To elli, with love

Elli is the ultimate poor student car. She is big, beautiful, and has a whole LOT of attitude. Think foxy brown from Austin Powers mixed with betty white, and Barry white. She has been "in the family" for basically the entire time I have been in New Zealand.

Originally she was bought in Auckland from three Aussie girls who presumably took her all around the country. After she came into our possession, she went everywhere! The Coromandel, the Northland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin, the Milford Sounds.... EVERYWHERE.

In terms of pure technical ability, she has an analog clog, a cd player that looks touch screen but actually doesn't work unless you press it just right. She also loves gas, and has a large trunk that doesn't stand up without the help of a long rod. She has space for many things including multiple surf boards, guitars, bikes, people, camping gear, once she even hosted a party in her trunk... Elli also possesses a mind of her own, turning down the volume, changing songs, refusing to start for no reason sometimes....

But Elli has more than just that. She has memories. Through her gracious hand friends have been made, adventures undertaken, she has taken friends to the airport when they leave, and picked them up when they arrive again. On my Mac I have a suprising amount of pictures with elli in them. These are from various travels, and are filled with old and new friends driving her and and taking full advantage of the fact that she takes us where we really want to go (i.e. Raglan).

In summary, she is more than a means of transportation, although she does take me to work and back, and to get groceries, etc. She is really and truly like an extra person on every trip, and without her my time here just wouldn't be what it has been.... Funny how inanimate objects can do that to you eh?