Saturday, December 30, 2006

Mom's Diary Notes




Mountain lupines are lush along the roadside up to Aurthur's Pass - they are considered non-native and invasive by the ecologists here in NZ. Can you imagine not loving these flowers? (The park rangers also put out poison for the deer and possums which are also non-native and disturb the native flora and fauna. One ranger told us if we saw a stoat, a small weasel-like animal, to shoot it! I don't know about these New Zealanders.)



I made Blaine pose like he was preparing to leap the falls. He is such a good son-in-law!


This was a cave adventure that Kate and I thought would be a nightmare. There is a torrent of water through this cave that you can traverse - wading through waist-deep, snow-melt water. It takes about an hour to make it through and you need 2 "torches" (flashlights) with extra batteries. There are slippery ladders to climb and chains to cling to along the way. Sound like fun? Come to see Kate and Blaine, and Blaine will go with you!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

meri and i wish we were there. good to see ya'll are having fun. keep us posted... we are enjoying the updates.

Anonymous said...

Blaine and I are starting to count days now; Kathryn will be"in the know" to advise what to see. We're looking forward to chatting with you when you get home-looks like you're having a great time. Grandmother Totty is starting to collect items to bring-so excited.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad your mom is there to visit! Wish I could come see you guys it all looks like so much fun! Love you guys!

Anonymous said...

AWWW KATE I KNOW YOU ARE SO GLAD YOUR MOM GOT TO COME SEE YOU!! AND I KNOW SHE'S PROBABLY EVEN MORE EXCITED THAT SHE GOT TO GO AND GET AWAY FOR A WHILE!! LET ME KNOW HOW YOU ARE!! LOVE YA!!

Anonymous said...

kate....Bucket has a hurt leg!! Daniel, Ryan & I bought some apples from the cafeteria and fed them to him...bless his heart...he was hungry. He pulls up his back leg and can't walk. It made us so sad. Just thought I would pass the news on to you! :( Don't worry though, pharmacy crew is taking care of him!!