West Coast love

The western shore of the South Island is stunning. I love places in the world where the mountains meet the sea!
Yesterday we drove to Westport. We were both wimps at the stop at Lake Rotoiti where some people jumped in. The views were incredible, but the water was way too cold! Mark was 'keen on' doing the quad biking in Westport, aka-four wheeling, but because of the massive amount of rain they'd had, they weren't able to because the track goes through a creek that was too high. I was pretty psyched to do the jet boating. Oh my. It was a blast, but I really needed dramamine! I enjoyed the trip up the river, it was fairly slow and I just enjoyed taking in the scenery- waterfalls over the cliffs, the rainforest, and mountains. Mark, of course, enjoyed the ride back more. You fly down the river, the driver comes as close to the cliffs as possible (I would just close my eyes and hope for the best), and then do these crazy 360 degrees spins that would drench you! I enjoyed it, but was happy when the ride was over! We went out for pizza for dinner at the Criterion Hotel and stayed to hang out with the locals. Mark played a lot more pool!
Today we headed down the coast further and stopped for two beautiful walks along the ocean. We saw a full seal colony at one of the stops. Our hostel tonight is pretty remote, but it's a two minute walk to the beach, and a three minute walk to a beautiful lake. We went to both before our big group dinner. Tonight we're having a costume party with the rest of the group in the hostel. You have to go as something that starts with the same letter as one of your names. I'm going as the 'night sky' and Mark is going as a martian. :) I still have to rate the bus experience positively so far. It's been nice to get to know other people, I enjoy just having activities offered and not having to do research about what to do or where to go next.
I can't believe how quickly this trip is going by!
More photos to come! Promise!! :)