A Cave Full of Glowing Bugs

     Once again a crazy late post. I went to Waitomo on June 1st with five other au pairs. We left Auckland Saturday evening, stayed in a hostel then went black water rafting on Sunday morning. Black water rafting is going through a cave in a wet suit and an inner-tube. There is a lot of walking but also a lot of floating and you get to jump off two water falls. It was tons of fun!!! The Black Water Rafting Company has some cool cave photos on their site (http://www.waitomo.com/black-water-rafting.aspx)
   
Some fun facts about glow worms:
         They only live in New Zealand
         They are larvae of a fly
         They spend two years as larvae and a few days as adults
         They mix their poo with oxygen and a special enzyme to glow
         The hungrier they are the brighter they get
         There is a rumor/fact that they get brighter with noise
         They can only live in caves

Everyone was dry in this photo! It ended quickly

       

We were testing to see if our tubes were too big.
I think the guides just think it is hilarious.

This is after we all jumped off the first waterfall.

Ariel, Ninna and myself floating back into sunlight.

We made it through the tour! We were frozen and happy.

Visit From My Parents

     So first of all I really need to apologize for letting my blog drop off the face of the earth. My parents were here for three weeks starting on April 15th (I know I'm two months behind). Because they were here for three weeks and so much happened and it has taken two months to sort through all of the photos. If you know my mom ask her for stories because she is an excellent story teller and I'm just giving the basics. There are just too many things to write about it all.

Tally, Mom and Dad on the highest observation
deck at the Sky Tower. 

Day 1: My parents arrived at 0' dark thirty and went to their hotel to get some much needed rest before meeting Tally (3yrs) and I at the Sky Tower restaurant for lunch. The restaurant moves as you eat so you get a cool 360 degree view of the city. Tally was very excited to go out for a fancy lunch so we got dressed up as princesses. Tally in her classically Tally way was super charming and conned my Dad into carrying her around and giving her tons of cuddles. My Dad was not in the least bit upset about this.

Mom and Dad on the viewing deck after lunch. 

Day 2: The second day we met up for afternoon tea and dinner in Devonport. My parents went on a tour in the morning and had a day to recover from traveling. It was nice to show them  around some and hang out. My Dad got a chance to fly his kite in the Southern Hemisphere. Due to the lack of kite fliers near where I live people didn't really know how to avoid kite lines like the do on the Oregon coast which was frustrating but we got it done! 

My Dad flying a kit in the Southern Hemisphere at
Takapuna Beach. The kites in the background are kite
boarders.  

He had a much easier time flying at Long Bay
because there weren't quite so many
people and it was a much nicer day. 

Day 3: We were suppose to drive to the Cormandel Peninsula but due to some crazy weather and road closures we ended up staying in Auckland. Luckily I have the best host family ever and they let my parents stay with us. It was a great chance for my parents to get to know the family better. I showed them Albany, Browns Bay and Long Bay. My Dad got to fly his kite again in Long Bay. 

Day 4: The Sharp family took us to Piha; a black sand beach about an hour away from us. When we started out it looked like an amazing day to be at the beach but by the time we got to Piha a storm was rolling in and there was tons of rain! Luckily it cleared up just in time for us to stop at the scenic outlook on our way back home. 

Piha

Piha beach. The large rock is Lion Rock. I've heard
you can walk up it. It's definitely a must do before I leave. 

Mom, Dad and I at the lookout over Piha beach.

Day 5: Easter!!! It was my very first time hiding Easter eggs. The kids were up so early too. They had already searched the house for chocolate by the time we got up. I finally understood why my parents hid everything in the park behind our house. I also had to apologize to my Dad for being so relentless when he couldn't remember where he hid an egg. It was hard to remember where I'd hidden them all. After a healthy breakfast of chocolate eggs and chocolate toast everyone headed to the French Market in Newmarket. It was really cool. There was lots of great food and Tanya did some shopping. Then Rob took my parents and I to the airport and we flew to Queenstown. I love Queenstown so much. Once we got settled in the hotel we went down to the lake and wandered around. We watched a hilarious street performer who did some fire dancing. It was very cool. The performer was a Canadian and very snarky. 

The sun rising over the lake in Queenstown. 

Day 6: I got up early and went for a run in Queenstown. It was beautiful to be out while the sun was rising over the mountains. I took some photos with my iPod as I was running. After my run and some breakfast we headed to Dunedin. The drive is only suppose to take three and a half hours but we made some stops along the way and took time to enjoy the country. When we got to Dunedin we went to the information site (called iSite by the Kiwi's) and planned our Dunedin adventure. They recommended that we go up to signal hill for some awesome views. They neglected to tell us about the creepy statue and that it is the hang out for teenage couples with no where to go. It was however absolutely beautiful. We watched the sun set over the ocean and city. 

This is the picture my Mom took from the hotel
while I was running in Queenstown. 

Super creepy statue at
signal hill in Dunedin.
Why are it's eyes white?!?!

Sunset over Dunedin from signal hill.

Day 7: We started our adventure off with a bang by going to the Chinese Gardens. It was filled with amazing architecture, outfits for dress up, games, history, library and one cheeky panda. 

This game was super tricky! You had to move
all of the marbles from one bowl to the other
with chopsticks. It started out pretty easy but
as more marbles were moved they started to
move about the bowl and were very hard
to pick up. 

The bridge here is called a Moon Bridge. It had beautiful
carving in the stone on it. 

My mom and I started the dressing up saga
by trying on these hats. 

I really liked this part of the Chinese
gardens. 

I think she looks quite fetching in the green.

My Dad even got involved. It took a bit
to find one that was long enough (sort of).
More like not so short it looked silly. 

This stone lion is outside the gardens. We had a serious
case of sill 

My Mom and I weren't quite so silly. 

This panda was sneaking around behind my mom for a good chunk
of time before she noticed it. 

 After a morning there we got some lunch and hot coco at the Cadbury factory.  I introduced my parents to Flake and Jafas (delicious NZ candies). Flake is a milk chocolate that is poured in a square shape but is very flakey. Jafas are balls of chocolate covered with a citrus flavored coating.  After our tasty lunch we boarded a bus for Elm Eco tours We went to the Royal Albatross Center (the only place in the world that has a monitored albatross colony).  There wasn't much wind so not many of the birds were in the air. We did get to see one take off though. Then we went and saw penguins, seals and sea lions! It was so exciting! Be prepared for some cute photos! 

Yellow eyed penguin couple

Adult Albatross at the Royal Albatross colony.
About three seconds after taking this picture
it spread it's wings ran and
took off. 

This was the most active sea lion every. He spent the entire
time we were in the penguin hid wandering about.

They are super good at hopping over rocks.

Just had to put in one more penguin
picture. 

How cute is this little guy!

 
The tour guides were super nice. They were both very active in preserving the environment and making sure that everyone was enjoying the tours. I loved seeing penguins in real life. They weren't the typical penguins though. They are yellow eyed penguins. Instead of living in colonies like most penguins they choose to live alone. They do live in areas with other yellow eyed penguins called a community but they distance themselves from the others. 
     On our way back into town the guides recommended a place called Al Bar to us. It was ranked one of the best beer bars in New Zealand last year. After a break at the hotel we went out and got a drink. It was fun to have a beer with my parents. 

Day 8: We started off the day by going to Tunnel Beach. I wanted to go for a run and my parents were going to go for a quick walk. The guide book said "leisurely walk". It was super steep like nearly vertical. I ran up and down it twice. It wasn't the long beach run I had hoped for but it was good for my quads. My Dad walked all the way down. We explored the tunnel and what was on the other side. In the 1870's a man wanted to get down to the "beach" so badly that he hand carved a path in the sand stone to the water. The tunnel didn't lead to a typical beach with sand. The water had cared away all of the sand stone and the "beach" that was left was a bunch of harder rocks. It was cool to look out and see the waves hitting the sand stone. 

Tunnel carved in the sandstone
to get down to the not so
 beachy beach

The top of the Tunnel Beach track. 

Me on Tunnel Beach after my run. You may notice
the general beach vibe of the surroundings. That guy
must have really wanted to get out of the house. 

   We went back to the hotel, had some lunch then went to Larnach Castle. I must say that I was a little disappointed. It was more like a stone mansion than a castle. It had lovely grounds and some really cool carvings. They also had Gregorian staircase. It was a sort of spiral that didn't have any supports. 

My Dad and I on the top turret of Larnarch Castle.
There were some really awesome views of the Otago
Peninsula from here. 

A giant chair in the Larnarch Castle
gardens. 

Super cool staircase

The castle (insert dramatic music)

This was on the castle grounds and I really
liked it. 

    






























Before dinner we went on the Speight's tour. We got to see the old brewery where they made beer in huge copper kettles. They just built a new brewery which wasn't nearly as interesting as the older section. At the end of the tour we got to taste all of the beers they make. Both my Dad and I really liked the  Five Malt Dark. Just a little history for you; the brewery was established on that sight in Dunedin in 1879. The brewery has it's own spring under the brewery that they say has super delicious water. They have a faucet on the street so members of the public can try it. We had dinner in the Speight's ale house after the tour and had some of their famous water with our dinner. 

Day 9: We drove from Dunedin to Te Anau. The drive is suppose to take about three and a half hours but we took a few detours. We went to Nugget Point; a light house. It was stunning. The water was so bright. You had to walk down a little path to get there and you could hear seals in the water below. We couldn't see them because the path was quite high up and the sea cut in under us.

Mom and Dad at Nugget Point.

The light house from the start of the 1km
track. 

Cool view from the light house. 

The giant fish statue in Gore.

We also drove through Gore which has a giant trout statue. It made me think of all my uncles who love to fish! We all got a kick out of the Presidential Motorway; the 41 km (29 mi) between Gore and Clinton. When we got to Te Anau I went for a run. Then we went out for pizza. 

Day 10: We got up early and drove an hour to Milford Sound. There had been a huge storm the night before and it was raining on our drive so hundreds of water falls appeared on the sides of the mountains. I can't find the right words to explain how cool it was so here are a bunch of pictures. 
     We went on a cruise on Milford Sound. We spent most of it outside and were soaked and cold by the end of it but it was definitely worth it.
     On our drive back to Te Anau we stopped at a hike (aka tramp) called the Chasim. There was a large river that had eroded big holes out of the rocks. It was very cool. I couldn't get a picture that showed the true awesomeness of it but here is the best I could find.

This is a picture of one of the mountians on our drive
from Te Anau to Milford Sound. It is hard to show
how phenomenal it was with photos so please try to
imagine driving through a canyon with all of the sides
looking like this. 

My mom on the deck of the boat. 

This is where the water full of tannins from
plants as the water ran down the mountains
(brown) mixes with the Tasmin sea (blue) 

These falls are called the four sisters.
My mom likes to see it as the four
little sisters and one big sister. 

Family selfie! The falls in the background is Lady Bowen
Falls. It is right next to where we started/ended our cruise. 

Fairy Falls. Our boat went right up next to
these so everyone outside was sprayed
by the falls. It is said that if you are sprayed
by the falls the next morning you will
look ten years younger. 

The mountains in Milford Sound are very vertical.
They make the fjord very deep by going straight down.

Part of the Chasm. This was very difficult to photograph.

My parents on the Chasm walk. They look super happy for being as wet
and cold as we were. 

The Chasm walk.

Day 11: We drove from Te Anau to Queenstown. Once a gain we stopped a few places (I'm sure by this time you are shocked). We stopped in a little town called Kingston to look at some trains and a few places around the lake. We also stopped to take a picture of some sheep for my Mom. The sheep weren't into us taking their picture. As we got closer to Queenstown we decided to drive through to Arrowtown; a historical mining town. We didn't realize that it was the Autumn Festival. There were loads of people there! We got there just in time to see the parade. They had marching bagpipers. It was very cool. We also wandered through the craft fair where my Mom bought me a super cool hat (Thanks Mom!). It was nice to wander through the town when it was so active. Arrowtown was the only place I have seen in New Zealand that looked like fall. All of the leaves on the trees were changing colors. Most of the trees don't loose their leaves here. It makes it seem like a dreary non-season all the time. 

The lake in Kingston. This is between
Te Anau and Queenstown. 

My Dad and I on an abandoned train in Kingston. 

My parents and I by the far end of the lake that Queenstown
is on. 

Fall in Arrowtown. 

Day 12: I flew back to Auckland and my parents went to Rotorura for a few days. I worked which was pretty awesome. I took the kids to a movie, the museum and a farm. 

Day 17: My parents returned late in the evening. We got them settled in their hotel.

Day 18: My Mom, Dad and I took Indigo and Tally to the aquarium. It was tons of fun. We were there for the shark feeding and the sting ray feeding. I hadn't been to the aquarium before and was impressed by the kids area. Unfortunately I don't have very many pictures from this because they are all of the kids and I don't want to put pictures of other people's kids online. 

Last photo of my Mom in New Zealand. Taken
at the Cable Bay winery on Waiheke Island. 

Day 19: My parents and I took Indigo and Tally to the zoo. I was impressed at how good the girls were all day. They were super focused on the animals. We were there for nearly six hours. Tally once again conned my Dad into holding her hand or carrying her all day. Indigo learned how to read a map and was our official navigator. Indigo and Tally both took lots of pictures of animals.

Day 20: The last day of my parents trip. We went to Waiheke for the day. Waiheke is an island that is an hour ferry ride from Auckland. They are well known for their wines. We wandered about in the morning and saw a bit of the island. Then we went to Cable Bay (my favorite winery on the island) for lunch and some wine. We spent most of the day sitting outside and enjoying the view. It was super nice to have some relaxing time with my parents before they left. When we got back to Auckland I took them to Movenpick (a Swiss ice cream place that is super delicious). Then I took them to the air port. 

Some other photos of things we thought were amusing. 

A New Zealand Fern!

I don't know what the deal in this country is with large statues in
each city but it seems to be quite common of the smaller towns.

Sheep. 

My Mom and I really liked this plant. 

This is an actual road sign near Milford Sound. The
roads here are not built with the same infrastructure
as they are at home. So to compensate for the lack of
funds to change them and the terrain they have signs
like this everywhere. 

I've gotten quite used to these as they are everywhere here
but my parents thought they were quite amusing.

My Dad really likes to take random candid photos while
I'm not paying attention. I have a bunch of them so I figured
I had to add one to this.