...still in Auckland?

We haven't posted in the last week or so because, well, not much has happened. At least not much compared to our constantly changing adventures in South America. Its not that we haven't been doing ANYTHING, but just that things are moving a bit slower. The big news is that we bought a car! A little scary for penny-few travelers, plus a large committment for only 7 weeks, but we'll hopefully get most of the money back, plus save a boatload by being able to camp every night. Or at least sleep in the back of the station wagon. And thus far we have. On Monday we drove north of Auckland and visited Sam, one of Joel's buddies from Tahoe. It was a great re-start to our NZ adventure, staying up talking about past and future adventures and getting a welcoming home to spend the night! Sam gave us some fantastic recommendations for places to go, which we used to explore further north, visiting a giant Kauri forest and Bay of Islands. We'll probably be around Auckland for another few days before quickly making our way south towards the south island. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NATALIE TOMORROW!

Sam