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Structure at main entrance to Hamilton Gardens
I'm pretty sure the drap over the rocks is made of small stonesAfter a fabulous time in Figi, Daddy arrived in New Zealand Wednesday night, and took the bus from Auckland to Hamilton, where my friend Brett and I picked him up. He was easy to recognize standing on the sidewalk with his signature Indiana Jones-type hat. : )
We took him to the main strip of cafes and bars, and got a coffee and heard about the Figi trip. Then walked around town a bit, then back home to get settled in and all that.
The next day was very full. We had lots to do and not much time, and we were going around on my roommate's bikes. First stop, Hamilton Gardens. We only got to see a couple of the themed gardens, and planned to try to see the rest when we got back from the South Island. From there we were planning on riding our bikes to the bus station, leaving them there, and taking a bus to the zoo, then getting back in time to see a Maori museum presentation at 2. Yeah...not much of that actually worked out. We didn't make the bus in time, so had to wait for the next bus. That one
bush in gardens
an example of New Zealand bush on a walk in the Hamilton gardens came and we found out it wasn't going directly to the zoo; it would drop us off about 3 miles away (I realized later that the bus driver told us mileage instead of kilometers, which is what everything's measure in here. Weird.). So we skipped out on the zoo, and went straight to the museum instead. Had lunch at the cafe there, then looked around. 2:00 came around, and nothing seemed to be happening towards the presentation that we were expecting. We asked about it, and the workers didn't really know anything. They finally found out that it wasn't being offered that day, but would be the next week, even though it was advertised that that day. Oh well. We were tired by that time anyway from riding around, and still had to take pictures of the house and go to the university while it was still daylight.
We did that, but halfway to university, I ran over a nail and got a flat tire in Esther's (my flatmate) bike. : ( We walked the bikes the rest of the way, saw the university, then walked back, going a different direction to stop by the bike shop. Luckily they
me in the Camilla walk
yeah, that about explains it were still open and fixed the bike, and we got to ride the rest of the way home.
That night I hosted a spaghetti dinner and invited my friends Brett, Sarah and Dave over. Everyone brought something to contribute to the meal, and we had a great time. Daddy learned heaps of new things about New Zealand (including the fact that carrying around pocket knives is against the law - he was appalled), and we taught the kiwis about the wonderful South Carolina state dance, the Shag. : ) We ended the night early since we had a 7 am flight the next morning, and hadn't packed yet.
Brett gave us a ride to the airport (thanks Brett!), and we encountered a new difference - no security whatsoever. We checked in at the counter and sat down at the seats that were right next to it to wait. There was only one doorway. It was so strange. We got to talking to a little old lady who was going down to the South Island for her grandson's 21st birthday. She invited us (I think she wanted to set me up with him), but our travel plan didn't allow
Italian Renaissance garden
One of the themed gardens. There's a balcony through the door of the building that looks over the Waikato river. Very picturesque for it.
The plane ride was good - an amazing view out the window. We landed in Christchurch at 9 something Friday morning, rented a car from the airport, and set out on the adventure of Daddy driving a stickshift on the left side of the road and getting as many places as possible in 7 days. : )
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Annizzle
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Hey- I'm reading a book right now- the person went to Christchurch too! Good story annie...