Today we packed up and headed back north. We drove through some beautiful countryside but the weather was less than desirable. We drove to Lake Pukaki with hopes of seeing Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain, but the clouds prohibited that. So disappointing. We drove on and saw the beautiful stone Church of the Good Shepherd on the Lake Tekapo. On we drove, through freshly snow-powdered mountains, past fields and fields of sheep, over several single-lane bridges until we arrived at Hanmer Springs where there are natural hot springs. We stayed at Heritage Hotel in a great chalet. We quickly unpacked the truck, changed into togs and walked down to the hot springs. It was spitting rain and was a little chilly but the pools were nice. They ranged in temperatures and even had some water slides the kids enjoyed. After sufficiently pruned, we went back to the house, settled the kids with some take away fish and chips and a movie and Billy and I went for a nice dinner alone. I thought the lambs fry served with bacon and mashed potatoes looked good so that's what I ordered. Unfortunately, the waitress had only been in New Zealand for one month from Estonia and didn't know exactly what lambs fry actually is. Uhhh, well, it's sheep liver! One bit and I was done!
In the morning, on the way to Kaikoura, we came across a herd of alpacas. The alpaca farmer and his wife were there and waved us over so we stopped for photos and a brief education on the animal. The girls LOVED them! They were so cute.
We arrived in Kaikoura for our second attempt to whale watch but sadly, it was quite windy and overcast and there was a "strong sea sick warning" so we opted out. Now that we weren't going to be at sea for several hours, Billy decided we'd catch the ferry back to the North Island that afternoon. We drove to Picton and the kids played at a park until it was time to load the ferry. Three hours on the ferry then 5 hours from Wellington to New Plymouth for a 3am homecoming and sleep in our own beds.
Now we count down to our next big event. My Momma's coming next month!!!!!
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