New Zealand - Campervaning it!!!

Greetings from New Zealand. Thanks everyone for all the comments! It has been so nice to be able to hear from everyone and I am glad that everyone is enjoying the pictures! Since everyone is asking for more pictures, I hope these will do for some time....as this takes some time for me to do.....Today, I decided to just take a lazy Sunday-kind of like I did back home. So since I had nothing to do, but drink some coffee and relax....I thought I would post these pictures. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I bought a X-mas tree at the $2 store here and plan on decorating it soon. I have to admit that it doesn't feel like the holidays here! We have been in remote places and it wasn't until I got to a town that I heard the Christmas music and saw the decorations. I have been having some great fun contemplating things, today,and been enjoying spending some time, just people watching and gaining insight into a culture unlike that in the States. That is one of the greatest gifts travel brings and as soon as I gather my thoughts into words, I will share it with you all. Until then, I send all my love, thoughts, and prayers to you from New Zealand!

So great to be in New Zealand. I know it is winter back in the States, but after spending two weeks in the humid/hot Pacific Isles, I welcomed the change of climate and the views were incredable! This is just one of the spots along the Northern Coast! The weather here is much cooler and the views more dramatic. We have only been on the North Island thus far...and the South Island is supposed to be even more drastic! I can't wait!

Me in front of the bay where we camped. It was our first time, just picking a spot and camping. They mostly frown upon this now, even though 20 years ago, it was all anybody did! We have not had any problems doing this though, and it is where you will get the best views.

More shots of my first New Zealand sunset!

First New Zealand sunset, the horizon line cleared up just enough to let the sun peak through!

The campervan on the spot where we camped the first night in New Zealand! The driving is on the left side of the road, this took some getting used to! The hardest part was that the turn signal is on the right and wipers on the left. Every time I went to signal a turn I would engage the wipers and then get all confused. By the time this trip is over, I will have to get used to things again, at home. It will be this way in most of the countries for the rest of the trip!

Panera time! This was the first salad I had in two weeks and was happy to have lettuce be affordable again. The lettuce in Fiji and Cook Islands was 18 dollars a head. In US that means about 12 dollars! Behind me is the sink and stove and above me a heated towl rack! Pretty nice for camping huh? The red window rolls come down for night time and it is so dark that when the light is on, inside, you can't tell from the outside!

Kite surfer in the Bay of Islands on the Northern most peninsula. I have wanted to try this but I met some lifeguards from Great Britian that said, if you don't know what you are doing, it could be dangerous. They knew a guy that was inexperienced and the wind caught the kite and sent him into the wall of a building. He broke his leg and was pretty scraped up and lucky to be alive.
The outside of the campervan, from the spot where we camped on Thanksgiving day! Not too Shabby!
Thanksgiving meal in our campervan! That was the view from out the back of the Tasman Sea!The first time I have ever spent Thanksgiving with such a view. There was plenty to be thankful for that day! I even found a New Zealand cidered beer called Scrumpy, which was 8.5% alcohol by volume...one was the same as drinking two beers and it even said it on the bottle.
Me in front of Dawson Falls in Tarinaki National Park. At this point the peak was covered in clouds and the top was no longer visable from this hike.

This is Mt. Tarinaki. We spent the day after Thanksgiving exploring the National Park that was New Zealand's second National Park. It was great luck that we were able to see the peak on a clear day. The town we spent Thanksgiving in is right outside the park and only gets 1500mm of rain per year....they say that, on the mountain, it is either raining or going to rain. In comparison, the mountain gets 7000mm of rain per year! This is the peak that was used in the movie The Last Samuri, because of its close resemblance to Mt. Fuji.

More Photos from Fiji

This was the sunset on my last night in Fiji. It had rained all day, and the sky opened up perfectly, just in time for sunset! I took this shot on the beach where I met a guy named Michael who was a dive master! He reccomended this spot in New Zealand to go diving and it turned out to be a really great spot, with a A+ dive operator. I was glad to have asked him to take my picture. Chance encounters like that is what makes travel so great!

Jayme ordered pizza in Fiji and this is what it looked like! We were laughing, but it tasted great!

This was us on the canoe, you can only take the bamboo raft down river...the current is too strong, in order to get to the waterfall that we climbed we had to take a canoe with a motor on back of it.
Bamboo Rafting down the River. We were lucky to run across lots of waterfalls off to the side. The guide said that after it rains you can see at least a hundred waterfalls off the banks of the river, it had rained all morning, so we had a lucky experience!

Jayme drinking the milk from a coconut. This common on all the Pacific Islands! This was not our first fresh coconut!

Front of the main gathering area, of the tribe. The villager is blowing on a conch shell, to welcome us the village. They did this to welcome all visitors to the village, and immediately following with a kava ceremony. Where they grind the roots of the kava plant and offer this to the cheif who represents the visiting tribe. Back in the day, the Fijians were canibals- the only local source of food was from bats, so in order to sustain the tribe, a person gave themselves to the tribe with great honor (so they say)! Once the Islands were colonized by the British, more sources of food were brought in...and today all of the tribes are Christan.


Side view of some of the buildings in a Fijian village. Everything is made by hand by the woman of the tribe. The walls are made from the Banana plant which has been boiled to create the tan color (origanally green). If they didn't boil the leaves they would rot out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone..thanks so much for all of the comments...and since everyone loves the pictures, I will try and burn more to a disc soon. These computers here, don't seem to have USB ports, so it makes posting the pictures a little bit of an ordeal. I do have lots more great pictures to post, so look soon, for the latest from New Zealand. I had Thanksgiving right on the Tasman Sea, yesterday. We got a campsite directly on the Sea and make a feast to celebrate. Since our campervan only has a stove and a microwave, we had to opt out of turkey. I told Jayme...that we should have BLT's since it has been like six years since I had one! To those of you, who knew me back in the day...that was all I would ever eat! Since being a vegetarian for 6 years, I have not had a single one till yesterday-Thanksgiving- really the only time of year, that I allow myself to cheat! It was so good I might add! I did finally find veggie burgers here at the grocery store, though, and was beginning to think that that kind of stuff didn't exist in New Zealand. The campervan is great! I logged in two more dives at this place called the Poor Knights Islands, off the east coast on the North Island! It is ranked one of the top 10 subtropical dive spots in the world! I have to agree! The fish would swim right up to you and I also saw two gigantic stingrays and and lots of eels! It was a great experience! Other than that...I have been on a driving tour and just park up the campervan on the ocean every night and go to sleep with the sound of the waves rolling me to sleep! I explored a National Park today, and hiked to a waterfall on Mt. Taranaki! We also passed through a village where the film The Last Samuri was filmed! They used Mt. Taranaki as a backdrop, because it looks similar to Mt. Fuji! Pretty Cool.. More from me real soon...hopefully with some pictures! Joy I loved the pictures by the way...and Cookie....I love you and miss you too! Wish everyone was here! Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Photos from Fiji

Most of the time in Fiji was out on the ocean doing scuba, during the night, since my balcony had such a great view....I watched the sunset. More pictures from Fiji to come, as soon as I burn a new disc. Love to all.

Another sunset from the balcony....I just couldn't get enough of them!

Sunsets...from the balcony

Sunset from the balcony of my room in the Horizon backpacker place I stayed in Fiji. This was the very first night I was there! Not bad for a hostel huh? Check out my new sarong....got it in the Cook Islands and it matches my bathing suit!

Goodbye Fiji....hello New Zealand!

Hey everyone...today is my last day in Fiji...so I thought I would post some pictures since it is raining and I had nothing else to do. I leave on a flight for New Zealand at 3:00AM. Campervan time! I can't wait. To Joy and Mike....I haven't quite figured out the whole dateline thing, so I am not sure if you are ahead or me...oh well? Yesterday...we did a cultural day and went to a local village and had a Kava cermony with them. Kava is root and when mixed with water has a numbing effect, when drinken. It is drinken everyday by about 60 percent of Fijians and it tastes like muddy water. It was really good to be able to learn how things were and continue to be in the villages of Fiji. We also canoed up a river to this spot, and hiked to a couple of waterfalls. The big waterfall was like 50 ft. high and our guides jumped from about halfway down. I have pictures, but they are not on my digital..... On the way down we had to jump down from the lower falls about 15ft. I was a little scared but it was so fun! Then we took a bamboo raft down the rapids....also so much fun, and even better beacause it just rained and there were like 100 waterfalls off the side of the river we were on. I can't wait to see the pictures! Hope everyone is doing well and by the way is anyone feeding my turtles and giving Fluffy her medicine? I hope so...but get back to me on that...because I am a little worried and need some peace of mind! Joy send me an e-mail with pictures of your dress....I check both, so that way Mike won't be able to see it! Love yous!

Photos from the Cook Islands

Close up of the waves crashing on the reef beyond the lagoon. The waves were at least 12 ft. high...and very dangerous to surf, because of being so close to the reef.
Jayme and I in front of the lagoon on the south side of the island....this stretch of beach ran right next to the road...and could be seen while driving by on scooter.
The beach in front of the place where I stayed on Rarotonga. The waves break out on the reef, and the entire island is coverered by a lagoon just past the reef. Clear turquoise waters...which were great for snorkeling.
This photo was taken on a trek to the top of Raemaru Peak. It was a jungle hike to the top with many great view points along the way. The trail head was right across the street from where I stayed. This point overlooks the the east side of the island, with the highest point in Rarotonga in the clouds.
This picture was taken on the ocean in front of the backpacker place I stayed at in the Cook Islands...The very first night I was there. My first of many sunsets!

Dawn of a New Day

I thought I would start out by letting everyone in a little bit of trivia.....did you know that the 180 degree meridian cuts across three places in Fiji, which means that Fiji is the first country in the world to see the dawn of the new day! I thought that was so cool! It is a new first for me to be the first in the world to see the sunrise...which I might add, happens really early...meaning that the sun sets around 6:30 pm. And I was supposed to be following summer. So today was a milestone day for me....I finished my PADI open water certification! I can't believe that I waited so long to do this! I have to admit that I am addicted already, after only logging in 4 dives, and already planning to do the kelp forests of New Zealand! The past two days have been perfect! I spend the mornings on the boat and among the fish....and the afternoons relaxing to slow pace of the islands and watching the end of the day. We are staying among many backpackers here...and some of our friends from the Cooks! There is only three full days left and the plan is do some white water! Maybe do a local Kava ceremony in a village too! I have to say, that something great happened today! You know how I am about the strange coincidences in life. Today we were finishing up our certification, and for the first time since coming here we met our first Americans, also finishing their certification with us.....the great thing was, when I asked them where they were staying...it happened to be at Worldmark...the timeshare like thing that I own. I have never met a fellow owner outside of the resorts....we were not able to stay there due to renovations, but we ended dropping them off at the resort, which was cool, because I got to see the resort anyway. Crazy how things happen....Joy and Mike glad to hear the good news about the dress and Phish! Dad has the address where we will be in New Zealand and we would love to hear the CD's .

Bula from Fiji!!!

I'm sad to say that I'm on my second week abroad and already it feels to be going by so quickly. In both Rarotonga and Fiji, I have been staying at backpacker hostels, but both have been right on the ocean. I sure do know how to pick them! In over a week, I have watched the sunset over the ocean every night. Today was the start of my PADI dive certification. I know most of you are thinking, how could she have been a marine science major and not be certified already? Well I'm glad I waited to do it in the beautiful ocean waters of the Fiji Islands, instead of the murky waters of Lake Michigan (like I originally planned oh so long ago). Thanks to everyone for the comments. It is really great to hear from everyone and brings many smiles to my face, knowing that you have been thinking of me! Sorry First crew, but I won't be coming back early to help shake sep funnels during annuals....do you think I could get payed anyway and do the shaking when I get back....I might need the money ;) See if my dad is cool with that and get back to me. Greg- I'll let you know about the glow worm caves in New Zealand---that is a must and I definitely plan on checking those out. I also heard of a zip line and when you get down...you have a tube and drop 30 ft...into a river and ride it for a couple of hours..that sounds right up my alley! Joy- I am working on the tan- slowly though-I have many months of summer to go and I'm still pealing from Mexico! Tomorrow is my first two open-ocean dives...hopefully I will see some great fish...sharks....rays....or whatever else may be out there! I do have some great pictures already and can't wait to post them on the blog.....It is going to have to be somewhere other than Fiji though...because the computers here are quick for internet but don't have a USB port. If this seems to be the trend throughout the world, I will burn them on a disc so you all can have a look! More from me soon...the internet is really cheap here!

Kia Orana

Greeting from the Cook Islands! Well only three days in and already I have met so many new people! Mostly Irish and European....some Aussies too! Their accents are really great! Today we got Cook Islands driver's lisences. That was interesting and rented a motor bike. It was so fun to be able to travel around the 20 mile island with my hair blowing and the ocean at my side. To those of you who have never been...which I think is pretty much everyone. You have to check this place out. The people are warm and friendly and the safety factor is pretty much no worries...unless of course you fall off your moped! This is different from other places I have been, where the windows contain bars. Not here!!! I guess the custom here is to listen to the elders and the locals all seem to be well-behaved, beacuse they don't want to do anything that would disgrace the family. Therefore making this place a very safe place to travel. Americans are hard to come by here! Quite interesting, and not what I expected! And the biggest difference, I noticed, is that I am surronded by like- minded individuals. Everyone pretty much seems to be traveling around the world! So, to the lads (I am picking us some Irish lingo) who thought that I was crazy, I guess it appears not so! Love to all and since it has been some time since the last post....the itinerary...is what I had predicted and the rest of the tickets are booked. To anyone that wants to join me in New Zealand for Christmas...there is plenty of room! Think about it!