Our first of two exciting weeks touring around (most of) New Zealand’s south island.
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Here's our route for the next 2 weeks, so you can follow along!
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We're here with our giant Kiwi friend which can only mean one thing: Auckland Airport Domestic Terminal, here we come!
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We've all made it to Christchurch - and we celebrate with dinner at home. I mean, at AirBnB.
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Learning about red kiwifruit at breakfast.
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They can also be heart-shaped!
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First stop on our Christchurch walking tour: the Christchurch Transitional Cathedral.
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It's also called the Cardboard Cathedral, because of all the cardboard used in its construction: like the 96 500-kg tubes used for the roof.
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Laminated wood chairs: also very nicely designed.
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The triangular pieces of stained glass, as seen from inside.
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Heritage Christchurch hotel - in the site of the Old Government Building.
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Cathedral Junction: a small shopping mall, complete with trolleys!
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Beware of trams!
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Mural just outside.
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Remains from the 2011 earthquake.
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The Isaac Theatre Royal.
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The colorful New Regent Street, famous for its eateries.
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The colors remind me of Napier!
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Another mural on an earthquake-exposed wall.
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Christchurch Cathedral.
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It was damaged significantly after the earthquake, and has been partly demolished.
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Another closed building in Cathedral Square.
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Natural tree inside a decidedly newer mall.
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A retro mac display at the main library. Throwback!
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Trying out the Renault Twizy. Looks cramped!
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The Christchurch bus interchange: the cleanest, neatest city bus terminal I've ever been to!
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And the Christchurch Art Gallery...
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... where we saw a wonderful William Wegman exhibit.
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Another mural!
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Now at the Botanic Gardens: sneaking into a giant tree.
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Stopping to smell the flowers was not enough...
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Starting to see signs of fall in the leaves.
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The lighting wasn't too favorable: but there's some sense of how big the trunk is!
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Decisions, decisions.
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We happened to be at the only Ben & Jerry's on the South Island for International Free Cone Day.
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Final stop in Christchurch: Lyttleton, a tiny port town just outside Christchurch.
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Cute, quaint - but also badly impacted by the earthquake.
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How sociable we all are! Exemplifying the 21st-century family.
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Next day: we're off to Castle Hill, along Arthur's Pass.
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We're here to see the giant limestone formations.
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These rocks scattered about are much larger than people!
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See the gopher sticking his head out?
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What else do you see?
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We're higher-up than we realized.
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Where we came from.
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Pensive, in the clouds.
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Look at all those rocks over there!
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Okay, now the hard part. Getting down.
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Next stop: Devil's Punchbowl Falls.
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We were treated to a rainbow along the way. See the pot of gold?
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First rainforest exposure this trip.
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Droopy moss.
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Up close and personal with the 131-meter waterfall.
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We were wet from the rain - not the falls. Most likely.
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On our way back from the 1-hour "amble".
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Some hints of sun breaking through the clouds.
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Waiting to pass under the Otira Gorge Rock Shelter -- the road just beyond which had recently been washed out.
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We made it to Greymouth, and our cozy AirBnB.
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The Greymouth train station -- where the great TranzAlipine rail journey ends.
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Its downtown also had a certain charm.
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This is one of the more clever street art pieces I've seen recently!
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The great Greymouth clock tower.
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Up on the floodwall.
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And at the Southern Breakwater Viewing Platform.
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The skies were calm...
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...but the waters were decidedly choppy!
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Wouldn't want to be in those waters right now!
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Great west coast wind!
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Dinner and obligatory beers at Monteith's Brewery, a west coast classic.
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Brewed on site!
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Decidedly local Easter souvenirs! (Also: our first kiwi bird spotting.)
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Making our way further north the next morning.
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Mum posing with her new favorite plant: New Zealand flax.
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Jurassic Park-esque foliage here.
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Still haven't escaped the west coast rains.
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We're here in Punakaiki to see the famous Pancake Rocks.
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They're more like French Crepe rocks: the layers are too thin to be pancakes!
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Pancakes or not, it was a nice walk along the rough west coast waters.
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A pedestrian bridge...
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... over the open waters below.
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The ocean waters have done quite a job here.
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Do these rocks remind you of cruise ships?
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Pancake pano.
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Darker pancake rocks.
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And lighter ones.
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The main attraction in Hokitika: NZ Longfin Eels. This group in particular are 80-110 years old.
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Feeding her elders.
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Next stop: Hokitika Gorge.
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Again, weather could've been better.
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These waters are supposed to be Topaz blue!
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We get soy milk color instead - lucky us!
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At least, with all this rain, we're given no shortage of rainbows!
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And beautiful hill x cloud shots.
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We end the day at Sunset Point.
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At least it lives up to its name!
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Sunset over the calming waters.
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I hear tomorrow is going to be beautiful here on the west coast.
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Retracing our steps today, back through Arthur's Pass.
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And back through the Otira Gorge.
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And this time stopping at the Otira Viaduct Lookout, too.
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A road well-traveled.
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And a road into the clouds!
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Here we are at the famous blue Lake Tekapo.
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The beautiful lake is fed by the Southern Alps (to the north).
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The Church of the Good Shepherd, with the best location of all places of worship in NZ.
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More beautiful blue waters...
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... and the Southern Alps in the background.
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Group shot!
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And Lake Pukaki, another blue alpine lake just a bit further west.
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Lake Pukaki, on our way up to Mt Cook.
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Snow-capped mountains and colorful fields; quintessential South Island scene-scape.
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Undulating hills and spiky mountains.
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Mt Cook, almost there.
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Starting out on our first walk of the day, in the valleys between the mountains.
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Beautiful people, beautiful scenery.
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What season is it?
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Mueller Lake, fed by Mueller Glacier.
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Are these just snow-capped mountains, or glaciers? Hard to tell!
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How serene.
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This bridge was badly damaged during a storm a few weeks earlier, so the famous Hooker Valley track was closed beyond this point. Next trip!
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This is one of 3 "Blue Lakes"...
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... which are now green, because they're no longer fed by glaciers, but by rainwater only.
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On top of the world!
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Tasman Lake, and an up-close view of the glacial wall that feeds it.
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Chunks of ice break off the glacier, and float down the lake.
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More chunks of ice... the sad reality is that this lake didn't even exist as recently as 1970.
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Heading around the mountain to see the ice chunks up close.
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Up close with the ice.
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Some beautiful blues beneath the dirt.
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You could imagine penguins floating along the ice chunks, too.
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More ice.
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Yes: a glacial lake is as cold as you'd expect.
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After 3 walks, a well-deserved lunch.
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More unreal scenery as we continue on to Wanaka.
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Yellow hills that look like creases in the landscape.
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We arrive at our guest house: which is ready with our names.
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Lake Wanaka at sunset: you can't tell from this picture, but it's the 4th largest lake in NZ.
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Sheep! On our way to Mt. Aspiring for a nice uphill walk!
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But first: we stop for a parade of cows.
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Hello, beautiful.
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More snow-capped mountaintops.
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Spot the tiny sheep! They provide a great sense of scale.
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Raspberry Creek: a deceptively tame name.
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Already tired, and we're only 10 minutes into the Rob Roy trail. (And still on the flats!)
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Crossing the Matukituki River -- and the fun begins!
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The picturesque valley where the Rob Roy stream and the Matukituki River meet.
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Getting higher!
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Are we there yet?
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Translucent blue berries. These must be safe to eat!
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Just a bit more uphill!
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Umm... that overhead rock can't be safe.
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First signs of the beautiful glacial waters. We must be getting near.
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More Rob Roy stream.
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Our fist glimpses of Rob Roy Glacier.
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Getting closer.
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Looking back.
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5 or 6 km later, and we're finally at the summit.
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A beautiful surprise: Rob Roy Falls (which apparently freezes at certain times of year.)
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Resting at the summit.
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Pano looking back toward where we came from.
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Rob Roy Glacier itself: a "small" hanging glacier, with awkward sunlight.
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More Rob Roy Glacier, with waterfall in the foreground.
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Both waterfalls, together.
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Heading back down the 330m altitude gain is almost as tough as going up!
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Knee rest stop.
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Looking down into Cardrona Valley on our way to Queenstown.
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Don't walk too far!
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It's wine country down there!
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One of the most interesting attractions of bustling Queenstown: watching bungee jumping!
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This site -- the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge -- is the first ever commercial bungee jumping operation in the world.
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We were just here as passive obserers!
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A brave tourist!
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Off he goes.
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They offer tandem jumps.
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Or of course, solo.
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Exactly as depicted in this bathroom sign.