Hamilton New Zealand, Part 2

The second half of Day 4 in New Zealand.

First off, I have to introduce the lovely family we stayed with in Hamilton for two nights. Our good friend and native of New Zealand, Adam Ruri, hooked us up with his cousin Raina. And as long as we were willing to bring them Spicy Cheetos, Peanut Butter M&M's, Hidden Valley Ranch packets, and Peanut Butter Reese's Cups from America, we were in!

Their kids were darling, and hilarious. 

They even invited us to their morning scripture study. 

There is a bit of Aloha throughout all of New Zealand, and we were amazed at how gracious and hospitable everyone is. The families we stayed with were incredible and it made the experience even more rich with "kiwi" culture. There is nothing cuter than kids with New Zealand accents and slang terms!

Directly after our Hobbiton tour, we drove about an hour south to the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. Glow worms are only found in New Zealand and Australia. And after seeing this cave on Planet Earth, we were stoked to witness it in person. The best part of the tour is taking a boat ride through this dark cave so you can see the blue lights that hundreds of thousands of these glow worms emit.

We weren't allowed to take pictures in the cave, but this is what it looks like. It was so mystical, I've never experienced anything like it.

This is what the glow worms look like in the light. 

After our sweet tour, we high-tailed it back to Hamilton to make the last temple session. We were able to try some famous New Zealand meat pies somewhere in there for dinner. I think grocery shopping together over there was also one of our favorite things. Trying the different kinds of cheeses, breads, crackers, "Tip Top" ice cream (Rach's favorite for sure), chocolate, and snacks of the country was so much fun.

By the time the 6:30 temple session began, I was completely exhausted. Somehow I stayed awake and I am so glad we were able to enjoy the beautiful Hamilton Temple.

We even had time afterwards to go into the Visitor's Center as Adam requested. He is the voice for some of the historical videos in there and it was fun to hear him!

It was really fun to be the ones with accents wherever we went. We'd say one word and right away people would just look at us or ask "You're American. Where are you from?" A married couple who works in the temple invited us to stay the night at their house! Especially once the wife made a connection with Jon's background in Hawaii: Jon's Young Men's leader, Angus Christy, is her brother! She got big tears in her eyes and embraced Jon with a tight hug. So sweet. We graciously declined their offer to sleep over, as our Hamilton family was expecting us for one more night. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Family truly is worldwide.