Keen on...

I have been keen on just about everything we've done so far!
Yesterday we started our day with a two hour hike through the park that we hiked in on our long trek. It was beautiful. Mt. Doom peaked out from behind the clouds finally at the very end.
Then we were on our way to River Valley, aka Rivendale. Wow. Favorite stop so far. We stayed at the River Valley Adventure Lodge. It was such a cool place. We were situated right next to a river surrounded by hills covered with sheep. The river was perfect for swimming. You could swim or take a platform on a pulley system to the other side of the river to jump or dive off the rock ledge into a really deep pool. We swam some when we arrived before dinner. Mark and I were the first to try the platform pulley system thing. This morning we woke up and went horseback riding through the hills. Mark was a rockstar!! He's never been on a horse before and he was trotting! He had a GREAT horse, Rico, and he was just really comfortable. I, on the other hand, have a little experience riding (thank you Ally!) but you wouldn't have known it today! Pedro, my horse, was in a very playful mood. When he wouldn't behave with the rest of the horses, he sulked at the back of the group. We would get up to a comfortable trot and then he would decide it was time to walk again. He was a willful thing. After the ride we were back to the river. Idyllic is the only word for it. We had a great lunch and then it was off to Wellington.
Mark has had a terrible reaction to the sun here, a very bad allergic reaction on his arms and neck. It wasn't reacting to an antihistamine and hydrocortisone cream so we went back to a pharmacy on our afternoon stop. The pharmacist recommended we get a prescription for prednisone and suggested we go to the doctor next door. It was amazing! We walked in, I explained that our bus was leaving in 30 minutes, they got us right in, checked him out, wrote the prescription, and we were off! I can't convey enough how friendly and helpful Kiwis are!
Tonight I splurged some. I got a great last minute deal on a hotel in Wellington. We are staying at the Duxton and it's been really nice after all the hostels. One issue- free laundry is great, but not if you have to restart the dryer 20 times to get one load dry. Ah well.
Tomorrow morning we are up early to catch the Interislander Ferry to the southern island!