First post from New Zealand

Hi. Sorry for not posting anything in the last week.  Lots to catch up on!

So we landed in Auckland and stayed with my former music teacher, Louise, and her family.  It was awesome and she took us to a little farmer's market, where we tried feijoas (kind of citrusy with almost a grainy, pear texture), ate the obligatory meat pie and L&P, and she also so kindly drove us around so we could get money exchanged, and she also took us to a car fair to buy our van.  Lots of other backpackers, especially ones that are leaving soon and have to sell their stuff. There were so many choices, but we finally decided on a '95 toyota estima, diesel, with the backseats taken out and a bed built in the back.  It set us back about $2k.

We also went into the city for a day, we've both been there before so we didn't go to any museums this time, but we got our bank account set up, car insurance, and I bought a jacket to replace the one I lost in the Albuquerque airport.  We also ate curry and walked around a lot.  We got to the city and back on a ferry from the suburb we were staying in.

The morning that we left Auckland, we had the van serviced, then went to different shops and 'gathered supplies'.  The Israeli couple that sold us the van left us two camping chairs, a water container, stove and some cooking stuff but it wasn't quite enough, so we hit up the thrift shops and got some good deals on cups, pans, and some sweet tapes for the van. The sheets/pillows and towels were from the Warehouse (essentially walmart)

 

On the way up to Whangarei we stopped at a honey farm (? honey factory?) to sample different kinds of Manuka honey which is well known around the world, I guess... its pretty good.  We didn't buy the 'active' honey, because it's about $40 for a little jar. The one we bought wansn't cheap either but its really good!

So here we are at the Blue Heron holiday park.  It's pretty small, just a few cabins, campsites and a rental house.  Its very well kept and right on the water.  This is our first location for our help exchange. Our hosts are Chrissie and Paul, and they have two kids, 2 and 4.  This is a view from the cabin we are staying in.  We are staying in a little cabin with a kitchenette, double bed and small closet.  The larger shared kitchen and bathrooms are nearby.

The picture here is from the kitchen window, and you can see the cabin just to the right.  

We have been here two nights, yesterday we worked doing different things at the park.  Chris helped to find a leak in the plumbing under the rental house, and I cleaned ceilings inside, and took care of spiderwebs around the outsides of all the cabins and fences.  We ended up working almost four hours, even though they just require two hours a day, since the plumbing thing took a while, so we had today off to explore the area.

Last night our hosts invited us to dinner at their place along with another man who is working as a plumber at the park in exhchange for accommodation as well.  We had awesome homemade pizza which included flavors like Apricot, Chicken and Brie with sweet chili sauce.

Today, since we had the day off, we went looking around the area a little bit.  We are on a little penninsula called Whangarei Heads, and we went to the Mount Manaia walking track.  The rocks on the top, according to Maori legend, is a Chief, his wife and children, and the one down the hill to the right is a slave he threw off the mountain who turned them all to stone...

 The hike itself was kind of hard, hundreds of steps and steep paths. The views from the top were amazing though, at over 1300 feet above sea level, and 360 degree views.

We will be at this park until May 1 and then we are just heading about 45 minutes south to stay at at B&B for two weeks.  

One More Day

Ok!  Late night post from Las Vegas, our last night here. I never sleep well before a big trip and this is definitely a big trip.
What a busy last few days... We leave tomorrow to New Zealand and are excited and nervous at the same time.  We had a barbecue over the weekend to say goodbye to friends and family.  Thanks to everyone who came to see us off!  Tons of yummy food and lots of fun.

The rest of the weekend was spent trying to relax and finish packing.  We are only taking 1 large backpack and 1 smaller bag each. Packing for a year really isn't that hard, just pack for 10 days or so and you will just do a lot of laundry. I tried to make sure every skirt/shorts/pants match with every top. I'm going to get super sick of wearing the same stuff all the time.  New Zealand is hard to pack for also, because you really need clothes for every season.  Lots of layers.  I managed to fit everything I wanted to take:

Monday: Airport time!
This is us at the airport with our bags and my parents seeing us off:
 
Spending some time in Las Vegas has been a nice vacation before our vacation.  We're staying at the Luxor, which is pretty nice.  We've eaten good food, had some drinks, gambled a little bit, hung out by the pool, the usual Vegas stuff.  Its been pretty cold though, only a high of 65 both days, and I left my new hoodie somewhere between the airport lobby and the security checkpoint in Albuquerque.

So tomorrow afternoon we head to Los Angeles, then a five hour layover, and then we fly to Auckland at 10pm.  Longest day ever.  Long distance travel always takes a lot out of you, so hopefully we'll be able to get some sleep on the plane.  I usually like flying Air NZ.

Next update will be from New Zealand!