And so the honeymoon rolls on folks! When we started this trip one of the countries on our short, short list was of course Middle Earth, err, New Zealand. This small remote country has a little bit of everything and puts it all on display with fine English-style charm.

Despite some language difficulties - Lisa was met repeatedly with confused looks when she tried to ask where the "bathroom" was - we have been managing okay. I think part of her longs for South America again where she at least could speak the language (Hint: Ask for the toilet if want to pee and the bathroom if you want to take a bath. Hint #2: apparently supermarkets do not have baths)

We arrived in Aukland on the North Island and spent a few days there getting organized (spelled organised here) since we arrived in NZ with absolutely NO PLAN to speak of. Aukland itself is a fine city: It is known as 'The City of Sails' because it sits between two bays and plays host to the largest number or pleasure boats per capita. We took some time to stroll through the many public parks and stumbled upon a cricket match (A confusing game to the American eye - sort of like baseball but possibly more boring). We also spent a while in an old graveyard that is the final resting place to some of Aukland's founders.

We have found New Zealand to be extremely travel friendly. We decided to tour the North Island via a 'backpacker bus' that takes you to several points of interest around the island and allows you to jump on and off the bus for days, weeks or even months at a time.

Our first stop was the northeast coast of the North Island to a place called Hahei. This little seasonal town is home to some magnificent white sand beaches with views of spectacular little off-shore islands. Much of NZ's coast is dotted with these islands (Including the famous "Bay of Islands" in the northern tip) they are the result of flooded river deltas and volcanic cones from when the sea levels rose several thousand years ago.

Unfortunately, even though it is summer here, we were in for a bit of rainy weather while we were here as well as the highest swell they have had in years. All of this combined to make the beaches a bit precarious. We were not able to visit the popular "Hot Beach" just to the south of Hahei where a geothermal field under the beach allows you to dig a hole in the beach and have a warm bath.

From here we head to the West Coast of the North Island. Wicked!

-Jim

The Catherdaral Cove near Hahei