Kia Ora, Aotearoa!

Reverse Culture Shock

2010-11-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

I think about NZ all day everyday!! Reverse culture shock is definitely harder than normal culture shock. We are expected to fit in where we left off but we have grown so much and things have changed. And subtle things weird me out like passing people on the right side and driving on the other side of the road. And I miss NZ accents! It's strange because these are things we've never thought about before, but now stick out in life back home like a sore thumb. The worst part is I don't have my NZ friends around me to talk about it and go through the adjustment together. But that is why the "Bro-hood of the Traveling Tacky Tank Top" is awesome - Steph, Courtney, Cathy and I can keep in touch and up to date with our lives and talk about NZ.

So many people ask me the question: "How was NZ?" I have so much trouble answering it because a flood of memories and emotions arise that cannot be explained in words. The best I can do is "It is the most beautiful country in the world ... epic ... life-changing ... mind-blowing." It feels like a dream. I really cannot believe/comprehend all that we have seen and experienced - this trip was more than I ever could have hoped for and I feel so lucky. That's the thing ... even though I get depressed sometimes and want to go back to NZ and see everyone, I am so happy I feel this way. That I was fortunate enough to have had the greatest experience of my life and to have made such amazing friends. I love my life!!!

So anyways, after I said goodbye to NZ and made the long journey to NY, I spent two days with the family and then went up to Ithaca to surprise my boyfriend, Connor, and see my best friends. Reuniting with my friends was amazing because I have missed them extremely. It was also a great way to beat jetlag because I was so wired from excitement all day until I hit the pillow and realized how mentally/physically/emotionally exhausted I was!

So as much of a struggle this is to readjust to not-as-awesome life in NY, I am overly happy I ever shared this amazing life with amazing people for five months. I realized the purpose of my life is to be in constant pursuit of beauty because when I find it in its many different forms, I am at peace. Beauty can only be perceived with a serene mind which is proof that it is possible to live a dream. Kia Ora, Aotearoa!

November 13th

2010-11-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

Saturday Nov. 13: This is the day that has always loomed in my future. November 13th. The day I leave New Zealand. The day I return to the states. The day everyone here has dreaded but everyone back home has waited eagerly for. And what do I think of this day? I have had mixed feelings all along. Sometimes when I missed people from home I wished it would arrive sooner, but when I was having the time of my life, I would want to push it as far away as possible. Now that it is actually here I am having these same emotions but more intense. I am ecstatic to see my family, boyfriend, and friends. But I am heartbroken from being ripped away from this place and my friends here.

This morning Courtney's parents took us four girls out to a nice breakfast. Then while walking around the mall area looking for tacky NZ tanks, Courtney happened upon the last "I <3 NZ Bro" tank top in the store we were looking in. We decided it would be an awesome idea to buy it and send it back in forth like the sisterhood of the traveling pants! We then bought a notebook to send with it. We are now known as the "Bro-hood of the Traveling Tacky Tank Top." This way we can keep in touch and talk about New Zealand while we are back in the states. This will definitely help us all overcome our reverse culture shock.

While we drove Cathy back to our house, I felt the tears welling into my eyes, ready to spill over any second. I took one look at Steph, saw her eyes were just as glossy and then at the same time, the tears just poured out of our eyes. It was the strangest crying ever because we were laughing but our eyes were like buckets that kept refilling and spilling over. It was so sad leaving Cathy and driving away down the driveway. We composed ourselves by the time we got to the apartments and then packed up and laid out it the sun on the Ilam quad.

So the time came for our taxi to take us to the airport. I was in such a weird state of mind... just reluctantly going through the motions and not accepting that everything I left behind today, I was leaving for a very long time. At the airport, Steph and I's luggage was overweight so we spent a while ripping through our luggage, transferring or getting rid of stuff. We were happy when we finally made it to the gate and saw Ryan sitting there! I had my first 2 hour flight from Christchurch to Auckland with Stephanie and Ryan and my 13 hour second flight to San Fransisco with Ryan. My third flight was 6 hours to New York.

Saying goodbye to Stephanie and New Zealand was very rushed and very very sad. I did not know how to handle it. It did not feel real so I wasn't emotional about it yet. As I flew over New Zealand, the sun was setting and the mountains looked so beautiful. I shed a few tears as I stared out the window until I could no longer see the land I loved deeply, explored every corner of, changed my life, and called my home for the past five months.

Goodnight New Zealand

The final countdown

2010-11-30T17:20:00.000-08:00

Thursday Nov. 11: All day was spent with Stephanie on a flight from Cairns to Melbourne and then Melbourne to Christchurch. We returned late at night and Courtney and Cathy picked us up in Court's parents rental car. It was so good to see them again!!

Cathedral Square

Stocking up on Tim Tams

Friday Nov. 12: My last full day in New Zealand!!!! Steph, Courtney, Cathy, and I ventured shoeless into the city for the last time and shared stories of our past week. It was a beautiful sunny day and we went souvenir shopping and hung out in the square. We also went to the grocery store and stocked up on Tim Tams to take back to the States with us. I bought ten boxes so hopefully they will last me through my depression from leaving NZ. I tried to take in and appreciate as much as I could. As I turned my head away from Cathedral Square for the last time I didn't know what to do or how to feel. I couldn't handle that I was leaving behind everything I have known for the past five months. I was leaving home.

Banana Pancakes

Love these girls

That night we hung out in my room. We made chocolate chip banana pancakes and homemade hot chocolate, did Tim Tam slams, laughed till our sides hurt, took self-timer pictures, and reminisced on our amazing life journeys together. I am going to miss these girls dearly.

That night Steph and I snuggled up and had the hardest time falling asleep. This was our last night.

Flatmates!

Australia: Great Barrier Reef

2010-11-30T16:09:00.000-08:00

Wednesday Nov. 10: Early this morning I jumped out of bed in excitement because we were about to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world!! The Great Barrier Reef!! It is the world's largest reef system and the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.

On the boat to the reef

Suited up in our wetsuits

We went to the wharf to catch the Sunkist boat. We had a nice hot two hour ride out to the reef. I was originally going to snorkel instead of scuba dive because I was worried about my sensitive right ear. But then all of a sudden I changed my mind and knew I would have regretted not scuba diving the greatest reef in the world. I did an intro scuba dive which was absolutely amazing and worth the pain in my ear which ended up not being as bad as it was in Bermuda. We dove eight meters deep and was awestruck. The reef and fish were intensely diverse and colourful. I saw giant clams, held sea cucumbers, followed beautiful fish, and so much more. I also got to snorkel at two different locations. I've snorkeled many times in my life but nothing can beat this.

Great Barrier Reef

We got free lunch and hung out on the deck getting a little sunburnt. After an amazing day soaking up the sun and in an underwater dreamland, we had free dinner at the woolshed and went to sleep with another world wonder under our belts.

Australia: Cairns

2010-11-30T07:22:00.000-08:00

Tuesday Nov. 9: Today we were so happy to leave the crazy Kanga House backpackers early in the morning. A taxi brought us to the airport but our flight to Cairns was delayed. Unfortunately this meant we would have to cancel our plans to visit the Cairns Zoo to see koalas and kangaroos.

Cairns Boardwalk

Lagoon

When we stepped off the plane in Cairns we immediately started to sweat. It was so hot and tropical! A car from Asylum Hostel picked us up from the airport. This is where we met Ruth from Germany. She ended up being our roommate and she is so sweet!! Asylum Hostel is awesome. It has a tropical feel and the people are so chill. That day after we got settled Steph, Ruth, and I walked down the boardwalk and hung out in the sun by the lagoon. We saw mass amounts of people doing Zumba in the park so Steph and I decided to join in. It was so hilariously random and fun!

Zumba in the Park

Thanks to Cairns Hostel, we got free dinner at the Woolshed. I love Cairns!!

Australia: Blue Mountains

2010-11-26T20:15:00.000-08:00

Monday, Nov 8: Today was our last day in Sydney. We relaxed at Room 10 for the last time. The fresh orange juice was sooo delicious. Thank you for being awesome Room 10.

Room 10

Three Sisters

We got a two hour train to Katoomba, the main town in the Blue Mountains. This is the only place in the world you can see a blue haze, which is caused by the oils of the Eucalyptus trees. We decided to do a bus tour of the area which was great because we got to see a lot of the mountains. We could hop on and off the bus at its several stops and it comes around every half hour. The first stop Steph and I got off at was a trail that opened up to a epic view of the famous Three Sisters, which are rock formations standing over 3000 feet above sea level. The commonly told Indigenous Australian Dreamtime legend of the Three Sisters is that three sisters fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. Battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back. These mountains are a different sort of beautiful than New Zealand mountains, but they are just as mind-blowingly stunning.

Blue Mountains

Giant Stairway

We walked right up to the Three Sisters and began to walk down the Giant Stairway. It was so steep and we got amazing views. We thought it would end but it never did and we started to get nervous. We did not want to have to walk back up. On the way down we met two Belgians, Maarten and Hilde, who were sweating and panting on their way up. They told us that this was the most intense hike and there were 1000 steps. Also the last bus was leaving in 30 mins. Ahhhhhhh!! So we turned around and we all booked it up the stairs. It was painfully strenuous but luckily we made it just in time to not get stranded in the mountains.

Kangaroo Burger

Steph and I started talking to the Belgians and we all got off the bus in the cute town of Leura. Here we had some drinks at a bar before walking back to Katoomba. Maarten and Hilde are awesome! They have been traveling for a month and want us to stay with them in Belgium. We talked for so long about life, traveling, politics, school, and work. In Katoomba we found a restaurant that served kangaroo burgers!! Kangaroo is so delicious. While eating at our table outside we witnessed a hit and run! Some dodgy guy hit a motorcycle with his car, got out, talked to the bike owner's friend and then decided to drive away! Luckily I had a notepad and wrote down the license plate.

We rode the train home with them late at night and basically became best friends. At our hostel, we fell asleep to crazy loud French rap music and woke up super early to catch our flight to Cairns. We were so happy to leave Kanga House Backpackers for good.

Australia: Bondai Beach and Music Awards

2010-11-26T18:34:00.000-08:00

Sculpture by the Sea

Sunday, Nov 7: After two days of rain, it was finally a sunny and hot day in Sydney! We got takeaway coffee at Room 10 and walked around the cute Kings Cross weekend market. We then walked to Oxford Street to catch a bus to Bronte Beach, which sits on Nelson Bay. Now this is the Australia you see on television and postcards - home to one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world! Room 10 suggested we do the coastal walk to Bondi beach which was STUNNING!!! And we were lucky to be there during the "Sculpture by the Sea" - Australia's largest annual outdoor sculpture exhibition displaying over 100 sculptures by artists from around the world. They were set up beautifully along the coastal walk that we wandered along. In the middle of it, Stephanie and I stopped at a cliff ledge overlooking the beach and surfers to eat our lunch.

Bondi Beach

Bondi beach is one of the best beaches in the world and is about one kilometer long. We walked down along the graffitied walls and onto the hot, sunny beach where we laid down and soaked in the cosmic rays for a few hours. Once we had had enough sun, we ate at the Sushi Train. Different plates of sushi and Asian food came around on a conveyor belt and we had to pick the plates we wanted. We had so much fun here. I got called out on using my chopsticks incorrectly. Meanwhile Steph was using her fingers. Not fair.

We caught a bus back to Kings Cross and walked to the Sydney Opera House to see the ARIA music awards. We settled down by the water where we got a pretty good view of the steps and stage. Everything was lit up, there were tons of people, and we got to hear some bands play. Steph and I dubbed today "call out Shona day" because first the chopsticks, then I got called out for standing on the bench taking pictures, and some random guy passed while I was yawning and said "why are you yawning? It's still early!" Steph and I laugh way too much :)

ARIA music awards

So after an awesome display of fireworks over the harbour, we went back to our hostel where we had another horrible night sleep with our disrespectful French roommates ... But it couldn't damper our moods too much after another awesome day.

Australia: Macaron Day

2010-11-15T09:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Nov. 6: This morning the streets were literally flooding with rain. We hung out until it dried up a bit and then went to Room 10 where we ate yummy sandwiches and free banana blueberry smoothies while talking about skydiving.

Soon we walked though the beautiful botanic gardens to Sydney Harbour. There was a lot of commotion around the Opera House and we found out they were setting up for the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) awards which would be held Sunday night. Steph and I decided we would return here to witness this grand event. We are so lucky we came this week!

We ventured through the Rocks market where I bought tea and a didgeridoo and boomerang made by aboriginals. I cannot wait to learn how to play the didgeridoo!

Didgeridoo

Ferry to Balmain

Then, following Room 10's suggestion, we caught the ferry to Balmain. We had amazing views of the Sydney Harbour from the ferry. Balmain is a cute, artsy suburb peninsula where we found Adriano Zumbo patisserie. Zumbo is renowned for his creative genius when it comes to cakes, pastries, and macarons. He has been featured on Australia's Masterchef TV show!! We just happened to come on his birthday and the famous macaron day! Totally serendipitous. With unusual flavours such as Salted Butter Popcorn, Toothpaste, Vegemite Sourdough, Beer and Nuts, Blue Cheese and Burnt Toast, making a choice was no easy task. Flyers listing the various flavours were handed out so people had ample time to make a choice before stepping into the patisserie which was cleared of the usual desserts to make way for the mountains of macarons.

We split ten different flavours and slowly indulged in them at a nearby cafe. Our list in favourite order is: Salted milk chocolate caramel, peanut butter and jelly, milo, coconut, yogurt chilli tangerine, blood and chocolate, cucumber mint yoghurt, burnt toast, strawberry bubblegum, and salmon.

Adriano Zumbo Macarons

We got the ferry back and walked to the Sydney Centrepoint Tower. We were hoping to go up to the bar at the top an because we heard there are spectacular views. However although we were wearing nice dresses, the snobs wouldn't let us up because we were wearing flipflops. Not cool. So we decided to leave and chill at O'Malley's Irish Pub which was fun.

SKYDIVING in Australia

2010-11-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

Friday Nov. 5: One of the most epic days of my life. It began with chai lattes and free cinnamon croissants at Room 10. Our mood changed drastically from frustrated with our hostel to loving life in Room 10 simply due to the people around us. People are so important because they can make or break the moment. We walked around Kings Cross on a caffeine and life high before boarding the train to North Wollongong.

And what awaited us in North Wollongong? SKYDIVING!!!! We were lucky to get the perfect day - blue sky scattered with white puffy clouds. We spent awhile preparing, learning the techniques, and meeting our tandem partners. My super awesome partner was Andy. Steph and I became pretty good friends with Ju-Yeon from Korea who was in our plane.

Skydiving was sooooooo amazing. It was not even close to as scary as bungy jumping. The view from the plane was amazing, but I did get nervous the higher we got. We got up to 14,000 feet (the highest skydive in Australia) before we tumbled out of the plane. We free fell at over 200 km/hr for one minute and then opened the parachute at 5,000 feet when we were in line with the clouds. It was crazy going from the greatest rush of adrenaline in my life to a beautiful five minute glide over a breathtaking view of the beach and mountains. Seriously the greatest view I have ever had in my life. We had a smooth landing and right away I knew I wanted to do this again. Thanks Andy for flying with me! Life is short. Stunt it.

Our first day in the land down under

2010-11-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, Nov. 3: Schools out for the summer!!! Wednesday night Steph, Court, Cathy, Max, and I ate at Space of Love. Again, I love this place. We had amazing vegetarian mince pie, spirulina smoothies, hot chai, sweet and sour salad, and this crazy carrot dessert. That night we said our goodbyes to Max, Lindsey, Jess, and Sarah :( ... then Steph, Cathy, Court and I hung out in my room, watched hot rod, and laughed so much.


Leaving beautiful NZ for Australia

Thursday, Nov 4: All of Steph and my crazy planning was somewhat complete as we headed to the airport 4 am Thursday morning. Right away we got good vibes from the Aussie people. However, we did hit a bump in the road when we arrived at our hostel in Kings Cross and they told us they overbooked. They sent us to a different hostel called Kanga House Backpackers. Worst travel experience of my life. The hostel and reception was nice but the inmates were extremely rude and awful. We hated going back there every night and couldn't get out of it without losing money. But we did not allow this to ruin our trip because the rest of Australia was incredible.

After we dumped our bags into our room, we wandered the streets of Kings Cross and came across a cafe called Room 10. This was one of the best choices ever because it became our haven after every night at Kanga House. We had amazing banana bread as the guys told us about cool things to do in Sydney.

On our way to the grocery store, we passed by a table raising money for the para-olympics. We almost didn't stop but we felt good vibes so we wandered over. The two guys were super nice and we talked to them for so long about more things we can do in Sydney!

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbour Bridge

After that we walked to the Sydney Harbour where we found the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It was all so much more epic than I imagined or saw on TV! We walked up to and inside the Opera House and then across the Bridge. It began to torrential downpour on our way across the bridge so we caught a train back to Wooloomooloo. Here we went to the famous Harry's Cafe de Wheels. It is a caravan cafe that serves the best meat pies I have ever tasted ... and has served so many celebrities!

Eat, Pray, Love

2010-11-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Friday Oct. 29: I had my first final today - Sport Nutrition - I think it went well. But ugg why must there be studying in "study abroad?" lame. Oh well, it's a small price to pay for this amazing experience. Today Court, Steph, Cathy, and I went to the cutest theatre in Sumner to see Eat, Pray, Love. We had the whole theatre to ourselves and the movie was amazing!! I just finished reading the book too (by Elizabeth Gilbert). I highly recommend the book to every girl.

"But is it such a bad thing to live like this for just a little while? Just for a few months of one's life, is it so awful to...nap in a garden, in a patch of sunlight, in the middle of the day, right next to your favorite fountain? And then to do it again the next day?" - Or in my case to sleep under the stars over a spark-filled sandy beach in the heart of Abel Tasman, gaze deeply into an epic four hour lightening storm on a small South Pacific island, hang 100 metres from a bungy in the middle of a canyon, or hang over the side of a boat in the Bay of Islands letting my hair sway with the waves as I count the white puffy clouds that scatter the sunny morning sky...

Elizabeth speaks the words to my heart - "You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight." - Everywhere and in every moment I find beauty now. No matter how slight. Leaving New Zealand will not be the end to my searching. And it is not that I am going through life looking for the most amazing things, I am going through life observing and finding something beautiful in each moment.

Taking off the blindfold

Saturday Oct. 30: Courtney's surprise 21st birthday celebration!!! Back in the day when Court's sister visited, she gave Steph, Cathy, and I money from her parents to use for Courtney's birthday. Ever since then, we have been thinking of ideas. It all came together this past week. I researched day spas and found the perfect one - Shunyata day spa/health/healing and spiritual retreat. I knew it was perfect when I saw the first thing written on the website is, "EAT, PRAY, LOVE at Shunyata and you don't even have to leave home." This day couldn't have been more perfect! We began early by taking Court to the bus stop. When we reached the city bus exchange, we blindfolded her and proceeded to mess with her for about an hour and a half haha. She had no idea what was going on! Our destination was Diamond Harbour. We took the ferry over and met Paru. I love Paru. She is an incredible lady. I also love Diamond Harbour - the water really does sparkle like diamonds. Paru has traveled the world and she is so passionate and inspiring about life. We had the whole house to ourselves which looked over the beautiful harbour and hills and had a nice porch and hammock we could relax on in the sun. Paru made us yummy sandwiches and tea :) We were there all day because we had to take turns since there were two therapists - Paru and her awesome massage assistant Kath. Firstly we all got to experience half an hour of ozone therapy:

Ozone sauna

This is one of the most powerful ways of detoxification. It cleans the blood, destroys bacteria, fungi, and viruses without harming healthy tissue. Steam inside the cabinet creates hypertherimia, raising body temperature, opening pores and allowing pure oxygen and ozone enter the skin. As the pores open up and metabolism raises, toxins will be oxidized in skin, fat, blood and lymph. Black liquid like toxins are then excreted from the body causing rapid detoxification and aiding the body in natural healing, cleansing and weight loss, (600 calories is lost per sauna). Ozone is known to help in numerous conditions but most beneficial for chronic fatigue, cancer, HIV and aids, arthritis, depression and fibromyalgia. SO COOL!!!

Relaxing in robes and hammocks

Those thirty minutes in the relaxing steam, looking out over Wreck Bay, listening to relaxing music, drinking ozonated water, and getting rose water sprayed on my face to cool me down was so so so amazing. Then we received our hour and a half massages. Paru did a massage involving cranio-sacral therapy and reflexology on me. I loved talking to her about physical therapy and alternative practices. She is such an intelligent, loving, amazing lady. A major reason why I love traveling is because I love meeting interesting people like her who I can learn from and who can learn from me.

Diamond Harbour

We all felt so relaxed and happy afterward. I want to thank Courtney's parents for making this awesome day possible. Happy 21st Courtney!

More Spring in Christchurch

2010-11-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Victoria Park

Monday, Oct. 25: This morning Courtney and I decided to venture into the beautiful city of Christchurch again and ride the cute vintage tram around. It was a very relaxing day. I finally got to explore the art gallery, Te Puna O Waiwhetu. There are so many exhibits, we could have spent all day there, but it was nice taking a slow walk around appreciating the amazing art. We then shopped at the cute Art Centre market and then continued along the tram to Victoria Park. Victoria Park was a nice grassy area in the middle of the city where we got delicious kiwi sundae vanilla ice and laid in the grass beneath the warm sun. Mmmm I love spring :)

Christchurch Art Gallery

Space of Love Ayurvedic Cooking Lesson

Tuesday, Oct. 27: Today Court and caught the bus to New Brighton. We spent a few hours studying for exams in a cafe and library overlooking the beautiful shore. Even studying is beautiful here!! Then we went to the Space of Love. Wow. One of the best experiences in New Zealand, and that's saying alot! The Space of Love is a unique, relaxed, and friendly vegetarian cafe that aims to provide healthy, balanced, and nourishing meals freshly prepared daily from local organic produce. They allow their customers to decide what they want to pay into the anonymous magic donation box. It is the most chill environment. We went there to take an Ayurvedic cooking class by Sruti, the owner. He described to us the Ayurveda is a system of traditional Indian medicine and every ingredient we use is used to benefit the body. There are spiritual aspects to it too. We made samosas with coconut chutney and tarmarind and date chutney. The first samosa filling was spinach and cheese, and the second was potato, cauliflower, and peas. We used so many spices too! We were cooking for four hours and it is the best food I have EVER had!! I cannot wait to come home and try cooking it again.

delicious samosas and chutney we made

The best part of the night was talking with the people. There was one girl there named River who was so awesome and from Rhode Island. She is only in her twenties and has lived in Alaska, Hawaii, California, and New Zealand. She just loves to travel, sleep on beaches, and meet people. Court and I also received light therapy. They shined different wavelengths of light on different parts of our body. We felt so amazing afterward! Apparently it is an alternative medicine used to treat many problems. We received basic treatment that boosted our immune system and overall well-being and energy. Awesome!! We stayed late into the night after our meal sipping on herbal tea and talking to River and Sruti about life. The best part of traveling is meeting amazing people and opening my mind to new ideas. We had deep conversations about traveling, energy, religion, love, and balance. It was an interesting, eye-opening, healthy hippie night. A night I will always remember!

Springtime in Christchurch is so amazing

2010-10-27T00:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Oct. 19: 2031 earthquakes and counting! Had a huge one today - 5.0 but it was so shallow that it had an intensity of 7.0!!! http://www.suite101.com/content/the-christchurch-earthquakes-continue-a-stocktake-and-update-a298478

Thursday, Oct. 21: Today was my last day of classes in new Zealand! Now I have three finals starting next friday. Ugg, wait, I actually have to study here?

And now for Courtney and my amazing Christchurch adventures. Instead of gallivanting around the country, we decided to stay in Christchurch and explore our home town more. Spring here is absolutely beautiful and we definitely have a greater appreciation for "The Garden City" and its super friendly atmosphere.

Greatest smelling flower at Mona Vale

Punting on Avon River

Gondola

Saturday, Oct. 23: I had an amazing day with Courtney!! :) ... We did the Christchurch Grand Tour! We hopped on the bus at Cathedral square and our first stop was Mona Vale - a historic Christchurch homestead surrounded by beautiful gardens. We mosied around the gardens along the Avon river and stopped to watch the ducks, smell the flowers, and take in the beautiful sights and fragrances around us. We got some amazing pictures of the flowers because I have never seen flowers so vibrant!! And one pink flower was the best smelling flower I have ever encountered. I want to figure out what it is!! Then we went punting down the Avon river through the botanic gardens. It was so comfortable and incredibly relaxing. I love all the baby ducklings that splash around in the clear water. Then we drove up really high to a lookout point where we could see all of Canterbury. Usually you can see the Southern Alps in the background but it was a bit too cloudy. The view was still incredible though!! Then we drove along Evan's Pass to Sumner. The views from Evan's Pass were stunning and Sumner was awesome as usual. Courtney and I ate lunch at Joe' Garage. I had a delicious mushroom dish and chocolate ice cream. We then drove through New Zealand's longest road tunnel carved through the crater wall of the extinct volcanic caldera that forms Lyttelton Harbour. Here we rode the Christchurch Gondola. We were lifted 1500 feet to the top of the Port Hills where we had amazing views across the city, Canterbury Plains, Southern Alps, Banks Peninsula, Lake Ellesmere, the Pacific Ocean, and Kaikoura Peninsula. I got an amazing book in the bookstore called "Smile" by Anders Blomqvist and Gerar Toye. It's full of amazing pictures of people smiling from all over the world and really cool quotes about happiness...

"There are hundreds of language in the world, but a smile speaks them all."

Tribute to the Firefighters

We rode the gondola back down with a friendly Australian couple who talked to us about cool stuff to do in Sydney. On the way back to Cathedral Square, we stopped at an awesome sculpture on the banks of the Avon River called "A Tribute to the Firefighters." It is 5 steel girders from the WTC that was gifted from the NYC to Christchurch to be used as a tribute sculpture to firefighters worldwide. The suspended component or "spear," in its red hot state, fell from the 102nd floor of the World Trade Center Tower Two, piercing the subway below.

Once the tour finished, we decided to use our tram ride ticket the next day and go to the free Band Togther concert in Hagley Park! It was a gift to lift the morale of Canterbury due to the earthquakes. 130,000 people attended! Court and I chilled in the grass, listened to music, and ate our free sausages. Such an amazing day. Wow Christchurch, I love you.

Band Together Concert

Snowboarding at Mt. Hutt

2010-10-18T02:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Oct 16: Stephanie and I had such an epic day at Mt. Hutt! We woke up at 6 am to catch the "Snowman" bus that took care of our transportation, rentals, and all day lift pass. I was super excited for my first time snowboarding and what a place to begin - the largest and most popular ski/snowboard mountain in New Zealand. Its summit is 2190 metres above sea level!! The drive up to the mountain along the narrow and steep access road was stunning and the final view from the top took my breath away. It was a clear day so I could see all the way across the patch-worked Canterbury Plains out to the Pacific Ocean.

View from Mt. Hutt

Magic carpet hill, right before my fist snowboard run ever

The first funny thing that happened was my sunscreen exploded all over me. The elevation was too much for the bottle to handle! Stephanie and I just stood in the middle of the lodge laughing so loud. Finally we got all our gear together and headed out into the snow. Stephanie had only gone snowboarding once in her life and I was completely new. However we decided against lessons to see if we could figure it out ourselves. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was so awkward in the beginning - I didn't even know how to walk with a snowboard attached to one foot! Some guy suggested we start at the beginner's "magic carpet" hill. We were supposed to pay extra for a magic carpet ticket this but a nice guy let us on for free. As I was thanking him, I stepped into the tunnel that we had to go through to get to the top of the hill. It felt like I stepped on something slippery, my feet were taken out from underneath me, and I completely WIPED OUT!!!! I was so stunned! What just happened?? Then I realized that the "magic carpet" was a moving walkway. Hahahahaha. Stephanie was crying laughing by this point and I was just sitting on the moving walkway confused and laughing. The guy didn't know what to do so he stopped the walkway for me as I stood up awkwardly. I couldn't believe I wiped out before I even put my snowboard on both feet. SO HILARIOUS! My ride down the small hill was a complete fail since I had absolutely no idea how to snowboard but we decided to venture up the chairlift anyway.

We somehow awkwardly mounted the chairlift and enjoyed the scenic ride. I was so nervous to get off. I basically rolled off haha. The first run down the long hill was horrible. I fell soooooo many times and it hurt so bad! Once we finally made it down we took a break to relax and eat lunch. Then we got out there again. Something clicked on my second run and I didn't fall as much. It was actually pretty fun! The third run down I got really fast and then we stopped halfway down to take pictures of the epic view. I felt so legit the rest of the way down, I hardly fell at all and built up more speed! Unfortunately it started getting super windy so the chairlift had to be shut down. But that's ok because my body was tired and I felt very accomplished. I've always wanted to learn how to snowboard and there is no better place to learn than New Zealand! I am the sorest I have ever been - I have too many bruises, my butt hurts to sit down, and my wrists and arms feel sprained. But it was so worth it.

Mt. Hutt

The simple pleasures in life

2010-10-16T00:51:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Oct 13: I didn't wear shoes all day today - I love New Zealand! No one wears shoes! I love feeling the sensations under my feet - hot, cold, hard, grass, bumpy, sharp, smooth, I just realized the Maori building has heated floors!

Thursday Oct 14: Today I jumped on a bus to make my appointment at Northland's Medical and Sports Care to check out the numbness in my back and side pain. My doctor is a cranial therapist and osteopath. I learned so much he is amazing! We talked about chiropracty, osteopathy, and reflexology. He showed me what points in my back correspond to the organs in my side. He massaged and cracked all these vertebrae that he said were super tight and misaligned. He said that my back could have caused my side pain and then was set off after the super uncomfortable plane ride from Rarotonga. I love this kind of stuff!


Sumner Beach

Friday, Oct 15: Oh, the simple pleasures in life. Today was a beautiful day so I took a bus by myself to Sumner. I walked along the beach soaking up the rays and beauty all around me - from the bluest clearest water and softest white sand to the craggy rocks. I laid and read my book (Eat, Pray, Love) under the sun in the warm sand by a grassy dune. My apple tasted so much juicier and sweeter and crunchier than normal. I thought to myself; four weeks left, Shona, four weeks left in this paradise. I know I will return here someday. Maybe not to this very spot, but definitely to this dreamland. I know when November 13th comes around I'm not going to want to leave. I'll probably have an emotional breakdown when Steph and I part each other and New Zealand. But life after New Zealand is going to be amazing also. I'll make sure of it ... My conscience slips back to Sumner. What a moment, what a place, what a day, what a life.

I ventured into town and slipped into a nice looking cafe called Tuti. I asked the cashier to order me her favorite tea, Turns out it was Japanese green tea with lime. It was so hot and delicious. I don't know how she knew exactly what I wanted! As a sipped the soothing, warm, green liquid I read some more. As I left, I eyed a small tub of NZ made organic chocolate ice cream and had to buy it. It was the best chocolate ice cream I have had in a while! I ate it while waiting for the bus to take me home.

Tattoos and 21st birthdays

2010-10-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Courtney got a tattoo!!! Steph, Cathy, Sarah, and I all went with her. It's so beautiful - it is of New Zealand and the swirls in it represent different aspects of her life including her parents, friends, and new beginnings.

This past weekend we celebrated two 21st birthdays. Happy birthday Ryan and Stephanie!! I still haven't accepted that I am in my 20s. Nope. I will be a kid forever.

I never want to leave this dreamland

2010-10-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

So many sleepovers!! Cathy's host family is in Australia for ten days so Steph, Courtney, and I have been hanging out and sleeping over at the house. It is so much fun and so nice to have a huge house to ourselves. Steph and I sleep in the luxurious guest room. The bed is heavenly! We watch so much Jersey Shore and cook fabulous meals. We have made exotic fish tacos, spring rolls, wantons, carrot and vegetable patties, pasta, and tons of cups of tea. I have all of them addicted to black tea with milk now, I'm so proud!

Sunday Cathy, Steph, Courtney, and I kayaked down the Avon River. After, we got coffee and sat in the grass along the river and talked. It was a great way to start a Sunday!

Kayaking the Avon River

Last Monday night we had our IES final dinner. We all dressed up and enjoyed a delicious three course meal on a moving tram through Christchurch. I love IES!


IES Family

It was so sad receiving all the parting documents titled "Goodbye New Zealand, Hello America." I never want to leave this dreamland. A few months ago I stepped onto New Zealand soil for the first time and so much has happened since then, more than I ever could have imagined, and I have grown and seen more than I can ever describe. I had to adjust to new people, new accents, new classes, and new land. I've worked out how to find the best deals for travel and accommodation, I've spent every weekend and holiday exploring the country. I've made new friends, some whom I will be friends with forever. We all come from different backgrounds and we all came to New Zealand for different reasons, but we have experienced it together and these people understand what I feel when I look over a bay from the top of Abel Tasman, find magical plankon in the water, stand at the top of the Nevis Bungy, drive the west coast in a campervan... I am not the same person as the one who arrived here in June. My knowledge has expanded, my attitudes have changed, my view of home, people, and issues have changed. This truly is one of the greatest chapters of my life. I think it is going to be more difficult returning home than arriving here. I must prepare myself for reverse culture shock. I know I will miss New Zealand intensely. Instead of returning to my old life, I am going to view it as starting a new chapter of my life after NZ. I can't just be content with my life. I need to live my life by going on adventures and traveling and exploring and having fun constantly doing different things. And I will get my friends to do it with me. Everyone needs to study abroad. The purpose of my life is to find beauty. I find it every moment here in New Zealand and I my goal is to continue to find it where ever my future holds.

But I still have a few weeks left! And Stephanie and I just booked our flights to Australia for October 4th through October 11th. It is so hard planning a huge trip like this! When we finally figured out the general plan, "We are the Champions" started playing and we both went crazy with excitement and belted out the song. We are the champions of New Zealand, and soon to be Australia and the world.

Kaikoura Seafest

2010-10-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend was awesome! It started out with my first time playing lazer tag thursday night. A group of over thirty people including all of IES played. We played boys versus girls! The boys won but I still got second place out of the girls and beat half of the boys scores! I think I found my calling haha.

Drive to Kaikoura

Friday so many people ventured up to Kaikoura for the Kaikoura Seafest - "one of New Zealand's premier events." I rode in Max's car with Max, Steph, Cathy, and Lindsay. Luke drove Jess, Mike Frost, Tom, and Brad. The stunning scenery in Kaikoura blew my mind again. Friday night we went to the Big Top Bash concert. Cover bands played all great music and we danced all night. That night we camped out in Luke's friend's yard. Some people pitched tents but I slept in Max's car with Max and Cathy.

Kaikoura Seafest

We woke up Saturday and walked to the Seafest. It was packed with thousands of people from all over enjoying Kaikoura and the best seafood and wine there is to offer. Many people were dressed up. There was an impressive variety tents. I tried mussels for the first time and loved them, although I still think they look so gross haha. We spent most of time in the cuisine tent hosted by the Teppanyaki Queens. They showed us how to prepare amazing meals with fresh seafood and meat. The best part was the free food and wine samples!

Teppanyaki Queens

Beginning of Spring in Christchurch

2010-09-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

After surgery

Thursday, Sept 23: Cathy has appendicitis!! Wednesday night she had really bad abdominal so she was rushed to the hospital and had to have surgery that night! Then she spent her 20th birthday on Thursday in the hospital. Steph and I went to visit her with a piece of chocolate cake. It was so much fun talking and going for a walk around the hospital. We took awkward self-timer pictures in the middle of the hallway. So great. She returned home that night and the whole of IES came and surprised her at her house. Our IES group is so awesome.

Saturday, Sept 25: It was a beautiful sunny day today so Max, Steph, Tom, Steven, and I took a trip to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. All the spring flowers and cherry blossoms are in bloom. Tons of people were out walking around and kayaking down the Avon River. I absolutely love spring in Christchurch!

CHCH Botanic Gardens

Sunday, Sept 26: Today actually got up to 70 degrees! I played football and soccer outside with people all day. Steph and I failed to do work in the sun. Instead we just talked and got a dominoes pizza to eat in the grass.

Akaroa Harbour

Monday, Sept 27: Monday afternoon Courtney, Courtney's older sister Kim (who is visiting), Steph, and I decided to drive up to Akaroa. The Maori name Akaroa means "Long Harbour." It is such a beautiful and cute town set on a sheltered harbour. It is located on Banks Peninsula which was formed by the eruptions of two volcanoes. We sauntered through the town and then sat down near the water at a cafe. I had lemon ginger tea while we talked and took in the beauty around us. It is amazing to me that here in NZ you do not have to go very far or make much of an effort to find incredible places. Here we were on a Monday afternoon in the heart of an ancient volcano. Life is good.

South Island Road Trip: The end

2010-09-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

Monday, Sept 13: Rest in peace Grandpa Fay and Cato.... Thinking of you and the Fay family.

It is exactly 2 months before I return to the States! Today we drove 5 hours to Dunedin along the scenic route. It is turning spring and I was mesmerized by all of the baby lambs and calves running around the hills. They are so cute! I want one! We ate dinner at a nice spot along the Otago Peninsula and had fun chilling and talking all night. It is so cool how we all have different pasts and have come to New Zealand for different reasons. But now we are all experiencing New Zealand together. We are all here for our own personal growth, but we are growing together. I love these people. I love NZ!

Tuesday, Sept 14: I am exactly 20 and a half years old! Again, time evades me. What have I done with this past half a year? More than I ever imagined I could. I have realized that time will continue to run ahead no matter how hard I try to catch up with it. So instead of worrying about it's passing, I'm excited to just roll with it.


Shells at Moeraki Boulders

Today we drove to Lake Tekapo. Before we got there we stopped at the Moeraki Boulders. I came here before with my family. This time we spent ages picking up the prettiest shells i have ever seen! They were everywhere! We literally couldn't stop looking down and collecting them haha.

Ice Skating

Lake Tekapo lies in the center of the South Island. This lake is a beautifully unique turquoise colour due to finely ground rock in the glacial waters. We ended up spontaneously going ice skating at an outdoor rink that overlooked the lake and mountains. We had the whole rink to ourselves for most of the time. This was an awesome last night to be followed by a sketch ride in to the motor home as always. Cathy and I hid beneath the pillows with our heads on each others shoulders, laughing uncontrollably. I couldn't believe this was the last night of our epic campervan journey! My life has changed so much after these four weeks of break. I have seen and grown an insane amount.

Lake Tekapo

Wednesday, Sept 15: We spent the day driving back home to Christchurch. We drove through the city and saw so much of the earthquake destruction!! They are doing a good job cleaning up but it's crazy seeing all of it first hand instead of just in the news. We are so lucky it struck at a time when nobody was in these buildings. I think that if it was two hours earlier or later more people would have gotten hurt.


Earthquake destruction

Anyways, we returned the campervan and I finally relaxed back at my flat. I really appreciate space now! My bed seems so huge and it's nice having a kitchen and table again. Life is awesome :)

South Island Road Trip: Wwoofing

2010-09-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Sept 11: I can't believe it had been nine years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Life is flying by! Never did I believe I would be here nine years ago!

Bluff - Southern most town of NZ

It is so nice knowing we have a few extra days to take our time while we explore. We spent the morning at the i-site reading brochures, writing in our journals, and charging our phones. Our next stop was Bluff - the oldest European settled and southern most town in New Zealand. My flatmate, Leah Russell is from here!

That night we were searching around for a place to stay and came across the Bluff Homestead. We were confused at first because we were expecting a campervan park, but there was only a nice house at the end of the road! It is a beautiful house built in 1973 and overlooks the Bluff Harbour and Southern Alps. We knocked on the door and Andrew answered. He explained that people usually stay here to WWOOF - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Basically, travelers can receive free accommodations and meals in return for a variety of volunteer work. I had heard of this and always wanted to try it, so we jumped on this amazing opportunity!! We decided to do this instead of Stewart Island because we really need more time for that and it's super expensive to get there. Wwoofing turned out to be an amazing, spontaneous alternative. That night it was great to have a kitchen to cook in and a table to sit at. We stayed up late talking, plugged in our campervan, and had a nice sleep in.

Digging potatoes

Sunday, Sept 12: We got up pretty late today. We were lounging in our van when we hear yelling outside so we stopped talking to listen. There was some kind of dispute going on with Andrew and his neighbours about property, a fence, and trees. It got very heated! and they started cursing at each other, it was so scary/awkward! We hesitantly got out of the van to have our scrambled eggs and toast for brunch. A little while later the police showed up at the door! But they were super nice and were there to help settle the dispute. Crazy stuff!! Before Andrew tended to the cops, he showed us our first wwoofing jobs ever. Steph and Courtney cleaned the house while Cathy and I worked in the garden digging up potatoes. I haven't had to do much manual labour like this before. It was a blast! It was like a treasure hunt turning over the soil and finding all the potatoes. My back definitely hurt by the end of the three hours. Oh also, funny story, I had a cartoon moment when I stepped on the ho and it came up and smacked me in the head. Hahaha. But it was all worth it because the potatoes were a part of the amazing meal we had that night. We had freshly caught elephant fish, tomatoes, and cabbage. It was incredible. Then us girls talked and bonded all night. I love wwoofing, I would love to go on a long wwofing trip some time. It would also be sweet to be a wwoof host so you could meet people from all over the world and get work done for you. Andrew's wife is returning tomorrow to a nice house and plenty of fresh potatoes. I am so proud of our work! We stayed one more night and got up early to continue our travels.

Bluff Homestead kitchen

South Island Road Trip: Milford Sound to Invercargill

2010-09-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Friday, Sept 10: Today we hopped on the Cruize Milford Sound tour. We spent 30 breathtaking minutes sailing through the most famous visitor destination in New Zealand. Although I've already cruised around here with my family, the spectacular sights of waterfalls cascading from sheer rock faces rising 1,200 metres or more from the sea, lush rain forests clinging precariously to the cliffs, and the seals, penguins and dolphins that play in the waters, will never cease to amaze me.

Milford Sound

Mirror Lakes

On the drive back, we stopped at the Mirror Lakes, Dunn Lake, and the Chasm. So beautiful!! Finally we made it back to Te Anau to get food, gas, and walk around. I bought two used books I can't wait to read - Memoirs of a Geisha, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Afterwards, I drove us all the way to Invercargill via the scenic route. The sights were no less than amazing again and the sunset wsas the coolest deep pink I have ever seen.

We are so sketch haha. When we arrived in Invercargill we parked at McDonalds and cooked dinner. Cathy, Stephanie, and I had so much energy so we decided to explore the town. Courtney was tired so she drove around trying to find a campsite, but the lady was really mean so she ended up at a nice beach to relax. That night we decided to camp on the beach. Luckily we got away with it! Waking up on the beach was so nice.

South Island Road Trip: Queenstown to Milford Sound

2010-09-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

Thursday, Sept 9: You are never going to believe what I just did ... I got my nose pierced!! What the heck?! I don't do these things! Two days ago Cathy said she wanted to get her nose pierced and I was like oh cool! Then she said I should do it with her. I just laughed and was like ha, no way would I ever get my nose pierced, I don't even have my ears pierced! But then all the girls agreed I would look great with a nose piercing and so I actually began considering it. In the space of five minutes my thought processes went like this...

No freaken way
Hmm maybe it would look good on me
I can't believe I'm considering this
Yes! I am in Queenstown, NZ! I just went bungy jumping! I am going to pierce my nose!

So finally today came. First of all, we parked in the parking lot outside the public library last night to camp. We thought this was fine because there were no "no camping" signs. But at 8:30 in the morning we wake up to someone pounding on our door. It scared the crap out of us! It was Dave from public security AH! He told us it is illegal to camp in public parking areas, handed us a warning, and gave us five minutes to move. I hate Dave!

Nose Piercings!!

Anyways, after that scare we ate breakfast at a pretty lookout and then went to the piercing place so Cathy and I could get our noses pierced together. OMG first bungy jumping, next day piercing. Crazy! So the best thing is our piercer is amazing! Right away he could tell we were nervous but he was so confident. He wrote a book about piercing and worked with doctors. He talked so much about the science behind everything and I felt so good about it! Cathy and I both chose the "petrol" studs - they glimmer different colours in the light. Cathy went first but I couldn't watch. Hers looks amazing! Then it was my turn. I asked the piercer his name and he said David. That name is totally redeemed from this morning! Steph held my hand and it happened all so fast. I looked in the mirror and I love it! It still looks foreign on my face though. I named mine David and Cathy named hers Petrol. We will forever be piercing buddys :) love her! Courtney also got her lip ring changed. So many people I know are getting tattoos to commemorate their New Zealand experience which is great, but that's too permanent for me. At least I can take this out if need be. But for now it will be my semi-permanent momento of New Zealand and of this amazing life-changing time. Life after bungy jumping is insane!!!

Homer TUnnel

We proceeded to explore the town a bit. We checked our emails about school cancellations and extended our Jucy rental until Wednesday! Then we ate a burger at the famous Ferg Burger. So delicious!!! Soon we left the adventure capital and drove toward Fiordland and Milford Sound. Again it was such an epic drive. I recognized the road but it was amazing all over again. I love the Homer Tunnel on the Milford road. There was no road access to Milford Sound until the 1.2-kilometre Homer Tunnel was built in 1954 through the mountains and under a bay that divided the sound from the Hollyford Valley. It is the coolest and most rugged tunnel I've ever encountered. That night we stayed at the Milford Lodge.

South Island Road Trip: Bungy Jumping

2010-09-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Sept 8 (the most epic day of my life): I LOVE QUEENSTOWN!! It is called the adventure capital of the world and I now know why!! It is also the most beautiful town I have ever seen, nestled next to Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by the Remarkables mountain range.

So my next step in life - learning to fly. Also known as BUNGY JUMPING!!! Life somehow keeps getting better. Here is the story... We were freaking out all day thinking of jumping. After we paid, there was no backing out. I have discovered that I am very internal when it comes to nerves. The other girls were openly freaking out all day whereas I was mostly quiet and shaky.

Ready?

On our way to the platform scared out of our minds

A.J. Hackett is the Father of Bungy Jumping. He launched his own company, AJ Hackett Bungy, and created a site on the Kawarau Bridge in 1988 to become the world's first commercial public bungy. He later expanded his company by founding bungy sites all over NZ and the world. We decided to experience A.J. Hackett's Nevis Bungy. We had to catch a bus that drove us through private land to get to the amazingly beautiful canyon. The platform lies on a cable 134 metres above the rugged Nevis River and is the third highest bungy jump in the world. After we got our bungy gear on we watched some people jump before us. From the lookout we were standing on we couldn't even see how far they fell. We couldn't believe we were about to do something scarier than we could have ever imagined. Then the pod came and shuttled us across the cable to the platform above the canyon. That is when I started hysterical laughing. Whenever I get punched in the face with pure emotion of any kind, all I can do is laugh. It's so crazy!

First up!

I was called first to jump! It all happened so fast. The guys sat me down and put ankle straps and a weight on me. Then they guided me out toward the tiny ledge and BAM! Fear literally kicked me in the gut. Nothing could have prepared me for this. As I inched my way out, I began hyperventilating/ almost crying. I have never been more afraid - I was about to jump off a ledge into nothing. The guy kept urging me forward slowly. Finally after seconds of freaking out and deep breathing, all went quiet. I looked straight out to the mountains. I heard a man's voice somewhere far away count 3...2...1...bungy... Then I closed my eyes and SCREAMED!! I free fell for 8.5 seconds. For those seconds my mind went completely blank. I think my brain shut down! Then I opened my eyes at the bottom of my jump so close to the water! After two springs I released my legs so I could sit up right. When my brain started working again I looked all around me. It was so quiet. It was just me and the bungy in the middle of a canyon dangling above a river in New Zealand. I fell in love with the moment. But too soon I heard the music from above as they pulled me up. I was shaking so hard from adrenaline and fear and awe and disbelief! I am so incredibly excited I did that! My life is changed forever!! Now I am living life after bungy jumping. So epic!!

The biggest jump of my life

Then I got to watch all my friends make this life transition one by one. Courtney was next. She was pretty composed throughout the whole ordeal. Then Stephanie went which was hilarious! It took so long to convince her to jump. For a moment I thought she was either going to back out or throw up. But eventually the guy counted down, her knees gave out, and she just fell off the ledge. Then Cathy was up! She was very scared and flailed the whole way down.

After bungy hug

This was such a bonding experience - seeing each other in the most intense emotional state ... fear. And I love how each of us reacted so differently to the same level of utimate fear. We all agreed I was "Most Bad Ass," Courtney was "Most Composed," Stephanie was "Biggest Freak Out," and Cathy had the "Best Exit."

That night our minds and bodies were completely exhausted. I think I released enough adrenaline for half year!! Then we heard exciting news - we have another week off classes!! Now we have to figure out what more we can do with our lives. Life after bungy is awesome!

South Island Road Trip: Part 1

2010-09-16T15:22:00.000-07:00

WOWWWWW how do I even begin to describe the most epic trip of my life??? We'll start from the beginning...

Snuggle time

Monday, Sept 6: Stephanie (Docta Peppers), Courtney (Snortney / C-Love), Cathy (Kitty Cat), and I (Shonaynay) hopped in our Jucy campervan. We rented a 3 person van with only a double bed so it was very snug!! Cathy, Courtney, and I lay straight while Stephanie squeezed in across the bed at our heads. Thank goodness for her shortness! But it had everything we needed, including a cute little kitchen area. So on this fine day we drove through Arthur's Pass National Park. It was absolutely beautiful! We passed Smiley's and Castle Hill where we had our orientation trip way back in the day. That night we stayed at a Top 10 campervan park - one that I have stayed in before with my family! I am so happy to be with these girls. We laughed so hard the first night.

Fox Glacier

Tuesday, Sept 7: Today we planned on walking up to Fox Glacier, but the walkway was closed due to flooding. We still got a very good view of the 13 km ice wonder from afar though. Then we went on the most beautiful drive of our lives!! Driving the west coast toward Wanaka just kept getting better. We stopped at a bunch of lookouts and beaches. Every sight I saw, I thought to myself, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen. But every corner we turned proved me wrong! It kept getting more and more beautiful. My brain couldn't handle it - my eyes are too small for my mind!

Beach

Most beautiful lake

I got behind the wheel for the first time in New Zealand on the most beautiful part of the drive. It was weird driving on the left side, but it is like Scotland so I got the hang of it pretty quickly. However the indicator is on the right side of the wheel which still messes me up. I drove around a huge lake. The water was a bluish/teal - an amazing colour I have never seen water be before. The mountains were so high! I think we must have jumped inside a painting - this can't be real life. All of our minds hurt and we were at a loss for words. All we could talk about was how we could never describe this to anyone back home. No one can ever know these feelings of utter beauty unless experienced first hand. Even I don't fully comprehend what I am feeling and how I got here. Life is beautiful. I believe the purpose of my life is to find beauty. This is it.

Driving

We got to Wanaka which is such an amazing and cute town. We ate dinner by the lake and then walked around the town before heading to bed.

Sailing the Bay of Islands

2010-09-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 31: It's the last day of August and the second week of mid-semester break!! Wow time is flying! Today I caught a flight to Auckland with Christine, Meghan, and Chris. We met up with Collin and Kevin after we got there and checked into our hostel. I loved the hostel: City Groove Backpackers! It was tucked away off the beaten track in the heart of the city and was very friendly and homely.

Wednesday, September 1: This morning we went to an awesome place for breakfast called Strawberry Alarm Clock. I had delicious eggs benedict with smoked salmon. When we returned to the hostel, a girl traveling the world from England gave us free clothes she was trying to get rid of! Then we all gathered at the Apex car rental, rented 2 cars, stocked up on food, and went to find our boat!

Our boat was awesome!! It was called Largesse, but we didn't like that name so Captain Kevin renamed it Shenandoah. It was pretty compact, but all we needed. It was beautiful outside when we departed - warm and sunny. The view of the Auckland skyline from the water was so pretty, especially in the sunset. We sailed out around the islands and anchored in a nice quiet spot near the Kaikohe volcano. For dinner we used the grill to make delicious burgers. After dinner we hung out on the deck watching the stars. They were incredibly bright and I saw so many shooting stars!! One was so bright and big and red! I could also see the milky way very clearly. We jumped in the freezing cold water but it was worth it because as we swam around we could see the bio luminescent plankton sparking in the moving water - just like what I saw in Abel Tasman. These plankton never cease to amaze me - they are one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

Auckland in the sunset

Preparing to jump in the freezing water!

Thursday, September 2: We had the worst luck with weather today. We sailed all day through a gale!! It was very windy and rainy and cold and so incredibly rough and rocky. I thought the boat was going to tip! It was cool that we beat the speed record on the boat. It was crazy and fun until I got very seasick... We anchored somewhere that was very rocky while we ate dinner but eventually the weather calmed down and the stars came out. We had an amazing night hanging out on the deck and listening to Kevin play the guitar. It was amazing laying in the sails - that is where I saw the most shooting stars.

Friday, September 3: I started off the sunny morning jumping in the ocean! It was freezing but refreshing. Then we made a nice breakfast - although it is not the best idea to cook scrambled eggs on a moving boat! The weather was off and on rain and we got sprayed a lot by the waves but it was way better than the day before. We saw a few rainbows and admired the beautiful islands surrounding us. After returning the boat, we drove three hours from Auckland to the Base hostel in the Bay of Islands.

Earthquake

Saturday, September 4: We woke up this morning hearing a 7.1 earthquake struck Christchurch at 5 am!!! Read this article, it explains everything: Christchurch Earthquake ... It is one of the worst earthquakes New Zealand has ever had! So we spent the day talking to people back in Christchurch and assuring friends ans family we are all ok. We drove around the countryside trying to plan the rest of our trip because the university is shut down for a week. I decided that I would return to Christchurch and go on a road trip to Queenstown.

Sunday, September 5: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!!! :) I love you!! Father's Day always falls on the first Sunday in September in New Zealand.

This morning was incredibly stressful! I almost missed my 8 am flight to Christchurch because we couldn't find the parking ticket to be paid, got lost in Auckland, ran out of gas, my phone died, and basically had the worst luck with every little thing. But I made it on the plane just in time! I enjoyed breathing on the plane but then I had a hard time returning to Ilam. The city buses weren't running because of the earthquake so I caught a taxi. Everyone is talking about the earthquake and I am still feeling the aftershocks! Supposedly we are supposed to feel aftershocks up to magnitudes of 6 over the next week. It's crazy!! So now I am trying to relax and prepare for my trip to Queenstown starting tomorrow!

Rarotonga

2010-08-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Mid-semester break sneaked up on us so fast! I cannot believe I am already halfway through my study abroad experience! I have just returned from our IES field trip to Rarotonga.

Rarotonga ... the best way to define this trip in one word is: paradise. Rarotonga is the capital island of the Cook Islands. It is a volcano surrounded by a lagoon which extends several hundred yards to a reef and then slopes steeply to deep water. "Raro" means "down" and "tonga" means "south."


Rarotonga

Vara's Acoomodation

Flying over New Zealand mountains

We left early Saturday, August 21 and arrived Friday afternoon, August 20. Crazy right?? We crossed the international date line and jumped back a day. This was the first time in my life I said on the plane, "Hey look guys ... it's almost yesterday!" When we arrived it was incredibly warm, we had dinner, and went to our accommodation called "Vara's." We lived in two nice apartments overlooking Muri Beach. On our balcony we watched the most incredible lightening storm ever! A man who had lived there most of his life told us we will probably only see this once in our life times because it only happens rarely and on islands in the South Pacific. He had never even seen it before! The stars twinkled so brightly above us and the epic clouds loomed above the sea. I swear Mufasa was about to emerge from them! The sky in front of us lit up and bolts shot from the clouds. However it was very silent, there was no thunder. Lindsay thoughtfully said, "sometimes silence sounds like thunder." We sat there for hours watching it in awe and a few of us walked down to the shore and continued to watch it silently contemplating how awesome our lives are under the intense spotlight of the moon.

Drinking coconut milk at the taro farm

Saturday, August 21: The next day was so beautiful and HOT like everyday would be. We went to a marketplace filled with food, clothes, and jewelry including Rarotongan black pearls. I got a pretty green tunic, a shell/black pearl necklace, and pumpkin hummus. We then went to a house to spray paint sarongs and play rugby with the kids. They all turned out really pretty! Then we walked to the taro plantation where we learned about and planted taros and had a coconut husking competition. The natives could husk coconuts with their teeth! It was so crazy! We also made plates and hair pieces made out of fern leaves. The girls learned a Tahitian dance and the boys learned a Tahitian haka! At dinner, we ate off our leave plates ads we were entertained by Tahitian music and dance. When then performed our dances we learned that day and had a dance competition - Mike and Jess won! After dinner we walked to the beach where Cathy and I made grass skirts out of leaves we found and we all relaxed by the water.

Looking pretty with our homemade sarongs, grass skirts, and grass plates

Sunday, August 22: Today we attended a Christian church service - Rarotonga style. They talked mostly in Cook Island Maori. It was a cool cultural experience. Then we went snorkeling in the lagoon!! The reef is beautiful! There were so many fish because nobody is allowed to eat them here due to a poisonous algae they eat. This was one of the nicest places I have ever snorkeled! We had a delicious buffet dinner that night on the beach.

Monday, August 23: We had an 8 am lecture today. It was tough waking up for it but it was a really interesting talk about whales. The woman lived an amazing life - she raised her kids on a yot and traveled the world studying whales. When we look out past the reef in Rarotonga we almost always see a whale, or two, or three pop out of the water. It is so cool!! We then had a lecture about the politics and history of Rarotonga.

Amazing kids :)

Rocking my sunglasses

Then the funnest part of the trip happened - we went to a school and played with the kids! Steph and I got to play with the 2-4 year olds. I LOVE THEM! We played with blocks, read books, and ran around on the playground with them. I turned three years old again and got lost in the moment, completely disconnected from real life. I spent hours running around away from "monsters" and "tigers" and being monkeys swinging across the jungle. I never wanted to leave!
After I snapped back to real adult life, we had a lecture on sea voyaging. Then we swam out to and explored a voyager boat. Dinner was so much fun! We took a bus to three different homes where we had three different courses. They were all home cooked and every ingredient was from their garden/farm. It was incredibly delicious.

Koru

Tuesday, August 24: I completed the most intense hike of my life!!!!! The cross-island "walk" was really a strenuous trek. We scrambled through tropical rainforest, across streams, and up tree root and the way to the top of the island, 413 meters, to the needle called Te Rua Manga.

Te Rua Manga

It was a perfect day and we could see amazing views of the whole island. We were the first IES group ever to scale the side of the rock. We had to use chains and ropes and there was a sheer drop two feet away! It was so dangerous but I felt so legit. The climb down was just as intense and we all jumped in a Papua Waterfall at the end.

View from the top

The rest of the day we had free time so we all ended up at the shore where we walked/swam out to a little island in the lagoon. We also visited the Matutu Brewery - a small family run brewery with beer you can only get in Rarotonga! We had another great dinner on the beach. I love our group we are getting so close!

Wednesday, August 25: Today we had more lectures about Rarotongan economy and health. Then Steph, Courtney, Cathy, Andrew, and I rented electric bikes. We rode into town and explored. I got some sweet Rarontongan money - they use New Zealand currency but they do have few native coins. The bus system is funny. Since there is only one road that makes one big circle around the island, there is one bus that says "clockwise" and one bus that says "anticlockwise." When we returned, the whole group went out-rigger canoeing. We took out two boats and raced. My group - Ryan, Courtney, Cathy, Jess, Mike, and I - won!! We then rushed off to another amazing restaurant on the water. It was a really nice last meal. We had to leave at midnight to catch our 2 am flight. I can't believe how fast the time flew! If it weren't for IES, I may have never come here or even heard of this amazing little island. What is great is it feels like I am returning home from a vacation, but really I am returning to New Zealand (now my second home) where more amazing adventures await!

Abel Tasman Hiking Trip

2010-08-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 10: It was a beautiful day today so I ran to Hagley Park. It is a huge park and I got lost inside it! I ended up running for over an hour but couldn't stop running because I had to get back for class! It was a nice run but I miss my running buddy and best friend, Teadie.

Thursday, August 12: Jess, Courtney, Stephanie, Will, Connor, and I went to the beach called Taylor's Mistake at night and hung out by our campfire. This beach is really nice and I want to come back in the daylight!

Abel Tasman Coastal Track

Friday the 13th!! : I went to the store this morning to buy food and supplies for our hiking trip along the Abel Tasman Coast Track. At 22,530 hectares Abel Tasman is New Zealand's smallest national park and is located as the top of the South Island. The Coast Track is 54.4 km in total and would take 3 to 5 days to complete but we just did the first section. Courtney, Stephanie, Lindsay, Cathy, and Sarah drove in the Jucy rental car and Jess, Max, Andrew, and I drove in Max's car. It took about 5 and a half hours to get to Nelson. We made it to our hostel (Youth Hostel Association) just in time!! If we were seven minutes later, they would have closed up for the night and we would have been stranded! We were very lucky. We checked in and got dinner in town at the Noodle Canteen. We ended up at a local bar with an amazing live band and then went back early to get a good night sleep for the start of our hike.

Anchorage

Saturday, August 14: We woke up the next morning and went straight to the huge farmers market in the parking lot outside our hostel. I got an amazing lime honey and raspberry crepe for breakfast. We then drove an hour to Kaiteriteri - the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park. We began our hike at Marahau and headed toward Anchorage. We had 12.4 km ahead of us for the day! The four hour hike was epic. We walked through rainforest and had spectacular views of beaches, waterfalls, and mountains. I even saw many silver ferns and a giant koru. My shoulders hurt so bad by the end because of my pack but I didn't care because I felt like I was in a dream. Near the end, on top of the mountain where we could see our hut in the distance, we had the most amazing view I have ever seen in my life. Stephanie and I fell behind the group as we took in the moment. You know that feeling when you realize how lucky you are to be living and a part of something so beautiful and too big to comprehend that you get an overwhelming urge to cry because you don't know what else to do? I had one of those moments at the top of that mountain overlooking Anchorage.

Anchorage Beach

We eventually made our way down to the hut which was on an amazing beach. The whole time it felt like we were on the set of LOST. We ate some pb & j on the beach and listened to music as the sun set. We hung out on the beach all night. At one point I went off by myself and sat by the shore and just listened to the waves and the forest. It was very meditative and peaceful. I love life. This trip also made me appreciate light because the hut didn't have any lights and I didn't have a flashlight. The hut was cool and interesting. It had a nice kitchen area and two rooms for sleeping. The rooms had something like a giant bunk bed and you had to sleep right next to strangers! Luckily I was able to borrow a sleeping bag.

At the start, Lindsay, Stephanie, Max, and I decided to sleep on the beach. We got all cozy in our sleeping bags but then it started to drizzle. We reluctantly gathered our stuff to go back to the hut and as we were walking Max stopped us. He asked us, "am I hallucinating or do you guys see this too?" He was shuffling his feet and it looked like he was creating sparks in the sand! We all freaked out and kicked the sand with him. It was magical! I literally didn't know if I was dreaming or if I was awake. Then we looked at the waves and they were lighting up too as they crashed on the shore! Max picked up a log and threw it in the water and the water sparkled! This was hands down the greatest moment I've had in New Zealand, and one of the greatest moments of my life. I was awestruck and dumbfounded and a little scared! We pretended that we were the first to discover this phenomenon and that it would never happen again. Later I researched it and apparently "The sparkling effect is the result of millions of one-celled organisms that emit light when pressure is applied to the cell wall." Our preferred explanation is NZ magic.

Anchorage Beach

We returned to the hut and fell asleep with the rest of the people staying in Anchorage but were soon rudely awakened by the fire alarm! Everyone woke up confused. We couldn't figure out why it was going off so we took the batteries out and tried to get back to sleep. I had such an awful night sleep because of the alarm, the beds were uncomfortable, I had no pillow, and I was sleeping next to a stranger. But I'm not complaining because there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be than in the heart of NZ.

High Tide!

Sunday, August 15: We woke up and found the drinking water! I was dehydrated because I was trying to conserve my water. Water never tasted so good in this moment - I downed two full bottles. Then I walked out onto the beach. It was a beautiful morning. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun struck the golden sand and deep blue water. Paradise. Soon we were off again back down the 12.4 km trail. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. We stopped at a small beach off the path for lunch. The tide came in by the time we were leaving and we had to scramble over rocks to get back to the trail! That was so intense! Long hikes can be both meditative when you walk silently for long periods and social when you have deep conversations with the person next to you. I love it!

When we reached the end we threw down our bags and jumped up and down in excitement that we made it! Our drive back took around six or seven hours. Another amazing weekend <3

Kaikoura and All Blacks

2010-08-08T02:13:00.001-07:00

Christchurch

Thursday night we all gathered at Sarah's for a potluck dinner and then made our way to Eunice's house. It was good to see Eunice and everyone again. We all sat around and laughed and talked and had some of Eunice's amazing fruit salad. We also had cake for Andrew's 20th birthday. Afterward Eunice drove a few of us to the top of a hill somewhere where we could see all of Christchurch at night. It was amazing!! When we returned to Ilam, we had a girls movie night in my room and watched Persuasion.

TranzCoastal

The next morning Jessica, Lindsay, Sarah, Cathy, Courtney, Stephanie, and I woke up at 5 am and caught a shuttle to the train station. We took a 2 and a half hour TranzCoastal trip to Kaikoura. The views were spectacular! We saw the sunrise, Kaikoura mountain ranges, and the rugged Pacific Ocean coastline. Not to mention all the cows, sheep, and baby lambs! So cute! There also was an air viewing carriage where we could go outside and take pictures on the train. Kaikoura is located on a rocky peninsula protruding from rich farmland and snow capped mountains. Moa Hunters inhabited the peninsula 900 years ago. In Maori legend, Maui placed his foot on the Kaikoura peninsula to steady himself while he 'fished-up' the North Island. The Maori name Kaikoura translates to 'meal of crayfish' (Kai - food, koura - crayfish), and it is crayfish for which the region has traditionally been famous. Kaikoura is so epically beautiful. It is a cute little town and while walking down the street, the mountains just struck me every time I turned around! We had a coffee in a cafe and I bought a whale bone necklace. They get the whalebone from beached whales. We then walked along the shore to the end of the peninsula. It took forever to get there because we kept stopping along the way to take pictures and take everything in. We all could not stop talking about how crazy lucky we are to be here. On the way back we stopped for an ice cream and ate it on the beach. On the train ride back we watched the sunset and fell asleep. What an incredible day!

Town of Kaikoura

Saturday, the day I have been waiting for for so long finally came!! We watched the All Blacks New Zealand rugby team play the Australia Wallabies at Lancaster Park in Christchurch! We had amazing seats - second row on the field!!!! I don't know how we got such amazing seats for so cheap. Awesome. This game was so exciting and I got to see the All Blacks do the Haka live!!! We were seated right on the sideline so it was cool seeing the players warm up to go in the game. The All Blacks won 20-10! Sweet as.

All Blacks game!!

All Blacks vs. Wallabies

Road Trip to Dunedin

2010-08-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Friday morning (July 29) Max, Ryan, Jessica, and I hopped into Max's car and headed to Dunedin. It was a nice and scenic ride there - the sun was shining, we were singing songs to my ipod speakers, and we stopped at the beach. It took approximately 5 hours. When we arrived we met Ryan's friend Garrett and Jessica's friend Emily who are studying abroad at the University of Otago. We explored a little of the city and went to an Irish pub called the Bog that night. The live band was amazing!! I discovered I really like New Zealand reggae.

Speights Brewery

The next day we visited the Speights Brewery. We learned everything there is to know about the history and how they make the beer. Afterward we drove out on the peninsula which I already went to with my family a while back. It was amazing again! We watched the sunset there.

Otago Peninsula

On Sunday we went to Cadbury World!! I love Cadbury chocolate and the chocolate factory was amazing! As soon as I walked in there was a mountain of Crunchies. I thought I was actually in heaven. We learned about the history and making of the chocolate and then climbed the purple towere where we saw a chocolate waterfall. It was so magical. After our awesome chocolate experience, we went to Baldwin Street (the steepest street in the world). We booked it up the hill in Max's car. I can't believe we made it up! We took some cool pictures and then I ran down. Then we got some ice cream at Rob Roy's and drove home to Christchurch. This weekend was so much fun :)

Cadbury World Mountain of Crunchies

Hanmer Springs

2010-07-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hanmer Geothermal Pools

This past Friday, Christian, Christine, Max, Ryan, and I took a day trip to Hanmer Springs. We took the Hanmer Connection bus and enjoyed our two hour ride down there. It was a beautiful day and when we arrived we went straight to the geothermal pools. It was still cold but the pools felt so amazing. Afterward, I felt so relaxed and light!! After some pizza and milkshakes we took an hour hike up conical hill. The views of the town and snow capped mountains were incredible.

Hanmer Geothermal Pools

Top of Conical Hill

Hanmer Springs

On Sunday, Christian and I took a bus to the Riccarton Rotary farmers market. I love this market! It is huge and has everything from food to clothes to kitchenware etc. It was really fun wandering around and sampling different things. I got some fresh bread and fruit and we got some lunch from a food stand. Then we got these amazing fresh donuts!

Sumner and New Brighton

2010-07-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

Sumner Beach

This past Friday, Christian, Tom, and I hoped on a bus to Sumner. We spent a while relaxing in a cute cafe where I got delicious pumpkin potato soup and a chai latte. I love the designs they put on the coffees! After, we walked along the beach and climbed on and under a rocky cave. This beach is awesome and beautiful. Its always cool going to a beach in the winter. I then had hokey pokey ice cream for the first time ever! It is the greatest ice cream in the world!!! It has bits of the inside of my favorite chocolate bar, Crunchie! Little honeycomb bits. Mmmmm. We sat and enjoyed our ice cream as we watched the waves roll in.

Coffee at Sumner

Saturday morning a group of us walked to the Riccarton Bush farmers market. I love farmers markets!! This was a small one that sold only food. Delicious food. I got some honey and flaxseed bread, vegetables, and white chocolate and rhubarb porridge. Everyone there was extremely friendly.

New Brighton Beach

Sunday Cathy, Ryan, and I went to play some Gridiron (American Football) at Ilam Fields. Cathy and I were the first girls ever to join the club! It was really fun and really muddy. I was great at defense but need to work on my catching skills. The guys are awesome and we all had a lot of fun. After we cleaned up, us three ventured to New Brighton beach. We walked out to the pier as it was getting dark. The lights on the pier changed colours. It was extremely cold and windy though. We talked to some fishermen at the end of the pier and then walked through town. I got hokey pokey ice cream again and then we went back and hung out at the apartments.

IES Abroad Orientation Week

2010-07-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

July 5: I can't believe we finally made it to Christchurch!! After all these months of planning and waiting my study abroad semester at the University of Canterbury has begun! The first thing we did was check in at Ilam Apartments where I got the keys to my new home. It is also my first apartment ever!! I love it! I live with four other freshmen Kiwi girls who are all super nice. We each have our own big rooms and we have two bathrooms, a cute kitchen, and common t.v. area. After unpacking and stocking up the fridge and cabinets with food, I met with Eunice and the thirteen other IES Abroad students from America. Eunice is our amazing program director - she is like a mother to us. The first thing we did was split into groups and venture on a scavenger hunt around the university campus. The campus is really nice. It kind of reminds me of Ithaca with the buildings and trees, except it's very flat and a bit bigger. Afterwards we went out to dinner in town at Riverview Buffet Restaurant where we ate and got to know each other. Excellent first day!

July 6: The next day we all ventured into the city. After a nice lunch at the Botanic Gardens Cafe, we ran around Christchurch on an even bigger scavenger hunt. This was awesome because I was able to navigate my way around and find a lot of cool places like Cathedral Square, Arts Center, the Holy Grail Sports Bar (where they play all the rugby matches), the bus exchange, nice shops, and a ton more.

July 7: Today I attended the International students' orientation. They introduced us with a traditional Maori welcoming. They spoke in Maori and also sang for us! It was awesome. I love the Maori language. Fun Fact - The Na'vi language in the movie Avatar is based on the Maori language. The director had visited New Zealand and loved its flow and melody.

Castle Hill

July 8: Today I enrolled in my classes! I am taking 'Science, Maori, and Indigenous Knowledge,' 'Kapa Haka Maori Performing Arts,' 'God, Mind, and Freedom,' and 'Sport Nutrition.'

July 9: Today the whole IES group left for our overnight trip in Springfield! We stayed at a youth hostile called Smylies. The drive was incredibly scenic and we ended up at Castle Hill. We hiked up the hills and there were so many crazy cool limestone boulders and amazing views. This place is near where the battle scene in the Chronicles of Narina: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was filmed. After an amazing dinner at Smylies, we went out to a small pub and hung out with the locals.

Castle Hill

July 10: After a delicious breakfast at Smylies we visited a cute little farm. We learned all about the sheep, sheep dogs, and alpacas. Alpacas looks like llamas and have incredibly soft wool. I loved watching the sheepdogs chase the sheep, I'm pretty sure I want a sheepdog as a pet. They are so smart!! We also got to try sheering the sheep. The best part of this day was jetboating! It wasn't as epic as the Queenstown Shotover Jet but it was still fun!

Sheep sheering

Antarctic storm room!

July 11: Today, Sunday, was our day off from IES activities so I hung out with my family. It has been really nice having them here to help me get settled. We went to the Antarctic Center located at the Christchurch International Airpirt. This is where many Antarctic missions are organized. We explored the gallery area which had many displays about modern day Antarctica, including the Antarctic Treaty partners, the human impact on the continent, the wildlife and plant systems, and Antarctica’s effect on the globe. We watched a sound and light show called "Beyond the Frozen Sunset" which showed absolutely stunning footage of the continent. Then we got to experience a simulation of an Antarctic storm. We threw on heavy jackets and shoe covers and went inside a room with an igloo and snow. The lights dimmed and the wind picked up as people started talking over the intercom of a storm headed our way. The sound effects were awesome. But it was so windy and freezing that Lindsey and I wondered why we were doing this to ourselves after about three minutes. We ran out when they opened the doors and were very thankful we were not actually stuck in an Antarctic storm! After that we got to see Little Blue Penguins! The most exciting part of our Antarctic experience was the Hagglund ATV ride. The Hagglund we rode had actually been in Antarctica! We rode up and town rough terrain, hills, and pools of water.

July 12: Classes begin!!!

Dunedin

2010-07-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!!! After me and Lindsey belted the American national anthem in the campervan to show our national pride, we started out spending some time in Dunedin. We went to the Otago Settlers museum where we learned a little of the city's history.

Otago Settlers Museum

Otago Peninsula

We then drove out to the Otago Peninsula. The views here are spectacular!! We saw cool birds and seals and visited the Royal Albatross Center. This peninsula is the only mainland breeding colony for any albatross species found in the southern hemisphere. Afterwards we headed toward Christchurch. Along the way we stopped at beaches, including the Moerkai boulders. These are unusually large and spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach. They are shaped like this due to erosion. Maori legend tells that the boulders are remains of calabashes, kumaras and eel baskets that washed ashore after the legendary canoe, the Araiteuru was wrecked at nearby Shag Point (Matakaea). As we walked along another beach, we found a seal and walked right up to it!

Moerkai Boulders

Seal on beach

Finally we reached Christchurch and I spent my last night in the campervan as I prepared for Orientation the next day!

Invercargill

2010-07-03T23:00:00.001-07:00

Our wake up call was 2 am this morning! We ran to the lounge, got the key the owner had slipped under the mat for u, and switched on the television to watch the Netherlands play Brazil in the world cup. The Netherlands won 2-1 WOOO! That was exciting!! After a few more hours of sleep we drove to Invercargill and had coffee in the world's southern most Starbucks. We also went to E. Hayes and Sons hardware store where we saw the "World's Fastest Indian" motorcycle on display. At 68 years old in 1967, Burt Monro set the world record for the fastest Indian motorcycle. It went 305.89 km/h (190.07 mph). I still need to watch the movie about it!

World's Fastest Indian


Baldwin Street

After our stop in Invercargill, we drove along a scenic route to Dunedin, the second largest city on the South Island, and home to to New Zealand's first University, the University of Otago. The name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gealic name for Edinburgh, Scotland, and it was made to emulate Edinburgh. Here we walked around, saw the Robert Burns statue, and a piper! We went to the famous old Dunedin Railway Station and the world's steepest residential street (Baldwin Street). It was sooooo steep that the sidewalk turned into stairs and I was out of breath by the time we reached the top. We didn't dare to drive our campervan up it! We had a great view from the top and it was fun running down it.

Milford Sound

2010-07-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Milford Sound

Our mission today was to travel through Fiordland National Park to get to Milford Sound. This is the world's top travel destination and is considered the 8th world wonder. I can tell you this place is beyond beautiful. Even the one road to Milford Sound is considered one of the finest drives in the world. When we arrived, we hiked around some trails and then took a small cruise around the Sound. We were surrounded by sheer rock faces covered in rainforest and waterfalls. One of the tallest mountains in the world, Mitre Peak, rose 1,692m above us, plus the 1,517m Elephant Mountain, resembling an elephant's head, and the 1,302m Lion Mountain, in the shape of a crouching lion. One of my favorite parts was when a dolphin came right up to the boat and swam beside us. Our ship captain said the dolphins like to ride alongside the boat because it propels them forward so they can move without effort! I also loved the waterfalls and rainbows they created. We got to put on rain jackets and go right under some of them. We ended up sailing right out to the Tasman Sea and back, and got to see a lot of seals. I wish everyone in the world could see this place. Well done, Earth, I am beyond amazed.

Mirror Lakes

On the way back along the same road through Fiordland, we stopped at the Mirror Lakes. These are formed by glaciation and are so incredibly still and reflect Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. It was a brilliant site. Afterward we drove to Invercargill where we got fish n' chips and went to sleep.

Queenstown

2010-07-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

We woke up in Queenstown and headed to the Skyline Gondola. On the ride we had a spectacular view of the city, mountains, and Lake Wakatipu. At the top we took in the beauty and went on a fun scenic luge ride.

Afterward, we went for a ride on the Shotover Jet - the world's most famous jet boat operation! It was SO exciting!!! Not to mention incredibly beautiful. At breathtaking speeds, we twisted and turned through narrow canyons, did 360 turns, and sped across the winding river. We got so close to the sharp rocks and my adrenaline was definitely pumping!

After we calmed down from the jet boat excitement, we went to a remote beach in Bob's Cove. Here the water rises and falls 15 cm every five mins.

Bob's Cove

On the way to Queenstown

2010-06-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the blue pools of Haast Pass and found a yellow feather of an endangered bird. The deep azure blue water is from the glaciers, and is so incredibly clear I could see right to the bottom. The fish looked like they were suspended in the air!

Blue Pools of Haast Pass


Kawarau Bridge Bungy

We then drove toward Queenstown. On the way we stopped at the world's first commercial bungy jump place - The Kawarau Bridge Bungy. AJ Hackett and Henry Van Ash set up the 43 metre jump in 1988. My family and I watched in awe and excitement as people plummeted off the bridge. Who knows ... maybe I'll come back here and give it a try! I don't know if I could ever make that first step after a count of three.

Queenstown is the most beautiful city I have ever visited! It is surrounded by The Remarkables. The mountains were named this because they are one of only two mountain ranges in the world which run directly north to south.An alternate explanation for the name given by locals is that early Queenstown settlers, upon seeing the mountain range during sunset one evening, named them the Remarkables to describe the sight. We walked around town and ate dinner at Pog Monhogan's Irish pub/restaurant. I had delicious coconut and pumkin soup and salmon and portobello mushroom risotto. SO GOOD. Back in the campervan we watched some a house swap episode on television. I never knew crazy people could be so obsessed with coupons. Hahaha.

Franz Josef Glacier

2010-06-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

We began this morning with some world cup action!! We watched Brazil beat Chile in the campervan lodge lounge before venturing over to the Franz Josef Glacier Tour. This was the highlight of the trip so far, and I doubt anything can beat it. Our tour began with a hike through a rainforest. There are not many cold rainforests in the world. We then walked 2 km across the riverbed where the glacier had retreated to get to the base. The 12km long glacier is one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen! We put on our cramp-ons and walked up the blue glacier, through tight spaces, and under hollow openings.

After our awesome glacier adventure, we drove south and had a good view of the 13 km Fox Glacier. We stopped at Gillepsies Beach where we found lots of driftwood and stones and the weather was gloomy.

Pancake Rocks and Hokitika

2010-06-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

This morning the sunrise was beautiful and pink!! Our first stop was the Punaiki Pancake Rocks and blowholes. The limestone rocks are 30 million years old and they literally look like stacks of pancakes! It was a nice day today but when it's stormy, heavy ocean swells crash into the caverns under the rocks and huge water spouts blast up through the blowholes.

Afterward we visited Hokitika, translated to "the place of return." It is a very nice town on the west coast where we purchased necklaces made out of New Zealand's famous greenstone. Greenstone, also known as ponamu, is nephrite jade that comes from the South Island. It has much significance in Maori culture.

After a nice afternoon exploring the town and beach, we drove two hours to Franz Joseph. The drive from Westport to Franz Josef along the coast is one of the top ten drives in the world! It was incredible. I couldn't take my eyes off of the beautiful countryside, beaches, and snow capped mountains. It hardly looked real!

The Interislander

2010-06-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today we jumped on the Interisland Ferry which took us from the North Island to the South Island. The 92km voyage took 3 hours and has been described as "one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world." It definitely beat every ferry ride I have ever been on! Right away we found a television that was playing the USA vs. Ghana world cup game. Ghana won in extra time. I am sad USA is out but I hope Ghana does well. After the soccer we watched the All-Blacks play Wales. The Haka gives me chills every time! Our first day on the South Island was mostly spent driving. We stopped to walk a trail, see some seals, and watch the sunset near a beach. After that we stopped at a supermarket and found out shopping carts are called Trundlers!! haha. We had a roast at a restaurant called Portabello. The moon tonight was very bright and had a beautiful halo surrounding it. What a start to our South Island adventures!!

Wellington

2010-06-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today was mostly spent driving toward Wellington, the capital, and enjoying the scenery. On the way we had lunch with one of Dad's work colleagues in a cafe. New Zealand is magical!! I love just gazing out the window at the beautiful land - the hills and snow capped mountains and towns. Also, tourism radio plays 24/7. It uses an integrated GPS system that automatically transmits history and anecdotes about our surroundings. Its pretty sweet but I know I'm going to get sick of the songs because there aren't enough on the playlist. We passed through a town called Upper Hutt and tourism radio told us that it has more soccer players than rugby players - now that's my kind of town!! When we finally reached Wellington, it was downpouring and blowing a gayle!! Apparently that's typical Wellington weather. New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa Museum was the perfect place to visit. We went in a virtual earthquake room, saw a collosal squid, and learned so much about New Zealand history through fun, interactive exhibits. Afterward we got some dinner at a mall and I made Lindsey try bubble tea for the first time! We got coconut flavour - she loved it.

Rotorua to Te Awanga

2010-06-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

Polynesian Spa

After breakfast we went to the Polynesian Spa at 8 am. The water we bathed in comes from geothermic acidic and alkaline hot mineral springs. The acidic water remains in its natural state so there is no control over temperature or clarity. It is renowned for its therapeutic properties offering relief from tired muscles, aches and pains, arthritis and rheumatism. The alkaline water is characterised by its normal clarity and soft feel. It emanates from a deep boiling spring and is cooled to bathing temperature by the addition of town supply cold water. The clarity of the water can change under some atmospheric conditions. The bland, soothing, antiseptic action of sodium silicate makes this water very pleasing on the skin.

Poi Dance

Dad doing the Haka

Mud Pools

I felt incredibly relaxed, soft, and happy after our bathe! While in Rotorua, we visited Te Puia – home to the internationally renowned Pohutu geyser, the National carving and weaving schools, and the world famous Whakarewarewa guides. The Maori cultural performance was exceptional! We gathered outside the main entrance to the Marae witnessed a traditional karanga (welcome). Inside the meeting house we were surrounded by beautiful wooden carvings and treated to song and dance. Lindsey, Mum, and I got to try a poi dance and Dad got to perform a Haka!! After the performances, we took a tour of the ancient valley where we saw the world-famous Pohutu geyser, mud pools, and boiling waters. Then we took a walk through the Kiwi House where I saw my first Kiwi Bird! They are much bigger than I had anticipated. And very cute!

Prince of Wales Geyser

Finally, we hit the road again and headed toward Te Awanga (which is near Hastings). We made a few stops along the way.

Huka Falls

The Huka Falls are the largest falls on the Waikato River, near Taupo. They are the most visited natural attraction in New Zealand! The Waikato River is one of New Zealand's longest rivers and it drains Lake Taupo - the largest freshwater lake in all of Australasia. At the Huka Falls, the Waikato River, which is normally 100m wide, is squeezed through a 20 metre wide gorge, crosses over a hard volcanic ledge, and drops over a 20 metres. Every second up to 220,000 litres of water gushes through the gorge and shoots out over 8 metres beyond to create a beautiful blue/green pool. The name Huka is the Maori word for 'foam', which is appropriate as the falling water and rapids certainly resembles foam. After some more driving we stopped in a town along Lake Taupo. We went to an All-Blacks store, a wine store, and Mum was facinated by the McDonald's airplane. Haha.

Roger and Family Dinner

When we finally reached Te Awanga, we had dinner with Roger and his family (Helen, Thomas, and Philipa). Roger and Dad grew up together in Berwick. That night we camped in their driveway.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

2010-06-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today we woke up early to retrieve my bag at the airport and then drove to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. While we walked and floated on the water through the caves, our Maori tour guide commentated on the Caves’ historical and geological significance, and shared stories and cultural legends. The Waitomo glowworm, Arachnocampa luminosa, is unique to New Zealand. Thousands of these tiny creatures radiate their luminescent light through the majestic and ornate cave decorations, the deep limestone shaft known as the Tomo, and the magnificent Cathedral cavern where New Zealand’s own opera diva Kiri Te Kanawa once performed.

Afterwards, we drove two hours to Rotorua. The place stinked of sulfur!! There are many geysers and natural hot sulfur and mineral pools here. We made dinner and went to sleep.

Traveling

2010-06-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Air New Zealand

View of Grand Canyon from Plane

At 12:30 pm on Monday (June 21), Mum, Dad, Lindsey, and I left our house to begin our journey. We flew five hours to LAX (we saw the Grand Canyon from the plane!!! And we flew over the International Date Line where time jumped forward 24 hours!) and got a connection on a huge double decker air New Zealand plane to Auckland where we arrived at 6 am on Wednesday. Unfortunately one of my bags was left at LAX so we had to return to the airport the next morning. The first thing Lindsey and I got excited about as we stepped into New Zealand for the first time were the super big Toblerone bars! Yum!! The Kea camper van company came to pick us up at the airport at 7:30 am after we drank some free tea. We were the first ever customers at their new facilities. After an hour of signing paperwork and learning how to work the van we headed off on our epic journey through the country. The first thing we did, of course, was stock up on food and then we visited Gillian and her baby Erin. Gillian is mum’s cousin’s daughter and this was the first time meeting her! We then met up with dad’s work colleague, Caroline Gray, and she brought us to One Tree Hill. At the top we could see all of Auckland! After, we went out to dinner with her and her husband at Fox’s Ale House. It is true that the best wine comes from New Zealand! It was a great atmosphere to watch the All-Blacks play Wales. The Haka is so intense! Exhaustion set in as we returned to the camper van and conked out at 10:30 pm.

View of Aukland from One Tree Hill

Beginning

2010-06-19T17:46:00.001-07:00

Adventures begin monday 6/21/10 !!!