Well, we arrived in Masterton yesterday. It was only a quick 2.5 hour drive from Wellington. Our group met up with Brian--a preacher from Cedar Rapids who spent a couple years in New Zealand--and drove rental vans here. The drive was through some of the mountains...curvy and a bit dangerous, but very pretty.
Yesterday evening we went to dinner at Jenny and Colin's house. They were the first people Brian met when he came here and they were very welcoming. Jenny prepared a large meal of chicken, potato and leak soup, potatoes, and salad with all the veggies fresh from their garden. Colin told us a lot about New Zealand--especially concerning it's ecological history. New Zealand is very similar to the Galapagos islands in that it is an island that is the only home to many of its plants and animals--all of which are very unique. For example, New Zealand is the only home to the largest parrot, which also happens to be flightless. The big difference between New Zealand and the Galapagos is the New Zealand was settled early in the 19th century and the colonists introduced lots of their own plants and animals, destroying most of what was here. There are of course lots of conservation efforts going on now to restore everything, but it's not quite the same.
Today, Colin and Jenny joined us as we drove down to the coast of the Tazman Sea [between New Zealand and Australia]. Again, breathtakingly beautiful. We saw a seal colony and found paua shells and climbed a light house. I think pictures will say more than I ever could.
Tomorrow we are hiking for a few hours through some native bush...aka forest. Should be fun!
A few other words different in New Zealand:
boot = trunk
tea = dinner
pudding = dessert
garden = yard
flash = fancy
honey crunch rice bubble slice = rice crispy treat [no lies...it's our favorite so far!]
Yesterday evening we went to dinner at Jenny and Colin's house. They were the first people Brian met when he came here and they were very welcoming. Jenny prepared a large meal of chicken, potato and leak soup, potatoes, and salad with all the veggies fresh from their garden. Colin told us a lot about New Zealand--especially concerning it's ecological history. New Zealand is very similar to the Galapagos islands in that it is an island that is the only home to many of its plants and animals--all of which are very unique. For example, New Zealand is the only home to the largest parrot, which also happens to be flightless. The big difference between New Zealand and the Galapagos is the New Zealand was settled early in the 19th century and the colonists introduced lots of their own plants and animals, destroying most of what was here. There are of course lots of conservation efforts going on now to restore everything, but it's not quite the same.
Today, Colin and Jenny joined us as we drove down to the coast of the Tazman Sea [between New Zealand and Australia]. Again, breathtakingly beautiful. We saw a seal colony and found paua shells and climbed a light house. I think pictures will say more than I ever could.
Tomorrow we are hiking for a few hours through some native bush...aka forest. Should be fun!
A few other words different in New Zealand:
boot = trunk
tea = dinner
pudding = dessert
garden = yard
flash = fancy
honey crunch rice bubble slice = rice crispy treat [no lies...it's our favorite so far!]
Bay and coast from look-out point.
Pasture along the coast. Yes, that is a fence line along the side of the foothill. Note to fence builders back home: it could be worse!
Me and mountains/rocks. The formation on the left is Kupe's sail. According to Mauri tales, Kupe pulled the islands of New Zealand out of the sea.
More rocks with various members of my group hidden in the picture. Also home to seals.
Taylor with one of the paua shells we found.
Light house we visited and yes, we climbed up all 250 stairs!
Taryn and I at the top of the light house.
Did I mention the beach had black sand?? It's volcanic rock.
We hiked a bit through a dry river bed to see the Pinnicles. They're formed by water dripping through the limestone. Really pretty. These were part of the movie set for Lord of the Rings.
:)
Pasture and a fall colored vineyard.
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