Cliffsides, Cave Rock, and Cricket

After brunch, we all hopped in the GatorWaka to begin our day. We had planned on visiting a Kiwi sustainable home but the owners had to cancel because of a family matter; instead, we went to a shopping complex in a restored historic tannery. We had a morning tea time, and looked through the shops in the Tannery including an upscale thrift store, an apothecary, and a bookstore. 

Group photo at teatime

On our way to our Godley Head hike, we passed through Sumner (where there were many surfers out enjoying the day), a subdivision of Christchurch; Godley was the founder of Christchurch. Before hiking, we utilized the playground equipment in the Taylor’s Mistake parking lot. 

Messing around in the park before the hike

We had a pleasant hike with stunning views of the ocean and cliffs, but we saw lots of 
unpleasant flowering Pig’s Ear along the trails (we spent a day of restoration pulling 
Pig’s Ear from a conservation site). We were able to spot the predator proof fence that 
marked our destination from the beginning of the hike. Once at the fence we passed 
through it and descended down a ladder to the coastline. We were on the search for 
white flippered penguins in the artificial burrows that had been placed there for them as 
part of a restoration project. We were rewarded by a few containing penguins, including 
burrows number 86 and 92. 

Penguin burrow that is currently inhabited 

Little penguin inside the burrow. Photo courtesy of Grace

Cave Rock 

After our hike concluded, we headed over to Cave Rock (Tuawera). The rock provided many adventuring opportunities, including climbing to the top, running from incoming waves surging through the hollow rock, and a log prime for a king of the hill style game. We then journeyed back to the Tannery for a lunch of sushi.

Playing a nice game of cricket

We began our journey back to Lincoln, but the university dorms were not our destination; instead we went to the cricket fields at the local domain, where we were schooled in the terms and rules of the game. We played a half-court version of cricket that reduced the field size and incorporated foul balls so our baseball-oriented minds could understand. The Killer Kiwis beat the Wacky Wekas by a score of 70 to 67 (go kiwis!). 

Ice cream Sunday courtesy of Colin

After dinner, Dr. Colin Meurk and some of his grad students stopped by the dorms for an ice cream Sunday (pun courtesy of Colin). Irish Creme, Triple Chocolate, and Forest Fruit Yogurt all tied for the best ice cream flavor, but Colin's yogurt was most definitely the favorite of everyone. We had a good chat with Colin and finally got to ask him about the much anticipated sea lion story; the grad students discussed the different ecological issues facing our respective countries with us. Overall a fantastic day and a great way to end our last weekend in New Zealand. - Lexie