Here a few links to some unique places to stay in New Zealand. My top two choices are staying in the boot or a tree house of any kind! Im dreaming big!

http://www.hapukulodge.com/kaikoura/tree-houses/family

http://www.responsibletravel.com/Accommodation/Accommodation900172.htm

http://www.woodlynpark.co.nz/

http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/TheBootBednBreakfast

Michael and I ventured out yesterday on a SIX hour hike up Karioi mountain which is ONLY a mere 756 Meters above Sea level. At about an hour into the hike we were getting "sneak peaks" of the view we would get if we reached the Summit and began making a list of people we thought could appreciate the hike..... by the time we made it back down the mountain the list had been edited and only had two names remaining.... because the only two people crazy enough to complete the treck is us. You know that feeling you get when you put the last piece of a 5,000 piece puzzle in place, or finish a final exam in a horrible subject like statistics, or even the feeling you get when you cross the finish line of a half marathon.... WELL finishing the hike felt better than all of those things. Michael said that we managed to break every rule our Mother's had for us as kids: Don't play in the mud, don't hang over that cliff, and don't climb boulders particularly if there is no way to get back down. The path weaved us through a jungle scene that could not have looked more "Lord of the Rings" if a hobbit actually managed to jump out and greet us (although that would have been pretty cool). At about two hours into the hike you come to a spot where the only way to progress is to hoist yourself up a metal chain straight up about 12 feet, only to be thrown into a pit of mud up to your knee caps. It is a good thing I have always been the kind of girl that doesn't particularly mind mud because on the way back, the only way down was to sled down the hillside on our backsides. Michael and I both took a couple of spills but his gracious tumble over backwards into the side of the mountain could have won him a gymnastics gold medal. In the beginning of the hike you could hear our yelps or comments when we fell... by the end, you would just hear branches breaking and bodies crashing into the ground. I guess we should have gotten a clue of how difficult the hike was when at the summit the sign reads, "The satellite tower has been placed here for search and rescue purposes." Then again, by this point we had all ready reached the top and had no choice but to turn around and do it ALL OVER AGAIN. The view from the summit made you feel like you were looking out into the abyss. I swear I saw the edge of the earth yesterday and have to admit it made the journey well worth it. We meant to take an after picture to give everyone an idea of just how muddy we were but by the end we were so tired that all we wanted to do is pass out.... But since the All Blacks are Playing in Hamilton we had no choice but to clean up and head out for some good old fashioned Rugby and the start of yet another adventure.
P.S. On the hike we heard a bird that sang (or chirped) the Rocky theme song. You know the one, "It's the eye of the tiger it's the cream of the fight." AND NO I was not just imagining this.

So Michael told me yesterday that he was going to change the blog name to "Mike in New Zealand with guest appearances from Laura" if I didn't actually post anything. Unfortunatly, I have been so busy with work that the last thing I want to do is come home and write about work but to appease my love and adoring husband and make my mom smile... Here it goes....
Starting a new job is always a challenge, starting a new job in a new country is one of the most exciting and exhausting experiences I have ever had. I am one of those lucky people who has always known what I wanted to do with my life. I have been working with kids and in the social service field since I was old enough to have a job. That being said, my first day at work in New Zealand was the most unique experience I have ever had in any role as a social worker thus far. In New Zealand, when any new worker starts at Child Youth and Family (the equivalent to Child Welfare or Child Protective Services in the State) they hold a ceremony called a Powhiri.
I am posting a link here which explains the powhiri because if you are like me you would have no idea what this is and I surely don't want to offend anyone by getting it wrong:
http://maaori.com/misc/powhiri.htm
The way it was explained to me is that a Powhiri is a way of welcoming a person, recognizing that they come from a family that holds unique traditions and customs, recognizing what they bring to the table (in this case the job), and bringing them in as part of the "family."
The idea behind this is quite a beautiful one especially if you, like me, have felt simply like a cog in the wheel in past work experiences.
That being said, If you could imagine me on my first day of work, being brought into a room with every single co-worker in my office, sitting through an entire presentation that is spoken completely in Maori, and then being hugged and kissed by every person in the room, this was enough to make my stomach tumble with nerves. To say the least, it definitely made the realization that I was in a different country truly set in... IN FULL FORCE.
Just FYI a Hongi is the term used for the nose to nose greeting that is traditionally done in Maori culture. It symbolizes the breath of life is being exchanged and intermingled between two people. Luckily for me, they explained this prior to me going into the powhiri, otherwise I am sure I would have looked like an awkward teenager embarking on their first awkward kiss. As this was being explained, I couldn't help but giggle just thinking about how most Americans would handle this situation. I have several co-workers back home that are huge germ-a-phobes. I can only imagine them putting hand sanitizer on their noses after engaging in this greeting. The thought alone made me feel a little more at ease.
One of my favorite things about the ceremony is that although every bit of it was spoken in Maori there was one word I understood intermingled into the rest.... " American." As the ceremony concluded and I was greeting all of my co-workers with the Hongi, one women whispered to me, "Don't worry, we all know you are really Canadian." I still laugh thinking about that moment and the look on her face when I told her... Nope, I am really American.

And let the weirdness continue.... We have been trying a lot of new things here and also learning some pretty sweet jargon, but some of the little things that you may assume wouldn't be that different, are. The stove top is a hob, a line or place to wait (act of or noun) is a queue, the trunk of your car is a boot, cotton candy is candy floss, a dairy is a 7-11 type convenience store, an entree is an hors d'oeurve, a fortnight is 2 weeks (some may know that one but not us), jandals are flip flops, band aids are plasters, a rubber is an eraser, hiking is called tramping and I looked really odd when asked if I like to go tramping and replying "I don't think I have ever done that...". So to say the least it is a lot a head nodding and smiling because we really have no clue sometimes especially if we are with people at the bar or a loud place.

One of the great things you get to do when you visit/live in another country is experience what "they" do for fun or in their everyday lives. So we take suggestions from everyone and have tried most if not all of what has been thrown our way. Most have been easy like hikes or wine tasting or other things that we do back home. Some are a bit different but in a fun way, like getting the chance to go the an English bar called The Londoner (we have made good friends with the owner Gary who is going to let me play cricket with him and his mates) to watch the World Cup match against the US. They were sold out because to be able to open at 5:45am he had to sell tickets but Gary helped us out and let us in anyway. With your ticket you got the game and a HUGE English "brekky" or breakfast, and the great atmosphere to watch a match that I never would have thought twice about let alone show up to a bar at 630 am and still dark out. They were kind of giving us the what for since we are yanks but then we scored and that all stopped. It was one of the coolest things to watch a sport that so many people around the world care about but not as much at home. We got offered some seats at a table by two guys, one a Kiwi born in Africa from an Indian mother (when you see an Indian but he has only a kiwi accent it throws you off at first, like when you take a drink thinking its water but its milk) and his cousin from London. Great guys, fun to razz back and forth and just another great part of the day since one is helping me find a job.

We have our tickets to the new Zealand game tomorrow night, 1130pm our time.....but it will be just one more of the cool things we get to see and do looking at the world through kiwi eyes. CHEERS!!!
mk

Alright everyone, we are going to try to get some deals on travel and some other little things going with some travel related companies but we need you to sign in as a follower if your not so we can show how many people read this. We appreciate you guys even wanting to hear from us and miss you so much!!

We have not been keeping up on it as much as we need to but were going to get better we promise!! So, we have been here just about 6 weeks give or take a few days, we have got the car got a pretty nice pad and Laura has settled into her job nicely. We have been traveling a lot every weekend with a few very "exciting" experiences camping in the back of the Vectra. We are slowly but surely getting used to the food and more importantly the wine in this wonderful place. They are known for the wine here but it doesn't taste like what we are accustom to, we are still enjoying "researching" wineries to take all of our wonderful guests. The views here in this country are just amazing and can't even be shown properly in our pictures. We did a hike up a waterfall last weekend that was so amazing and just spectacular that we were just laughing at the sheer beauty of this country and the way that they want people to get out and experience all this land has to offer. They don't make the hikes here as commercialized as we do back home with all the hand rails and flat clear walk ways, they make you shimmy along cliffs and walk through mud and over fallen trees to get your chance to see these great places. We didn't think we were even going the right way a few times but then we got to the half way point and view point and saw the map. We finally made it to the top of the falls and they had a platform that was set up and looked OVER the edge of the falls. It was stunning how and where they placed the platform over the falls and you could really feel the power of the water falling but also the windblown water coming up the falls, so weird!!!!

All is definitely going very good for us and we are having a lot of fun and know that this is just such a great time of our lives. We can't wait to get to share all of our new hot spots and beautiful new home with all of you.

I know that accidents happen but when it's your fault it's hard to let it go. Last week I was walking the laptop from one room to another and sure enough, it crashed to the floor. The screen was gone instantly and looks so sad I hate to even look at it. The good news is that the computer part of it works just fine so I had to go buy a TV. to hook it up to as a monitor and waste more money. The one good thing that I had on my side is a patient wife that isn't attached to "things" and just said "don't worry about it tonight and just go get a screen tomorrow" . Such patients! I also had a gift from Bob, A BOOK!!!! I know that sounds crazy for anyone that knows me really well, I read a lot I just hate books. I want news, weather, sports and any weird stuff and move on. The book is about self deception and thinking about other people and not just yourself....... Hmmmmm so not just how I'm frustrated with the computer maybe how my wife is feeling? It was a literary punch in the face to read a book that is about life and real things that happen to you and that has been my whole problem with reading books in the past. I don't want nor care to read fiction but if it's a biography or a history book I'm in.
This whole trip and experience has brought out the best in us so far and it continues to every day. We are trying new things (swing class, painting, BOOKS!) and so far loving the fact that we are the type of people that are willing to try anything once and put our old perceptions of things aside and get outside of the box. We are growing together and as individuals and that is going to keep us strong and happy for a long time to come and is just one more reason this is such a great time in our lives.