Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a blessed weekend and enjoyed their time together. Dan and I had a wonderful time exploring the Southland and even enjoyed a chocolaate bunny (Thanks mom and dad!) Currently we are exploring the Southwest region of New Zealand. We arrived in the Invercargill area about a week ago and then went as far west and as far south as we could without jumping on a boat and visiting the islands.
When we made our way west we found the mountains again! We did a very steep and difficult hike which overlooked Lake Hauroko, the deepest lake in NZ. This hike consisted of very tough terrain. We climbed up root beds, under tree trucks, through bushes, across streams, and up rocks.
The way down was just as difficult if not more difficult than the way up.
Luckily, many trees served as braces so that we didn't end up tumbling the whole way down the mountain. Most of the time it felt like we were making our own trail which was quite fun!
Our favorite area by far was The Bluff. This is a little peninsula that is one of the furthest South points of New Zealand. We marveled at the views of the coast. Down here the coast is made of very large rocks which are beautiful to watch as the ocean waters crash against them. I could spend hours listening to the waves and watching the swirling bright blue water between the rocks.
We spent an entire day walking the coastline, up to an overlook of the bluff, and exploring the small town that rests on this peninsula. The bluff is the oldest city in New Zealand and was settled in 1824. From here you can take a ferry to Steward Island which is the home of the Rakiura National Park and apparently gorgeous! It is one of the only places you can see Kiwi birds in the wild. Dan and I plan to travel there in a couple of weeks.
Today we have made our way slightly north to the town of Gore. We have found a homestead here where we will work for them in exchange for accommodation and food. It is through a program called HelpX and we are excited to see how it all works! The family we will be working for owns a BnB and also works to live off the land. They have animals and a very large garden. We will live in their camper and help out with gardening, yard work, or whatever projects they have going on for about 5 hours a day. We are mostly excited for the fresh vegetables because they are very expensive to buy. I also miss gardening so it will be fun to get my hands dirty again and help out this family! Working again will be quite the change for us, but a little routine and some time out of Waka will probably be good! We plan to stay for one week and then venture towards Stewart Island and further Southeast!
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