A Toyota cannot withstand a decent argument...at least the sheep are reliable (a posting from the road)

Take this message with a grain of salt as it is written while I am trapped in the back of a Toyota Camary - I am tired, hungover and hormonal. Today I am having a hard time mastering the art of comprimise. Many of my previous travel adventureshave been either solo or with like-minded people. This trip is not the case. It's a long story as to how but I am currently travelling with an old University roommate and his sister. Weird - yes. The first few days were okay, had I been by myself I probably would have skipped the cable car museum and the sheep shearing museum but I guess I am the more educated for it in the end...anyway, today has not been as good - a few towns back I actually called back to the US (at what I am sure will endup being mere $45 a minute) to have my friend Carrie talk me off a street corner and into the car. Once back into car I somehow ended up in a heated discussion (some may refere to it as an argument) with my friend - who was driving at the time. Long story, not worth telling. Short story, rental car - passenger side destroyed but nobody hurt.
Okay, enough of my craziness, more about NZ. Had an AWESOME time at the rugby game last night. The All Blacks kicked ass 33 -6 to a home packed stadium containing us and the Prime Minister. Traditionally the Maori perform a stomping chanting cermeony called the Haka that is desigend to frighten their rivals. The All Blacks keep up this same tradition - it is no less terrifying when 20 huge Rugby players do it. We ended up at some bar after the game with some folks that we met on a bus who were intrigued by our accent - ahh its nice to be unique but now I am paying for it.

I practiced my future career as a photographer for National Geographic again, this time with the national bird - the Kiwi (much larger then you think - kind of the size of a butterball turkey) and a tartua, the ONLY living relative to the dinosaur.New Zealand is also home to kaka - a large, somewhat muted in colour but not in voice, parrot - who happens to love having his photo taken.

The country side is stunning. It's spring down here and as such the fields are dotted with baby sheep frolicking and bleeting. The flowers are all in bloom, and every town had a spring festival underway. The green colour in the fields is amazing - I am not sure if the photos will come close to doing it justice. Our drive today, assuming the car holds together, will end in Taupo, midway on the North Island and the start of an active geothermic thermal area. More to come...