New Zealand - Part I

Just back from a lovely three-week stay in New Zealand, one of the most amazing experiences ever. We flew into Auckland, picked up our campervan, and headed down to Clevedon to start our trip with tea and coconut loaf at the home of Ian's friends Pete and Katherine (with that amazing beach right in front). Courtesy of Kiwi hospitality we stayed for lunch and took a walk on the beach, then headed to Hamilton for two nights. We actually stayed in the village of Cambridge, but our first game was in Hamilton: Wales vs. Samoa. The Samoans did their pre-game haka:

The Welsh did their equivalent:

And then the Welsh proceeded to win 17 to 10. There was even a rainbow after the game.

The next day we headed North to explore. We went to Bay of Islands, and spent a lovely morning in Russell where we had breakfast (including flat whites, the most glorious coffee ever created and apparently only available in New Zealand and Australia, sigh). Then it was on to Goat Island, which is not only a gorgeous marine reserve, but also the subject of a case study from the Ecology unit in the Biology text my team just published! We arrived in time for a bit of lunch in the campervan and a wander around the beach and the tide pools. Ian even found me a stingray in one of the deeper pools:

We stayed until dusk. It really is a magical spot.

Next on the list was Taupo, Craters of the Moon, and Rotorua. There's a lot of thermal activity, including mud pools, hot springs, and especially in Rotorua a lot of sulfur. Despite the incredible, amazing, fabulously yummy sweet potato chips (fries) we found in Rotorua, the Craters of the Moon was my favorite of the three.