The short version
Monday, May 10th, 2004.JPG)
I know I have been bad about keeping our blog updated. It just got to be too difficult to find an internet place with a card reader. I lost a bunch of pictures when my disc got damaged in Wanaka (hence my last entry from there). I have gone back to older entries and updated some of the links so that you can now see more pictures.
Now, to catch up a little….
We left Wanka and drove to the West coast. Franz Josef and Fox glaciers were beautiful but the weather was bad. In fact most of the west coast was rainy but what can you expect from a temperate rainforest? Since the weather wasn’t cooperating we just kept moving north. We spent almost a week up in Golden Bay. The combination of great hiking and beautiful beaches on the Abel Tasman coast made for a good place to stop for some day hikes. Notice the giant fern trees that are the national symbol of NZ.
At the end of March we crossed on the ferry to Wellington on the north island. We were once again foiled by bad weather when we went to hike in Tongariro National Park. We did get in some good off-road driving nearby. One of the best places we found on the North Island was the Coromandel Peninsula. Once again, nice hikes and beaches. After a few days out on the peninsula, we made our way up to Auckland where we caught a rugby game. At about this time We began to seriously stress about selling our van. There were vans and cars for sale all over the city. To try and get our mind off of the van we drove all the way up to the tip of the north island to Cape Reinga. There are miles and miles of beaches and dunes that stretch far inland. On the drive up to the cape we reconnoitered the New Zealand Rally course. We met a farmer that let us stay on his land and watch the race on our way back to Auckland.
After a visit to the junk yard, the tire shop and the carwash, the van was ready to sell. We booked a room at one of the Central Backpacker hostels in Auckland and got up early to go to one of the weekend car fairs held around the city. We arrived early with high hopes. As the morning wore on it became more and more evident that selling the van was going to be difficult. There were about 30 other vans similar to ours for sale. By mid-day only one had sold and the buyers were scarce. We met some very interesting people though. There were some other Antarcticans (past, present, and future) who were all trying to sell vehicles. Some said they had been there for a week or more. By the time we left the fair, we were discussing extending our stay in order to unload the van. We parked the van right in from of the hotel where we were staying with a sign in the door. When I came down an hour later to get some signs to post inside, there was a guy standing there eying the van. By afternoon, he had agreed to buy it. The next day we were on a plane by 14:00 after a quick trip to the beach at Piha.
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Well, the vortex has sucked us back in. We are back in CHC taking advantage of the free internet at the Antarctic Center and getting car parts. Internet places want $10 to ... 
Today has been nice. The surf is good (though I haven't been out yet) and the livin' is easy. We are really enjoying the van. You can park and camp almost anywhere here. ... 
The flight went very smoothly and I even slept a little on the plane. We were 
Luke