Well, bender or no bender, we are really enjoying Nelson, NZ. But since we are about 2 weeks behind in our blogging, you won't be hearing about this friendly beery town just yet. Let's turn back the clock to when we were in Dunedin, just 2 weeks ago...
The highlight of our 3 days' stay in Dunedin was our trip on the Taieri Gorge Railway, which is far above an ordinary tourist train ride. Sure we saw the scenery just like everyone else who takes this popular ride, but thanks to Rachel, we got in on a sweet Christmas package deal... train, bbq, and barn dance all for one low, low price. It was brilliant.
it really was brilliant. the train itself was really old. we rode in an old wooden car with neat cushy seats and large push-up windows. we were in a car with just two other people, some nice ladies from auckland who shared their wine with us. the deal we got--train ride, bbq, barn dance--is usually for businesses or large groups, but we were able to get a spot anyway.
The train stopped pretty much in the middle of nowhere; we all disembarked to fill our bellies with meat before piling back on the train and continuing on. it was quite funny. i assumed we were going to some town for dinner or something, but the train just stopped and there was this little set up with three or four different kinds of meat, coleslaw, bean salad, bread, and bbq sauce! boy, can kiwis eat meat (and drink beer!)! everyone was piling their plates with it.
when in rome...
The venue for the barn dance was a shearing shed that smelled as if it had been full of sheep just that morning. this picture is of the back of the shed. they had a stage set up about halfway down the length of the building, as well as a raised area for a bar. a side hall acted as a serving space for tea, coffee and late-night savories. 
And we commenced to rock our very socks off. you can just see me up in the front with my arms up. everyone got into it and was dancing. it was really great fun. and the band was playing all the great american hits: "brown-eyed girl," "rock around the clock," "blue suede shoes." who knew they loved to rock it old-school in new zealand!
oh, we can't forget your favorite and mine, the classic "achy-breaky heart!"
OK, moving on, here are some giant marbles some huge mythological kid dropped on the beach...
And a sea lion who dropped himself on a different beach. the sealions are really funny. they are huge, strong creatures who could really do some damage if they wanted to, but they really just want to lay on the beach in the sun. they let you get pretty close, but if you get too close they open their eyes and look at you in this way that says, "i am relaxing, don't bother me, i will crush you." it's a very persuasive look.
A lighthouse in the Catlins...
These two were taken on top of Key Summit in Fiordlands National Park. We spent 4 days in the park, which blew us away time and again... right up until the moment we left. Our next blog will include some more details about our kayaking trip in the Doubtful Sound.
Fiordland is full of ferns, and I am obsessed with them. The spiraling young fronds stopped me in my tracks every time I saw one. oh my gosh, luke loves ferns! he kept pulling out that camera over and over! i was starting to get a little jealous actually. really though, the different types of ferns are beautiful, especially now when they are all unrolling their fronds and bright green. i think the bottom one looks like a little plant dancer. a boogie fern!
And the lupines, ahh, the lupines. I'd better let Rachel tell you about the lupines... oh my goodness, the lupines were amazing! we were driving along the road to the fiordland national park, when we came across this huge pasture and riverbed completely covered in lupines. it was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen. the colors were incredible, and the sheer numbers of flowers were like nothing i have seen in the wild. 
you can hardly see it in this picture, but the lupines stretch for meters and meters. they are everywhere. we learned later that lupines are not native and are actually quite a problem because they are very fast growing and really hold the soil, not allowing the glacial rivers that run by to change their course as they normally do, thus creating problems for the wildlife that rely on the changing riverbed. we also learned later that a certain type of lupine creates a seed pod with seeds that are higher in protein than peas (though not as high as soybeans), are nitrogen-fixing, and are easy to grow, so agricultural extension agents here and in australia are starting to push them as a livestock feed crop.
You can't drive in New Zealand without stopping a few times for the sheep on the road. i love it!
this is a boat trip across lake te anau in fiordland. we went across to go to some glow worm caves. the glow worm caves themselves were kind of like a disneyland ride, but the glow worms themselves are amazing creatures. they create these amazing "webs" to catch insects which they lure in with their little lights in their butts. aside from that, the boat trip itself was amazing, and just a taste of what fiordland has to offer (more of that in our next blog about the kayaking trip).
