Starry, starry night

Our last night in Whanganui Don shot some amazing photos of the night sky that I forgot to share in the last post. There was barely any light pollution because we were so far out of the town and once our eyes adjusted to the darkness, it was insane how many stars we saw.

Breathtaking view of the Milky Way over the farmhouse we stayed in in Whanganui

Don Dauphinee is an absolutely phenomenal photographer!

Whanganui...where dreams come true - part 3

Day 3 in Whanganui. Woke up to birds singing again!...oh and there was as lamb 'baaaaah'ing at the window. It was precious. We spent the majority of our morning planning more of our trip and cleaning up the house that we had been staying in, nothing too exciting. In the afternoon, we went with the Todd family to this huge cable swing that swings out over the Whanganui River i.e coolest swing ever.

At the beach, we played on the huge (!!!!) playground and went on the small zip-line (which they call a flying fox here). Don and I pretended we were children again and it was lovely. I've always known that I love playgrounds even as an adult but in New Zealand, they have all kinds of cool contraptions and things that we don't have on any playgrounds I've ever been to in the United States.

Here's some pretty cool pictures from the day...

It was hard to capture the range of the swing over the river.

It was so much fun. I was scared at first but then I wanted to stay there and just swing forever.

Don on the flying fox zipline

Playgrounds are the best...nothing quite like revisiting your childhood on a swing set.

We got a photo with the wonderful Todd family! The sun was so bright that Caleb couldn't open his eyes - ha.

Whanganui...where dreams come true - Part 3

We woke the next day up in the huge farmhouse in Whanganui to quiet sounds of nothing but birds singing. It was magical. We ate our muesli and yogurt outside in the warm morning sun. We drove into town around 10am to meet David so he could show us some of the history of the town. He told us a lot about the town and country's history with the Maori, which up until then, we hadn't known much about. It was a wonderful time learning from him but after a couple hours, he had to go back to work, and we went on our way to see a few more things in the town before heading back home for a late lunch.

I see the River and the River sees me.

Lover of Art

We also climbed up a beautiful tower that overlooked the whole town and Whanganui River. I have some photos from the top but I need to find them. 

After lunch, we walked the 15 meters to the neighbors house so I could help Caleb feed the lamb. During the majority of our time there, Caleb would come over to get me if we were home during the lamb's feeding times so that I could feed the lamb and also steal a few snuggles :) Kane got his bow and arrow out to show Don how to use it...if you know Don, you'd know he was thrilled to pretend he was like the Arrow superhero from the television show for a few minutes. I went back in the farmhouse where we were staying to do a few things and came back outside when I was hearing grunts and strange noises from the barn across the driveway. Come to find out Kane and Don were having a weightlifting contest; I think Kane might have won or they didn't want to keep going because when I walked in they made me bench press 40 kilos or something pretty puny like that. 

Here's some adorable photo's I took of Alesha's calf, Caramel, that second day in Whanganui:

So happy I was able to capture this moment...Alesha and Xanthia are desperately trying get Caramel back into her pen

Stealing a few hugs and kisses from Caramel when I found her wandering in the yard

Before dinner, Kane, Don, and I played a gnarly game of Rummikub, which I won! The BBQ dinner was wonderful; as travelers, anything that is home-cooked and consists of more than pasta & sauce is absolutely amazing! It was another late night hanging out and talking over wine with Linda and Kane...at one point an electric guitar came out and Don blasted us all away with his crazy good finger picking skills!