Yesterday was our first "trek" in Hawera. The weather was "fine" as the forecasters here say. We could clearly see Mt Taranaki as we drove the 40 minutes to the base. Just a short 8 km up is a very stressful drive due to the road being so twisty and narrow. There is a beautiful hiking area and we chose the loop to Dawson's Falls. We wound through mossy rocks, ferns, huge canopies of trees, and nice steps and walkways on a well marked path. No animal other than 2 bugs that we saw all day. The Falls were gorgeous. The water was cold as Jack found out, but a scooby snack of crackers and cookies was enjoyed and all was well. Steven tried bargaining for everyone's chocolate toffee cookies but none were willing to share. We met a family from Montana- she is a family medicine physician who placed with Global medical Staffing too!
After going "up,up,up the stairs"(sorry- there will likely be lots of Lord of the Rings quotes while we are here) we made it back to the car. Though we climbed nowhere near the top, we realized the snow at the top was actually ice glistening in the sunlight. The mountain (really a volcano, but locals only call it a mt.) has a different shape from every viewpoint. We descended and drove from the southern approach to the east and drove up again a short ways to a restaurant. It is on the land that the Maori group I work with owns. The Ngati Ruanui call it the Mt Lodge, and perhaps lease the land to a couple who run a lovely cafe and motel. The road to it twists but is actually 2 cars wide.

After a quick clean up, we headed to my supervisor's beautiful home and had home-killed lamb and venison. He grilled on a Weber grill and remarked what a great export from the U.S. it was. He said all the doctors he worked with here that were from the US were well trained. Glad we can have a positive global impact at least on grills and docs. :)
I introduced them to Crystal Light, Ranch dip, and chess squares.
We were able to see the 15 minute fireworks show in Hawera from their home- much like our July 4th show at home. Guys are all sleeping and I am feeling the effects of only exercising twice since I've arrived. It is Sunday 7am, so after sone sweat and later visiting a church here in town, I'll be ready for another Bama game- maybe a better outcome that I can hopefully watch. Roll Tide!