Te Adoha!

So yesterday was my favorite day in New Zealand so far! The morning was spent having brunch at the lake, and sampling my first mince pie. Surprisingly I was very impressed those meat pies are so savory! After that I was given a city tour of Hamilton where Matty kept asking me if I had ever heard of Subway or KFC.

After the city tour Janine and I headed to Whangamata, a beach on the east coast, to meet up with Janine’s friend Hannah. It was about an hour and half drive and it was through some of the prettiest country side I have ever seen. There were so many horses, cows, sheep, and goats. Everything was so lushes and green. The only downside was the corkscrew road for the last 45 minutes of the trek. When we arrived at the beach it was prettier then I ever could have imagined. Huge islands covered in green. The tide was just beginning to come back in.

We then went back to Hannah’s beach house. Hannah and her friend Muriel from Germany prepared us dinner. Antipasto was brie with crackers, chips with hummus, and sparkling wine. For dinner was white wine steamed mussels with tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro. And the main entrée was salmon with the same tomatoes concoction on top over a bed of spinach with avocado. Although we didn’t get home till midnight (my bedtime has been 10 due to jet lag) it was a great day.

These are only like $3 a kG!

My flatmate Janine and I

You can see the ocean in the background....this is when I started getting excited!

It was a cute little cemetary on the hill!

No we are not driving on the wrong side of the road!