What a bounce back day! We wandered off to Hokaroa, and the 7th Generation Peninsula Tour.
This was our tour guide, who's family traces back seven generations on the peninsula, hence the tour company name. It wasn't until she went to college in Idaho and spent time with native Americans that she learned about the concept of looking back seven generations for knowledge and history, and giving consideration to the seven generations that will follow you to guide your decisions.
We were taken to some historical places in Hokaroa, then It was off to a special park overlooking the town for tea. From there, we crossed the peninsula to Pigeon Bay, passing the house that her great great grandmother lived in. Our guide told us of a unique conservation project that is spreading throughout the country. The English brought gorse to barrier pastureland, and the nonnative invasive plant spread across the country. A naturalist discovered that it's actually a good shelter plant for natives to grow under. Once those native grow tall, the block out light to the gorse and kill it. As such, gorse is a protective invasive plant. Weird but true!
We finished our tour with a stop at the ocean end of Pigeon Bay. What amazing blue water! Because of where the peninsula sits, directly in front of us is South America, and directly to our right, Antarctica. No time for either, though. We're off to Dunedin tomorrow.
Stay tuned!