back in aucky

Hi friends!
Getting used to driving on the left side of the road has become a two person venture - one to man the controls, and the other to constantly remind & make sure we're on the left.. as well as decipher roundabouts... (note to Dad: we're being extremely careful, I promise).
Okay, our little van has an interesting and unusual paint job ... camoflouge, but in orange & yellow, so that all I can come up with is that it desperately wants to blend in amongst a herd of giraffes.. why else anyone would paint her this way is beyond me.. she seems like a Gertrude (Gertie for short:) a timeless, adventurous spirit who does what she wants and doesn't consider what other people think. You'll see pictures eventually, but she's perfect, and we love her despite the difficulties ... ah well, you see.. the thing is, Arrg. Driving up this one particular mountain was a wee bit tough for her, and she blew a radiator and before we knew it a head gasket too. sigh. (with the NZ accent, Brian optimistically thought they were saying 'heat gasket' at first; wishful thinking). Anyway, we should've known, as the little icon on our road atlas told us it was the site of filming for Mt. Doom & Mordor in The Lord of The Rings(!). Yes, well.. these things happen sometimes,(pretty much blowing our idea to save money by buying then reselling rather than renting..) HOWEVER, the absolute best case scenario comes along in our fantastically dear friends Willy & Dominique from Maui, who scooped us up from the mechanic in the middle of nowhere (Owhango) to bring us along on the last week of their NZ tour! We got a tent & off we went cruising around with them in Taupo, Rotorua, Auckland, and a bit of Northland, they brought us back to their favorite hike with underground rivers & countless waterfalls, flowing from a crater lake (Tarawera), most beautiful of camping spots.. rugby matches - the womens rugby national championship, as well as Auckland vs. Northland, radical, - thrift store & hot spring hopping, cold windy beaches, art galleries & museums, etc. They are theeee most fun couple of sweethearts, brightened our world so very much after our confounded mishap, and we are so grateful. All in all, I've devised that meeting up with friends around the world is pretty much the best thing EVER. So pleeeeeease consider coming to meet us if you can! Now they've just flown out yesterday, and we're waiting just a bit longer for the repairs.. Meantime, I found a sweet Angola Capoeira crew - went to their class last night, and an open roda's coming up tonight!! Solid crew, great class, I'm excited. We also ran into these sweet French Canadian girls we met in Fiji who think I'm their yoga teacher. There's a lovely city park that's perfect for it, and when the sun shines, combined with the cool breezes, it's something special.
In other news, money has taken on a new form, particularly with our itty bitty financial setback (news of the current crisis notwithstanding): it is now conceptualized in terms of potential allowable time spent traveling. For example, 2 $15-20 lunches - why that could cover food & accommodation for at least one perfectly spectacular day in Cambodia. Not that we won't eat, mind you, just with increased budgetary awareness. Did I mention, Gertie has a little fridge & stove? Yes, we will soon be self sufficiently cruising the land. Love.