Wellington

I knew it might happen, but it was still weird... hiking on a snow covered dormant volcano and then standing on the beach in shorts watching the waves crash against the rocks... that's New Zealand for you!
Markus and I have covered a lot of ground, seen some pretty amazing things, and all but two of our nights we went to sleep with a view of the ocean.
One night did get pretty cold, i was uncomfortable in my 0-degree sleeping bag... we woke up to snow on the surrounding mountains - dang it. We made it a car day driving the "Forgotten Highway" and it's name pretty much describes it. (I was just hoping they didn't forget to build one of the bridges we crossed) the roads were about 10 feet wide and the straightest section of road was probably 50 feet... driving was ridiculously stressful. Though to make it more interesting we started to count the number of cars we passed (6 cars in 150 km and 3 hrs), and the number of bathrooms (one). Though my favorite time killer was driving up on unsuspecting sheep and laying into the horn as we drove by... the things you'll do for entertainment.We visited a place called Kidnappers Cape, a bird sanctuary where thousands of these crazy birds decided to hang out (native to Australia). We met a couple girls (both from Europe) hanging out with these birds for a couple years working on their graduate and doctorate degrees. Pretty sweet... if you like to count how many times birds "copulate" and or getting crapped on all day.

Another day we checked out Cook's Cove and The Hole in the Wall, a gorgeous landscape of sandstone, green grass and ocean all mixed into one. After our walk, back to the car for another hundred miles, kilometers, whatever. I think after this trip I'm going to have trouble going back to the right hand side of the road.
Well I'm headed to the south island tomorrow then down the coast to Christchurch to hopefully meet up with piper and hopefully just hang out for a few days before i hit the road again. I've been reading the book "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell (sorry suz, i promise I'll get it back to you eventually!) and have been enjoying it immensely. I don't get a whole lot "alone" time being stuck in a minivan for 2 weeks, so i usually get half a chapter and chew on it for awhile...

If you feel so inclined, pray that God would continue to speak to me here, pray for my attitude and patience with Markus. Pray that He would continue to use, direct, and restore me - and those with which i am in contact.