Christmas in New Zealand

We are still a few days behind in our posts -- we have many more pictures of Rotorua to share -- but I wanted to wish all of our friends and family a Merry Christmas.

We celebrated Christmas yesterday with some old friends from Coeur d'Alene, Kjelsty Hanson and her husband, Glenn Kastrinos, in Napier. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and so we spent it where you should spend gorgeous, sunny days... at the beach.


We drove out to Wairarama Beach, a rather perfect beach. When we arrived, the waves were breaking just right for a little body-surfing. Glenn and Joey wussed out pretty early on -- the water was freezing -- but Kjelsty and I stayed out and caught some good rides. I could have stayed out there all day but my Seattle skin is not used to the rays down here. We had to go in and re-apply sunscreen before I got my fill of the water. I am sure there are many days of body-surfing ahead of me so I was not too disappointed.


After a picnic lunch on the rocks, we hiked down around the point to check out some really cool rocks. All along the beach, the rocks are pretty neat. I wish I knew something about geology so I could explain what we saw. There were quite a few rocks created from compacted sediment; some contained sea fossils while others seemed to have petrified wood. Further down the beach are almost perfectly round rocks of various size. They are not from a river but instead from chemical action inside of the sediment. They were formed under ground and, as the cliffs erode, the roll out onto the beach. Very cool. The sun limited the time we spent looking through the tide pools but it was still a great day. Although we all felt a little pink at the end of the day, I don't think any of us actually got burned.


We miss our families at home. Spending Christmas on the beach was delightfully strange. I think the strangeness of it has helped to alleviate the homesickness we were feeling earlier this week. It is so not an Idaho Christmas that there are very few reminders of what we are missing. It also helps to be with Kjelsty and Glen; better hosts could not be found. As Erica said last night, they speak Idahoan so, at least for me, they sound like home.

We hope you all have a lovely Christmas. We miss you and are thinking of you... but we will also enjoy our time at the beach!

Rotorua: Thermal Wonderland (or Stinky City, take your pick)

Rotorua is located on top of a thermal hot spot. It has steaming vents, bubbling mud pots, geysers, and hot pools. The mineral rich waters have drawn people to soak away their aches and pains in Rotorua throughout time. (We definitely took advantage of this feature.) The steaming vents and bubbling waters release quite a bit of sulphur into the air, giving Rotorua a rather strong odor. After a few hours in the town, you do get used to the baseline smell of sulphur. When the wind blows, though, the stink can get overpowering.

We stayed in an excellent hostel called The Green Voyager. The owners were quite friendly and our room was so nice that we extended our stay an extra day. (Okay, the hot pools were also a factor in extending our visit!)

Our first evening in Rotorua was spent at the Polynesian Spa. For the first time on our trip, the inclement weather worked in our favor. There is nothing better than sitting in a hot tub on a chilly, rainy evening. The Polynesian Spa has four pools. The largest is tepid in temperature; an excellent place to cool off in after spending some time in the three shallow soaking pools. The first soaking pool is 39 degrees celsius, the second 40, and the third 41. The jump between 39 and 41 feels much warmer than the degree ratings suggest. We spent much of the evening in the 40 degree pool, looking out at Lake Rotorua, surrounded by Chinese tourists. The lake itself is not safe for humans, though the sea gulls seemed to be enjoying themselves. The pools look over the lake to the volcanic cones on the far side. It was a lovely place to spend the evening. (I did realize that I have lost much of my Chinese; I am now even more worried about our trip to China!)

The next day we cruised around Rotorua, making yet another church/cemetary stop. Although we don't write about them often, we have basically visited at least one old cemetary per town. Walking amongst the tombstones, you can get a feel for the early families. I love it; Joey is learning to at least enjoy it. We have actually found graves for people related to those buried at Symonds Street Cemetary in Auckland. I couldn't make any of those connections in Rotorua but I am sure they are there if you look close enough.


This church in Rotorua is built right at the lake's edge. All around the church are steaming vents -- very unusual but very cool. Like New Orleans, the people here are interred above ground in large cement blocks. At this church, many of the inscriptions are in Maori and English. The church itself is a fascinating architectural mix of a traditional church building with Maori decor. A large plate glass window overlooking the lake has an etched image of Jesus in a Maori cloak. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside the church.


After touring the church, we went to see the Buried Village. In 1886, Mount Tarawera erupted, burying nine villages in up to six meters of volcanic ash and mud. One of these villages has been partially excavated. It provides a snapshot of life in a tourist stop-off in the 1880s. The archeaologists have found unopened wine bottles, half full rum bottles, and (for you beer drinkers) bottles of Bass Ale (see the picture below). The accoutrements of daily life -- dolls, hair-brushes, china, shoes, etc -- were left behind as people escaped with their lives. I believe that twelve people perished from this village but the number was much higher in villages closer to the eruption. This eruption also destroyed the famed Pink and White Terraces, called the eighth natural wonder of the world before their demise. One of the fascinating insights of the tour was that we, as tourists, were following a similar path to tourists of the nineteenth century. Some things just don't change. Of course, their journey was more arduous -- it took quite a bit longer and they brought more clothes -- but the concept of touring was much the same.


The village was built next to a stream that cascades in a gorgeous waterfall down to Lake Tarawera below. The rainbow trout in the stream are huge! The short hike to the waterfall was well worth the view.

The Road to Rotorua

The drive to Rotorua from Wellington was eventful. We witnessed a car wreck happen right in front of us. It was quite scary but amazingly, given the look of the cars, no one was seriously injured. We were impressed with how many people stopped to give aid. One young guy had the forethought to direct traffic around the accident. He actually did a better job than the police did later. Because we were the following car, Joey got to give a statement to a policewoman. She took down everything he said including, "obviously, the accident was not avoided." (I don't think Joey realized what he sounded like when he talks; reading his statement was an interesting experience for him.) Seeing the accident was a shocking start to our drive but the rest of it was pleasantly uneventful, and (as seems typical for NZ) quite lovely.

A couple of hourse into the drive, the Desert Highway provides the first glimpse of the thermal activity that Rotorua is known for. You are driving along, sheep on one side and forest on the other, and then the ground starts to steam. It is lush, green New Zealand country with thermal vents. A cool -- and unexpected -- sight.

The road also passes by Mount Tongariro. The rain ceased just as the mountain got into sight. We couldn't see the top of it, but the bottom was neat -- a lovely cone shape with a second bump to the side. Hiking the Tongariro Crossing is definitely on our to-do list for next time. This time, it was a little too wet. It may be summer in New Zealand but the mountain still had snow on it.

Rotorua announces itself further down the road with the smell of sulphur. More on that in the next post.

Wellington: The First Trip Through

We reached the half-way point in our circuit around the North Island with a stop in Wellington. The primary purpose for this stop was to secure visas for China. (The rather strange loop that we are taking around the country is due to this task. We have definitely gotten off of the typical tourist path.) Securing the visas was incredibly easy. We were at the PRC embassy before it opened because we had read horror stories about applying for visas. Once the doors opened, we were in and out in about ten minutes. So much for devoting a whole morning to waiting in line. We were quite happy with the experience...

But it was pouring outside and we hadn't really made much of a plan for how to spend our day. So we tried to get lost. This is harder to do than we anticipated. Wellington is located in a harbor. The town stretches along one side of the harbor and up into the valleys that drop down into it. It is a lovely city with many short streets that end quickly and many long curving streets that wind up the hills. It is hard to get lost because many of the streets dead end or curve back in such a way that you can see where you started from. We spent the morning cruising through various neighborhoods, not ever getting truly lost. We felt at home in Wellington. Be it the excellent coffee, the hip little neighborhoods, the hillside location, or the pouring rain, it felt a bit like Seattle.

We return to Wellington after Christmas to see the sights and pick up our visas. I particularly look forward to the Te Papa museum and the Botanic Gardens (conveniently located across from the Chinese embassy). We will take lots of pictures then.

New Plymouth: Break Time

The drive from Waitomo to New Plymouth is incredible. The highway (this term is used loosely) winds down through the mountains to the coast and then follows the coast, passing lovely black sand beaches, into New Plymouth. The weather was not nearly so lovely as the scenery; it poured the whole way. Thus we have no pictures to regale you with.

We had intended to use New Plymouth as a base from which to check out the numerous surfing beaches around it and Mount Takawera/Mount Egcombe. The weather did not cooperate. The mountain, much like Mount Rainier throughout the year, was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. While we Seattlites are used to doing stuff in the rain, this was a much more formidable downfall than the Seattle drizzle. Instead of enjoying the beautiful countryside, we toured the town and holed up in our room early every night. After the adventures at Waitomo and almost two weeks of travel, we needed a break. New Plymouth was our stop.

Waitomo: Glow Worm Caves

Glow Worms!!

We went spelunking on Sunday. It was wild. Warning: this post is kind of gross and scary all at the same time.

In New Zealand, there is a fly (called a fungus gnat, or something like arachne-campo-luminosa) which lives in deep caves, and only lives for about three days once it becomes an adult. The larval stage lasts much, much longer. As larvae, they dangle webs from the ceiling of caves, glowing in the dark to attract prey. In the darkness of the caves, the glow of the worms mimics a starry night. Touring the caves to see the glow worms is a popular activity in various parts of New Zealand. It is hard to believe that a worm (in reality a maggot) has caused its own tourist industry.

Anyway, onto the scary-fun part. We decided to go with a company called Black Water Rafting. They do a few different types of trips at varying levels of cost/time/adrenalin requirements/etc. The "Black Abyss Tour" was for about 5 hours, and we'd definitely recommend this trip to anyone. We had such a spectacular time, we almost went again right on the spot.

Our guides, Andy and Simon, were knowledgeable and friendly. They were very good about leading us while letting us feel that we did some exploring on our own, in the dark. By the way, it was truly dark - we were about 30 to 50 meters (90 to 150 feet) below the ground. We had head lamps but from time to time they would ask us to turn them off, so we could see the worms and to get a feel for what caving was all about (Erin's interjection -- uh, dark, cold and scary).

Our group had some great folks who contributed to the fun. It would have been much less exciting if we would have had to coax or prod along a co-caver. To John & Christie, Jonathon, and Sam - we hope the rest of your NZ adventures are as fun and exciting as today was.


Here's a quick run-down of how the trip went. Take a look at the photos for more fun.
- we dressed up in super-sexy wet suits, shorts, and harnesses

- we got a short training in rappelling
- we hooked up our harnesses to a rope, and lowered ourselves down 90 feet to the cave floor

- we walked deeper into the caves to escape the daylight
- we hooked up to a zip-line, turned off our head lamps, and took a ride of indeterminable length to a landing above the underground river
- we had a much needed coffee break, coffee, tea and cave cookie provided

- we grabbed onto an inner tube, and jumped about 10 feet off the ledge into a frigid, black underground river (Erin's lack of experience with tubing quickly became evident. She was the only one to execute an upside down landing in said frigid, black water. Those water safety courses finally came into use!)
- we floated upstream (with our lights out), seeing lots of glow worms along the ceiling (Joey, at the tail-end of the convoy, let go of the rope and had to be rescued by his lovely wife, twice. He also serenaded the group with a slightly altered version of Jingle Bells, "floating through the caves...".)
- Simon gave us a lesson on stalactites and stalagmites as well as other cave formations
- we left our tubes and started hiking further upstream through narrow caves and waterfalls (Erin had one moment of nervousness and chose to skip one of tighter "squeezes." The rest of the team was quite nice about her anxiety and checked on her throughout the rest of the trip out, which made her even more determined not to give up on anything else!)
- to leave the caves, we actually had to climb up three waterfalls through narrow shoots, or tomo in Maori


Yes, we were cold. And, yes we got scared a little bit. It was still worth it.

Paihia: Waitangi Treaty Grounds

The day after our sand-dune surfing expedition, we headed to the Waitangi National Reserve (recommended by Erica). On these grounds in 1840, the Maori and the British signed the Treaty of Waitangi, giving sovereignty of New Zealand to the British crown in exchange for full citizenship for the Maoris. (The specifics were in disagreement within twenty years of this event, leading to the New Zealand wars. This history is quite interesting but not something I can accurately write down from memory. It is worth looking up if intrigued.) The Waitangi National Reserve commemorates the birth of New Zealand as a nation. Among reclaimed bush, the grounds contain the renovated Busby house, setting for the signing of the treaty, and two traditional maori works created for the centennial, a whare runanga (meeting house), and a war canoe, named Ngatokimatawhaorua (pictured below). As with any museum, I enjoyed walking through the grounds and reading everything.


The best part of the day, though, was a thirty minute He Toho. This is a performance by members of the local maori tribe. It was a rather informal affair; the big one is held every other night. The informality made it much more entertaining. The six performers sang, performed with poi (not the Hawaiian kind, but round balls at the end of string), and did some hakas. Check out the Haka video below.


We also got to participate. The audience participation section was supposed to be for kids but none of the boys in the audience were willing to get up there. So, of course, Joey, me, their parents, and one other couple got up. As you can see below, we were incredibly graceful and dignified. (Sorry, dad, you tried but I think I wasted all my grace at the wedding.)

Waiheke: Wine country

We visited a not-so-small island called Waiheke after our trip to Paihia. Waiheke is about a thirty minute ferry ride from Auckland. It reminded me of a cross between Bainbridge Island (for you non-Seattle folks, this is a touristy/commuter spot also about 1/2 hour from the mainland) and Hawaii. We experienced some of the best weather so far on the island. Locals said it is generally a few degrees warmer than Auckland. Waiheke is home to many vineyards and wineries. We didn't visit as many vineyards as we would have liked, but we did taste some of the local grapes (after they had fermented for a while of course).

Waiheke was larger than Erin thought when she booked the hostel. Our bus trip out took us farther and farther from food, a minor problem after a day of travel but bus, ferry, and then bus again. Luckily we found an excellent restaurant, the Cat's Tango, located right on the beach that agreed to keep their kitchen open for us a little longer. We blew our budget on some local wine and delicious seafood. It was a worthwhile extravagance; we recommend this place if you find yourself hungry out at Onetangi Beach.

Our hostel was on the opposite side of the island from the main town, Oneroa. It was just up a rather long flight of stairs from a superb beach, Onetangi. Personally, I could have stayed there for another month. It was so tranquil and just far enough away from the towns; there was hardly any traffic. I think we only saw about 10 or so other people on this stretch of sand, and that was on the weekend.

We left on Saturday. The mass exodus from the ferry from Auckland made it obvious that Waiheke is a popular day/weekend trip for Aucklanders. The beauty of the beaches and the quality wines are obviously well known to NZers.

North - to the sun

We took a bus to the north end of the north island of New Zealand, and we actually got to see the Tasman Sea meet the Pacific Ocean. It was incredible to see the two oceans collide. If you look closely at the images in the photo album, you can actually see the Tasman's green waves crashing into the deep blue of the Pacific. Obviously, it is hard to capture the grandeur with a simple digital "point and shoot" camera, but hopefully you get the gist.


We stayed in a small town called Paihia, and took a "Magic Tour" bus driven by a nice fellow named Tai. He was a local and had lots to share about the area including history of the Maori tribes, the beaches, and of course sand dune surfing (we'll get to that later). On the drive north along the western coast, we drove on Ninety Mile Beach - that's right ON THE BEACH. Apparently, the beach isn't really ninety miles, but Tai said that they had a hard time selling tickets to the "sixty-four and a half mile beach". I think I'd have gone anyway, considering how wild it was to drive on the beach.


Next, we stopped at some sand dunes and grabbed some boogie boards. After a short but strenuous hike to the summit, we hopped on the boards and surfed down. It was wild! The pictures don't do justice to the experience, so watch the video. We would recommend it to anyone who makes it this far north. We each only had about three trips trips up the dune in our legs but could have taken many more rides down.


Finally, we visited Cape Rianga. This is the north-most point of the north island, and the closest we can get to the equater while in NZ. It was hot but, as mentioned above, spectacular. According to Tai, this is the place that the Maori believe is the jumping off point for a person's spirit after they die. I can see how this spot could be considered a spriritual place, with the collision of the two oceans and the wind and all. I could have stayed A LOT longer, but alas travelling on a bus has its drawbacks.

We returned to Paihia on the Eastern coast, so we were able to see both sides of the island on this trip. Paihia is an interesting place, as it is where the New Zealand Declaration of Independence was signed. More about this in the next post.

Christmas in the New Zealand

Christmas hasn't actually happened yet of course, but the lead up is a serious exercise in social studies. Since we are in the Southern Hemisphere, it is summer now. Despite the fact that it is unseasonably cold (is the whole world experiencing weird weather?), a summer Christmas feels like Bizarro World.

We wend to a Christmas concert in Auckland, and it was a blast. One thing for sure, the New Zealanders that we've observed so far are enthusiastic about practically everything. Everyone was singing and wearing Santa hats. Unfortunately, there is a drought on Santa beards on the island. I read a newspaper article which explained that the shipment of beards for this year has been held up, so lots of Santas here are beard-free. Let's add that to the Bizarro Christmas.

Anyway, back to the concert. I've included a picture of the concert grounds, and we were extremely lucky to have Santa himself pass right by where we were standing as the fireworks were going. This Santa does have a beard, and I wish you could see Mrs Clause better.

Yes - we're still safe

We have been traveling to the northmost part of the north island of New Zealand, and there was a little less internet access for us. Additionally, it was very warm and the beaches have a special sort of glue which had us bound to the sand. Hmm...
Maybe, that was us just enjoying the sunshine and waves lapping at our feet.

We are now on an island just south of Auckland, and yet again the beaches and sunshine are keeping us out of doors. There are multiple vineyards and wineries on the island (Waiheke), so we'll be touring those for the remainder of the day. We are planning on posting some photos as soon as we get back inside and can get some real internet access.

We did upload some photos to our Yahoo photo album, and you can see them if you select the link at the right hand side of this page. Just look for the Auckland photo album once you get into the Yahoo photo pages. We're trying to keep them labeled correctly, but some of the descriptions may not do justice to the story so far. We'll be posting soon to clarify the images.

We miss you all, and thanks to everyone for the e-mails and comments to the blog. Keep them coming, as they are an awesome way to defeat the homesickness which comes from time to time (particularly as we approach Christmas).

As they say in NZ, "Sweet Airs Mate!"

J

Raising a Glass

On Sunday afternoon, we received some sad news. Joey's close childhood friend Alyssa passed away on Thursday. Her death, from breast cancer, was not unexpected but it still came as a shock. Tonight, we chose to remember her life in a manner in which we think she would have approved, raising a glass of beer in a friendly neighborhood bar. Joey told stories -- I am sure it will come as no surprise to those who knew her that he mentioned most her energy, sense of humor, and perspicacity -- and I listened.

Our hearts and thoughts go out to her family and loved ones -- particularly Mr. Tommy, Mrs. Diane, Josh, Renee, Adam, and Todd. We wish we could have been there with you today at her funeral. Our presence may not have made the day more bearable for you but we would have had lots of hugs to share.

Going on this trip involved a certain amount of risk. The hardest to experience is our inability to be there when the people we care for need some extra love. This is one of those times.

Of course, Alyssa's death reminds us of Becky's passing six and a half years ago. It is amazing how much our lives have changed since that time. In a way, our willingness to take this trip is a remembrance of our time with her. We get one chance and so we will live it to the fullest.

As Joey said today, Alyssa's absence also reminds us to tell our loved ones how much we care for them everyday. So, from far off New Zealand, know that we love you and are thinking of you.

Erin

Rangitoto: "I am the wettest in all the land!"

Saturday, Dec. 9th, marked our first tramp. We took a ferry over to Rangitoto Island for an afternoon excursion. Rangitoto Island is the newest of the volcano cones which dot Auckland. It erupted from the sea about 600 years ago. Until the late 1900's, it was a cone of volcanic rock with minimal vegetation. Now, it is covered in lush fern groves and forests of native plants/trees. You can hike up to the top of the cone and look down into it; though it is covered with green life, its volcanic history is still quite evident. (Picture: view of Auckland from Rangitoto.)

The day-trip did not start so well. All of the walking we did on Thursday and Friday came home to roost on Saturday. I repeatedly found myself wishing that I had done something, anything physical before we left Seattle. Luckily the kinks were out by the time the ferry docked at the island. Given how my legs were feeling, the ferry boat captain had an unpleasant surprise for me. Given the forecast of rough weather (uh, what rough weather?), the ferry boat would only be docking at Islington Bay Wharf. The expected docking was at Rangitoto Wharf, about half the distance from the summit as Islington Bay Wharf. Ugh!


About twenty minutes into our hike, I realized how wonderful it was to be on vacation. The weather was perfect (low 70s with a nice breeze), the company was entertaining (Joey at his best), and the walk was mostly flat. About forty minutes into the hike, the walk was no longer flat but the company and weather continued to be lovely. We saw a'a and pahoehoe lava on the hike up. (Carlson family -- it even smelled like Hawaii.) The summit accorded us 360 degree views of Auckland and the surrounding islands. The pictures just do not do it justice.


US Servicemen constructed a watch-tower, munitions depot, wireless barrack, etc. on Rangitoto during World War II. Only the watch-tower and wireless center remain. We stuck our heads into the wireless barrack. (This was the first of two moments when I was truly glad that NZ is snake free.)



The second best part of the hike was walking through two lava tubes on the island. I am a bit claustrophobic; the tubes were just long enough to be dark and scary without being terrifying. I did it twice. We took a ton of pictures; I have included two of my favorites. In the second, I am just about to enter the lowest point in the tunnel. It really did come out on the other side, though I don't look too sure of that in the picture.
















The best part of the hike was the walk back. Various storms had been threatening throughout the day but nothing happened... until we headed back to the ferry. Fifteen minutes into our hour+ hike, it started to drizzle. By the time we got our raincoats out of the packs, it was a down pour! Our new orange raincoats saved the day but we still ended up soaked from our thighs down. Oh, and GoreTex lined shoes only work until the water starts pouring in from your socks. Wet feet and all, it was great fun to tramp back through the mostly warm rain. By the time the ferry picked us up an hour and a half later, the rain had stopped. We got fairly dry on the ride back across the bay. The shoes took a little longer. I stopped squishing by Sunday.

A Droll Day: Cemetaries and Museums

On Friday, we spent the day surrounded by death... but in a good way.

In the morning we toured the Symonds Street Cemetary, approximately two blocks from our hostel. The Symonds Street Cemetary was used primarily between 1860-1890, with scattered burials into the 1930s. The cemetary is located on a hillside, some of which is so steep that the stones are barely accessible. It is a gorgeous location; one can really understand why the early settlers chose to bury their loved ones there.






Some of the headstones are completely unreadable; those that are legible seem to fall into three categories -- childhood death (a seven year old brother and his four year old sister death within a week of each other, four daughters lost in early childhood, etc), accidental death (a seventeen year old daughter "shot on the way to Methodist Bible class"), and death from old age ("beloved wife and mother of the above"). I could have spent multiple days sussing out the relationships between the people buried in this Auckland cememtary from such a brief part of the cities history.

After Joey dragged me away from the cemetary, we went to the Auckland Domain. There we toured the Wintergardens and the national Museum. The wintergardens were quite lovely. The hothouse contained some vegetation that I have never seen, including a plant called Hanging Lobster Claws (see picture). The orchids and lotuses were just gorgeous. The cool-house had flowers much like what we grow in Seattle. It felt very homey in there.

We spent four hours at the Auckland Museum and still missed stuff. The highpoints were the Pacific Islander exhibit and the volcano section. In the volcano area, they had a replica of a house from a particular Auckland address. From inside the living room, you can experience a volcano errupting in the bay like Rangitoto did about 600 years ago. It was quite cool... but I wouldn't want to see the same thing set-up in Seattle for a Mount Rainier eruption. There are just some things I am better off not knowing about.



We finished our museum trip with a tour of the war museum on the top floor. This was a sobering experience. New Zealand has sent its sons and daughters to fight in all of the major wars; the names of their dead are chiseled into the marble walls. One wall has been kept bare; written on it is the prayer that that wall never be filled with names.

Although it was a day spent surrounded by memories of the dead, it was a great day. It was our first day as full on tourists and we enjoyed it immensely.

Catching Up

Our first few days in New Zealand have flown by with very few posts... but we are having a great time. The next few posts will be about specific activities. They may be posted at about the same time but we want to keep it all as separate as it was in real life. EC

Day 1: A Success

Joey is in charge of the real post today; I just wanted to check out my new log-in.

We are in Auckland. It feels remarkably like Seattle in early June. Today is a day for getting oriented (Which way is North? Does it matter?) and catching up on some much needed sleep. Tomorrow we get to figure out what we want to do for the next month. Snorkeling, hiking, napping, body-surfing, checking out the scenery, and seeing some old friends are definitely on the list. Bungee jumping, rafting, mountain-biking, etc are still on the "maybe" list. We shall see what develops.

The flight was easier than expected. I didn't get nearly as bored as Joey feared I would and I managed to get at least six hours of sleep. Maybe I should do this international travel stuff more often!

Okay, tomorrow we will start collecting stories. I will post more then. EC

We made it!!

We made it and our honeymoon has officially begun.

After many hours on an airplane, we arrived in Auckland at around 4am local time, and we got to our hostel at around 6am. We couldn't check in then, but we were able to drop our bags and take a walk around the city. It is really interesting to see a city prior to anyone else being awake. We got to see the sunrise and we were able to scout out some lunch and coffee shops which we visited later (after they opened).

Later, we walked around the same area, and the tourists were out in full force. At least this morning, we could assume that the folks we saw were from NZ as opposed to now when we are just guessing.

Anyway, we have a phone number now, and we can send it if you (dear reader) are interested. We don't want to post the number in this forum, because we don't want our valuable minutes being used by tele-marketers.

All is well and we will be in touch. Please keep the e-mails and comments coming. Even though we have just started out, it is nice to get notes from home.

J

Time to go

It is almost time to head off to the airport, and technically we don't have time to post much. However, we wanted to let everyone know that we already miss y'all and we can't wait to see you again. If we missed getting a last minute hug from you, please give us a 'rain check' and we'll make it up when we return.

Please stay in touch and feel free to post comments. We will need some notes to keep from being too homesick.

Next post should be from Auckland!!

J

I love it when a plan comes together.

From the 'bit off more than we can chew' department, the concrete has been poured (and is drying) and the bathroom project is coming along nicely. Here are a couple of photos to contrast the images from two posts ago.