shared a taxi with a girl from taipei, taiwan who is also staying at the hostel to twin oaks riding ranch and rode on horses for 2 hours for only $35. a good kiwi deal. i had no idea we would ride up so high. we had excellent views of the ocean on two sides. passed a lot of farm creatures (cows, pigs, sheep, turkey) while riding through fields, streams, and even got off the horse to view a little waterfall. really nice. perfect weather too.

a collage of the morning ride

at the top of our horse ride was this exquisite panorama view

a british navy rescue boat

hitched a ride back to the hostel with some girls from queensland, australia who also rode the horses. had lunch, then set off to the sea with cave cruzer adventures. we were out on the water for about 2.5 hours for only $65. another good kiwi deal. we went around the different little beaches and rock formations. then we went into a cave where the captain busted out a conch, an irish flute, a djembe, several didgeridoos, etc. he passed them around. naturally, being an asthmatic who never played a wind instrument, i was not good at the didgeridoo but i actually got a proper sound out of it so i was pleased with myself.

during the tour, we got to see blue penguins in the wild. i saw about 5 penguins, each separate. a couple of them i got to see swim just below the surface. when you see them just floating on water, you might not think it's a penguin. but when you see them swim, you know it's a penguin!

a collage of the tour--sorry, didn't get to take a pic of a penguin

the hat my friend is flappin' in the wind