Rainbow Falls

She…..

The first waterfall we happened upon in New Zealand. Todd and I found it on in the Lonely Planet book and decided to take a stroll. When we arrived it looked a little prehistoric. Everything is covered in green and giant ferns. It wasn’t a strenuous hike and part of it is actually wheelchair accessible. The views were stunning! Todd hiked ahead while I had to stop every second to catch all the beauty around me. At one point of the hike I came across this pathway and I swear a dinosaur was going to appear (I will show the picture below) When I finally caught up to Todd back near the cruzy camper wan we saw a field of grazing sheep. Todd has never been near a sheep before so we went to the fence line to check them out. They wouldn’t come near of course, but they kept eating like little lawn mowers. After the sheep encounter we hit the road again. We had also read about this amazing chocolate shop, of course we had to stop and check it out. This place was huge and clean as a whistle. There was a viewing glass that you could watch the bakers. All I could do is think about my little sister, Shaye, who is a pastry chef, and how she would love it! We got two samples one with a gooey cherry center and another Macadamia butter toffee crunch. Simply to die for. At about $30 a box we decided to splurge a little. The box read….Makana Confections “hand-made chocolate and other natural temptations” hahahaha you can say that again! As we left the chocolate shop we found an awesome little farmers stand. It looked like something out of a book. We were in the region best known for their oranges and tangerines so we had to grab a bundle before taking off.

He…...

Rainbow falls was a delightful simple stop over on a long drive. It was nice to stretch the legs, breath in some fresh air, and to read on the history. My biggest surprise was that it was wheelchair accessible and very well maintained. Now that we are five weeks into the trip it seems all of New Zealand is looked after by its communities. Clean bathrooms that are fully supplied almost everywhere we go. Litter is non-existent and a tremendous sense of pride and respect for the land and its bounties is obvious. Quite infectious, as well. I find myself picking up tiny bits around areas that we camp in and wonder what it would take to get Tico’s (Costa Ricans) to be the same.

Sheep not too far from the falls

Rainbow falls

view of the river that came from it. really high in elevation and the photo doesn't do it justice on how beautiful the view was! (I think I am going to run across this problem. To be here is one thing compared to any photo)

Photo zone for me loved taking photos of all the different moss and fauna. love the textures and colors!

both of these shots (above and below) are from behind the big waterfall.

Trees that looked like they belong in a Dr. Seuse book......where is todd?

I tried to find out who's home this was (I think it may have been some kind of burrowing spider, but no one was home)

This tree was enormous and its bark was so interesting (sorry, getting into my photo zone again)

This is the path way that I came across that I felt a dinosaur was going to jump out behind the enormous ferns (they were at least 7ft tall)

the little farmers stand we came across

The hand made chocolate factory.... Shaye I know you will like this. yummy toffee and chocolate to die for!

The lovely lady that let me take a photo of her making the chocolate/fudge