After a few very hectic days in Auckland, New Zealand, when we have been busy looking for a camper-van, we are planning on leaving for Northland today. Finally. It has been quite an adventure to get a grasp of the van market here, what you can get for what kind of money. We ended up on a Sunday car fair and found a cheap van with the owner that Roy felt we could not trust completely. We had the van checked (it was in quite a bad state) and finally bought it cheaply, thanks to Roy's negotiation skills and persistence (a garage still had to fix a few things for our safety, and also so that we know it when we need to sell it in a few months). It has got a bed in it, but other than that it is empty. The last tow days we have spent on different warehouses and other shops getting all the things we might need for a camping life. And oh my god, we need a lot of things! But hopefully we are now ready to go: here we come camping life!
We do not experience Auckland as a particularly beautiful place, but it has got a nice vibe, people are very friendly (not so stressed although it is a big city), and the presence of a large oriental population means that there are so many different cuisines on offer. Since we got here we have been enjoying food from different countries: Thai, Japanese, Chinese etc, and we love it! Sushi everywhere, my dream come true. There is more sushi places than McDonald's!
The Christmas atmosphered is seriously confusing us, they have got lights, gingerbread, large Santa's and Christmas trees, but it is summer! It just does not work in our brains, and we cannot even pretend to be engaged or exited about the fact that it is Christmas eve tomorrow. Ah well, I guess we are going to have to adjust to local customs and celebrate with some people at a camp-site or something. We shall see.
So, we send our warmest (literally), slightly confused Christmas greetings to you all!
Much love
Ania and Roy
