Jul 2008

Greeetings all, HAERE MAI to the Northisland update! (Maori for welcome We'rein very rainy Wellington before corssing to the Sourth Island. Since last update we discovered the sulphur bath whilst fun at the time is impossible to wash off! Still smell like farts for 4 days now, especially my hair Getting less tho! Have had crazy weather last few days, rain, storms, gales, and lots of damage has been done (not to our camper luckily!) Driving t6oday have passed lots of tree surgeons and people repairing stuff. Spent 2 days in the beautiful Tongariro national park where a lot of Lord of the rings stuff was filmed, right by mount doom! We couldnt do the famous great walk due to the weather, but we managed half a day skiing on the active volcano Mount Ruapehu in the Whakapapa (maori for ancestry) village which was great, tho poor visibility and really freezing. also did waterfall walk, veruy beautiful. Spent last night on the east coast and are now heading south jhopefully for better weather and for the skiing, glaciers, national parks, etc. NZ scenery everywhere is stunning, and lots of animals arpound too. Still not seen the elusiuve kiwi bird but havew eaten a fair few! (fruits The camper is doing well and not leaking tho the gales blew us around a bit! Cooking u0p some nice warming meals on it after our 'tramps' as they call hikes here.
Love to All!
A&P XXX

HI all faithful subscribers! Writing from Rotoroa, geothermal area with huge lake, geysers, volcano, and it STINKS! There was an awkward moment in the van on the way here befoire we realsied it was the town that stunk, really sulphurous. Anyways we arrived into Auckland on Thursday and hired a campervan. Were imagining some small thing and its HUGE! Kithcne, big bed/table & chairs, bathroom....its wicked! Anyways headed off to the east coast for the night and woke up to incredible scenery, beautiful green hills and valleys, lots 0of cattle, sheep, ducks, goats, turkeys, evrything imaginable! Really different after dryness of Oz. The coast was gorgeous, we jumped down some sand dunes in the black volcanic sand and played with some rock pools, rocls covered in baby mussels, and found a dead portugese manowar. Today we are in Rotorea where we are going to hells gate, a geothermal area to have a mud path, hang out in some hot pools, and also visit some Maori cultural villages, a third of the maori population live here. Also some hiking round lakes, forests, and volcanoes on the agenda before heading to Lake Taupo next. NZ is really beautiful in the style of Lord of the rings. Love to ALL and write again soon! A & P XXX

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GDAY all!
Sorry for the silence we have been working for the last 2 weeks at a cattle station at Glassford Creek with no mobile recpetion or internet for miles. Beautiful place, 400 herd of cattle, 30 odd australian stock horses which we have been riding and mustering cattle with, and lots of cooking and washing up! Paul found me a redback to see but thats all scary-wise luckily! Went to a cattle auction topo and were the only people nopt wearing cowboy hats ) Learnt a lot about the bush and stockmen and now we have just arrived in Longreach, right inland in the outback, really dry and u see nothing for miles and miles. Sad today saw a wallaby on the road still breathing and Paul finished him off to stop him suffering. From here were heading to hervey bay to whale watch and then back to Brisbane, flyinhg to NZ a week today.
About to run out of time to ciaop 4 now!!
Love A&P XXX

GDAY from Australia!

Arrived safely in OZ early Monday morning after many films, a llittle sleep and several air meals, Air New Z pretty good but still bit synthetic tasting. Cannot blieve ythis is Winter, its really hot and sunny by day, tho cold at night. Were staying in a great hostel, had first BBQ last night with kangaroo meat (YUM!) tho its not a real BBQ but gas!!! Paul is great and tanned and a real local and showed me all round Brissie yesterday, very cool place. Today were off to see his friends in the outback then off to work at a cattle station farmstay Glassford Creek cattle station (look it up!) where we will help out with farm and horses in exchange for full board. Have seen some cool, animals so far but no scary ones

Hope everyone back home is well will write again soon
Loads of Love and big GDAY from Paul!

Anna XXX