Honeymoon Day 10

Picking up where I left off with the honeymoon...

On our second full day at Blanket Bay, we signed up to take a jet boat ride up the Dart River.  The Dart River is a braided river, which means that it has a high sediment load and moves day to day and season to season (among other attributes).

Here is a view of the Dart River from the helicopter!  It looks like a braid. 

The Dart River

The boat is pretty mobile because of its propulsion system (it is like a giant jet ski) and so we did 360 deg turns and got wet.  It was like a roller coaster ride!  Our boat had a family with a bunch of kids and they squealed and laughed so much when the boat turned, it was really cute.

View from the boat

We got out of the boat at one point and our boat guide lead a hike through the surrounding woods.  I realized that hiking is awesome when you have someone there telling you about the plants, animals, and history of the people that first inhabited these areas.  I found myself walking faster just so I could stay close and hear what he said about our surroundings.  The forest has a prehistoric feel - the ground is covered in a lush, thick moss which springs under your feet.  The guide said that the moss did a lot to prepare the soil to support larger trees because the area was so rocky.

A spring in my step!

After the boat ride wrapped up - we settled in the great room of the hotel and the staff brought us biscuits (New Zealand word for cookies) and tea. Several of the cookies were amazing (and conveniently all from the Edmond's classic cookbook I bought)!  I particularly liked the ANZAC biscuits.  Learning the story behind them made them even more interesting.

Tea time

I wish that American's had more of a tea culture - I love the excuse to take a break in the afternoon to relax for a bit and collect your thoughts.  I love New Zealand!