New Zealand: Our Favorites

At this time today, we left New Zealand.  That's weird.

It was a very smooth exit, especially compared to the stressful arrival!  Robin picked us up this afternoon and we've spent the day relishing the fact we're home and unpacking.

New Zealand was fantastic!  Far exceeding expectations, we can't wait to go back.  But we're glad to be home for the weekend.  And we're glad the travels are just beginning (at least at this point)---more adventures to be had up ahead!

Here's some of our New Zealand favorites:

Scenery.  Hands down the greatest part of our New Zealand experience.

Here's another scenery picture we haven't shared yet.

This is taken from the gravel road we took out to the field yesterday.

The people.  Kiwis.  Their friendliness, their accent...everyone was kind and fun to talk to!

Flat whites.  A coffee drink, available just about everywhere, which was developed in New Zealand about 30 years ago.  It's similar to a latté, but with a higher proportion of coffee to milk and more velvety in consistency.  

So delicious!

Hedges.  Leftover from when the English occupied New Zealand, there are beautiful tall hedges between many fields or separating houses.  

This one is made of trees, many are the bush-like piney type.

This is the lane up to the field we were harvesting in yesterday.

Round-a-bouts.  So fun!  Really, the U.S. should implement them as a method of road intersection.  Along with steering wheels on the right and driving in the left lane, it took Jonathan a little while to acclimate!

The houses.  I loved the houses!  They are so much smaller than in the U.S. (I guess they're not caught up in the bigger-is-better attitude we tend to have has Americans) and each one is unique, not this cookie-cutter subdivision stuff.  I wish I could have snapped a picture to capture how quaint the neighborhoods are!  You'll have to take my word for it.

All in all, New Zealand was an unforgettable experience and we can't wait to be back!  That said, this was looking pretty good this afternoon:

California!

It's good to be home!