New Zealand -- fun, fun, fun.

The first part of the New Zealand adventure has been filled with --- adventure! My timing couldn't have been better. The weather is great and February is a month of great significance here in NZ. The Kiwis are warm and friendly, if not a bit insecure about where they stand relative to their larger Aussie neighbors who have more land, natural resources and, evidently, wealth.

Luckily, I was able to see much of the North Island which is much underrated and deserves a good amount of time for your visit here. Start planning and let me know as I want to come back :)

Highlights include:

-- a trip to the Northland, Bay of Isles and the Waitangi Treaty grounds where a treaty was signed between the native Maori people and the Europeans on February 5, 1840. I was there on Feb 4th with preparation for the festivities in full flight. This added a sense of the history and made it easy to imagine being there at Waitangi at the time of the signing. It is set in a beautiful spot in the Bay of Isles, about 5 hours north of Auckland. There were tunning views and important history to be learned.

-- Auckland, the northern commercial capital, is a great city -- small in size, but large in character, charm, activities and views. Really liked it there. So much so that I rented a bike so I could explore on my own within the city and across the harbor in Devenport. Future Kiwi visits, don't forget to rent those bikes. I'll fill you in.

-- Napier -- you've got to check out www.artdeconapier.com What a cool town. Destroyed by an earthquake on Feb 3, 1931, this town has one of the most well preserved examples of art deco design in the world. Really enjoyed the all too brief time here, and am thinking about coming back (in the future) for the festivities of the art deco weekend held annual the third weekend in February.

-- Wellington - the political capital. I had little time so decided to focus on what I couldn't see elsewhere in New Zealand: their political system. As luck would have it, I witnessed the debate on the day their conservative George Bush type Prime Minister gave his equivalent of the state of the union. It was a big debate on tax cuts. More of the same :) They mostly follow the British parliamentary system here so lots of catcalls, hissing and jocular banter among the debating members of parliament. Really entertaining to watch this form of democracy in action.

I'm off on the Alpine rail crossing today which traverses the Kiwi Alps. Then up to Nelson which is known as a hip (like me), artsy town.

Over and out. Next update from Oz.