G'day mates!
As you can tell, I've been doing a lot of traveling. I had been gone almost every weekend for a month straight, so as you can imagine, it was very nice to have a weekend at home in Sydney. One of our friend, Justin, who studies at Wollongong (about an hour away) came to visit Gabi and I this weekend. We met him during our bus tour through New Zealand, so we were excited to see him almost a month later! We took him to all the touristy spots that everyone needs to see when they come to Sydney, which was a lot of fun for us since it was so long ago that we saw everything in Sydney.
Saturday night, Justin bought us tickets for the AFL "footie" game: the Sydney Swans. Now let me explain AFL footie. It's the Australian version of football and it's intense. It's played on a field similar to soccer, the football is shaped like our football, and the sport itself is a mixture of football, rugby, and soccer. The men don't wear pads, they run around the field and never stop unless the whistle is blown (which is very rare), and they slam each other into the ground. They can only pass the football by hitting the ball similar to an underhand serve in volleyball, they have to dribble the ball every so often, and the object of the game is to kick the ball between two poles. Sounds confusing, right? Yeah..I thought so too. We all had no idea what was going on and just stared at the field, cheered when someone got slammed into the ground and when they scored. Clearly we were awesome fans.
Other than showing Justin the ins and outs of Sydney's touristy spots and nightlife areas, we hung out and enjoyed are nice weekend at "home." It was great to catch up, relax, and spend time with all of our friends.
Cheers!
Whit
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Townsville
Hello!
After being gone for a weekend in Canberra and spending a total of 4 days in Sydney, I packed my bags yet again and headed on another weekend getaway. This time, I went to Townsville to visit my dear friend, Emma, with Gabi and Ben. Townsville is located in northern Queensland and is about 1,000 miles away from Sydney (so obviously we choose to fly for 3 hours rather than forcing Ben to drive us 12 hours). Though Emma wouldn't allow us to tell people we went to Townsville since it sounds lame, so Gabi, Ben, and I traveled to "Tropical Queensland."
Once we arrived in Tropical Queensland (and after I jumped on Emma and screamed with excitement to see her), Emma made us a nice little lunch and we all hung out and talked for a little while. Ben was feeling pretty sleepy, so he went to go take a nap while Emma took Gabi and I on a campus tour. I thought the campus was super cute! I'm not sure if I could study there since I'm too much of a city girl, but I really did enjoy it. The buildings and classrooms are sort of hidden in the bush; you have to walk along a path that leads into the forest for a second and then you are suddenly on campus. It's very much "Australia-esque," wild turkeys running around, rainforest all around, pic-nic tables in the grass, and mountains in the background. Emma also took us to see the different on-campus housing. Some of them looked pretty normal and cute, but there was one that I thought was hilarious and would die if I had to live in it. They're called Western Courts...sounds lovely doesn't it? It's actually a trailer park on top of an old outdoor basketball court. When we walked by, there were college kids sitting on their porch playing card games in rocking chairs, it was quite the site.
After we walked around campus, we went back to Emma's (her apartment is very nice...comfy cozy with great neighbors and a nice community kitchen area) to find Ben missing. Apparently he accidentally locked himself out of Emma's room and decided he was going to go on a walk and explore campus. He came back about a half an hour later with no shoes on and no phone. We all made fun of him. Later on that night, Emma took us over to her friend's place to participate in a beer pong tournament. Emma and I were on a team (we named ourselves 1,2,3 Triple D! Mighty Ducks anyone?) going against Gabi and Emma's friend, Norm (their team name was Purple Monkey something...it was weird). Our glorious 1,2,3 Triple D team suffered a terrible defeat by the Purple Monkeys...it was upsetting. After the tourney ended, we all went out to one of the bars called Mad Cow, which was a lot of fun. Gabi started talking to the manager of the bar, who then gave us vouchers for free drinks all night. Hooray for a free night!
On Saturday, we went down to the Strand and walked along the beach. It was a lovely day (despite it being rather cloudy...it was still warm), so it was nice to go walking along the beach, playing on the playgrounds, and running knee deep in the ocean. While we were walking, we came across a little event promoting fire safety. We noticed a fireman passing out bright pink stickers, so naturally, we all ran up to him to get our bright pink sticker promoting the stop, drop, and roll saying. The fireman then gave us a bunch of temporary tattoos, key chains, and balloons. We all immediately blew up our balloons and had a balloon fight; we were all very excited. After our nice little walk, we went back to campus to start preparing food for the International Dinner held by the apartment complex Emma lives in. It was a very nice event and looked like a mini-prom. Everyone got dressed up (luckily Gabi and I packed dresses), there were lights hanging everywhere, balloons and confetti on the tables, and sparkling wine being served (okay, so maybe that isn't so prom-ish..but it's still classy). After the dinner was over, we all decided to enjoy a low-key night and watch a movie. It was 5 girls and 1 guy in the room, so guess what kind of movie we got to watch. That's right, we forced Ben to watch a chick flick - He's Just Not That Into You...surprise surprise. As it turned out, all 5 of the girls fell asleep half way through and Ben was the only one who stayed up to watch it. He claims he didn't enjoy it, but I think he was lying. Why else would he be the only one to stay awake for it?
On Sunday Emma took us on a hike up a mountain. And by hike...I mean hike. It was pretty intense and made me realize that I should probably start working out a little more regularly. Once we got to the top of the mountain, though, it was breathtaking. The ocean shore was right below us, so we could look out over the ocean and see all of Townsville at the same time. After our wonderful hike, we went back to the apartment to prepare dinner - marinated kangaroo, broccoli, and potatoes. I was a little hesitant about eating kangaroo at first, but it was actually very very delicious! I don't really know how to describe it, it was a little tough (but not too tough), juicy, and delicious. Once we were done devouring this scrumptious meal, we decided to crack open a bottle of champagne (we're not as classy as we sound...it was $5. We're poor) and play some cards.
Gabi and Ben left to go back to Sydney on Monday morning while I stayed an extra day to spend more time with Emma. Emma and I had a very typical day for us. We made some oatmeal, sat on the bed, and watched the Sex and the City movie. Once we had our fill of Sex and the City, we went for a walk down by the river and talked nonstop for a couple of hours. We later met up with some of Emma's friends at a restaurant, had some pizza and beer to celebrate my last night/them being done with papers (wish I could say the same). It was a very nice last day with Emma - just hanging out, talking, and watching girlie movies all day. It was perfect. Then I sadly had to say goodbye to Emma and go back to Sydney just in time for my class. I really enjoyed Tropical Queensland. It was warm, it was beautiful, it was remote, and it was just overall nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney to relax with good friends.
I hope everything is going well with everyone back home!
Whit
After being gone for a weekend in Canberra and spending a total of 4 days in Sydney, I packed my bags yet again and headed on another weekend getaway. This time, I went to Townsville to visit my dear friend, Emma, with Gabi and Ben. Townsville is located in northern Queensland and is about 1,000 miles away from Sydney (so obviously we choose to fly for 3 hours rather than forcing Ben to drive us 12 hours). Though Emma wouldn't allow us to tell people we went to Townsville since it sounds lame, so Gabi, Ben, and I traveled to "Tropical Queensland."
Once we arrived in Tropical Queensland (and after I jumped on Emma and screamed with excitement to see her), Emma made us a nice little lunch and we all hung out and talked for a little while. Ben was feeling pretty sleepy, so he went to go take a nap while Emma took Gabi and I on a campus tour. I thought the campus was super cute! I'm not sure if I could study there since I'm too much of a city girl, but I really did enjoy it. The buildings and classrooms are sort of hidden in the bush; you have to walk along a path that leads into the forest for a second and then you are suddenly on campus. It's very much "Australia-esque," wild turkeys running around, rainforest all around, pic-nic tables in the grass, and mountains in the background. Emma also took us to see the different on-campus housing. Some of them looked pretty normal and cute, but there was one that I thought was hilarious and would die if I had to live in it. They're called Western Courts...sounds lovely doesn't it? It's actually a trailer park on top of an old outdoor basketball court. When we walked by, there were college kids sitting on their porch playing card games in rocking chairs, it was quite the site.
After we walked around campus, we went back to Emma's (her apartment is very nice...comfy cozy with great neighbors and a nice community kitchen area) to find Ben missing. Apparently he accidentally locked himself out of Emma's room and decided he was going to go on a walk and explore campus. He came back about a half an hour later with no shoes on and no phone. We all made fun of him. Later on that night, Emma took us over to her friend's place to participate in a beer pong tournament. Emma and I were on a team (we named ourselves 1,2,3 Triple D! Mighty Ducks anyone?) going against Gabi and Emma's friend, Norm (their team name was Purple Monkey something...it was weird). Our glorious 1,2,3 Triple D team suffered a terrible defeat by the Purple Monkeys...it was upsetting. After the tourney ended, we all went out to one of the bars called Mad Cow, which was a lot of fun. Gabi started talking to the manager of the bar, who then gave us vouchers for free drinks all night. Hooray for a free night!
On Saturday, we went down to the Strand and walked along the beach. It was a lovely day (despite it being rather cloudy...it was still warm), so it was nice to go walking along the beach, playing on the playgrounds, and running knee deep in the ocean. While we were walking, we came across a little event promoting fire safety. We noticed a fireman passing out bright pink stickers, so naturally, we all ran up to him to get our bright pink sticker promoting the stop, drop, and roll saying. The fireman then gave us a bunch of temporary tattoos, key chains, and balloons. We all immediately blew up our balloons and had a balloon fight; we were all very excited. After our nice little walk, we went back to campus to start preparing food for the International Dinner held by the apartment complex Emma lives in. It was a very nice event and looked like a mini-prom. Everyone got dressed up (luckily Gabi and I packed dresses), there were lights hanging everywhere, balloons and confetti on the tables, and sparkling wine being served (okay, so maybe that isn't so prom-ish..but it's still classy). After the dinner was over, we all decided to enjoy a low-key night and watch a movie. It was 5 girls and 1 guy in the room, so guess what kind of movie we got to watch. That's right, we forced Ben to watch a chick flick - He's Just Not That Into You...surprise surprise. As it turned out, all 5 of the girls fell asleep half way through and Ben was the only one who stayed up to watch it. He claims he didn't enjoy it, but I think he was lying. Why else would he be the only one to stay awake for it?
On Sunday Emma took us on a hike up a mountain. And by hike...I mean hike. It was pretty intense and made me realize that I should probably start working out a little more regularly. Once we got to the top of the mountain, though, it was breathtaking. The ocean shore was right below us, so we could look out over the ocean and see all of Townsville at the same time. After our wonderful hike, we went back to the apartment to prepare dinner - marinated kangaroo, broccoli, and potatoes. I was a little hesitant about eating kangaroo at first, but it was actually very very delicious! I don't really know how to describe it, it was a little tough (but not too tough), juicy, and delicious. Once we were done devouring this scrumptious meal, we decided to crack open a bottle of champagne (we're not as classy as we sound...it was $5. We're poor) and play some cards.
Gabi and Ben left to go back to Sydney on Monday morning while I stayed an extra day to spend more time with Emma. Emma and I had a very typical day for us. We made some oatmeal, sat on the bed, and watched the Sex and the City movie. Once we had our fill of Sex and the City, we went for a walk down by the river and talked nonstop for a couple of hours. We later met up with some of Emma's friends at a restaurant, had some pizza and beer to celebrate my last night/them being done with papers (wish I could say the same). It was a very nice last day with Emma - just hanging out, talking, and watching girlie movies all day. It was perfect. Then I sadly had to say goodbye to Emma and go back to Sydney just in time for my class. I really enjoyed Tropical Queensland. It was warm, it was beautiful, it was remote, and it was just overall nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney to relax with good friends.
I hope everything is going well with everyone back home!
Whit
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Canberra
Greetings,
I'm still rather behind on my adventures, so the catching up continues. My friend, Ben, is originally from Canberra and he asked Gabi and I if we wanted to go home with him for a weekend so we could see the capital of Australia. On May 1 - 3, we made the 3 and a half car ride journey to see the capital.
We didn't get into Canberra until 10:00 Friday night, so we just went straight to Ben's house in the country. On our way through the country, Ben told us that we had to watch for roos to make sure he didn't hit any. Gabi and I were really excited that we were on the lookout for roos and thought we would only see maybe 1 or 2 hopping along. Oh no, there were heaps (over-used Australian word that I love and have adopted)! I couldn't even count how many we saw and had to stop for, and they were all just hanging out at the edge of the road. I think I squealed with excitement every time I saw a roo...pretty sure Ben got a little annoyed by the end. There were even roos hanging out in his front yard. It was pretty great. When we got to his house, Ben suggested that we take a walk to the top of hill so we can see all the lights in Canberra. So Gabi and I get all bundled up (it was pretty cold), Ben grabs the flashlight, and we head off through the forest and up a hill. About 10 minutes into the walk, our flashlight burns out and we can no longer see a thing, which was an issue considering we were in the middle of a forest on a very small path, so we did the whole train thing holding onto eachother's shoulders while Ben led the way. We made it out of the forest perfectly fine and just had a giant hill full of rocks and logs to survive. There were a few trips and stumbles along the way, but nothing too serious...until we were about 2 feet away from the top. Gabi did not see a giant rock on the ground and ended up slicing the bottom of her foot open, causing her to start bleeding all over the place. It was not pretty. So Ben walked back to his house, got his car, and came to pick us up. We did luckily get to see the lights of Canberra and all the stars, so it wasn't all bad. When we got back to Ben's, we were all pretty tired and got ready for bed...by setting up a tent. Yes, we camped out in a tent in Ben's backyard. Gabi is allergic to dogs and since Ben has two dogs, we decided to camp out in a tent. It was pretty hilarious; we were all wearing 3 layers of clothes and had 2 blankets on us to stay warm. I, naturally, slept very well and stayed pretty warm all night.
Saturday morning Ben took us to meet up with a couple of his friends for a breakfast BBQ in a park. However, before we went to the park to eat our breakfast, him and his friends took Gabi and I for a cruise through the windy roads and up a mountain. Gabi and Ben both got a little carsick (yes, Ben made himself carsick with his own driving), though neither of them got seriously sick. I don't get motion sickness so I was good to go and thouroughly enjoyed the nice scenery. After we enjoyed our delicious breakfast BBQ, Ben dropped Gabi and I off near the parliment house so we could see all the tourist attractions. Unlike Washington DC, where there are a never-ending amount of monuments, memorials, museums, and any other sort of historic attraction imaginable, Canberra has about 5. Gabi and I spent quite a bit of tmie in the Old Parliment House, went to the New Parliment House, walked along the river, and then went to the science museum to get a coffee (it was $15 to actually see the museum, and we were too cheap to pay it). Ben came and picked us up a few hours later and then we went to his sister's high school play - Grease. Gabi and I were super excited to see Grease and had a lot of fun watching it. Everyone in the play were trying to speak in an American accent throughout the whole thing, which was pretty hilarious. The play was also filled with American stereotypes. Every scene would end with some comment about going to get a cheeseburger or going home to watch the Mickey Mouse Club. Overall, the play was very entertaining. Later on that night, Gabi and I introduced Ben to the wonderful, delicious, amazing S'mores. He had never had one before, nor ever heard of one, and thought they sounded discusting. So Gabi and I forced Ben to start a bonfire, we went out and bought marshmallows and chocolate (my mom had already sent me graham crackers a while ago...they don't exist in this country), and we forced Ben to eat it. He ended up really liking them, but really...who doesn't love a s'more? They weren't as awesome as they normally are since it wasn't made with Hershey's chocolate (granted Cadbury chocolate is better, but not for S'mores) and it wasn't made with Jet-Puff marshamllows. Actually, the marshmallows we used tasted a little like raspberries, so our s'mores were a little fruity. Oh well, they were still pretty good.
On Sunday, Gabi and I went to the War Memorial, which was really interesting. I really didn't know a whole lot about Australian history, so it was cool to learn about it all. I really liked the World War II section; it was interesting to learn about the war from a different point of view other than the U.S. After we were done with the final tourist attraction (see..I told you there were only about 5 things to see), we packed up our things and made our way back to Sydney. So there was my little adventure to the capital of Australia!
Cheers!
Whit
I'm still rather behind on my adventures, so the catching up continues. My friend, Ben, is originally from Canberra and he asked Gabi and I if we wanted to go home with him for a weekend so we could see the capital of Australia. On May 1 - 3, we made the 3 and a half car ride journey to see the capital.
We didn't get into Canberra until 10:00 Friday night, so we just went straight to Ben's house in the country. On our way through the country, Ben told us that we had to watch for roos to make sure he didn't hit any. Gabi and I were really excited that we were on the lookout for roos and thought we would only see maybe 1 or 2 hopping along. Oh no, there were heaps (over-used Australian word that I love and have adopted)! I couldn't even count how many we saw and had to stop for, and they were all just hanging out at the edge of the road. I think I squealed with excitement every time I saw a roo...pretty sure Ben got a little annoyed by the end. There were even roos hanging out in his front yard. It was pretty great. When we got to his house, Ben suggested that we take a walk to the top of hill so we can see all the lights in Canberra. So Gabi and I get all bundled up (it was pretty cold), Ben grabs the flashlight, and we head off through the forest and up a hill. About 10 minutes into the walk, our flashlight burns out and we can no longer see a thing, which was an issue considering we were in the middle of a forest on a very small path, so we did the whole train thing holding onto eachother's shoulders while Ben led the way. We made it out of the forest perfectly fine and just had a giant hill full of rocks and logs to survive. There were a few trips and stumbles along the way, but nothing too serious...until we were about 2 feet away from the top. Gabi did not see a giant rock on the ground and ended up slicing the bottom of her foot open, causing her to start bleeding all over the place. It was not pretty. So Ben walked back to his house, got his car, and came to pick us up. We did luckily get to see the lights of Canberra and all the stars, so it wasn't all bad. When we got back to Ben's, we were all pretty tired and got ready for bed...by setting up a tent. Yes, we camped out in a tent in Ben's backyard. Gabi is allergic to dogs and since Ben has two dogs, we decided to camp out in a tent. It was pretty hilarious; we were all wearing 3 layers of clothes and had 2 blankets on us to stay warm. I, naturally, slept very well and stayed pretty warm all night.
Saturday morning Ben took us to meet up with a couple of his friends for a breakfast BBQ in a park. However, before we went to the park to eat our breakfast, him and his friends took Gabi and I for a cruise through the windy roads and up a mountain. Gabi and Ben both got a little carsick (yes, Ben made himself carsick with his own driving), though neither of them got seriously sick. I don't get motion sickness so I was good to go and thouroughly enjoyed the nice scenery. After we enjoyed our delicious breakfast BBQ, Ben dropped Gabi and I off near the parliment house so we could see all the tourist attractions. Unlike Washington DC, where there are a never-ending amount of monuments, memorials, museums, and any other sort of historic attraction imaginable, Canberra has about 5. Gabi and I spent quite a bit of tmie in the Old Parliment House, went to the New Parliment House, walked along the river, and then went to the science museum to get a coffee (it was $15 to actually see the museum, and we were too cheap to pay it). Ben came and picked us up a few hours later and then we went to his sister's high school play - Grease. Gabi and I were super excited to see Grease and had a lot of fun watching it. Everyone in the play were trying to speak in an American accent throughout the whole thing, which was pretty hilarious. The play was also filled with American stereotypes. Every scene would end with some comment about going to get a cheeseburger or going home to watch the Mickey Mouse Club. Overall, the play was very entertaining. Later on that night, Gabi and I introduced Ben to the wonderful, delicious, amazing S'mores. He had never had one before, nor ever heard of one, and thought they sounded discusting. So Gabi and I forced Ben to start a bonfire, we went out and bought marshmallows and chocolate (my mom had already sent me graham crackers a while ago...they don't exist in this country), and we forced Ben to eat it. He ended up really liking them, but really...who doesn't love a s'more? They weren't as awesome as they normally are since it wasn't made with Hershey's chocolate (granted Cadbury chocolate is better, but not for S'mores) and it wasn't made with Jet-Puff marshamllows. Actually, the marshmallows we used tasted a little like raspberries, so our s'mores were a little fruity. Oh well, they were still pretty good.
On Sunday, Gabi and I went to the War Memorial, which was really interesting. I really didn't know a whole lot about Australian history, so it was cool to learn about it all. I really liked the World War II section; it was interesting to learn about the war from a different point of view other than the U.S. After we were done with the final tourist attraction (see..I told you there were only about 5 things to see), we packed up our things and made our way back to Sydney. So there was my little adventure to the capital of Australia!
Cheers!
Whit
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
New Zealand
Hello dear friends,
Apparently I suck at updating my blog and staying on track. I have the opposite mentality that should normally occur when I have a lot of stuff to do. Instead of just doing everything and getting it done, I become overwhelmed and just avoid it. Yet, today I decided that I would sit down and tell my tales. It's time to catch you all up!
We had our Spring Break April 11-19, so Gabi and I booked a trip to tour around the South Island of New Zealand. It was one of the best experiences of my life and it really was the most beautiful place I have ever been.
Saturday, April 11:
We arrive in Christchurch and have a free day since it's the day before our tour begins. We decide to check into our hostel (which was really not that great of a hostel...a little disappointing) and then walk around to explore the town. We were so excited to see the mountains to be in New Zealand! After we explored and went out to dinner, we attended a midnight Easter service at a beautiful church. Gabi and I were a little sad we couldn't spend Easter with our families, but were glad we had a good friend to enjoy it with.
Sunday, April 12:
Today is the first day of our tour and I really wasn't sure what to expect. We loaded the bus (which was named Roxy) and set off for our adventure. Our bus ride was similar to the surf camp one - loud music, everyone had to introduce themselves to the bus (all 50 of us), and basically a party. We were on Roxy for a good 6 days (off and on of course), so we all got pretty close to one another and pretty sick of Roxy. Our destination was to Lake Ohau the first day and we made several stop son the way there. We were all really excited - everything was so beautiful and exciting. I took about a million pictures of the Southern Alps. After a while the mountain pictures all start to look alike, so I had to force myself to tone it down a bit. We stopped at Lake Pukaki, which was probably one of my favorite stops. The Southern Alps were in the background with sparkly, turquoise, fresh glacier water; absolutely amazing! We also took a hike (and by hike, I mean uphill walk) through some of the mountains to get closer to Mount Cook. We finally made it to Lake Ohau later on that night and it was peaceful, beautiful, and amazing. We had a very lovely dinner followed shortly by a toga party. I was lame and did not participate in the displaying of a toga (it was really cold and I didn't feel like spilling wine all over my bed sheet), but I still enjoyed myself with everyone and took lots of pictures.
Monday, April 13:
It was an early wake-up call at 6:00 in the morning in order to load the bust at 6:50. The poor people who went all out at the toga party were dragging quite a bit as Roxy made its way to Milford Sound. We made a few stops to have some photo opportunities with the waterfalls, rivers, and beautiful scenery before we drove through the mountain (a literal tunnel that goes through the mountain) on our way to the sound. Once we arrived at Milford Sound, we unloaded the bus, loaded a boat, and began our journey on an overnight cruise. The cruise was a lot of fun and I was able to see amazing waterfalls, seals, and of course the mountains. Before we enjoyed our delicious dinner, we all went kayaking (I even kayaked up to a seal sitting by a waterfall) and then we all went for a swim...bad idea. The water was about 40 degrees and stung the second I hit the water. Gabi decided to swim a lap around the boat (or more so she was easily persuaded by our tour guide who she has a huge crush on) while I just jumped in, screamed in shock, and jumped right out. After our very cold swim, we ate dinner and then played a long game of Monopoly. I was doing really well and winning throughout the entire game, but suffered a defeat when everyone started making shady deals. The game ended a few hours later with one guy owning EVERY property with houses and hotels...there was no hope and I was a little disappointed at my sudden loss. One day I will win a game of Monopoly.
Tuesday, April 14:
After being awoken by the captain's announcement followed by a very loud horn, we cruised a little more around the Tasman sea, saw some more waterfalls and seals, and ported back where we started. Once we were off the boat, we hopped back on our beloved Roxy and set forth to Queenstown - the adrenaline capital of the world. When we first arrived, we walked around the city, went into the little shops and cafes, and just hung out until it was time for our group dinner at an awesome pizza bar called Winnies. After we were done eating, our group went to a bar called 5 below, which is a bar made entirely of ice. There were ice sculptures, the floor was ice, the walls were ice, the bar was ice, even our glasses were ice (I started to eat mine when I was done with my drink). It was really cold in there, but they gave us a giant fur hooded coat, gloves, and boots, so it wasn't too bad. After the half hour rendez-vous in the igloo, we all went next door to a bar called Frasers, where we spent the remainder of our night. The bartenders played our "bus song" and we all got up on the bar to dance while the bartenders made us all flaming shots. It was a small town bar, but a lot of fun.
Wednesday, April 15:
Today is my adventure-packed day. The first half of the day was spent horseback riding through the Southern Alps. It was very relaxing and amazing to be able to see everything. I even got to see where they filmed some of the scenes from Lord of the Rings (which, of course, I was all about). My horse, named Murphy, was a little skiddish and did not like it when any of the other horses came near him. There were a few times that I thought I was going to fall off the mountain when Murphy made sudden movements to get away from the other horses, but I was fine in the end. Murphy also did not understand the concept of picking up his feet when he had to step over an object, so he tripped a lot. There were a lot of gasps and little screams made by me throughout this little adventure. However, these screams were nothing compared to the one I made while bungy jumping. Yes, I bungy jumped off a bridge - the first bungy jumping sight in the world. It was exhilarating, it was exciting, it was amazing, and it was terrifying. I actually was unaware I could make such an atrocious scream, but I managed to accomplish it while I was plummeting toward a beautiful blue river head first. As scary as it was, the fun factor definitely outweighed it; I would definitely do it again. Maybe next time I'll try skydiving...we'll see.
Thursday, April 16:
After an eventful couple of days in Queenstown, it was time to hop back on Roxy and head toward Fox Glacier. We had a 2:00 appointment to go on a 4 hour hike up a glacier, which I was pretty thrilled about. However, our glacier walk got canceled due to all the rain and flooding in the west coast of New Zealand. So we were stuck in this tiny town known as Fox Glacier with nothing there...besides the glacier of course. Well luck would have it that this would be the day that I came down with a fever and a cold, so I just decided to take some medicine and go to bed. Don't worry, I didn't have the swine flu and I have been healthy ever since...besides a minor case of strep throat, but that's all taken care of as well. So this day was relatively uneventful.
Friday, April 17:
I woke up feeling well rested and feverless, so that was a good sign. However, it was still raining and we missed yet another activity on the agenda due to the flooding and a collapsed road. We were scheduled to go to Flock Hill and see all the sheep, cattle, and deer. I was pretty excited to pet a sheep, they look so cuddly (random fact of the day, there are more sheep in New Zealand than there are people). However, we were still stuck in a tiny town at a cafe, so I decided to entertain my friends with a talking teapot. They all thought I was crazy, but it did make the time go a little faster. The road finally cleared up and we were able to go on our re-routed way back to Queenstown. None of us were complaining that we got to go back to Queenstown for a night, even if we had to give up the petting of a sheep. On the bus ride back to Queenstown, our tour guide (who Gabi has a huge crush on and we have both befriended...we are actually going to be staying with him when we go back to New Zealand at the end of the semester) decided to make up some bus games. One bus game was a dating show and he needed volunteers in order to play, so I forced Gabi to participate while I refused. It turned out to be one of those dating shows where the guy has to pick from three contestants without seeing who the contestants are. The questions that were being asked were pretty ridiculous and embarrassing, Gabi was hating me for making her play...I found it quite amusing. But as it turns out, the guy ended up picking Gabi and so she won a date with him that night. Our tour guide set up a separate table for them with flowers, a glass of wine, and a tequila shot (keeping it classy) at the hotel restaurant we were staying at later that night. So thanks to me, Gabi got a free date!
Saturday, April 18:
This was our last day on our bus tour and we were all sad for it to be over. We made our way back to Christchurch where we had our final dinner and night out together. We ate at a fabulous Italian restaurant and then went out to a low-key bar where we could all sit around and talk. It was sad to leave some of the people, but it was overall a great last night. I ended up going to bed fairly early this night since my plane left at 6:10 the next morning and I had to be at the airport at 4:00.
So that was my Spring Break, a wonderful tour around the south island of New Zealand! It was one of the best experiences, I made a lot of friends, and I got to see a lot of amazing things. I'm excited to go back and travel the North Island in just 2 months!
Much love,
Whit
Apparently I suck at updating my blog and staying on track. I have the opposite mentality that should normally occur when I have a lot of stuff to do. Instead of just doing everything and getting it done, I become overwhelmed and just avoid it. Yet, today I decided that I would sit down and tell my tales. It's time to catch you all up!
We had our Spring Break April 11-19, so Gabi and I booked a trip to tour around the South Island of New Zealand. It was one of the best experiences of my life and it really was the most beautiful place I have ever been.
Saturday, April 11:
We arrive in Christchurch and have a free day since it's the day before our tour begins. We decide to check into our hostel (which was really not that great of a hostel...a little disappointing) and then walk around to explore the town. We were so excited to see the mountains to be in New Zealand! After we explored and went out to dinner, we attended a midnight Easter service at a beautiful church. Gabi and I were a little sad we couldn't spend Easter with our families, but were glad we had a good friend to enjoy it with.
Sunday, April 12:
Today is the first day of our tour and I really wasn't sure what to expect. We loaded the bus (which was named Roxy) and set off for our adventure. Our bus ride was similar to the surf camp one - loud music, everyone had to introduce themselves to the bus (all 50 of us), and basically a party. We were on Roxy for a good 6 days (off and on of course), so we all got pretty close to one another and pretty sick of Roxy. Our destination was to Lake Ohau the first day and we made several stop son the way there. We were all really excited - everything was so beautiful and exciting. I took about a million pictures of the Southern Alps. After a while the mountain pictures all start to look alike, so I had to force myself to tone it down a bit. We stopped at Lake Pukaki, which was probably one of my favorite stops. The Southern Alps were in the background with sparkly, turquoise, fresh glacier water; absolutely amazing! We also took a hike (and by hike, I mean uphill walk) through some of the mountains to get closer to Mount Cook. We finally made it to Lake Ohau later on that night and it was peaceful, beautiful, and amazing. We had a very lovely dinner followed shortly by a toga party. I was lame and did not participate in the displaying of a toga (it was really cold and I didn't feel like spilling wine all over my bed sheet), but I still enjoyed myself with everyone and took lots of pictures.
Monday, April 13:
It was an early wake-up call at 6:00 in the morning in order to load the bust at 6:50. The poor people who went all out at the toga party were dragging quite a bit as Roxy made its way to Milford Sound. We made a few stops to have some photo opportunities with the waterfalls, rivers, and beautiful scenery before we drove through the mountain (a literal tunnel that goes through the mountain) on our way to the sound. Once we arrived at Milford Sound, we unloaded the bus, loaded a boat, and began our journey on an overnight cruise. The cruise was a lot of fun and I was able to see amazing waterfalls, seals, and of course the mountains. Before we enjoyed our delicious dinner, we all went kayaking (I even kayaked up to a seal sitting by a waterfall) and then we all went for a swim...bad idea. The water was about 40 degrees and stung the second I hit the water. Gabi decided to swim a lap around the boat (or more so she was easily persuaded by our tour guide who she has a huge crush on) while I just jumped in, screamed in shock, and jumped right out. After our very cold swim, we ate dinner and then played a long game of Monopoly. I was doing really well and winning throughout the entire game, but suffered a defeat when everyone started making shady deals. The game ended a few hours later with one guy owning EVERY property with houses and hotels...there was no hope and I was a little disappointed at my sudden loss. One day I will win a game of Monopoly.
Tuesday, April 14:
After being awoken by the captain's announcement followed by a very loud horn, we cruised a little more around the Tasman sea, saw some more waterfalls and seals, and ported back where we started. Once we were off the boat, we hopped back on our beloved Roxy and set forth to Queenstown - the adrenaline capital of the world. When we first arrived, we walked around the city, went into the little shops and cafes, and just hung out until it was time for our group dinner at an awesome pizza bar called Winnies. After we were done eating, our group went to a bar called 5 below, which is a bar made entirely of ice. There were ice sculptures, the floor was ice, the walls were ice, the bar was ice, even our glasses were ice (I started to eat mine when I was done with my drink). It was really cold in there, but they gave us a giant fur hooded coat, gloves, and boots, so it wasn't too bad. After the half hour rendez-vous in the igloo, we all went next door to a bar called Frasers, where we spent the remainder of our night. The bartenders played our "bus song" and we all got up on the bar to dance while the bartenders made us all flaming shots. It was a small town bar, but a lot of fun.
Wednesday, April 15:
Today is my adventure-packed day. The first half of the day was spent horseback riding through the Southern Alps. It was very relaxing and amazing to be able to see everything. I even got to see where they filmed some of the scenes from Lord of the Rings (which, of course, I was all about). My horse, named Murphy, was a little skiddish and did not like it when any of the other horses came near him. There were a few times that I thought I was going to fall off the mountain when Murphy made sudden movements to get away from the other horses, but I was fine in the end. Murphy also did not understand the concept of picking up his feet when he had to step over an object, so he tripped a lot. There were a lot of gasps and little screams made by me throughout this little adventure. However, these screams were nothing compared to the one I made while bungy jumping. Yes, I bungy jumped off a bridge - the first bungy jumping sight in the world. It was exhilarating, it was exciting, it was amazing, and it was terrifying. I actually was unaware I could make such an atrocious scream, but I managed to accomplish it while I was plummeting toward a beautiful blue river head first. As scary as it was, the fun factor definitely outweighed it; I would definitely do it again. Maybe next time I'll try skydiving...we'll see.
Thursday, April 16:
After an eventful couple of days in Queenstown, it was time to hop back on Roxy and head toward Fox Glacier. We had a 2:00 appointment to go on a 4 hour hike up a glacier, which I was pretty thrilled about. However, our glacier walk got canceled due to all the rain and flooding in the west coast of New Zealand. So we were stuck in this tiny town known as Fox Glacier with nothing there...besides the glacier of course. Well luck would have it that this would be the day that I came down with a fever and a cold, so I just decided to take some medicine and go to bed. Don't worry, I didn't have the swine flu and I have been healthy ever since...besides a minor case of strep throat, but that's all taken care of as well. So this day was relatively uneventful.
Friday, April 17:
I woke up feeling well rested and feverless, so that was a good sign. However, it was still raining and we missed yet another activity on the agenda due to the flooding and a collapsed road. We were scheduled to go to Flock Hill and see all the sheep, cattle, and deer. I was pretty excited to pet a sheep, they look so cuddly (random fact of the day, there are more sheep in New Zealand than there are people). However, we were still stuck in a tiny town at a cafe, so I decided to entertain my friends with a talking teapot. They all thought I was crazy, but it did make the time go a little faster. The road finally cleared up and we were able to go on our re-routed way back to Queenstown. None of us were complaining that we got to go back to Queenstown for a night, even if we had to give up the petting of a sheep. On the bus ride back to Queenstown, our tour guide (who Gabi has a huge crush on and we have both befriended...we are actually going to be staying with him when we go back to New Zealand at the end of the semester) decided to make up some bus games. One bus game was a dating show and he needed volunteers in order to play, so I forced Gabi to participate while I refused. It turned out to be one of those dating shows where the guy has to pick from three contestants without seeing who the contestants are. The questions that were being asked were pretty ridiculous and embarrassing, Gabi was hating me for making her play...I found it quite amusing. But as it turns out, the guy ended up picking Gabi and so she won a date with him that night. Our tour guide set up a separate table for them with flowers, a glass of wine, and a tequila shot (keeping it classy) at the hotel restaurant we were staying at later that night. So thanks to me, Gabi got a free date!
Saturday, April 18:
This was our last day on our bus tour and we were all sad for it to be over. We made our way back to Christchurch where we had our final dinner and night out together. We ate at a fabulous Italian restaurant and then went out to a low-key bar where we could all sit around and talk. It was sad to leave some of the people, but it was overall a great last night. I ended up going to bed fairly early this night since my plane left at 6:10 the next morning and I had to be at the airport at 4:00.
So that was my Spring Break, a wonderful tour around the south island of New Zealand! It was one of the best experiences, I made a lot of friends, and I got to see a lot of amazing things. I'm excited to go back and travel the North Island in just 2 months!
Much love,
Whit
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)