life in the van

So we have left out surf tour and picked up our van. We are living out of this thing for the next two weeks and it's pretty cool. The outside is painted all trippy and colorful. The gas here is basically the same price as back home after you do the conversion, so pretty expensive. Driving on the left hand side was tough to get used to at first and there are some weird rules here too. Auckland was the worst though, we almost got in an accident 3 mins after we picked up our van haha. O well we are two or so hours away from there now in a town called paihia, in the area called the Bay of Islands. It's awesome here, but i guess i'm just happy to be out of the city. I just way prefer to be out in the land.
It seems everytime we move somewhere new, there is a little adjustment time where it's a little uneasy getting settled but once you find your rhythm its comfortable again. I guess im just getting used to being on the road.
We are on our way north, probably to the very northern tip of NZ. We were originally planning on going to the south island, including Christchurch but that is not going to happen now. Its starting to sound like it's going to be the worst disaster NZ has ever seen in terms of death toll. The main problem is that the epicenter of the quake was right in the CBD or central business district. It even took out the tallest building in Christchurch, though it hasn't fallen yet, it defiantly will be knocked over. We were lucky though.
The people we have met so far have all been awesome possum. Local or travellers they all are in the same state of mind. Chelsey and i said it's alot like going to B.C in the summer time near a lake or something. Every town has a ton of hostels, motels, campgrounds and beaches. It's endless summer here and there's always someone to talk too or have a drink with. Anyway another update will come soon. So long