Down Under and Unpacking...

Cheers and Happy New Year from New Zealand!

Thanks to our amazing families and friends, we had a VERY Merry Christmas in Mui Ne, Vietnam. Santa even managed to find his way to our little beachside bungalow. We gave some of our travelling toys and books to local kids from the fishing village nearby and we all shared a blessed and unforgettable holiday together. We spent a fun New Year's Eve in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - our last hurrah in Asia after 3 months of travelling. We all enjoyed a street festival in central Ho Chi Minh City where the boys joined local kids trying their hands at various games and we toasted to a great year past and a fabulous one ahead with (believe it or not) Margaritas and Quesadillas. Despite the bombings in Bangkok, we boarded a flight on Jan. 1 and flew from Vietnam to Bangkok to then catch our flight to Auckland. The Thai people (at least the ones we spoke to in the airport) seemed unphased by the attacks and were refreshingly upbeat about the new year. 12 hours later we landed and although NZ is similar in many ways to the US, we have no doubt that we are far from home. It IS nice to once again enjoy some of the many things we take for granted in our safe little worlds- drinkable water, traffic signals (and drivers who obey them) and recognizable food. We rented a car and headed south, stopping at NZ's largest body of water, Lake Taupo and then to the southern tip of the North Island to Wellington. A ferry ride and bus trip later, we arrived in Nelson on the northern tip of the South Island - our home for the next 6 weeks. We've rented a house here and are enjoying some of the mundane things like cooking and laundry and unpacking. We are now in search of some cheap bikes, cheap groceries and cheap thrills - this is an expensive place (especially after Asia). We hope 2007 is off to a fabulous start for you all and might we suggest as an added resolution - meet us somewhere around the world! You still have 7 months to find us...