We stayed in Dunedin for a few days. It felt so good to have some time to really explore the city. After the rugby game, Tessa and I set up camp in the peninsula to save some cash. On a few hikes, we quite literally stumbled upon a male adult sea lion on the beach. We kept our distance but were really impressed by the shear size of the animal! It was pretty cool to see him up close! On the same beach, we also saw some more penguins. Luckily, it wasn't that cold this time. On the way back from that beach, we were having some trouble with the road. It turns out, it was our tyre. It was COMPLETELY SHREADDED! I've never seen a tyre that bad before! After calling a tow truck and waiting, a kiwi guy came along and helped us out! Just a few dollars for a new tyre and we were on our way!
That night, after sun down, we trekked out to see some of the infamous glow worms. They set themselves up in caves or on the side of cliffs in groups. They glow like the stars to fool smaller bugs to thinking they are going towards the open sky and get stuck in their traps. Clever, huh? In complete darkness, we walked to find them right off the track. THey are so surreal. It truely looks like the open sky all around us.

Back in Auckland, Tessa and I met a Kiwi guy that offered us a stay and a trip around Mt cook through an airline his Mother works for. WE kept in touch and drove to Twizel to visit and see what happens. Because we didn't know the parents well, we were just going to say hi and share some pictures. We were traveling through the town already so it wasn't that far out of the way. So, Tessa walks through the door and said, " Hey, Glenn sent us..." They didn't respond at first. It turns out, our friend hasn't been in contact with his family in 5 years! WE couldn't figure out who was more caught off guard, US or the family. They were all very sweet and we chatted with them for a bit and left so they could call their son. What a strange night!!

Last night, we finally arrived in Christchurch. The place we leave in a week. IT was Tessa's first St. Patty's celebration. We started the fun at 5 and danced all night. It was really fun. It felt like home. *Smile*