Around Town

I am enjoying walking around town, taking in the scenery and exploring new streets and pathways. Yesterday I found the store "The Body Shop" and I was so excited. I don't know why I was so excited, as I don't even shop there, but I guess it was just nice to see something familiar from back home. They don't really have much of anything (in terms of stores or brands) that is the same as in Canada, but that's fine with me, I like trying new things :)

Yesterday I went for a run along the Coastal Walkway and watched people kitesufing/parasurfing/surfing with a paraglide? I'm not familiar with the actual name. It was pretty crazy. Some of them were getting upwards of ten feet of air over some of the big waves, I thought they were going to get carried away by the wind. Too extreme for me, but fun to watch! Again, it's really windy here, so it's a perfect sport for those who are into it.

Below is the 'Wind Wand' across the street from our apartment on the Coastal Walkway. It bends with the direction of the wind. I think it's more of an art piece and something to look at, rather than something that serves a specific purpose. I heard the ball at the top lights up at night, we will have to see for ourselves soon. All the signs and distances posted on the walkway are in relation to the Wind Wand. There are markings on the pavement (1km from Wind Wand, etc.)

Last night Tyler and I went on a walk and we saw our very first sheep!! And it had a tail! I didn't know sheep had tails. Look at all we are learning in New Zealand :) He was in someone's yard with a few of his buddies and some roosters. He looked so soft I wanted to touch him, but I'm not sure of the norms on petting people's sheep yet. I guess they have pet sheep here instead of dogs. We haven't seen very many dogs!

Beautiful hydrangeas we saw on our walk.

We made our way back to Pukekura park last night and the rest of the park was just as beautiful as the portion we had seen on the weekend. At times we felt like we were in a rainforest or in some type of Japanese garden. And the best part...NO BUGS!!!! I have yet to see a mosquito or fly or ant or wasp, or anything! It's amazing. I don't know where they are hiding, but they can stay there. There are a ton of birds so I guess they are doing a good job of eating them all up. I hope we can find a house close to the park. I would love for this to be in our backyard. 

Tyler in awe of the huge, huge tree.

So, so pretty!

Art installation in the park. They are so crafty here :)

We are headed to Auckland this weekend to buy a car. We heard it is considerably cheaper than buying one in New Plymouth. Also, since it's a long weekend this weekend, we thought it would be a great opportunity to have an extra day to check out the city. We are flying out on Saturday morning and driving back on Monday. I'm excited to see the what the biggest city in New Zealand has to offer!