Have camper van....will be laughed at!

So, we picked up our van yesterday and were hoping for something appropriate....not so sure a naked woman on the side is quite what we had in mind!! Seems that they are quite proud of this Dali van - we have named her Venus. I suppose the upside is that we are an even bigger draw with the natives!

Driving out of Auckland was a wee bit stressful ,but once on the open raod and away from honking drivers, it was fine. We have a system - I drive, Errin is the navigator. Seems to be working so far since I tend to get car sick very easily when looking at maps.

New Zealand has got to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The views we have seen over the past 2 days are simply stunning. We are north of Auckland, heading to the very tip called Cape Reinga where the two 0ceans meet. We are currently in a place called Paihia, and will be embarking on a catamaran voyage tomorrow with the promise of seeing sealife such as dolphins. We also get a chance to kayak, snorkle and play in the sun. The beaches are incredible - long sripts of golden sand, beautiful clear blue/ green sea and hardly a soul on them. This is pure heaven.

We are going to find a place to camp and then I will slip into my other role, The Cook, and make us a diner of snapper and a kamikami......should be interesting!!

We are not missing the cold of Calgary, the snow nor the skiing because we are having WAY TOO MUCH FUN!!!! The people are incredibly friendly - a bloke at the Smashed Pipi bar last night gave us a whole list of people to contact on our travels, including his mum! We also discovered that there is a thing called "woofing" - you go and work for someone for 4 to 6 hours a day and that pays for your bed and neals. Not bad, and a great way to travel round the country. However, we are ladies of leisure and really don't plan on doing any hard labour.

Did we mention how good the NZ wine is?? I managed to take a break from it yesterday, but have a fine sauv blanc for this evening......

Right, Errin is looking parched and needs a beer.

Until the next installment.....

Ciao,

J&E