Catch Up!

Wow, I guess life must be good here in NZ or else life has been considerably boring lately for me to go almost 2 weeks without a blog update. Well to be honest, it has been a bit more of the later and also a bit of laziness on my part.  But let me do my best to catch you up on what has happened and where we have been lately.

After skydiving and tramping around Taupo we made a decision to head north again and see the Bay of Plenty and potentially stop for a visit with Jess Young's parents. It seems like the minute we stepped out of Taupo the rained began to pour, and pour, and pour some more, for over a week straight. On Thursday we made it north to the ocean once more and to the ocean town of Mt Maunganui to be greeted by even more rain. The day was killed there wondering the streets and finally caving in and watching our first movie of the trip, the new Narnia movie, which may sound pretty childish, but it was in 3D! Haha. Chris was able to use his charms and looks to make us a contact there while Trev and I went on a man date.

From Mt Maunganui we were in close range of the Young's in Opotiki; we gave them a ring the day before and they were more than willing to let us stop by for a visit. Friday up till Sunday morning were spent at their house just outside of town. We killed the rainy days watching cricket, enjoying hot showers, picking Mr. Young's brain about the photo industry, learning some NZ culture and being bouncers for Mikes 18th birthday party. Thanks again Young's for letting us stay with you!

On the road again from Opotiki we headed south west to Gisborne; another enjoyable city on another unenjoyable rainy day. I really don't remember exactly what we did in Gisborne, except for going to the pool for free along with thousands of kids who were all with their parents. Maybe not the image we were going for as 3 dudes in a big white van pull up to the pool and want to go swimming, but hey none-the-less it was free!

South of Gisborne we made our way to Mahia Peninsula because, "someone said it's cool" -- Chris Johnson. So south we went, and luckily for a german couple its lucky we did because we found them stuck in the sand on the beach not to far from the highway. Trev pulled over and we were all kind of excited to lend a hand to someone who was going through what we have been through. Plus the exercise was a bonus, don't get much of that reading books on sunny beaches! We found it hard to find a campsite so we headed out of the peninsula and inland just past the town of Wairoa.

From there it was south again to the city of Napier, again on the ocean, and again pretty interesting and impressive. Here we were able to meet up with one of Chris' classmates from SP. Maddy was just like us, on a trip to NZ with not many plans, so we were able to hangout for evening in the town. I think it was good for Chris to see a familiar face after Trev and I have see a few already.

Not to sound like a broken record but, after Napier it was south again, this time more inland. We made it into Palmerston North on Thursday and spent the majority of the day like everywhere else but this time with no rain. Oh, we also managed to get some Christmas holiday shopping in for the day, which felt really akward wearing shorts and a tee instead of jackets and toques. With the holidays a few days away it still hasn't really kicked in for us, its the first holiday without snow for all of us. That night we headed out of the city, found a campsite, cooked a decent meal and made a plan for where to spend Christmas day.

Okay, I know I missed a lot but I covered the key points, the highlights of a rainy, windy week.

Lates, N8

My mother insisted that I show you guys where we are living, in our campervan. So here you go...

Trevor and I sleep on the bed, head to foot of course, and Chris sleeps below the bed on his little kids mattress. Comfort at its finest to say the least!