New Zealand Round I (North of Auckland)

The countdown is on - we have less than three weeks to go until D-Day (i.e., our wedding). Mariah and I have been enjoying a little R&R in the north island of New Zealand - trying to stretch out after our stint in Micronesia and before we jump head first into the next 3 months in the South Pacific and married life. Since we've never had the opportunity to explore the beautiful beaches north of Auckland, we took our time to explore the scenic coast and large Kauri forests.

We've spent the last week touring around in our Toyota clown car exploring both the paved and gravel roads all over the "land's end" region north of Auckland. We started our adventure driving through the wine country and coastal regions up to Whangerei, a nice scenic beach community just south of the Bay of Islands. We were unlucky to find the region covered in black clouds and blowing rain, but made the best of a bad situating. In Whangerei, we found a nice hostel that was hosting their annual Christmas party and were able to take part in the festivities. We enjoyed meeting the locals that supported the YHA hostel and happily indulged in their gifts of food and drink.

After chilling out for 2 days - we were stalled due to locking our keys in the car and the bad weather - we headed out for Cape Reinga (the most northern point of NZ). The trip up the small spit of land extending 100km was partially paved and was windswept due to the convergence of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean. We had a great time taking turns driving and exploring the little towns and amazing scenery on our drive up. We even picked up a hitch hiker on the way back - an American lady from Hawaii who had been "WWOOFing" in NZ for the last three months (WWOOF - World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms is a group you can join and work 4hrs on the local farm in exchange for room and board). I think when we return, we may do this as well to meet some interesting people and save some cash - check out the link above

Due to the large amount of rain and rich soil on the North Island, it is a perfect environment for the rare Kauri trees to grow. Many of these enormous trees are thousands of years old and are surrounded by ancient Maori traditions and myths. Mariah and I had a nice time hiking on a few different forest trails while brainstorming and discussing how we might be able to turn some of our experiences and photos from our round-the-world trip into a book or more interactive travel website that could be a resource for others. We've actually spent a lot of time brainstorming different ideas and topics throughout our travels - it's a good way to keep our minds active and dreaming, and to get to know and challenge one another.

When we stayed overnight on the West Coast, we found a small, unique shop called the Labyrinth Woodworks at the entrance to a gorgeous (& muddy) hike up to a waterfall. We were greeted by the proprietors Louis and Sue - old hippies of sorts who enjoy working at their shop nestled in a little valley surrounded by beautiful forest, and their clan of chickens and peacocks. Louis spent most of the time stumping us with fun brainteasers and teaching us about the world of puzzles and games that exist around the world. Just take a look at the website (click above) to learn more. We even picked up a game to pass the time in the Cooks if rain keeps us indoors (which we hope it doesn't!).

We are now ready to finally meet up with family and friends in the Cook Islands and take the plunge. Our wedding vows are ready, and more importantly, we are ready to promise them to each other. Our adventures have been amazing so far - and the wedding marks our half-way point on the trip. Mariah and I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and will keep you all updated on our time in the Cooks, the wedding and our future trip plans after the first of the year. We should have pics up soon after the wedding (which is officially Jan 1, 2008). And don't forget to cheer on our USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl on Jan 1st - Go Trojans!

Eric and Mariah