Our first week in NZ

Hello Family and Friends,

As promised, here is an update of our past couple of days in New Zealand. Andy and I are almost fully recovered from jetlag and are thoroughly enjoying our time on the North Island. The weather has been very nice, especially for winter (similar to a spring day in WA). We picked up our campervan in Auckland, which will be our home + transportation for the next 3.5 weeks. It has everything we need, including a kitchenette with fridge and stovetop, table and seating which convert into a bed, and a porta-potti.

It had initially been a bit unnerving sitting on the opposite side of the car and driving on the opposite side of the road, but Andy made the adjustment quite smoothly (may I also mention it was on stick shift?). We drove through Auckland, which reminded me very much of Seattle (especially when it began to rain), but once we got north of that, the skies cleared and we found ourselves surrounded by beautiful green rolling hills (very much like Hobbiton!). So of course we had to put on our Lord of the Rings soundtrack :)

We had since been to a couple of different campsites in the Northland area as we made our way towards Cape Reinga on the northern tip of the North Island. The drive and stops in between have not been short on incredible scenery. Enjoy the photos below!

Te Arai Point

Sunset

Still jetlagged

Sunrise the next morning

Andy on the hill at sunrise

  

 

 

Skipping rocks

 

Our campervan at Te Arai Point

On the road

Campsite: Blue Heron, near Whangeri

Our campsite at Tapotupotu near Cape Reinga

A nearby meadow

View from our hike (if you look carefully, you can see our campervan below)

Thank you everyone for your prayers.  God has been showing up in so many small ways, I've lost count.  He is so good.  Please continue to pray for us as we pray for all of you.  We will try to keep you updated, but bear with us as internet is not always easy to come by :)

Will write more when we can!