Raglan and a Waterfall

New Zealand sheep!

Another person I met fairly shortly after I arrived in New Zealand is Kirill. Kirill is a kiwi who moved here from Russia when he was very young. He has been a huge source of information for us. Kirill is the one who has helped us in selecting a lot of the places we go to visit, including the places we went to in the south island. He is another very kind man with a great sense of adventure and he is the first person to bring us to a beach. The beach we went to was Raglan which is on the west side of the north island. Raglan is a beautiful little surf town and the beach is one of the closest to Hamilton. The first time we went there he brought us in his little red audi and thought it was funny as we sat and looked in awe at every little hill in crevice along the road and taking pictures of every last little thing, including all the sheep. I remember him saying, "Yup, you guys are pretty much having the typical American reaction when they see this stuff for the first time. One thing I don't understand is why you guys are so fascinated by the sheep." Kirill also studied at Waikato and had met many international students from UMD and other places around the world. 

Anyways, our destination was Raglan. When we got there I was so ecstatic to finally see the ocean, especially at a place as beautiful as this. I remember sitting on the beach having a great conversation about different books and writing as Kirill also enjoys both reading and writing (he also is a photographer as well which is pretty sweet). 

Where we ate our fish and chips

Looking down Raglan

Where we got fish and chips (a New Zealand delicacy)

BARE FEET!

My awkward picture with Kirill

Unfortunately I didn't take as many pictures as I could have but I feel like these get the point across. Raglan is a very beautiful beach and I am going to miss it very much. 

We also stopped at a waterfall called Bridal Veil falls which is on the way to Raglan. This was one of the first times I got to walk through a New Zealand rain forest which was pretty sweet.

Cows

Sheep

Waterfall

I also thought I would add one more thing. When we were in Rotorua we went luging and I got to borrow Kirill's Go Pro for one of the runs. Have a look:

So that's Raglan in a nut shell. I am confident that once I leave that I will see Kirill again as he travels a lot for his job and he says he has always wanted to go to America. I am glad to have met him and hope he comes and visits so we can show him what Minnesota is all about.