DAY 131: Last Night in Auckland

My final week in Auckland was pretty uneventful. Aside from some final meals with friends and a few birthday celebrations, it was a fairly mellow week. Tonight, we finished where we started with drinks at Danny Doolin's (the first bar we went to in Auckland).

And now it is time to say goodbye to the city and country I have called home these past 5 months. It's hard to believe that not long ago I was painting houses and waiting tables to pay for my ticket here, and now I'm about to board the plane to leave.

This country has been incredible. The places I've been, the adventures I've had, the people I have met will always stay with me. I love New Zealand. It's where I became sort of a badass and an explorer, where I made some of my best friends. I'm so sad this experience is coming to a close, but it makes me so grateful for all that I have accomplished. I learned the Haka, and saw an All Blacks Game. I learned about the Maori Culture and became a better person because of it. I saw more of New Zealand than most Kiwis ever have! I went caving, and sky diving, and bungy jumping. I did some of the hardest hikes of my life and saw the most breathtaking views. I paddled around the Milford Sound, I skied down Mt. Doom's ash, I ran down the stairs of Mueller Hut Track, laughing with my friends as I went. I saw the Tasman Sea hit the Pacific, and saw dolphins in the Auckland Bay. I stayed at more hostels and campsites than I can count; even a nudist colony! I had the time of my life, and I did it all with friends who quickly became my family here. I love these people, and even though I'm leaving New Zealand, I never plan on losing them. Friendship isn't about whom you've known the longest. It's about who showed up and never left your heart.

But we have one more adventure ahead guys, as we board a plane in a couple of hours. Lets make it count. FIJI HERE WE COME!

This was Lizzy's final project for Photography. Well Done Liz!

DAY 123-124: Blackbutt Animal Reserve

Shaina and her friends Kinga and Caitlin took me to the Blackbutt Animal Reserve in New Castle. It is essentially a free zoo, (and I like free!) where I got the opportunity to see koalas and kangeroos. Not only did I get to see them, but I got to pet and feed them!

I was soooo excited! The koala was surprisingly fluffy. And the kangaroo was surprisingly timid. As I was feeding it, the great big giant emu kept coming over to steal the food! Jerk. But the kanga was so cute and nice.

Afterward, one of Shaina's roommates put on a hypnotist show. I had a fun time watching, it was pretty ridiculous. I left New Castle very early in the morning on a train back to Sydney. Shaina gave me directions to the correct train to take to the airport, and before I knew it, I was back in Auckland. Great vacation :)

DAY 121-122: Paddy's Market and New Castle

That morning, Shaina took me to Paddy's Market. It is essentially a giant souvenir building with lots of venders in their little tents. It was actually really fun! I bought a boomerang!

We got some breakfast and got on the train to New Castle (where Shaina lives). Although it is only an hourish drive from Sydney to New Castle, the train ride took about 3 hours. So we made oursleves comfortable and enjoyed the ride.

I was so excited to meet all of Shaina's friends! She lives in a split house with 11 roommates on one side, and 12 more on the other. I had a lot of fun going out with them and eating at all of their favorite places. She showed me her beach, which is literally a 5 minute walk from her house. I had a great time hanging out in New Castle.

DAY 120: Oh Sydney

Shaina and I had a lot of exploring to do! We woke up early and headed for the Botanic Gardens. On the way, we stopped at the New South Wales Art Museum (which was ten times better than the Auckland one). It was so cool - the first painting I saw was of Milford Sound, which I had been to! The painting was so real, it was crazy.

After the art museum, we took a stroll through the gardens and out towards the bay. We saw the Opera House by day light and went inside to pick up our ballet tickets for that evening.

We went down to the harbor and bought ferry tickets to Manly Beach. Shaina and I walked around the town a bit, sat on the beach and enjoyed the sunshine, got some lunch, and headed back to the city. We got fancy at the hostel and met up with my friends Brett and Sarah for dinner!

Brett and Sarah were also exploring Australia, and we were lucky enough to be in Sydney at the same time. They convinced Shaina and I to go to the ballet with them. We ate at a Taiwanese Restaurant, which I had never had before. It was really good! We had a few glasses of wine and then headed to the Opera House. At a bar outside, we all split a bottle of wine and picked up Brett and Sarah's tickets.

The show was called "Blak" and it was put on by the Bangarra Dance Company. They were all of Aboriginal  descent, which was pretty cool. The music was all Aboriginal as well, and it was very repetitive. This kind of show wasn't really what I was prepared to see- I mean, it is very contemporary and is not what I think of when I think of Ballet.

Regardless, I'm making excuses. Because I am a terrible person... I fell asleep during the show.

I know, I know! I'm at the Sydney Opera House! But we drank quite a bit of wine before hand, it was really dark, and the seats were super comfy! Sarah fell asleep for a little bit too!

I caught the end of it, which was actually really well done. Shaina and Brett loved it, so I guess that's what matters.

After the show, we said good bye to each other and headed back to our hostels.

DAY 119: Sydney Bound!

After finishing my exams, I left New Zealand to see my best friend Shaina in Australia! She lives in New Castle, which is about an hour drive from Sydney. She took a train into Sydney and we planned on spending a couple days there.

I flew in relatively late at night and took a train into the city to meet her. We booked a hostel stay at Base X in the middle of the city, then walked to the water front. We promptly called our parents to say hi and had a drink at the Opera House bar which over looked the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. What a wonderful way to finish exams :)

DAY 115: All Black's Game!

My friend's and I decided that while we were in New Zealand, we had to see at least one rugby game. And if we were only going to see one, we might as well see THE ONE and watch the All Blacks play the French.

FUN FACT #55: The All Blacks is the title of the New Zealand national team. Each major city in New Zealand has it's own team as well, but the best of the best play for the All Blacks and no other. 

FUN FACT #56: Before every game, the All Blacks perform the Haka. (The traditional Maori war dance)

We all bought tickets to sit together, and we put on face paint and were on our way. I was really excited, but Amy, Lizzy and Nate took their excitement to the next level. In painting their faces, they thought it would be a good idea to go "All Black" for the All Blacks game. The result was the appearance of them going Black face to a public event. Needless to say, we got some strange looks shot our way.

The All Blacks won! And they beat the French, which just made me even more happy. The game was much less roudy than I would have imagined it, but I suppose that's the Kiwi way. This ain't 'Murica where the beer flows freely and the cheer leaders aren't men. Seriously, why do they do that?

DAY 108: Cheating Death Once More- BUNGY!

The day didn't start off great when I melted a hair-dryer trying to dry out my hiking boots. Whoopsies. I  had to pay for it and also shrunk the sole of my shoe.

But I counteracted the bad Karma by giving a ride to a guy at our hostel to the nearest high way crossing so he could hitch hike to the glaciers, so I figured that might help.

We took some pictures at the beach of Lake Wanaka and we were on our way to Queenstown!

For the second time, I drove through The Remarkable Mountain range, oohing and ahhing the whole way. As soon as we got into town, Catherine and I immediately went to the AJ Hackett Bungy Jump Center.

When we walked in, the woman weighed us and had us sign our lives away. Her next question was, "When do you want to jump?"
"Well, when is your soonest opening?"
"25 minutes."
"25 minutes it is then!"

We parked the car and waited nervously in the lobby for the bus to come pick us up.

FUN FACT #54: The Nevis Bungy jump is 134 meters, or 440 feet. It is the highest bungy jump in New Zealand, and debated as the 3rd tallest in the world.

We got in the car and anxiously sang along to the pump up music as we made our way through The Remarkables again and turned off onto a dirt road. We followed that for a while, went up a huge hill, and were at the Bungy Jump Base.

Cat and I had a few options: do the Nevis Swing (which is one of the largest canyon swings in the world), the ledge bungy in Queenstown (which is only 90 feet) or the Nevis Bungy Jump. We figured, "Go Big or Go Home" and did the biggest one.

When we arrived, we were given harnesses to strap into. Then we went out onto a little deck area where a woman explained the rules.
#1- You HAVE to fall head first. No cannon balls, no pencils, --> head first with your arms out wide.
#2- On your second bounce up, pull the rope that is attached to your left shin. This will release your feet and keep you hooked by your harness at your waist. This will let you be pulled back to the suspension building sitting upright.
#3- When the winch comes down to pull you up, it makes a sound. Don't freak out, it's normal.

Alright, simple enough.
I can do that. Literally right when she finishes her speech, we are loaded into a small gondola that slides us into the middle of this suspension bridge thing to the jump building. At this point, I figured there were a few people to go before me, I had nothing to worry about, I can watch and learn.

I asked one guy the questions my Mom told me to ask.
"How often do you change the cord?" His reply was, "After 400 jumps"
"How old is my cord?" His answer, "Fairly new." Phew.

I saw one person go when the guy yells my name. I looked at Cat and walked over. He sat me down in a chair, wrapped up my shins to the cord, and told me to shimmy my way over to the edge. I was terrified.

"Put your toes on the edge there..."
"They are on the edge!"
"No, get closer, there you go."
"Holy. $#*t."
"Ok, ready? One, Two, Three..."

I knew that if I didn't go on "Three" I would be standing up there for 25 minutes trying to jump. We were right between these two huge mountains and there was a roaring river below me, and all I could think of was how pissed my Grandma was going to be.

On three, I just went for it. And I screamed louder than I ever had before. It was an 8 second free fall, and for the first couple seconds, my stomach was in my chest. It felt like a drop on a rollar coaster. Then I just enjoyed the ride. The river was getting soooo much closer, then before I knew it, it was slipping away again. I remembered my second bounce instructions and flipped myself upright. The ride up was beautiful as I dangled there for a couple minutes.

When I got back, I was speechless. This was definitely worth the money. I stood around and watched Catherine try to jump 3 times before making it off the pad. So funny.

When we got back to Queenstown, we walked around like we owned the place. Such badasses we were. We got some brunch, walked around the craft fair, and went up in the gondola (for me, the second time). Had Fergburger again! Delicious.

That night, I fell asleep in the hostel still wearing my coat and shoes at 8 o'clock.

The next day, Catherine and I flew home. We celebrated Mike's birthday, and then Catherine left a day later. So much fun while she was here, but now it's time for exams. Poopers.

DAY 107: More Hiking in the Rain, then Wanaka

We hiked out of there in the drizzling rain, which wasn't that terrible. We made it out in 5 hours, 30 minutes, so we felt accomplished that we had beaten our time. I took some pictures of the cool hot springs we went in the night before.

We ate lunch in the car and then headed to Wanaka for the night. It was a long drive, but at least we were toasty! More beautiful views along the way. Called my brother for his 23rd birthday! Yay Joe!

Got the BEST fish and chips in Wanaka. Went to bed warm and happy :)

DAY 106: Pancake Rocks and the Copland Track

We got up at sunrise to see the famous Pancake Rocks of Punakaiki!

FUN FACT #53: The Pancake Rocks are heavily eroded limestone that looks like stacks of pancakes. During high tide, there are a number of blowholes located throughout the limestone.

Because it was so early, we were the only ones in the park! We took tons of pictures - the place was gorgeous! After only about an hour, we got back in the car to get our butts to the Copland Track.

On our way to the track, we passed both the Franz Josef and the Fox Glaciers! It was a long drive, but we finally made it to the track around 2 o'clock.

We were a little bit worried about how fast we would have to hike to get to the Welcome Hut before dark, but decided to don our headlamps when the time came and get to it. The track said it was a 7 hour hike, and we were determined to do it in 5.

The track was relatively flat- we were hiking in between mountains mostly on the side of a glacier fed river. The river's water was so blue, it looked like a Tiffany's box. It was so cool. There were a number of suspension bridges over the raging river, but we weren't too concerned about those. That is, until the sun started to set, everything was getting covered in frost, and the 30 yard long bridge could only hold one person at a time and it was pitch dark. When I got to the other side, I flashed my headlamp and Catherine made her way over. To fend off the possums, we sang LOUDLY as we continued our journey.

We finally heard voices after 5 hours and 45 minutes, and soon we were at the Welcome Hut. And boy was it welcoming. We met a nice Kiwi woman there on her first camping trip with her 25 year old daughter. They were very funny and very nice. We made and ate our mac and cheese with them. The woman told us about the hot springs about five minutes from the hut, so we grabbed our towels and went.

I was so cold from the sweat drying from the hike and the frigid temperatures of the South Island that I really didn't want to go in. But Catherine convinced me, and we jumped in the hot spring pools like they were our personal hot tubs. It was sooooo nice. It warmed me up so well, and the mud between my toes and the bubbles all around was so wonderful. There wasn't a cloud in the sky as we looked up on the Milky Way. The snow capped mountains around us were illuminated by the stars, and we sat there for quite a while.

I put on every piece of clothing I had and bundled in the sleeping bag in the hut. I swear, the Department of Conservation in New Zealand has nicer huts than there are Backpacker's Hostels. That mattress was pure heaven.