Cheap hambugers & a green Fern

Windy Wellington delivered. A week of rest, relaxation, and good food left us well adjusted to the NZ timezone. Highlights include: flat whites (NZ's version of coffee), a ridiculously short haircut (Bryan was left traumatized - apparently due to miscommunication with the barber), and Te Papa (the capital city's incredible museum).

Moving onward and northward - much has happened on our travels north since we left Wellington one week ago. We took the 6 hour bus ride up to Taupo through beautiful lush green fields dotted with hundreds of sheep and newborn lambs (Lanna says that Colin would have been in awe!). We were also amazed to pass by a few very large, snow capped volcanoes (which we would later hike that weekend - the Tongariro Alpine Crossing).

Upon arriving in Taupo, we were greeted by John's smiling brother Trystan who took us into his home for a week. We hiked, soaked up in thermal springs, and spoke of Canada. Unfortunately, not all was fun and giggles this past week. While BBQ'ing some burgers from the local Pak n' Save, or as we call it the Crack n' Pay, Lanna had the misfortune of seriously cracking her tooth (you could actually see inside the crack!). Luckily, we managed to find a somewhat odd dentist to fix her up almost good as new. The real clincher however is that her insurance will not pay since she "voluntarily put something into her mouth".

Other honorable mention of the week:
We met Fern, our beautiful "new" camper van. She's a '93 Toyota Lucida, similar to Canada's Sienna. The previous owner had her decked out with a bed and some sweet camping utilities. One of her greatest qualities is the sunroof that will allow us to gaze at the Southern Cross while "freedom camping."

For those of you who knew about Basil, Trystan's beloved '88 Econovan, we were torn but ultimately decided to go with Fern - who has an automatic transmission (even if Basil was a real beauty and a riot to drive).

Tomorrow we will embark upon our maiden voyage with Fern, in a somewhat easterly direction. We plan to ultimately end up in Raglan (on NZ's west coast, near the Tasman Sea) for our first WWOOFing experience on Monday (and most likely some surfing too).

Until then, keep clean and remember to drive on the right side of the road.

Mount Ngauruhoe

Sampling NZ honey at the Taupo Honey Hive

Our first geothermal site - Orakei Korako