For those of you that met them at the Thu night ride a few weeks back, (and hit on them...????), here's the "tour report" from Liz - the least tall of the three.

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alas, we have spent our last saturday night in new zealand. as i result, I am writing you this email in an extremely hung over state. tonight will be our last night in Kurt, our camper van, who has taught us many things, like how fast you can go around curvy mountain roads, how to brush your teeth without water, and that it is in fact possible to put on a fitted sheet with no less than three people sitting on the bed. he has treated us well, but after 3 weeks we decided its about time we stayed in a hostel and got a shower that doesn't turn off on us after five minutes and isnt cold enough to give us frostbite.

after spending nearly three weeks seeing everything worth seeing and many things that werent (ahem- masterton, home of the golden shearing competition), I have compiled a list of new zealand-isms that may elucidate some of the subtle differences between americans and kiwis. first and foremost, as I have mentioned, there is no telling where

cars are going to hit you from. its any direction really,. as they not only drive on a funny side of the road but consistently prefer round abouts to stop signs. I have realized that this is cleverly enstated as an indicator that you have entered a town, in case you have otherwise missed that memo.
In the realm of food, there is much similarity except for what kiwis dare call "ketchup", which is just a lie full of sweet sugary red sauciness. On the bright side, fish and chips are entirely unaviodable, mostly due to the fact that we often want to eat after 7 pm and there is nothing else open.
You might think that chinese food, hamburgers (another thing they do
oddly...beet and cow are apparently a favorite combo here) and fish and
chips do not belong in the same take away restaurant, but oh how wrong you are. these wonderful establishments usually outnumber people in the tiny tiny new zealand towns, and advertise "chinese smorgasboards" of fried goodness. you can even get a deep fried fried spring roll.

mistake? i think not. rachael gabbie kurt and i have become fish and chip connoisseurs in these past two months, although once i started sweating grease I have reverted back to pumpkin soup, which is just about the only type of soup you will find here. I can tell you with confidence that the best place to get this is in taupo, but you will have to cut over to dargaville in order to get the good fish and chips.

luckily, nothing is too far here, although it will probably take you twice as long as it should to get there because there is no such thing as a straight road here. they instead favor death defying curvy roads that cut through mountains, streams, cliffsides, and various other landscapes that make you fear for your life. Kurt has been an exceptionally good sport driving around these nearly circular roads, as has rachael for driving, we did discover that kurt perseveres less through mud.

luckily, we made this revelation next to a beautiful lake where there were several equally beautiful men already equipped in gum boots (golashes) ready to give kurt the extra little push he needed to extract himself from the pretty scenery and back onto the roads. less muddy pull outs such as picnic spots, slow car ditches and (sometimes unexpectedly busy) side streets serve as excellent sleepover spots.

reverting back to the middle ages, candles have served as an almost legitmate source of light to read and play cards by, as all the stores, restaurants, and the sun shuts down around six.

getting actual power has been trickier than you may imagine, as another new zealand-ism is switching off the power outlets. we have discovered that no matter how long you leave the rice on the stove or your laptop plugged in,they will neither cook nor charge when the outlet is turned off.
ultimately, we have discerned the lifestyle of kiwis fairly well, even as americans, which isnt nearly as dirty of a word as australians. always root for anyone else besides the australians, but really, as "root" means to hook up here, its best not to root for anyone at all. being american here is alright once you have had the obligatory conversation about how george bush sucks.

Since new zealand seems to be the place where historically everyone has migrated once they have been kicked out, slighed by, or become pissed off at their own country, they are used to different types of people. although i have been disappointed by the nightlife during the week, the weekends here are wonderful. we still hold wellington near and dear to our hearts, and took care to hurry back here in time for one last saturday- its very good to be home.

we will be leaving wednesday, where we will enjoy august 1st for twice
as long as you guys will and will drink free champagne all the way home (its all free!! i am exclusively flying internationally from now on). although it is heart breaking to leave, i am excited to see some of you in maine and sleep in a real bed. spooning with rachael and gabbie has been a pleasure, but i am hoping to incorporate a toilet and electricity into my next living arrangement. as this is taking the form of a short novel,
i will spare you and end this email. the north island was beautiful, and we finally went to the hot water beach where you dig yourself a hole in the sand and it fills with hot water. very, very hot water. i also dragged rachael and gabbie up a mountain, where we climbed ladders and rungs to the top of a rocky peak and saw for miles and miles before almost getting blown off the summit.

Apparently, in new zealand it IS possible to hike uphill both ways, but we got a good workout and the went out and ate big hunks of meat for dinner. we stopped in several cute little towns and saw the sunrise over the ocean.
to try brevity for once- the country is just too beautiful for its own good. once i can connect to the internet on my own computer ill send along some pictures. ok, going for good this time. i know its a mass email, but really
write me back you a-holes. love love love
liz