I'm no longer in New Zealand, but for those of you who didn't know, I made a trip there this past February. Anyway, I have had several people ask me to retell some of my stories and eventualy I thought "Why don't I just put them on my blog?" My next few posts are the actual emails that I sent back to my parents while I was over there. I hope y'all enjoy!
Hey Y'all, I know it's been a couple of days since I've actually written an email. The day before yesterday Dawn and Dugald left for a few days to go on a trip to the Bay Islands so Sarah and I were left alone with the girls. It was kind of an overcast and rainy day so the girls watched movies and I tried baking something...I say tried because it definitely didn't taste very good.The New Zealand butter has a very unique and somewhat unsavory taste. I mean, it's not so strong that you can't enjoy it on toast, but if you try to make a graham cracker crust with it...Well, let's just say it doesn't taste quite the same as something from home.The girls were really sweet about it though. 
(Photo courtesy of Sarah (www.xanga.com/leans_2_the_right) They at least tried the dessert  .I definitely feel for Dawn and her adventure in attempting to cook in a new country with different-tasting ingredients and an oven set on Celsius! 
(Photo also from Sarah) Yesterday was a lovely day.I traveled to my current location of Kaikoura, New Zealand.It's on the South Island between Christchurch and Picton.It titled this email "buses, trains, cars, and planes" because I used all of those modes of transportation to get here!Yesterday morning I took a taxi to the airport where I flew on a small Cessna plane to Picton.The plane was so small that there were barely 12 people on it and we were definitely crammed.Unfortunately for me, I was the last person to get on and the only seat left open was at the very front. All of the passengers had to enter the plane from the back and the aisle was only about as big enough for one leg to walk in front of the other.This wouldn't have been too big of a deal except for the fact that I had my large camera backpack with me as well as a small duffel bag with all of my clothes.Even though I was being very careful, I managed to bump a couple of people with my bags.I was pretty embarrassed. Thankfully, however, whenever we landed in Picton a man offered to carry one of my bags off for me.Seriously, the Kiwis are so kind here! From the airport I took a shuttle (or bus) to the town of Picton.I walked over to the small railway station where I was greeted by an older lady sitting behind the desk.Once again (like everywhere I've been in NZ) I wasn't even asked for any i.d. All she needed was my last name before she hand wrote me out my train ticket.Then she offered to keep my bags for me behind the counter while I walked around the town waiting for my train. 
The town was nice and quaint.I mean, it's the main hub for the ferry that runs between the North and the South Island, so it still has a tourist influence. However, it's really not that commercialized (compared to what I normally think of). I only saw maybe one street of little shops and restaurants.I tried getting some lunch while I was there. Having heard that the seafood in New Zealand is fabulous, I got really excited when I saw a cafe that advertised scallops.I went in, paid a very expensive NZ price, and then was really disappointed to discover that they had deep fried the scallops! I could just feel my gallbladder getting revved up by just looking at them :(. Therefore I ate the small salad on the side, tasted at least one of the scallops, and left the restaurant starving.I decided to walk back to the tiny train station to see if there was anything else nearby that I could eat.Whenever I got there, I conceded to eat at one of the most popular Kiwi joints...Subway.Yep, the Kiwis LOVE it.They have them EVERYWHERE and Picton was no exception.The menu is pretty much the same as in the States except for their current special of a lamb and mint sauce sub.I opted for turkey... The train ride was lovely. 
All of the cars were surrounded by large windows and I
got to see several vineyards, salt ponds, and even seals.I sat across from a Maori woman and we quickly became friends over the two-hour ride.Apparently one of her daughters lived in Costa Rica for a year and is now fluent in Spanish!We definitely talked about that for a bit and then she discussed the US election with me.It's so funny to me that the Kiwis are so interested in the US presidential election. The other day Sarah and I were walking around downtown Wellington and we saw a sign for a Kiwi group that supports Ron Paul... I'm ashamed to admit that up to two months ago I didn't even know the name of the current NZ prime minister :P.Anyway, my Maori friend asked if I thought that Hilary Clinton would win and I stated "I sure hope not."She laughed and said that she had just talked with some Texans that morning that had said the same thing.Ha! When I finally arrived in Kaikoura, I looked at a map of the town in my book and decided that I would forgo taking a taxi and try to walk to my hotel. 
Well, it was
a bit further away than I had anticipated because I didn't get to my hotel until 45 minutes later.At first I was kind of disappointed that the place I had booked turned out to be so far away from the main hub of the town.However, the hotel owner told me that there was a lovely walk right down the road from there and I decided to try it.It was great!I walked a ways past some beach houses and boats before I came to the old wharf.
There was an old farm house there that was built during the whaling times of Kaikoura. 
Across from the house, on the beach, was an
old, stone chimney standing all by itself.I read one of the historic markers next to it and apparently it was the sole remnant of the original customs house for the town.
I walked a little further and came across a roadside stand that was selling fresh seafood and was surrounded by picnic tables. 
Kaikoura is known for its crayfish which is basically a lobster. In fact, the name of the town stems from the Maori word for good food. This particular roadside stand had the cheapest crayfish that I had seen in town and it looked WONDERFUL. 
Therefore I made my
order and sat myself right down at one of the picnic tables to enjoy my bounty. I made friends with an Australian woman who was also traveling alone and we discussed our travels while I munched on my food and she sipped her wine.I then walked back to my hotel and made it there just in time before the sun went down. Today has been another awesome day.I went and saw whales and dolphins this morning and took LOTS of pictures. 
However, my internet time is running out
and this email is already rather long.Therefore maybe I'll write about it whenever I get back to Wellington and once again have unlimited access.I hope that you are all doing well and I'll talk to you later! -Ashley | 
