Heya,

Just a quick update- we said goodbye to Melbourne yesterday (attached is photo of the city skyline from a lake near Steph's place). We had an amazing time in Melbourne ( thank you again Steph&Tim) so we were sad to go.



We arrived in Sydney last night and begin our two day whirlwind tour today, starting with the Opera house. I've got to say that the meal we

Hard to believe our adventure is almost over!

-Dan&Jody

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Hello,

Heh, wifi access has been somewhat hard to find so not as many updates as planned. Writing this from the Borders on Chapel St (a funky shopping district in Melbourne ). It is hard to believe it is the day before Christmas- it's 27 and sunny! Thanks to Steph's teachings we are exploring the city via tram! We also took a tour along the Great Ocean Road and have another booked for wine country on Saturday.

We are having a great time and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!!

-Dan&Jody

PS: thought those buried in snow might want a shot our weather (the beach near Stephanie's at sunset)



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Hello,

Just a quick update that we are doing well, hanging out with Steph and marveling at the crazy weather- monsoon rain the first day and hot sunny days (apparently normal for Melbourne). ;-)

More updates to come once we've had a chance to explore.

-Dan&Jody

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Hello!

A quick update today as the Internet connection is quite weak here. We are in Waitomo and spent a better part of the day exploring underwater rivers and caves (over 40m underground)! Lots of pictures to share- we also got to see gloworms (attached picture isn't of the worms, we weren't allowed to take pictures of them ) just imagine being in boat on an underground river in total darkness-you look up and the ceiling is like the stars at night!



Tomorrow we head back towards Auckland as we wind up the New Zealand part of our trip. We will be sad to leave this amazing country (but we don't fly out till Thurs)

-Dan&Jody

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Hello,

It has been a few days and we are at a camp with wifi so time for another update. :-)

Since leaving Rotorua we travelled over to Napier on the east coast- wine country but sadly all the wineries were closed when we rolled into town. The city does have some cool art deco architecture so it wasn't a total loss. We also had our best meal out of the trip (best lamb in a while).

After Napier we headed into the interior to Ohakune, a sleepy ski village known for it's carrots. On the way we took a long hike along the Tongiriro crossing (see attached photo- Mount Doom in the flesh). It was spectacular!!!



Tony&Doug: While in Ohakune we went to a local pub- the picture of the burger below is for you. Its called "The Boss". Double sized beef patty + slab of steak + lots of bacon + egg + fried onions + cheese + bun (I think there was some veg ;-) ). I almost died eating it. :)



Today we drove to New Plymouth on the west coast. It was a very "exciting" drive- gravel roads (unexpected), washed out sections of road (against sheer cliffs- 100m drop and several of them), along with some non-existant roads our gps wanted us to take. That said it was some of the most picturesque scenery either of us have seen. It was a very good exposure to rural New Zealand- we shared the road with several herds of cows and some sheep- along with a few startled drivers who didn't expect to see a campervan on a one lane stretch of road in the middle of nowhere. Jody was a total rockstar for the drive- especially in the tricky spots. This trip should put to rest any doubts in Jodys driving prowess....

Tomorrow we head out to Waitomo for some cave exploration and to see glow worms.

Hard to believe we are off to Melbourne on Thursday!

Lewis/Hazel: sorry to hear about the crazy weather in Vancouver...it rained here today.... ;-)

-Dan&Jody

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Hello,

It is Friday evening as I write this- the last few days have been filled with driving, vehicle ferrys, beaches, more driving and today a dash of geothermal vents ( we are staying at a camp near Rotorua tonight).

As per plan Jody is driving- she is pretty much a natural. We in a monster of a vehicle ( Mercedes Sprinter- Jay: I took lots of pictures of it like you asked. It is 7.2m long 3m tall!!).

Lots of photos have been taken so we will have much to share (Doug/Joan: we even found a Normanby Street).

Steph: our travels don't look to be taking us to Wellington so we won't be able to hook up with your friend. Our apologies. However we can't wait to see you next week!

Below is a picture of one of the geothermal vents. The thermal park was insane- bubbling mud, multi-coloured steaming lakes, sizzling earth. It was like being in some hellish alternate reality. Very cool. The picture doesn't really do it justice (from my iphone).



Kia Ora!

-Dan&Jody

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Today is a big day as we head back to the Airport to get the campervan. Both Jody and I are very nervous about driving it as there are a few odd driving rules here.

Yesterday was a good day but it rained...a lot!!! We did a 8km hike through mountainous terrain and got pretty much soaked. I took the picture below during the hike- the foilage here is crazy- so different from home. Seems like there a billion varieties of ferns- including fern trees.




















-Dan&Jody

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It is Tuesday morning as I write this, as texted to various phones yesterday we arrived in NZ without any issues (but 40 min early!!).

We explored Auckland yesterday (Jody got many photos of her at various starbucks :) (per my earlier blog)) - Auckland feels like a cross between Vancouver and San Francisco (but clean and with no homeless people). We also visited some local beaches- a good first day.

It is raining today but it is fairly light and the plan is to do so some light hiking and see some of the west coast beaches. Tomorrow we pick up the camper and the next phase of our adventure begins!!!

We will email/blog as we can- luckily the friends of Jody we are staying with have wifi.

-Dan&Jody

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Travel!

So...we have arrived! Weather is great; Ross & Kirsten rock.

And Starbucks is both familiar and strange:


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iPhone blogging?

It is possible!



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Hunh. Haven't updated in a while. I should probably fix that.... ;-)