Like most rules in New Zealand that are for your own saftey no one followed this 10 meters rule.
Mmmmm Lamb shank!!!
This past weekend we spent our weekend in Kaikoura. It was a beautiful, sunny perfect day and only about a 2.5 hour drive away. Kaikoura is a beautiful place!
Kaikoura township is located on a rocky peninsula, protruding from lush farmland beneath the mountains. In the waters off the peninsula, a complex marine system provides an abundantly rich habitat for marine mammals and seabirds making it an ideal place for getting 'close to nature'. And boy did we take advantage of the nature and the animals!
We enjoyed the scenery on the drive up though as we got closer to Kaikoura there were some very windy roads that starting to make us feel a bit less than well. Once we arrived we got our tickets at the visitor centre and headed into Seafest. As you enter Seafest they gave us each a cup to wear around our necks that were meant to be filled with beer or wine that we purchased at the festival!! There were about 30 booths of food and booze. The food and alcohol was relatively inexpensive (approx. 5 dollars for a glass of wine). We started with beer, tried some NZ green lipped mussels, a smoked salmon wrap and crayfish (which to Americans in lobster - here used interchangeably). A new thing we tried was whitebait patties which were basically like salty pancakes. The fish were so small they looked like little worms. We had to put that out of our minds. Jocelyn also enjoyed a yummy lamb shank that they served like a drumstick. Mmmmm. For sweets we had some mini pancakes with banana and chocolate and waffles with chocolate, strawberry and whipped cream. All the food was so good. There was also a music tent and Jocelyn even ran into a friend from work! This country is really small. :) We found it interesting that many people dressed up in group costumes for the festival and we were not really sure how that all fit in.
After we were full and happy we left the festival. Little did Jocelyn know Trey had a huge surprise in store for her! Trey suggested driving out to the end of the Peninsula before they headed back to Christchurch. As they approached the end, admiring the amazing snow-capped mountains reflecting from the ocean Jocelyn noticed a sign that said "Seal Colony." Boy was she excited!! We got so close to the seals and even saw a few baby seals. It was awesome!
Work is going well for Jocelyn at hairyLemon and they actually renewed her for an additional 4 weeks until mid November. She is enjoying the people there even though the work is a bit out of her comfort zone. She has been asked to take over some of the projects and manage them as well as doing administrative work. She is even using web terms like "populate content" and "leave breadcrumbs" with surprising ease! As the Kiwis say, "Jocelyn is winning" which basically means she is doing well! Trey is enjoying work as well and has even gotten some of the equipment he ordered so he can begin his experiments. Sunday we enjoyed the afternoon with Trey's boss and his family (wife and three adorable children!) They made us sweet potato soup (from the Moosewood Cookbook! - For those of you who don't know, the Moosewood Cafe is in Ithaca, NY where Jocelyn went to college) and spinach/cheese quiche. It was delicious and it was great getting to know Richard and his family. They are extremely nice people.
Tonight we went rock climbing. It was Jocelyn's first time so we started with a quick lesson on how to ready all of the gear to ensure a safe climb. We tried to take photos but unfortunately our camera was low on battery. It had been a while since Trey had gone so he really enjoyed trying a few different routes. The scale they use to rate the difficulty here is different than what Trey is used to in the U.S. so it took him a while to figure out what runs to try. Jocelyn stuck to the beginner ones but got to the top a few times!! It was not Jocelyn's favorite thing but she will definitely go again.
This weekend we move into our new place and we are very excited. The landlords already seem nice and have bought new things to enhance the apartment like a newduvet cover. It should be an easy move since we do not have that much stuff and no furniture of course.
Last, but certainly not least, last weekend - October 1, we became an Aunt and an Uncle. Heather, Trey's older sister had a baby boy - Luke Carlton Snider. Hooray!
