Wrapping up New Zealand!

Hi all,

I've been back home for just shy of a week now, and was heading to the Sydney airport just about a week ago. I'm doing OK with jetlag, but have definitely been a bit tired since returning. It is VERY good to be back in LA. The strangest thing has been going from the sun setting at 5 PM in NZ and Australia (the middle of winter), to there being sunlight until around to 9 PM here!

Unfortunately, the whole time I was in Melbourne, I was unable to upload pictures! I am planning on filling in the blanks with pictures!!! I hope you enjoy seeing the rest of our time in New Zealand :)

I'll do a second post with some of my Australia photos that I did not get a chance to share with you!

Waitomo

This is our group starting out on our Black Water Rafting tour in Waitomo!

Post-rafting and post-shower group shot. Equally importantly, this was taken after we had hot soup and bagels! Our guide, Terry, is still sporting his awesome wetsuit!

Corey was excited to dive into our triple-threat of delicious New Zealand ice cream! Our favorite was the bottom one-Hokey Pokey! It's New Zealand's NATIONAL ICE CREAM FLAVOR! Note: if you weren't already convinced of New Zealand's awesomeness, the fact that the country has a NATIONAL ICE CREAM FLAVOR should definitely seal the deal!

The best fish and chips I've ever had! This was at an Irish pub called Rosie O'Grady's in the town of Palmerston North.

Wellington

A hidden waterfall at Wellington's stunning botanical gardens!

One of my favorite pictures of the day (which is quite prestigious), also at the botanical gardens.

Beautiful little flowers at the botanical gardens.

We took Wellington's famous cable car up to the top of the botanical gardens. And despite its look, this is a picture I took and is NOT a postcard!

Corey trying to hug a giant tree in the botanical gardens!

Corey was very popular with the duck-ladies at the botanical garden's pond!

The best tomato soup I've ever had-it was so fresh and herbacious! Along with the garlic pizza in the top right of the picture, this was my lunch on day one of my field trip exploring the active faults of the Wellington region. (Grandma would have loved it!) I had a glass of Rose wine with lunch, followed by some wine tasting (bought two bottles of yummy white wines)!

Mark Stirling (of GNS Science, New Zealand's version of the US Geological Survey), his boys, and myself in front of the Wairarapa Fault. This fault holds the dubious honor of having the largest offset that occurred during a single earthquake (over 18 meters, which is about 60 feet)!

Before the earthquake, which occurred in 1855, Mark's two boys could have given each other a high-five! That's a lot of movement along a fault in a single earthquake! 

Corey standing on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. Mark took us up here for day two of the field trip. We had a gorgeous view overlooking the Wellington Harbor, and, in this picture, the Cook Strait. It was VERY COLD and VERY WINDY!

Corey found some new friends while Mark and I walked around and looked at rocks.

A view across the Cook Strait to the South Island, with the North Island in the foreground. The very cold wind was coming directly from Antarctica!

We saw an ostrich while driving, because, well, that's just what you do in New Zealand!

Corey happily enjoying his burger, being held by a contraption called a "doofer".

A cow was blocking our path, because again, that is what happens in New Zealand!

These sheep were FASCINATED with us!

Corey and I explored the grocery store. They were selling plain hot dogs by the kilo behind the meat counter!

Pickles, the 28 year old cockatoo that lived in the lobby of our hotel. He was a good dancer and quite talkative!

Corey was unsure how to feel about this over-the-top two-story Burger King!

My amazing lunch at Fidel's restaurant on Cuba Street in Wellington. I had two salads: thai tofu and oven roasted veggies (one on top of the other in the big bowl), with a giant samosa!

Fidel's was a pretty funky place! It was a shame we only found in on my last day. I would have definitely gone back to try some of their other salads or sandwiches if I'd had more time in Wellington!

Corey and I on the balcony of the hotel he stayed in while being stranded (boo hoo!) from two canceled flights.

The swanky Qantas terminal in the Wellington International Airport!