Rotorua

Arrived in Rotorua and am going to the spa at 9 tonite. Darren is at a Maori cultural dinner and i decided to go into town and check email instead. Their culture is interesting but I didnt think the meal was worth the 90 dollar price tag.

The All Blacks are playing this weekend. They are the national rugby team and they are on tour in the UK, playing Wales in Wales this Sunday. Everyone here is All Blacks crazy. So that should be an interesting game to watch with the Kiwis. It is something that brings all the New Zealanders together.

Looking forward to my day in Sydney in a couple of days and checking out Auckland for a couple of days. Auckland is a nightmare city to drive in. Drivers are ironically as smart as the sheep who dot the countryside. I prefer the Alpalcas...they are quite cute. And i did attend a shearing...however it was for Angora rabbits. I can assure you that looks a bit strange. :)

Laters mates.

Snowing in Calgary?!?

HA! I see that its snowing in Calgary right now...and here i am near the beach wearing shorts...its not HOT here but its quite pleasant.

I'll be there soon enough but for now i will enjoy this :) No pictures yet because the machines i have seen are in these big boxes and you can't connect your camera. Next computer i find that isnt in a box i'll send some more pics.

Ancient Kauri Forest

Just headed to an ancient forest today and will post pictures later. We have lots of pics to post. Funny thing about NZ is that it seems to shut down (with the exceptions of grocery stores and gas stations) at 8pm. Even the motels...which seems a bit odd to me. Have gotten used to driving on the other side, however a straight line on a map of 30km can take over an hour and a half to drive there and back. So up, down, left, right are the only directions these roads are capable of. Its rare to see a straight stretch of highway.

But despite all that NZ remains staggeringly beautiful. Went caving at Waitomo, what a blast that was. 65 meters underground tubing in an river. Something you can't do every day back home. Mostly because half the year that river would be frozen over. Will try and upload more pics tonite.

Thanks for all the comments! Keep 'em coming.

Puke Puke

Battle for Middle Earth

Wellington

Wellington is a very hip and cool city. Lots of cafes and great architecture. It's rainy here today so to get out of the rain am checking email. Think we will check out the cable car later. Clothes are expensive here. 40 bucks for a t-shirt...maybe they make more money or something. :S Here are some pictures.