things i have been doing

left: vicky and jack being very british, which they are good at.  right: mt. taranaki reflected in lake dive.

okay, so this is not everything that i have been doing, only the most recent thing.  we did new year's in gisborne, followed by a day in napier and i night in taupo.  we arrived in new plymouth after fixing a critical and potentially deadly car problem and started our hike the afternoon of the fourth.  we made it 3/4 of the way around before we left because of a mild sprain that leah attained, and we are a bit glad because the weather has turned badly and we would have been miserable, plus i am happy because the backpackers we are staying in is completely empty besides us and it's a little bit like being in a co-op house.  and we have a wood fire going, showers for the first time in a few days, and CLEAN NON-SMELLING CLOTHES!

i will try to write more about it all later, and i know that i am incredibly behind on my photo uploading.  but i am tired, as to be expected after four days on a mountain.  i wonder how many kilometers we hiked in total--even then it wouldn't count all the ups and downs we did.