks in the US, but here we are, on the opposite side of the planet, enjoying bottled water and a white chocolate mocha Frappucino..  I don’t know if that’s comforting or disturbing.

 

Navarre wanted to try to trek to the Harley Davidson dealership, but it’s just WAY too far away..  We got maybe a third of the way there, and I had to turn back for the hotel.  She probably could have made it.  How annoying.

 

 

The Harley dealership was great..  We always have a good time, no matter which one we go to..  The people are all the same, just happy-go-lucky folks with good attitudes..  The accents were a little different, but there was still the same willingness to just shoot the shit with a bunch of out-of-towners..  It was great..  And we got some killer Tshirts.  Life is good.

 

We caught a cab back to the hotel, chillaxed a little more, and then got dressed up (yes, you heard me) for dinner..  We ate at a place called ‘The Observatory’ on the top story of the Sky Tower.  The views were great, even though it was cloudy..  In fact, the thick cloud cover made it even more breathtaking when there was a break, and everything was laid out before us in beautiful detail.  I got some interesting pics..

 

 

The food was OK.  The best part was the bread in the beginning, which was served with 2 different types of butter and a tarragon-infused olive oil.  It was spectacular.  The seafood was very Asian inspired.  As in, ‘I’m really just not sure what exactly this is’ Asian inspired.  I’m usually pretty open minded when it comes to eating different types of food, but just couldn’t find my groove..  Navarre got some shrimp with the heads still on.  She was all bravado and pride when she sat down at the table.  I winced a little, and she acted like I was just being a weenie.  Then she began trying to remove the heads, and grossed herself out bigtime.  What a stud. 

 

We’re going to relax and turn in early today since we get to pick up the RV tomorrow and should probably be well rested for the ensuing hilarity.  We’re heading to the North of the North island for Waitangi, the Kauri Forest, and the Bay of Islands.  Should be KILLER.

 

I miss my doggies, I miss the Jiminator, I miss everyone really, but we’re having a really great time..

 

 We were wrong.  The flight from Atlanta to LA was 4.5 hours, and the flight from LA was 12.5 hours.  NOT 22.  I have no idea why we decided on 22 hours..  Maybe we weren’t paying attention to time changes.  I don’t know, whatever the case, a 12.5 hour flight is something akin to medieval torture.  22 hours would have yielded two emotional/physical wrecks and we couldn’t have enjoyed our time here while staying in the nearest loony bin..

 

Furthermore, I had a really nice, funny kid (maybe 19 or 20) from Chihuahua, Mexico on my other side.  That’s right, I got to sit in the middle..  I kept waking up in the middle of the night with Navarre curled up against me on one side, and the kid curled up against me on the other side..  That’s right, crowd the fat, sweaty girl..  Next time Navarre’s skinny butt is in the middle.  SHE can make friends of the international variety.  I’ll be antisocial in my aisle seat..  And much cooler. 

 

But we’re here now, and the city is absolutely gorgeous.  It’s very hilly.  And the small houses have the charm of Florida with the small yards and cute houses in interesting colors.  It also has a little of the charm of an old Georgia town, with stone walls and ivy everywhere.  But it’s also unique and quirky all on its own..  And there’s water everywhere.  I guess it’s easy to forget that this is an island, but there really IS a beach within an hour no matter where you go..

 

We passed a store on the way to our hotel called ‘Knobs and Knockers’..  Which obviously cracks me up.  I’m thinking it’s a door hardware place, but I looked it up in the phone book and didn’t really find any info one way or the other..  J

 

It’s overcast, and looks like it’ll be that way for a few days at least..  It’s also nice and cool, maybe somewhere in the 60s..  And breezy.  LOVE IT!

 

And so far, everyone is SO nice..  Like, extra special nice..  It’s actually a tad disconcerting.

 

We got to the hotel, and CRASHED.  I took a bubble bath just to try to feel human again, and then fell asleep, still wet, on top of the bed..  Navarre looked through some of the touristy stuff we picked up, took a shower, and crashed too. 

 

I was going to take a pic of Navarre sleeping for this blog entry, and realized that I don’t have my camera..  For those that know me, you know that the camera is the absolute, MOST important thing that I brought from the US, second only to Navarre.  I’m going to go cry now..  Not kidding.  L

 

I have absolutely NO capacity to enjoy an experience without capturing it on film.  Or pixels, as the case may be.  I’m freaking out..

 

It’s about 5:30pm here, and we’ve just now rallied enough to think about considering the possibility that we MIGHT or perhaps SHOULD go out..  As in, leave the hotel room.  We’re just both wiped.  It’s OK..  I’d rather lose a day here at the beginning of the trip than be tired and listless for the next 5 days because we’re still reeling from the severe sleep deficit.  ESPECIALLY since we get to experience the joy that is driving an RV for the very first time, on the wrong side of the road.  Should be fun.  J

 

I don’t know what it is about New Zealanders, but they seem to have this bizarre urge to hurtle themselves off of tall things.  These things happen in other locales, but on a much smaller, much less celebrated, scale.  Here in New Zealand, it seems that there’s something unique to jump off of in every town, hamlet, or roadside stop.

 

Here in Auckland, it’s the Sky Tower.  It looks like the Space Needle in Seattle. 

 

I also have a strange urge to hurtle myself off of tall things, and I’d love to try it myself, but that’s $$ I need to put towards the new camera I have to go buy tomorrow.  (sigh)

 

Will have to wait for the Canyon Swing in Queenstown like I’d originally planned..

 

We spent some time tonight hoofing it around Auckland.  It really is a kewl city.  Very hilly, but with the usual barrage of touristy shops.  We found 2 camera shops, but they were both closed.  We looked in the windows, and they had an array of Canon cameras, so my fondest hope is that we can find something very similar to what I lost..  I love that camera..  I need to stop talking about it before I start crying again..

 

We had the MOST amazing meal.  We went to a place called Tony’s Admiral Nelson restaurant.  It was kind of like a pub inside, all dark lighting, leather, brick, and intricate metalwork.  Navarre had the lamb kabob on saffron rice..  Her eyes rolled back into her head every time she took a bite.

 

I had lemon crusted chicken schnitzel.  With green beans and potato croquettes.  Damn.  So tasty.  Also had a really great beer called a ‘tall blonde’ which is brewed in Nelson, just South of here.  The food was just to die for, and I’m not just saying that because it had been 15 hours since our last meal.. 

 

Everything is SO expensive here, tho..  I was really excited when I saw the exchange rate ($1.46NZ= $1US), but everything costs roughly twice as much.  So we really do need to be careful with our $$.  I DID go spend some $$ at a convenience store, tho.  There’s just something about enjoying the snack food in a foreign country..  When my sister and I went to Germany, we ate gummi EVERYTHING.  The array was dazzling.

 

There’s also a HUGE Asian influence.  You can buy sushi on every corner.  I like that.  It really does make sense, since we’re so much closer to Asia here, but it was a little surprising nonetheless. 

 

We’re going to chillax here in the room for a tad, and then head down and check out the casino/nightlife/gym..  There’s a heated pool too, which we’ll definitely have to experience before we leave..  I’m glad we have all day tomorrow to look around..  Tonight I just saw a bunch of stuff that I want to take pics of tomorrow, so it’ll be good to have a camera in my hand again..  L

She had to pay $90 because she overpacked.  I had to laugh.  Her 2 bags were probably 30% bigger than mine.  And I’M the girly one..

 

I packed cheap men’s tshirts, bought and packed in the plastic bags, and I intend to wear them twice and throw them away.  I also used spacebags (25 pairs of drawers take up a LOT of room)..  I limited myself to only the barest of necessities, and in all honesty, I may stink at times.  But I’m OK with that.  There’s also the possibility that I’ll end up buying things there or will be able to hand wash things on the RV or Hotel.  I’m going to be tossing a lot of my clothes as I wear them so I’ll be lighter on the way back home.

 

But not Navarre.  NOOOOOOO…  She emptied the closet and all her drawers.  Such a girl.

 

The ride on Marta was uneventful.  We’ve been running ourselves so ragged the past few days just trying to get everything ready, that we mostly yawned and tried to keep from crashing..  Now we’re here at the airport, our luggage is checked, and we can listen to the iPods and get some shut eye if we keep our feet propped on our backpacks to prevent theft.

 

We’re here for another hour roughly, and then it’s time for our flight to LA, which should take approximately 4.5 hrs.  :-D

 

The guy sitting across from us has the BEST smelling Chinese food.  I had a biscuit on the ride over and I have a bit of a nervous stomach, so it would be the WORST idea..  But it REALLY smells good. 

 

Will check in later when something exciting happens.