Tanti Auguri!

Congratulations to Dan and Gina.

What a beautiful celebration it was.

KP in NZ

When seven people spend two weeks in a van together, true personalities have nowhere to hide. You learn who's quiet, who always has an opinion, who's reserved, who's scared of everything, who's scared of nothing, and who's a bit eccentric.

On our jaunt around New Zealand, one person sticks out as far as eccentricity. She was always ready to pull a face, pose innapropriately in public for a photo-op, and keep the mood light when lightening was needed.

Yes, I speak to you of the one and only KP. Her name shall not appear on this blog due to the fact she's a teacher trying to score a permanent job. But those of you that are supposed to know, will know who she is.

Enjoy, as we did for 2 weeks, KP keepin' it real...

Now that's a frightening thought...KP with a gun.

Kiwi love.

JP celebrates a milestone birthday in New Zealand by keeping her teats toasty.

That's assault, brother.

KP's best Haka face.

What's this?

SOMEONE had to liven up Milford Sound!

Feeding a Kea...strictly forbidden. "Eff that!" says KP.

KP tries to climb a Redwood. Gotta love the tree love series.

Bald love...and bald hate. Yes, Phil is doubled over from a Roshambo shot by KP. Not cool, KP. Not cool.

And finally, la pièce de résistance. Attagirl, KP.

What do you get what you combine massive sunglasses, capris, and a purse?

Ladies and gentlemen, you get a legend named Michael Jeremy Bayuga III.

Over the course of our two week adventure, we couldn't help but get to know each other a little too well and once in a while rip each other to shreds. Maybe once in a while doesn't quite to it justice...24/7 is more like it. I swear, we're all friends and remain that way. Sometimes that's hard to believe.

Once it was discovered that the above mentioned legend carried with him a pair of Hollywood Starlet-sized and styled sunglasses, they became a bit of a fixture and made their way from face to face, and from place to place. Check it out...

Unimpressed.

"That is one sexy bastard, that guy. Yeah, I'm talking to you. Stop pointing at me."

"These glasses even make this pose look tough!"

Legendary hat/sunnies combo.

DK gettin' in on the action.

Stay classy, JB.

No comment.

What happens after a couple vodka monsters.

Aren't a hammerhead's eyes on the side of it's head...Whatever, still looks ridiculous.

Ha!

"Wilson!! Gimme back my sunnies, mate!"

Capris. Need I say more?

Smeagol's new precious.

The hot sauce wasn't hot enough.

The giant Moa came out of extinction to wear those bad boys.

Kind of looks like Big Bird's stoner cousin, doesn't it?

"Where the chips at, B!?"

Magical Johnny Cage-like powers are attributed to the sunglasses.

Resting merrily on some frosty rocks 'neath a glacier.

There he is, the man, the myth, the legend...deep in thought.

'Does this toque match my purse?'

Did anyone notice Fernando in the caves with us? Me neither.

Photographic evidence suggests otherwise.

In a van down by the river...in New Zealand.

The Beginning

You may have read about the first half of the roadtrip known as The Great Canadian Gong Show, and are probably anxiously anticipating a post covering the second half of the trip with much more detail than the first post. Well, I'll have to apologize because this isn't it.

I am writing today to give you some numbers and fun filled facts about the van that carried us on our crazy journey throughout New Zealand. For those two weeks, this van was home. It carried us where we needed to go, protected us in times of need, warmed us when we were cold, and thrilled us when our senses dulled. Surprisingly, it also survived, intact, much like we did.

Numbers:
12 - The number of seatbelts in the van.
7 - The number of people travelling in the van.
18 - Number of days we had the van rented.
1 - Number of times a Kea pooped on the car.
8 (approximate) - Number of times the van slid to the left and right whilst on black ice.
1 - Number of guardrails we crashed into after the above sliding.
0 - Dollars we had to pay to cover the damages.
1 - Broken grill, caused in said crash.
2 - Kilometres the van was driven while the parking brake was engaged.
0 - Days we didn't use the van at all.
1 - Pair of jeans ruined by spilling curry sauce all over them while sitting in the van.
2 - Number of headlights that were left on while snowboarding at Treble Cone.
1 - Times we killed the battery.
1 - Kilometre we had to walk to our hostel in Ohakune after the van ran out of gas.
0 - Minutes that we let Phil drive after the black ice incident.
3 (I think?) - Number of people that asked to have the van pull over to hurl due to windy roads/bad driving.
4388 - Kilometres we drove that van.

That's just about all I can remember. GCGS team, if you can think of any other ones feel free to post them in the comments section.

Photo stop. Phil was definitely driving at that time, as is evident by Jeremy wearing his helmet.

The spot we (I) coasted into after running out of diesel.

The Kea visiting our van while Phil was still asleep inside.

*The video of this is priceless but wouldn't upload for some reason*

Fully loaded.

Back to front.

Front to back.

Notice where Phil isn't...in the driver's seat.