Here's my (Kristen, here) recap so far: long trip, little bit of a snag with getting licensed here, but all is going well. Starting work tomorrow, inpatient wards for Richard (for at least three months) and crisis team for me.
The endemic (see above) people are really nice. The endemic food is really good too. It's like fresh, simple versions of food you know. With some lamb thrown in.
Lamb: not enedmic. But incredibly cute. It's spring here so they are everywhere in the hills. I will never eat one again.
We took this weekend to see a lot of endemic flora and fauna. The long-finned eel at the Mount Bruce National Preserve didn't make the cut in terms of upload time. But, below is the view from Mount Bruce. The hills are so green it does not seem real. It is totally impossible to duplicate in a picture. 
This is the kaka, an endemic parrot in NZ. Also at the Mount Bruce Preserve. The kiwi bird was there as well in a special hut with reversed day / night cycle (they're nocturnal). We've seen tui, pukeko, and the New Zealand pigeon, too, all endemic.
This is the kaka, an endemic parrot in NZ. Also at the Mount Bruce Preserve. The kiwi bird was there as well in a special hut with reversed day / night cycle (they're nocturnal). We've seen tui, pukeko, and the New Zealand pigeon, too, all endemic.
After the Mount Bruce Preserve, we continued north to Hawke's Bay and Napier. The weather was decidedly more mild there and the region beautiful. Not exclusive to New Zealand but certainly abundant: earthquakes. Napier was leveled by one in 1931 and the resulting rebuilding took on an art deco flavor that is still there today. We stayed at a lovely B&B just down from this stand of Victorian buildings, the "Six Sisters," so named as they they were rebuilt after the earthquake for the owners six daughters.
The drive back to Wellington took us through the Lake Taupo region, which has another of the remarkable features of New Zealand: geothermals areas. Below is a formation at Orakei Korako, formed by silica flows. There was boiling water and steam coming from the ground throughout the park and several areas where mud was boiling. It's quite otherworldly.
Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone is doing well. Cheers.
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