Ugh... we must be on Santa's naughty list!

Well... we've recently stumbled upon one of the things that we as travelers are warned about regularly... theft. Not to fret, we are going to manage just fine and after a few grunts and groans about what we lost, we both feel lucky that it wasn't worse... it could of been WAY worse.

After a great afternoon boat cruise from the harbour to some art carvings on the lake,

Wind in our hair... and the sails on the Barbary (Dec 23)

Tim and I snuck out to soak in a spa area that was recommended to us - a spot where the steamy water from the thermal pools meet the cool water of the river. It was fantastic and quite a treat, but it was not such a treat to find some things missing from our van upon our return to the parking lot. An update - it was worse than we thought, but we are doing our best to take care of all the loose ends, and thanks to my sister, I think we managed to get everything under control... probably the worst Christmas yet. We are hopeful that it will all work out and are trying to view this as a (crappy, but) meaningful lesson in truly SIMPLIFYING. We don't NEED a phone (although we miss the sound of your voice) and we certainly don't need music... going without the tweezers is debatable, but most of that stuff can be replaced if necessary and all we truly need on this trip is each other.

Our (free) campsite at Reid Farm in Taupo

So... after helping a few German gals to and from the camp park this morning, we did a bit of grocery shopping and spent some time at the beach relaxing - I finally got a bit of a suntan (well, burn really, but not on my face - I'm not that crazy) and am feeling better as we look to make our way out of town. We will head south to Taurangi this evening and have vowed to live on the cheap for the rest of our stay in the North Island. We can certainly find free spots to sleep in the van and have plenty of food to get us through the new year... a couple good books, some hiking trails and a bit more sunshine will be plenty for now - and if our stuff ends up tossed on the side of road and turned into the local police station, I wouldn't mind a drive back through town for the possible rescue of my SPF30 chaprstick and Tylenol PM.

Your prayers are welcome, but we don't want you to worry - this is all a part of the journey. We will be more careful with our valueables in the future and will probably end up buying a local calling card to make the occasional phone call. For now, the promised Christmas calls will need to be delayed... just know that we are thinking of you and wishing you and your loved ones all the best for the holiday.

Much, much love,
Jen and Tim

P.S. Since the Maori experience, we are offically calling Tim "Chief"... it makes his chest puff up with pride and puts a big smile on his face - try it sometime :)

written by

TwoSouls on December 24, 2007 from Taupo, New Zealand

from the travel blog: New Zealand: Santa Wears Burmudas

Send a Compliment

comment on this...