Today when we woke up and looked outside it was a bit
cloudy, so we decided it would be a good day to hike to the top of Mt. Eden,
which is just a few minutes away by bus. By the time we got to the bottom of
the mountain (really just a very tall hill), it was starting to drizzle, but
not enough to waylay us. We hiked up, and it was even more beautiful than expected. The view
from the top was amazing:
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And on the way up I saw more incredible trees like this one:
And there was this huge bowl that reminded me of Rock Canyon park:
Once we got up there, the rain wasn’t slowing at all. In
fact, it was picking up speed. By the time we got back down to the bottom, we
were soaked. But the rain is warm and the air is warm, so we weren’t cold, just
wet. It was kind of an odd feeling. We saw the bus pulling up to the stop about
20 feet away and starting running and waving our arms like crazy people so that
the driver would wait for us. We knew that we looked like idiotic tourists, but
we didn’t care. We just wanted to catch that bus and get out of the rain. And
yes, we did bring umbrellas with us to NZ, but stupidly left them back in our
room.
We ate delicious Thai food for lunch and did some shopping
downtown. Another fun fact about New Zealand: despite the high cost of living
here, the NZ dollar has dropped significantly in recent months and the American
dollar is much stronger. This means that when we buy stuff here we are getting
great deals. I was contemplating buying a pair of Birkenstocks before our trip,
but at around $250 a pair I decided against it. Today I found a pair that only
cost $97 U.S. My tired, aching feet are in heaven!
After shopping in (still) pouring rain, we trucked back home
on foot, grateful for the dry comfort of our rooms. Tomorrow is the beach. We
are hoping and praying for sun.
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