Full circle

The day I arrived in New Zealand, I had my head shaved by a very nice hairdresser in Auckland.

To come full circle, I went back to him the day I left New Zealand. I had been growing my hair out since April and so decided to get my hair blowdried that time. When I showed up, he recognized me! And as he blowdried my hair, we went over the past year in New Zealand. What a way to leave beautiful Aotearoa!

Cheers!

Paua...a follow-up

I never showed you the inside of a paua shell. They use these in New Zealand for all sorts of things. First, to eat the flesh inside (refer to entry in Stewart Island), but then also for making jewelry, decorating furniture or walkways and for ashtrays (though that's kind of a shame because you hide its beauty.

I ate from this shell and kept it as a souvenir.

Stone, anyone?

This may look like just a stone. Nothing interesting, perhaps. It is special, however. This stone comes from the bum of something like this!

When I went to the Otago Peninsula in August, our guide found this stone and asked who wanted it. A British woman immediately grabbed it. She was faster than I was. I expressed interest in finding another one and in her infinite kindness, the woman gave me hers instead.

It is a poop stone!

Sea lions swallow these stones to help them digest their food and then they poop them out all nice and smooth.

Lucky me to have possession of such a thing!

(refer back to entry on Otago Peninsula if you'd like to know a bit more about these giants!)