Raglan

January 29

We woke up in New Zealand for the first time this morning. Our alarms were set for 8:30, but we started rousing about 15 minutes early. We checked out of our hostel about an hour later and left for breakfast and last minute shopping. I made a minor blunder while paying for my granola that caused the transaction to be voided. I'm still not quite used to the EFTPOS system they use over here.
I scored a $30 sleeping bag and a New Zealand cell phone before we hit the road. I'm excited to own an electronic device that has its own New Zealand-style plug and requires no adapter. Zach drove the car today and for the most part did a good job with his first time in the front right seat. On the way to Raglan we stopped a the Bridal Veil Falls – a 55-meter waterfall in the middle of oh-so-many TREES! 

Our drive was absolutely filled with these arboreal plants of every variety. There are trees that look like they came with me from the midwest, trees that look like they belong in a tropical island, and trees that look like they are in the middle of a bog.

We went straight to the grocery store after our arrival in Raglan. We're making mussels with pasta and a wine sauce tonight, and we also need to pick up a few more non-perishables: peanut butter and ramen noodles. I buy a bag of wine gums and two more peanut slabs and we head out to the camp ground. Ian's tent does in fact sleep four, but very tightly. After some teasing about this we head out to... the ocean! Before you know it we're in the Pacific, looking at the wonderful rolling slopes of New Zealand and body surfing to our heart's content. We're on the west coast, which means, as I learned on the flight from St Louis, that the beaches are all black. This makes the sand quite hot, so we spend as little time on it as possible. When we leave, the day is still quite sunny and we are shocked to learn that it is 8 pm. I promptly declare that I really like this country.

We conclude a great day by cooking on the beach as the sun sets. The food is good and the view is spectacular. After we eat, Zach insists on going back in the water (we're now in an inlet with more tranquil water) and discovers that it is filled with algae that glows when it is disturbed. The phenomenon coaxes me into the water for a few minutes and the little pinpricks of light are amusing. We've decided to get up at 6:30 tomorrow, which makes 11:08 kind of late to be up. Good night.