Prelude to the Beginning

So here it is.  Our first blog.  We thought we'd give you an update on what we've been doing for the last 8 weeks since we packed it all in, said goodbye to everyone in Australia and left for New Zealand. While here we've had plenty of time to catch up with family and friends, watch the Rugby World Cup (not that we'll talk about that too much since it's still a touchy subject for half of us), sleep in, eat, drink and prepare ourselves for our trip.  

We made it to 4 RWC games while here:  France v Canada, Australia v USA, Canada v Japan and NZ v Canada.  While they weren't all great games, NZ put on a great World Cup as the atmosphere and enthusiasm at the games and throughout the entire country was amazing.

We also bought all our new gear while here after doing a lot of research on the internet and reading blogs of other travellers.  We decided to go for the minimalist approach so we aren't carrying 30kg each and therefore prevent one of us complaining (guess who) every time we have to pick up our bags.  Kurt went for a Deuter Aircontact 55+10 backpack and Keryn chose a new model Deuter Futura Vario 45+10.  We've posted photos of our gear so you can see just how little we're taking.

Kurt's stuff all laid out

Kurt's stuff packed in packing cells

Keryn's stuff all laid out

Keryn's stuff packed in packing cells

Both of our packs and day packs ready to go

After chilling out at Mat and Nat's (and Ashton's) bach on the beachfront in Matarangi on the Coromandel for the last 3 days, we're back in Auckland to pack up and leave the country.  We woke up bright and early to a shitty rainy day, only to find out (without prior notification from the airline) that our flight has been delayed by 4 hours and we therefore miss our connecting flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago.  After a brief freak out and 2 hours waiting for the call centre to open, we now have an unscheduled stopover in Buenos Aires, compliments of Aerolineas Argentinas.  An interesting start to the trip, but our first hurdle has been successfully overcome.  Que sera, sera...let the fun times begin!