livin' it up in a campah

hey guys, here we are in Taupo, New Zealand. We left Auckland yesterday afternoon to pick up our camper van. it's a lot nicer than i thought it was going to be. I was expecting a volkswagen hippie van but we have a proper campervan with a table that turns into a bed, a mini kitchen and a toilet/shower. We're livin' the high life! Here is the site where we got the van: http://www.nzmotorhomes.co.nz/23berthtoyota.php. On our first day we made our way to the town of Rotorua and camped...well, sort of camped...we parked in a spot and used the campsite facilities. We left this morning to go to Waiotepu and made it just in time to see the lady knox geyser erupt. From there, we walked around and saw how incredible and beautiful nature can be. Rotorua is well-known for the thermal activity. The different bubbling pools, coloured sulphur rock and mud pools are awesome to watch. http://www.geyserland.co.nz/ The scenery is gorgeous too. This is just how I picture Ireland or Scotland. Beside the road on both sides are hills, hills, and more hills, surrounded by tons of trees. Of course, there are more sheep or cows here than anything else...every once in a while I get spoiled and see a few horses, but overall the animals are just like back home. The weather in NZ is noticeably cooler here. I had to dig our my sweater (or jumper, as some people call it) and jeans the other day. I thought I had banished them to the bottom of my suitcase. So, here are a few pictures. From left to right: the "twelve apostles" (although there are only seven standing), the view inside the "blow hole" (both from the great ocean road), the sunrise from our 6am flight from Melbourne to Sydney, in Rotorua: the geyser erupting at precisely10:20am, us near some bubbly sulphur, and the "devil's bath" (or where slimer from the ghostbusters gets his beautiful colouring).