Tunnel Gully

Mum told me that I hadn't put any coffee pictures from the trip on my blog and she was rather disappointed. Last time I was in New Zealand I had a coffee picture nearly every other post. So this one is for you, Mum. 

We started our last day in Wellington by going to Cafe Du Parc. I had a mochaccino. Dad and Chris had cappuccinos. Mochaccions always seem to come with marshmallows and cappuccinos don't. I gave Chris my marshmallows.

Last time I was here I had the eggs benedict, but I ate it before I took a picture. I remembered to get a picture this time. It was really good. We were trying to figure out how they prepare their eggs. The eggs look like dabs of whipped cream. And the centers are left in a glorious semi-soild state.

After breakfast we went to Tunnel Gully. Here we've got a Kahikatea full of Nest Epiphytes, colloquially known as widow makers.

They are called widow makers in reference to what would happen if it fell on you. They are quite large. This widow maker lived in a Hinau tree. It was really funny watching Chris trying to identify the tree. He said, "I know what it isn't, but I don't know what it is." Of course of all the trees in this forest, for some reason this one had it's name on a plate that was tacked to the trunk.

There were all sorts of beautiful bits along the hike. We stopped by this waterfall for a short while. I'm giving my best Lord of the Dance impression.

Photo Credit to Chris

At the end of the hike we stopped by the old, abandoned train tunnel. This tunnel was incredibly long. And dark. Very, very dark. We all took turns talking about what kinds of scary things might be in it. I secretly imagined I was Frodo in Shelob's lair. I'm glad I'm not Frodo. It would have been quite frightening if Shelob had shown up.