Tramping through the bush with torches

The internet has been down at our apartment for a few days, but there has been plenty going on down here. We spent Thursday and Friday at the Urgent Pharmacy. They have extended hours (10am-10pm) and are located right next to the Urgent Doctors. With the socialized healthcare, it is difficult to keep non-emergencies out of the emergency room, so the urgent doctors can treat you faster than the local emergency room for an extra fee. Andrea and I are trying to convince her sister to stay out here a little bit longer. It’s been nice to have her out here and we enjoy coming home to a meal on the table.

On Saturday, a local couple, Trev and Bernie, took us out to explore the southern coast. It was quite chilly with a morning temp in the high 30‘s and getting up in the 40‘s in the afternoon. We hiked 7 different trails, saw 3 waterfalls, a blowhole, tons of lava rocks, a lighthouse, and lots and lots of sheep and 6 penguins. Yes that's what I said, we saw penguins in the wild. They were so cute waddling out of the ocean and hopping up in the bushes to feed their babies. This is my token tourist sheep photo which he kindly smiled for.The lava rocks were intriguing as the ocean had worn away at some of them and revealed this beautiful design inside. The beach where we found the lava rocks was deserted except for the lone surfer. It was so beautiful!
During one of our hikes, Trev picked some leaves off a bush and tore it apart for us to taste. We tried it (not the smartest thing we have ever done) and found out that it is a spicy pepper tasting plant. Meghan spit hers out and I luckily had some of my biscuit (cookie) left to cover up the taste. I brought some of the leaves home to toss in with dinner since Trev says he likes to cook with them. It might be nice with dinner, but not really a hiking treat.

I am loving New Zealand!