Hello from New Zealand!!

Hey all - we arrived safe and sound early this morning (5:30AM NZ time).  The time difference between Calgary and here is easiest if you subtract 4 hours from your current time and add a day.  As I write this it is 11:30AM NZ time on Feb 21st which would be 3:30PM Calgary time on the 20th.  Just a quick time tip there in case people are trying to get a hold of us.  It's actually pretty convenient as it's just 4 hours different.

We are staying at the YMCA hostel in downtown Auckland and lucky for us we were able to check-in as soon as we arrived at the hostel this morning at about 7:45.  Getting through customs was easy but long as they had to do a "bio-scan" of our tent and an inspection on my hiking boots (Kyle) - I had heard they were pretty careful about what comes onto the island - it's true.  Fortunately both my boots and the tent were "quite clean" according to the inspectors.

After a bit of a snooze we are all cleaned up and ready to hit the town - it's a beautiful day out, maybe 25C??!  Booyah.

Ok - just wanted to let those watching know that we are here... will keep you all updated as we move around.  We'll be in Auckland for a few days as we find a car and get organized.

Later!

Kyle & Cath