kaikoura

                     Unsurprisingly my blogging gusto is falling under the universal law of entropy.    It is not that I have had fewer thoughts and experiences I want to share,  just a simple matter of school squeezing quite tightly my time budget.

Even tasty,  homemade meals are becoming more rare as the semester gains momentum.

Molecular genetics continues to threaten to explode my brain.  On top of the difficult subject matter is the learning what expectations are for learning methods and outcomes.  Only one of my four classes provided a syllabus,  so each week it is important for me to set aside some time to comb through the class Web pages to see what to expect.  This is one of the more notable adjustments I have had to make in this experience of studying abroad.  The other is that classes do not provide study guides to outline what is expected knowledge on tests. This makes studying the appropriate
Material somewhat of a shot in the dark.

Fusing a nature find with a drawing and some Samsung galaxy photo editing to relieve the brain squish of threatening squareness. All work and no play =  no thank you.

You can imagine how wide open my arms were to a bit of escape when the weekend hit!   The plan was to rent a car with 3 of my 4 roommates and cruise north for about 3 hours until we reached the coastal town of kaikora.

My roommates pose in front of our budget clown car

The road wound through sheep filled foothills.  I would feel like I was in Colorado for aboot 2 seconds,  with the dry,  grassy hills dotted with pines,  and then I would notice a massive and mystical eucalyptus tree, and that whole feeling would go out the window.

Somewhat familiar scenery

Stopping for a pee break it was a lucky coincidence that we found ourselves in the parking lot of the local community's weekly farmers market.  The market is on year round and has lots of crafts,  baked goods,  meats and cheeses in addition to the expected veggies.  I treated myself to a caramel latte and a bacon+cream cheese bagel for breakfast.  Yolo!

Patron saint of the hot cross bun

Yumyumyum yumyumyum

Someone was selling second hand children's toys.  This resourcefulness was most reminiscent of Taos. 

Kaikora was a further 2 hours of beautiful mountainous driving.  Although we were traveling northbound along the coast,  much of the time the sea was hidden behind rolling hills.  The trees are just beginning to fade out of green and show a tinge of yellow.    

It's beginning to look a little like autumn

We made it or of the winding foothills and emerged onto the rocky western coast of new zealand south island

                 
          Kaikora is a great touristy destination with lots of options for activities.  Go swim with dolphins,  or kayak amongst the seals!  We decided instead to just walk or onto the extensive stone slab of a peninsula and sun ourselves next to the crashing waves,  as if we were the seals.

Luckily we woke up from our sun baked oblivion just in time to get off of the some slab as the tide was roosting and threatening to separate us from the land mass.  I am not exaggerating when I say it was a very close call!    By the time we got near the parking lot we had to cross a rising rover ride up to our knees,  and quickly rising.  It was very Into The Wild of us.

Enengulfed! Yay!

Drive home was equally beautiful and even more comfortable due to finally getting used to sitting in what is usually the driver's seat with no pedals or steering wheel.

Honing in on the rare Armenian mermaid

I hope the sound clip attaches to this image to give a better feel for the road trip!

Good jams and serene scenery.  I see some similarities of NZ <---> NM vibes the more rural I travel.

Cheers!