We Bought a Car!

Yes, we are true residents now. Yesterday we went up to the Hamilton car auction with Paul and after test driving a few cars, we settled on a smashingly lovely (yes I have a NZ accent now) 1988 Mazda Capella 626! What a sexy beast of a motorcar, eh? It's been an interesting challenge so far to drive in this country - on the left hand side, stick shift, signal bar on the right...every time I want to turn left I make the wipers go. It's really quite funny and entertaining to drive. I called up to get some insurance and they insured us within about 10 minutes. It's illegal to have a cracked window of any kind here, so they cover things like that as well as roadside assistance. That is, if we need it and can flag someone down to let us use their cell phone. We are thinking of getting one ourselves, but first things first. (Click here for photos)

Today we left Paul and Diane's and I write to you from the same Internet cafe in Lake Taupo. We are here on our way to Hawke Bay on the east side of the island to drop our cash on camping equipment. After to chatting with other NZ travelers, it sounds like this is one of the most interesting, cost effective and enjoyable ways to go (for us anyway) as so many amenities cater to campers and backpackers in this beautiful country.

Last night, Paul and Diane took us to Rotorua to the Maori Experience and it was an incredible, entertaining look at the Maori history, culture and traditions (photos to come soon, they tell 1,000 words so I can keep this brief). We were bussed into the mountains above Lake Rotorua and entered into a forest where the ancient Maoris (pronounced Mao-rees) lived. Huts were recreated and the people were dressed in authentic wear. We enjoyed traditional song and dance with expressions of "poonaki" - a crazy face contortion with giant eyes and the tongue sticking out - which was used as a scare tactic in ancient days. We finished the evening enjoying a traditional "Hangi" meal, which is meat, veggies and pudding slow cooked on hot rocks underground for 3 - 4 hours. It steams in its own juices and was simply delicious.

Before we took off this afternoon, we took a hike to the Arapuni Dam traversing a giant suspension bridge across a river that was absolutely stunning. It had been raining pretty much for the last 5 days off and on and let me tell you, the ground is loving it. Bright green grass on the hillsides are popping up everywhere along with bright wildflowers dotting in between. Seems like summer is coming to a close and the drought is certainly ceasing as well. I must say, camping is going to be interesting! We bought a tarp along with a tent with a rain fly and sleeping bags +5 degrees. I hope we don't freeze our asses off or B&B's here we come! I am all fine and good to be a camper, but if it's cold and uncomfortable, no thanks.

What else have we done...ahh yes. We saw the glow worms in the Waitamo Caves a few days ago which was quite a sight. Stalagmites and stalactites abound. Did you know that it takes 100 years for one to grow 1cm? Kia Ora!