Murchison, New Zealand

---

Hey! My wireless adaptor is working again! 😊 😊 😊

So today was spent driving through old volcanoes, bush (aka forest), and rain. LOTS AND LOTS of rain. It rains 80% of the time on the West coast of the South Island. Last night mom and I were itchy from the no-see-ums…or at least the NZ equivalent of them. They got our feet pretty bad. So I took Benadryl and it basically knocked me out for the whole next day…I didn’t know Benadryl was that strong but I slept most of the day in the car.

Before I realized I was too tired to drive, I started out the driving that day and when I crossed a bridge around a corner, I swerved around a PENGUIN!!!!!! (I know…DON’T swerve. BUT IT WAS A PENGUIN!!!!!!!!!!!!) It looked a little confused there on the road, about a kilometer from the coast. Hopefully it made it back okay.

We stopped to see some New Zealand wildlife in the National Kiwi Centre, including a few Kiwi birds! I thought they were supposed to be really small but they’re the size of a raccoon!!!!!! They’re SO cute and so reclusive and nocturnal. One of them was pacing back and forth…he/she looked really agitated to be locked in there.

We also stopped at New Zealand’s longest swing bridge because I had seen it in a pamphlet. It was super unstable feeling and really fun! On the other side we went on a wilderness walk and learned about the earthquake of 1929 which hit 7.8 on the Richter scale!! Once we made it around the loop we climbed a tower and took the chair swing ride back which gave us a nice view of the Buller gorge and the fault line from the earthquake.

We made it to Murchison and found a hotel boasting of a rural experience. They weren’t kidding. When we got to our cabin/room all of the windows were open with no screens and the place was full of those same bugs that bit our feet the other day. So mom went on a bug-killing spree while I looked for the cortisone cream.

We are going to be crossing from the South Island to Wellington in the North Island on Wednesday morning.

Since it gets dark here so early, we would miss scenery if we tried to drive later so we turn in early and read for a couple hours. Mom’s reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and I’m reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett-it’s really good! Thank you Dr. T!

Tomorrow we’re heading towards Picton, which is where we pick up the ferry.

We talked to Dad this morning. He said it was in the upper 70s at home the other day!! We can’t wait to come home.

Ashley

---

Comments

[Claire]

Hello- I just now got your postcard, too. Thanks!! I'm glad you're having fun! The job is still good, but nothing exciting to report (well, nothing exciting compared to a vacation in New Zealand!)