Purple People Eater

Well, we’re mobile! On Sunday, we spent half a day looking at camper vans at a big car fair south of town and ended up finding a great Toyota, with a bed built into the back. We had it checked out by a mechanic who said it was in excellent shape and we plan to modify it further, building shelves and making the bed retractable. Oh, and did I mention that it is purple? What more could you ask for?! Now it's just a matter of getting used to the whole driving on the left side of the road thing. Sean successfully navigated the two blocks from the where we bought it to our hostel, but I have a feeling that crossing the city may be a bit more complicated : )

We bought the van from a cool German backpacker, Ben, who has been here for about six months, traveling around the South Island, trekking, camping and working odd jobs. He’s traveling home-- after being abroad for twenty months-- via the Transsiberian Railroad in order to brush up on his Russian. He's just one of many interesting people we've met on the hostel circuit so far.

Our "backpacker" (aka hostel)


An outdoor market across from Victoria Park nearby

We've spent the past few days running errands and exploring the downtown area of the city. On Saturday, our friend Holly drove us up to the top of Mt. Eden, a big dormant volcano in the middle of town. The views from the top were spectacular, across the city and even to outlying islands.

The view from Mt. Eden

The hothouse at the Domain

Mexican Food! We haven't tried it yet, but may get desperate at some point.