Bren and I just got back from an amazing trip to New Zealand for his sabbatical! We saw tons of sheep, kiwis (the bird and the people), rainforests, whales, glaciers, mountains and volcanoes (no lava though), and we walked through hobbiton and up to Mount Doom! It will take me a while to sort through all the pictures, but here are a few that I found particularly beautiful and inspiring.
The red flowers are New from the New Zealand’s Christmas Tree, a tree that flowers in December. Ferns are everywhere in New Zealand, in the culture and in nature. The furled fern represents growth, while the ancient silver tree fern is an icon for New Zealand. Also… sheep!