More New Zealand...

Dear Friends and Family,
New Zealand has been all go from day 1. Mike has summed up some of the amazing things and its true that everyday seems worthy of a top ten lifetime highlight. So to rebalance things, I thought I would point out some of the things that are not in the brochures. Here is the list so far:
1.Sandflies that bite. They are everywhere, especially on all those impossibly blue & golden sand beaches, and for all hours of the day. Their venom is so horrid it makes big puffy bites swell up and just when you think the itching has stopped, bites flare up again especially at night {the poison is reactivated by the heat of blankets). Luckily those clever Maori discovered a plant that numbs the pain so we have bought lots of this stuff and apply it daily([along with the real sheep placenta cream that is working well on my wrinkles, though no effect on Mike's)
2. The boring food. NZ is blessed with wonderful seafood and meat but all the chefs seemed to have been trained in the last century. You cannot buy limes or rocket in supermarkets and there is no cardommon or chilli powder either. Cravings for real curry and samosas are high and will require a major detour to a city centre to be satisfied. Its getting harder to be inventive in the motorhome with one frying pan and 6 inches of worktop space.
3. The motorhome is shrinking. Mike alluded to this. Its true Isaac is growing very fast [he eats a meal every 2 hours and wants pudding after each] and we have acquired more stuff (fleeces mostly and kagools to cope with the cold and wet weather!!!) so perhaps there is less space in the motorhome with each passing day.
4. NZ is soooooo far away. Well all this unique beauty & peopleless wilderness comes with a price. We are getting a bit homesick and phoning/skyping/MSN is totally impossible with the 13 hour time difference.
I think that is about it (for now). I will feel better once I have had some biryani and korma! Thinking and missing you all lots and lots.