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Published: February 13th 2010
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After a pretty tame evening Elyse and I were ready for our day. After breakfast of bagels coffee and juice we boarded the bus. We were on our way to a few jump off spots on our way to our final destination of Mahinuapua. The first stop was an one hour hiking trail that followed the coast line high on the bluff. Below were large rocky beaches, some small rock formations not too far from the beach and New Zealand‘s largest Seal Colony. The bus would be waiting for us at the end of the trail a few miles down the road.
We were told by Lauren, our driver, that we needed to keep our food in the overhead storage area while we went on the hike. There were some indigenous birds that were similar to kiwis that had been known for jumping in buses and rummaging for food. The birds were called Wekas and were flightless birds a little smaller than chickens. They lived within the brush near the coast or the edge of forests. There was no shortage of these birds on this trail.
There were many excellent views along the trail including Seal Cove. We’ve seen
plenty of seals while we lived in California but for some of the group this was quite exciting to them. My highlight was when we arrived at the end of the trail where the bus was waiting. There were quite a few Wekas running about and I decided that I would try and hand feed one. Lauren said that the birds were very inquisitive animals and that was apparent as one approached me as I held out a single blade of grass. As it neared it took a bite of my finger instead of the grass. It didn’t hurt but it was a good lesson; its probably best not to feed wild animals by hand.
Later on we stopped at a place called Pancake Rock. The wind erosion had carved very unique carvings into the limestone rocks that looked as if each layer was stacked atop of the lower layer. It was pretty cool. This trail was only 20 minutes round trip.
Our next stop for the day was in a town called Greymouth. There we would all find costumes for the party that evening. We had a choice of the theme party; our options were an ABC
(anything but clothes) Party. In this each person would have to make customs entirely of non-clothes items. The other option was a “P” party in which each costume had to start with a “P”. Only one person chose the ABC Party.
Elyse and I thought the cheaper the costume the better. Lauren took everyone to a second hand store to find a costume. The group split up and went looking for items in the town. Elyse would find an old lady Moo moo and ratty bathrobe. She would then stuff a pillow in her Moo moo and go as a pregnant woman. Her outfit costs only $4NZD=$2.88USD. I decided to tear some fern leaves off and go as a plant. I bought green twine for $2NZD=$1.44USD. Later I would tie all the ferns to my arms legs and stuff some in my shirt and out my hat.
Before the party we had a great dinner at the Hostel. There was an 84 year old man by the name of Less that ran the place. He prepared for us an abundance of steak, potatoes, corn, cole slaw, corn on the cob and venison stew. There was more than enough
for everyone and it was fantastic.
Later that evening we went to the costume party in the bar. Oh yeah whoever wins the costume contest gets a Canyon Swing in Queenstown valued at 199NZD=$143USD so I hope I win. Enjoy the pictures below.
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