Kia Ora! (Literally means be well/healthy in Maori, but used informally as hi)
I've been wanting to visit NZ for so many years I couldn't believe it was finally happening. It's kind of like how I still can't believe I'm in Australia sometimes.
Thursday April 2
I woke up at 5:45 because I was traveling alone and was scared of being late or getting lost (Melissa, Brian, Eli and Cara left for NZ yesterday, but couldn't because I had class). I ended up maneuvering the trains to Sydney and the airport perfectly fine, and excitedly boarded my flight to Christchurch. The safety video on the plane was Hobbit themed! It made me even more excited. (Not that I've seen the movies, I just know they were filmed all over NZ). Stopped for a bit in Auckland, and then had a short flight to Christchurch, where I got a shuttle to our accommodation for the night, Point Break Backpackers. Other people on the shuttle were talking and I was shocked by the Kiwi accent. It is not like Australian at all. They say E's like I's. For example, left=lift, mess=miss, etc. We went to bed early listening to the sound of Lord of the Rings playing really loud in the next room.
Friday April 3 - Bus
By 8am, 49 of us (40 girls, 9 guys…good ratio. Oh and out of the 9 boys, 3 of them are named Daniel) plus our tour guide Pirate, and driver Leftie, (both really funny) were loaded with all our stuff on the bus for the 8 hour journey across NZ to the west coast. We passed lots of beautiful mountains. It got greener and greener as we went along, because it rains 7-10m more on the west coast. Stopped at a few scenic places to take pictures, like some rocks where Lord of the Rings was filmed. We drove through Arthur's Pass National Park which had some beautiful, huge, snow capped mountains. Took pics with our $65 blow up sheep mascot. Slept a lot. Passed some really pretty blue glacial braided rivers. We stayed in tiny little town next to Fox Glacier. When we got to the hostel, Melissa, Cara, Sara, Brian and I went right to the hot tub. Met and talked to some other kids on the tour. Most are American, with a few Canadians and 2 Germans. Went to what seemed like the only restaurant/pub in town and spent $50 on one plate of food and one cider….this country is more expensive than Australia! Hung out and met some more people. We got a noise complaint from an old lady who legit came into the window. Pirate was with us, oops. He's funny.
Saturday April 4 - Fox Glacier
I started off the day by dropping my toothbrush in the toilet, and almost forgetting my only bathing suit. Then we suited up in waterproof gear, and hiked for a bit through the glacial valley in the pouring rain and cold. Despite the fog, the mountains and waterfalls were still really cool. We were under the impression that we would be walking on the actual glacier, but unfortunately this was not the case. You can't walk to the glacier anymore because it is receding (global warming) and is too dangerous. However, our views of it were pretty cool. I also enjoyed the fact that our guide Luke talked about stuff that I'm learning and have learned in school!!! (The environmental stuff obviously…I still have yet to apply calculus 3 or physics 2 in real life). Here are some interesting facts: The glacier is receding at a rate of 100m/year. These mountains are the fastest growing in the world and would be bigger than the Himalayas if they didn't erode at the same rate (2cm/yr). They're right on a fault line and there are little earthquakes everyday.
Then we got back on the bus. Drove along a valley next to a river through huge green mountains with waterfalls. The Germans (Philipp and Daniel) were funny to sit next to on the bus, they would take pics of or poke sleeping people and do silly stuff like that. At one of our scenic stops we went for a hike across some suspension bridges. Philipp and Daniel were jumping and shaking the bridges and scaring everyone. At the second bridge Leftie stopped and said, "bus challenge! Who's going to jump in?!" After two people went, I convinced Melissa to do it with me. It was already so freaking cold but we took off our outside layers and climbed over the railing. Standing there, I was like Allie you idiot, why would you do this. Normally I enjoy jumping off things, but that's when it's warm and I know how high I'm jumping from (I couldn't really judge how high this was). There was so much peer pressure that there was no backing out. We jumped, and the water was unbelievably freezing but somehow still not as bad as I was expecting. Ahh. So much fun. I guess that's why they call it extreme adventures! I'm so happy I did it. I was 100% in love with New Zealand at this point. 14 people jumped- 8 of the boys and 6 girls. We missed the previous bus record by 3 people. Drove by Lake Wanaka on our way to Wanaka. It is a huge lake. I wanted to row on it, it was so calm and blue. Tonight we stayed at the Base hostel in Wanaka.
In Australia, college kids drink cheap wine called goon. In New Zealand, they drink cheap cider. So I got some Scrumpy's cider to try. Had dinner at the bar below the hostel, then went out with Pirate and Leftie and the group. Brian, being the social butterfly that he is, met some funny British and Scottish dudes who were doing a gap year traveling around NZ. So cool! Successful first night out in New Zealand.
Sunday April 5 - Happy Easter!
Leftie played a joke on us yesterday and told us we could wake up before sunrise and go in the lake and see the freshwater dolphins. I was really excited to see the dolphins, until later in the night Pirate told us to think about the fact that it is a LAKE (aka no dolphins). I had had my alarm set and everything.
This was a free day, so myself and a few friends went to Puzzle World where they had a slanted room and a giant maze (among other illusions and puzzles). Then we stopped for lunch by a lake that made me miss Canada. People were jet skiing and tubing. (Haha, Ben--> I told the punch line joke on the microphone in front of the bus. Everyone hated me). Finally, we arrived in Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world!! Town looked cool. Reavers lodge was all the way at the top of a really steep hill, and Leftie backed the bus almost all the way up. I thought we were going to die. Anyway, got settled in and went to town to buy food. I really should've bought aloe too. Before coming here I read a blog that said to definitely bring bug spray. But I never use bug spray and I'm normally fine so I didn't think it would be an issue. Well it was. There were these tiny little gnats on the bus today that are actually called sand flies and they bite and you can't see them and they itch like heck. Went outside and played some games at our own little tent/firepit area, and then went out to experience the wonderful Queenstown nightlife.
Monday April 6 - Adventure Day!
We went down to Shotover canyon and rode jet boats that go up to (I think) 80mph, inches from the canyon walls. The boats were cool, I didn't get them! We were in about 3 inches of water! How can they draw less than that?? After that, we suited up in wetsuits and got bused to our helicopter pick up spot. The helicopter flew at low altitude right up to and along the mountains, then went vertical at one point. I was laughing the whole time because it was so awesome and fun. The helicopter took us to where we would start whitewater rafting! There were some cool rapids that were skinny and steep but the trip overall was too long and cold. Daniel and Philipp were in the boat with Melissa and Sara and I so that was entertaining. Pirate had advised us not to bring go pros because people lose them, but I really wish I'd brought it. They finally fed us dinner at Buffalo's at 8…we hadn't really gotten any meals all day.
Tuesday April 7 - Adventure Day 2! Bungee Jumping!!!!!
Took a gondola almost vertically up the side of the mountain next to our lodge. Up at the top there was an absolutely stunning view of Queenstown. Nice blue water and crazy high mountains. Went luging with Sara and the Germans. It was silly but fun. I thought it was actually going to be ice luge but it was little carts on a concrete path. Watching our group bungee jump was really funny. Brian flailed a lot. Danny did a perfect superman. Laura had such a cute little scream (compared to my scream…if you haven't heard, go watch the video I posted of my jump on Facebook). I was so excited because I have been waiting for the opportunity to bungee jump for years. Eli, Cara, Melissa and Sara all went right before me, so I watched them all go. I was not nervous until I got on the platform. I couldn't believe I was finally doing this. I got so scared right before I went. I didn't think I was going to scream but I jumped off it was just like oh crap there's the ground. I tried to superman but all of my limbs just did whatever they wanted. It was a kind of short fall but then bouncing was fun. I wanted to go again, but we weren't allowed. Did more luging. The second "advanced" track was more fun. Got Fergburger for lunch. It is a famous burger place that ALWAYS has a huge line. They only close between 5 and 7am. The wait wasn't too bad, and my Original Fergburger was AMAZING. Best burger I've ever eaten. If you are ever in New Zealand you MUST try a Fergburger. (And send one back to me, please, because I never got the opportunity to have another...despite being in Queenstown 4 days). Hottubbed it up with the boys, Sara and Pirate. Took a much needed nap before our pub crawl tonight. Visited a few of the best bars in town, with free drinks and discounts yay! We even did a "booze cruise" for about 15 min. Afterwards, a lot of the group stopped at Fergburger and I snagged some delicious bites of peoples burgers.
Wednesday April 9 - "Free Day", but my 3rd adventure day
I struggled to wake up bright and early at 7 for my day of adventures alone. I booked a canyoning tour myself because canyoning in New Zealand is on my bucket list and if I didn't cross it off now I never would. Suited up in wetsuits again. There was a short bus ride then a few minutes walk up the canyon. We first did 2 sketchy looking zip lines right up close to and between all these trees. Repelled down a wall and then jumped in the water! It was so cold I didn't want to go in yet, I wanted to stay warm as long as possible. The canyon itself was really cool. We did a few waterfall and cliff jumps into the water. The guides thought I was scared to jump but I just didn't want to submerge my head in the freezing water. It would have been awesome if it wasn't so cold. Honestly I couldn't really focus on how cool it was cause I was trying not to freeze. It was also really hard to hold all the ropes and things with freezing hands. Once we repelled into a cave and they dropped us in the water upside down. Slid down a few waterfalls, then last we swam through a skinny deep channel between really high rock walls. When I got back, I went in the hot tub to defrost, took short nap, and then headed off to go canyon swinging. It was really freaking high and over the river where we whitewater rafted on Monday. They call it the highest cliff jump in the world at 106m high, compared to the bungee yesterday which was 47m. It would've been nice to have someone I knew to do a tandem swing with, because I was completely petrified. But unfortunately everyone on my tour went this morning while I was canyoning. I was last in line and the girl who went first burst out in tears when she stood on the edge. I had to watch everyone else go and it was terrifying, they all looked so scared. I decided to go backwards my first time. I could absolutely not make myself lean backwards over the edge to take a picture when they told me to. I really thought I was about to chicken out, which is unlike me. Like I said, I like jumping off of things. But I was literally having a panic attack. I was standing on the edge... compared to the bungee where you had to run before seeing the edge so you were already committed. They made me jump. AHHH. It was awesome. Then swung around at the bottom. There was a very nice view dangling in the canyon. The water was so blue. You could jump again for an additional $35 so I did it. I thought I wouldn't be nervous the second time and I wasn't until I got to the edge again. I had to have the dude count again, and I faced forward this time. But man it was so much fun. The boys and Pirate were eating pizza when I got back. Harrison shared a piece with me and it was the best piece of Hawaiian pizza I have ever eaten. Not kidding. All the food here is crazy good. I think the place was called Hell's Pizza. So if you're ever in Queenstown, go there too. Tonight we went to an ice bar called Below Zero!! They gave you gloves and a parka before going in, but upon entrance, there was an ice sculpture of Olaf and it was so cool you didn't even think about the cold once you got in. There was an ice throne, ice chandelier, a giant mammoth, an ice fireplace, couches, an ice hockey table, and ice cups. Everyone was licking everything- so sanitary. One of the only rules was not to mount the mammoth, but Laura kind of did anyway. Went to bed "early" because I was exhausted from the past three days.
Thursday April 9 - Milford Sound
Got up at 7 and packed a backpack for Milford Sound tonight. Left the rest of our luggage at Reavers because Extreme Adventures owns it. On our 5 hour bus journey we encountered a bunch of sheep on the road, otherwise known as a kiwi traffic jam! We were stopped and they ran by the bus for a solid several minutes. Got a yummy steak and cheese pie in Te Anau. Saw the Mirror Lakes. We drove on a road along a river with HUGE snowcapped mountains right next to us. I couldn't believe how tall they were, and I can't imagine them forming. Stopped at a gorge too. Then we did a 2 hour boat cruise around Milford Sound. Miilford Sound is part of Fjordland Nature Reserve, which is gorgeous. Pictures absolutely don't do it justice. The whole time in the bus, I took a million pics of the mountains all around us. Now, when I look at them they're just a ton of mountain pictures, but in person they're amazing. It was drizzly for the boat ride and the waterfalls were cool. It's crazy how high the mountains were right next to us, coming straight out of the water. A few people stood out on the bow of the boat under a waterfall in their clothes and got completely soaked. Brian ran out in his underwear, which was smart, but then he forgot to put his clothes down, so he was holding them and they got soaking wet anyway. We all got fish and chips for dinner, then hung out in the lounge all night. We each had our own rooms for tonight, which was nice.
Friday April 10 - Glow worms
We took another boat ride in Te Anau to a glow worm cave. The walk through the cave was exciting, because it was pitch black in some spots where the rock ceiling was only about shoulder height. The rushing water also made some cool rock pools and waterfalls. We got on a boat to see the "atrium" of glowworms. They were green and glowy, but I was expecting a lot of glow worms, and there were just a few specs. This whole trip, Philipp has been doing a magic trick with matches that particularly annoyed Ryan, Danny, Laura and I because we couldn't figure out how he was doing it. Once we got wifi again, Danny googled it and figured it out. Then we drove back to Queenstown. Got back around 2:30/3 so we had a nice amount of free time. Went in the hottub, and Pirate told us about all of his tattoos. Walked around town with Laura, Brian, Ryan, Jacob and Philipp. Had a BBQ for our last night together :( And I missed my last chance to get a Fergburger.
Saturday April 11 - Back to Christchurch :(
Got up early for our 8 hour bus ride back to Christchurch. Caught up on a bit of sleep, I had a comfy pillow:) Went to a sheep farm and saw the dog herd a couple sheep. Some people fed them, but (sorry Aunt Donna) they were actually pretty nasty up close so I did not. Had a delicious home cooked "Easter" family dinner (a week late), and divine apple cobbler with caramel chunk ice cream for dessert. It was heaven because we hadn't had "real" home cooked food in 10 days. Brian ate some nuts again. But no hospital this time. We were almost in Christchurch when I started to realize that the trip was almost over. I didn't want to leave, and I wanted to stay with my new friends! Said bye to Pirate and Leftie, then walked around Christchurch for a while and finally got sub-par pizza. I was really craving that hawaiian pizza from the other night. And I was still pissed about forgetting to get Fergburger again. We all crammed in the TV room at Point Break and watched Lord of the Rings. I only stayed for a bit, said bye to everyone, and went to bed at 10.
Sunday April 12 - Bye NZ
Woke up in 3 short hours. Got to the airport at 3:10, and it wasn't even open! Waited around to check in after 4. And then security wasn't open until 5! We could've slept so much longer! I completely passed out on the flight to Auckland. This trip completely wiped me out. Got back to Wollongong at 3, and was going to do homework, but just looked at my pictures and reminisced about the trip. I had wanted to make a super cool New Zealand adventure go pro video with all my adventurous go pro videos, but they had advised us not to take cameras on most of the adventures! So my video isn't going to be as exciting as I thought. Pirate sent us a message on Facebook and said it's supposed to snow tomorrow in Queenstown!
In the days since the trip, I have:
-been amazed at how itchy my bug bites STILL are,
-gone to bed very early,
-gone to class,
-attempted to study,
-ate a whole pack of TimTams by myself in 24 hours
-(Melissa, Sara and I have) already booked our flights to Melbourne to see Philipp and Daniel!!!
Coming back to Australia made leaving New Zealand a little bit easier. But only a little bit.
New Zealand was more amazing than I could have possibly imagined. The friends I went with and the people I met made it even better. I had so much fun this past week and I want to thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to do all of these amazing things. I really need you and Katie to come back with me one day so I can show you how incredible it is.
Before the trip, Brian kept telling me this was going to be the best week of our lives. I didn't want to get my hopes up, so I kept my expectations low, but it exceeded them in every possible way. It was one of the best weeks of my life.
I've been wanting to visit NZ for so many years I couldn't believe it was finally happening. It's kind of like how I still can't believe I'm in Australia sometimes.
Thursday April 2
I woke up at 5:45 because I was traveling alone and was scared of being late or getting lost (Melissa, Brian, Eli and Cara left for NZ yesterday, but couldn't because I had class). I ended up maneuvering the trains to Sydney and the airport perfectly fine, and excitedly boarded my flight to Christchurch. The safety video on the plane was Hobbit themed! It made me even more excited. (Not that I've seen the movies, I just know they were filmed all over NZ). Stopped for a bit in Auckland, and then had a short flight to Christchurch, where I got a shuttle to our accommodation for the night, Point Break Backpackers. Other people on the shuttle were talking and I was shocked by the Kiwi accent. It is not like Australian at all. They say E's like I's. For example, left=lift, mess=miss, etc. We went to bed early listening to the sound of Lord of the Rings playing really loud in the next room.
Friday April 3 - Bus
By 8am, 49 of us (40 girls, 9 guys…good ratio. Oh and out of the 9 boys, 3 of them are named Daniel) plus our tour guide Pirate, and driver Leftie, (both really funny) were loaded with all our stuff on the bus for the 8 hour journey across NZ to the west coast. We passed lots of beautiful mountains. It got greener and greener as we went along, because it rains 7-10m more on the west coast. Stopped at a few scenic places to take pictures, like some rocks where Lord of the Rings was filmed. We drove through Arthur's Pass National Park which had some beautiful, huge, snow capped mountains. Took pics with our $65 blow up sheep mascot. Slept a lot. Passed some really pretty blue glacial braided rivers. We stayed in tiny little town next to Fox Glacier. When we got to the hostel, Melissa, Cara, Sara, Brian and I went right to the hot tub. Met and talked to some other kids on the tour. Most are American, with a few Canadians and 2 Germans. Went to what seemed like the only restaurant/pub in town and spent $50 on one plate of food and one cider….this country is more expensive than Australia! Hung out and met some more people. We got a noise complaint from an old lady who legit came into the window. Pirate was with us, oops. He's funny.
Saturday April 4 - Fox Glacier
I started off the day by dropping my toothbrush in the toilet, and almost forgetting my only bathing suit. Then we suited up in waterproof gear, and hiked for a bit through the glacial valley in the pouring rain and cold. Despite the fog, the mountains and waterfalls were still really cool. We were under the impression that we would be walking on the actual glacier, but unfortunately this was not the case. You can't walk to the glacier anymore because it is receding (global warming) and is too dangerous. However, our views of it were pretty cool. I also enjoyed the fact that our guide Luke talked about stuff that I'm learning and have learned in school!!! (The environmental stuff obviously…I still have yet to apply calculus 3 or physics 2 in real life). Here are some interesting facts: The glacier is receding at a rate of 100m/year. These mountains are the fastest growing in the world and would be bigger than the Himalayas if they didn't erode at the same rate (2cm/yr). They're right on a fault line and there are little earthquakes everyday.
Then we got back on the bus. Drove along a valley next to a river through huge green mountains with waterfalls. The Germans (Philipp and Daniel) were funny to sit next to on the bus, they would take pics of or poke sleeping people and do silly stuff like that. At one of our scenic stops we went for a hike across some suspension bridges. Philipp and Daniel were jumping and shaking the bridges and scaring everyone. At the second bridge Leftie stopped and said, "bus challenge! Who's going to jump in?!" After two people went, I convinced Melissa to do it with me. It was already so freaking cold but we took off our outside layers and climbed over the railing. Standing there, I was like Allie you idiot, why would you do this. Normally I enjoy jumping off things, but that's when it's warm and I know how high I'm jumping from (I couldn't really judge how high this was). There was so much peer pressure that there was no backing out. We jumped, and the water was unbelievably freezing but somehow still not as bad as I was expecting. Ahh. So much fun. I guess that's why they call it extreme adventures! I'm so happy I did it. I was 100% in love with New Zealand at this point. 14 people jumped- 8 of the boys and 6 girls. We missed the previous bus record by 3 people. Drove by Lake Wanaka on our way to Wanaka. It is a huge lake. I wanted to row on it, it was so calm and blue. Tonight we stayed at the Base hostel in Wanaka.
In Australia, college kids drink cheap wine called goon. In New Zealand, they drink cheap cider. So I got some Scrumpy's cider to try. Had dinner at the bar below the hostel, then went out with Pirate and Leftie and the group. Brian, being the social butterfly that he is, met some funny British and Scottish dudes who were doing a gap year traveling around NZ. So cool! Successful first night out in New Zealand.
Sunday April 5 - Happy Easter!
Leftie played a joke on us yesterday and told us we could wake up before sunrise and go in the lake and see the freshwater dolphins. I was really excited to see the dolphins, until later in the night Pirate told us to think about the fact that it is a LAKE (aka no dolphins). I had had my alarm set and everything.
This was a free day, so myself and a few friends went to Puzzle World where they had a slanted room and a giant maze (among other illusions and puzzles). Then we stopped for lunch by a lake that made me miss Canada. People were jet skiing and tubing. (Haha, Ben--> I told the punch line joke on the microphone in front of the bus. Everyone hated me). Finally, we arrived in Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world!! Town looked cool. Reavers lodge was all the way at the top of a really steep hill, and Leftie backed the bus almost all the way up. I thought we were going to die. Anyway, got settled in and went to town to buy food. I really should've bought aloe too. Before coming here I read a blog that said to definitely bring bug spray. But I never use bug spray and I'm normally fine so I didn't think it would be an issue. Well it was. There were these tiny little gnats on the bus today that are actually called sand flies and they bite and you can't see them and they itch like heck. Went outside and played some games at our own little tent/firepit area, and then went out to experience the wonderful Queenstown nightlife.
Monday April 6 - Adventure Day!
We went down to Shotover canyon and rode jet boats that go up to (I think) 80mph, inches from the canyon walls. The boats were cool, I didn't get them! We were in about 3 inches of water! How can they draw less than that?? After that, we suited up in wetsuits and got bused to our helicopter pick up spot. The helicopter flew at low altitude right up to and along the mountains, then went vertical at one point. I was laughing the whole time because it was so awesome and fun. The helicopter took us to where we would start whitewater rafting! There were some cool rapids that were skinny and steep but the trip overall was too long and cold. Daniel and Philipp were in the boat with Melissa and Sara and I so that was entertaining. Pirate had advised us not to bring go pros because people lose them, but I really wish I'd brought it. They finally fed us dinner at Buffalo's at 8…we hadn't really gotten any meals all day.
Tuesday April 7 - Adventure Day 2! Bungee Jumping!!!!!
Took a gondola almost vertically up the side of the mountain next to our lodge. Up at the top there was an absolutely stunning view of Queenstown. Nice blue water and crazy high mountains. Went luging with Sara and the Germans. It was silly but fun. I thought it was actually going to be ice luge but it was little carts on a concrete path. Watching our group bungee jump was really funny. Brian flailed a lot. Danny did a perfect superman. Laura had such a cute little scream (compared to my scream…if you haven't heard, go watch the video I posted of my jump on Facebook). I was so excited because I have been waiting for the opportunity to bungee jump for years. Eli, Cara, Melissa and Sara all went right before me, so I watched them all go. I was not nervous until I got on the platform. I couldn't believe I was finally doing this. I got so scared right before I went. I didn't think I was going to scream but I jumped off it was just like oh crap there's the ground. I tried to superman but all of my limbs just did whatever they wanted. It was a kind of short fall but then bouncing was fun. I wanted to go again, but we weren't allowed. Did more luging. The second "advanced" track was more fun. Got Fergburger for lunch. It is a famous burger place that ALWAYS has a huge line. They only close between 5 and 7am. The wait wasn't too bad, and my Original Fergburger was AMAZING. Best burger I've ever eaten. If you are ever in New Zealand you MUST try a Fergburger. (And send one back to me, please, because I never got the opportunity to have another...despite being in Queenstown 4 days). Hottubbed it up with the boys, Sara and Pirate. Took a much needed nap before our pub crawl tonight. Visited a few of the best bars in town, with free drinks and discounts yay! We even did a "booze cruise" for about 15 min. Afterwards, a lot of the group stopped at Fergburger and I snagged some delicious bites of peoples burgers.
Wednesday April 9 - "Free Day", but my 3rd adventure day
I struggled to wake up bright and early at 7 for my day of adventures alone. I booked a canyoning tour myself because canyoning in New Zealand is on my bucket list and if I didn't cross it off now I never would. Suited up in wetsuits again. There was a short bus ride then a few minutes walk up the canyon. We first did 2 sketchy looking zip lines right up close to and between all these trees. Repelled down a wall and then jumped in the water! It was so cold I didn't want to go in yet, I wanted to stay warm as long as possible. The canyon itself was really cool. We did a few waterfall and cliff jumps into the water. The guides thought I was scared to jump but I just didn't want to submerge my head in the freezing water. It would have been awesome if it wasn't so cold. Honestly I couldn't really focus on how cool it was cause I was trying not to freeze. It was also really hard to hold all the ropes and things with freezing hands. Once we repelled into a cave and they dropped us in the water upside down. Slid down a few waterfalls, then last we swam through a skinny deep channel between really high rock walls. When I got back, I went in the hot tub to defrost, took short nap, and then headed off to go canyon swinging. It was really freaking high and over the river where we whitewater rafted on Monday. They call it the highest cliff jump in the world at 106m high, compared to the bungee yesterday which was 47m. It would've been nice to have someone I knew to do a tandem swing with, because I was completely petrified. But unfortunately everyone on my tour went this morning while I was canyoning. I was last in line and the girl who went first burst out in tears when she stood on the edge. I had to watch everyone else go and it was terrifying, they all looked so scared. I decided to go backwards my first time. I could absolutely not make myself lean backwards over the edge to take a picture when they told me to. I really thought I was about to chicken out, which is unlike me. Like I said, I like jumping off of things. But I was literally having a panic attack. I was standing on the edge... compared to the bungee where you had to run before seeing the edge so you were already committed. They made me jump. AHHH. It was awesome. Then swung around at the bottom. There was a very nice view dangling in the canyon. The water was so blue. You could jump again for an additional $35 so I did it. I thought I wouldn't be nervous the second time and I wasn't until I got to the edge again. I had to have the dude count again, and I faced forward this time. But man it was so much fun. The boys and Pirate were eating pizza when I got back. Harrison shared a piece with me and it was the best piece of Hawaiian pizza I have ever eaten. Not kidding. All the food here is crazy good. I think the place was called Hell's Pizza. So if you're ever in Queenstown, go there too. Tonight we went to an ice bar called Below Zero!! They gave you gloves and a parka before going in, but upon entrance, there was an ice sculpture of Olaf and it was so cool you didn't even think about the cold once you got in. There was an ice throne, ice chandelier, a giant mammoth, an ice fireplace, couches, an ice hockey table, and ice cups. Everyone was licking everything- so sanitary. One of the only rules was not to mount the mammoth, but Laura kind of did anyway. Went to bed "early" because I was exhausted from the past three days.
Thursday April 9 - Milford Sound
Got up at 7 and packed a backpack for Milford Sound tonight. Left the rest of our luggage at Reavers because Extreme Adventures owns it. On our 5 hour bus journey we encountered a bunch of sheep on the road, otherwise known as a kiwi traffic jam! We were stopped and they ran by the bus for a solid several minutes. Got a yummy steak and cheese pie in Te Anau. Saw the Mirror Lakes. We drove on a road along a river with HUGE snowcapped mountains right next to us. I couldn't believe how tall they were, and I can't imagine them forming. Stopped at a gorge too. Then we did a 2 hour boat cruise around Milford Sound. Miilford Sound is part of Fjordland Nature Reserve, which is gorgeous. Pictures absolutely don't do it justice. The whole time in the bus, I took a million pics of the mountains all around us. Now, when I look at them they're just a ton of mountain pictures, but in person they're amazing. It was drizzly for the boat ride and the waterfalls were cool. It's crazy how high the mountains were right next to us, coming straight out of the water. A few people stood out on the bow of the boat under a waterfall in their clothes and got completely soaked. Brian ran out in his underwear, which was smart, but then he forgot to put his clothes down, so he was holding them and they got soaking wet anyway. We all got fish and chips for dinner, then hung out in the lounge all night. We each had our own rooms for tonight, which was nice.
Friday April 10 - Glow worms
We took another boat ride in Te Anau to a glow worm cave. The walk through the cave was exciting, because it was pitch black in some spots where the rock ceiling was only about shoulder height. The rushing water also made some cool rock pools and waterfalls. We got on a boat to see the "atrium" of glowworms. They were green and glowy, but I was expecting a lot of glow worms, and there were just a few specs. This whole trip, Philipp has been doing a magic trick with matches that particularly annoyed Ryan, Danny, Laura and I because we couldn't figure out how he was doing it. Once we got wifi again, Danny googled it and figured it out. Then we drove back to Queenstown. Got back around 2:30/3 so we had a nice amount of free time. Went in the hottub, and Pirate told us about all of his tattoos. Walked around town with Laura, Brian, Ryan, Jacob and Philipp. Had a BBQ for our last night together :( And I missed my last chance to get a Fergburger.
Saturday April 11 - Back to Christchurch :(
Got up early for our 8 hour bus ride back to Christchurch. Caught up on a bit of sleep, I had a comfy pillow:) Went to a sheep farm and saw the dog herd a couple sheep. Some people fed them, but (sorry Aunt Donna) they were actually pretty nasty up close so I did not. Had a delicious home cooked "Easter" family dinner (a week late), and divine apple cobbler with caramel chunk ice cream for dessert. It was heaven because we hadn't had "real" home cooked food in 10 days. Brian ate some nuts again. But no hospital this time. We were almost in Christchurch when I started to realize that the trip was almost over. I didn't want to leave, and I wanted to stay with my new friends! Said bye to Pirate and Leftie, then walked around Christchurch for a while and finally got sub-par pizza. I was really craving that hawaiian pizza from the other night. And I was still pissed about forgetting to get Fergburger again. We all crammed in the TV room at Point Break and watched Lord of the Rings. I only stayed for a bit, said bye to everyone, and went to bed at 10.
Sunday April 12 - Bye NZ
Woke up in 3 short hours. Got to the airport at 3:10, and it wasn't even open! Waited around to check in after 4. And then security wasn't open until 5! We could've slept so much longer! I completely passed out on the flight to Auckland. This trip completely wiped me out. Got back to Wollongong at 3, and was going to do homework, but just looked at my pictures and reminisced about the trip. I had wanted to make a super cool New Zealand adventure go pro video with all my adventurous go pro videos, but they had advised us not to take cameras on most of the adventures! So my video isn't going to be as exciting as I thought. Pirate sent us a message on Facebook and said it's supposed to snow tomorrow in Queenstown!
In the days since the trip, I have:
-been amazed at how itchy my bug bites STILL are,
-gone to bed very early,
-gone to class,
-attempted to study,
-ate a whole pack of TimTams by myself in 24 hours
-(Melissa, Sara and I have) already booked our flights to Melbourne to see Philipp and Daniel!!!
Coming back to Australia made leaving New Zealand a little bit easier. But only a little bit.
New Zealand was more amazing than I could have possibly imagined. The friends I went with and the people I met made it even better. I had so much fun this past week and I want to thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to do all of these amazing things. I really need you and Katie to come back with me one day so I can show you how incredible it is.
Before the trip, Brian kept telling me this was going to be the best week of our lives. I didn't want to get my hopes up, so I kept my expectations low, but it exceeded them in every possible way. It was one of the best weeks of my life.