IN THE LAND DOWN UNDER

Sydney

2008-06-09T17:34:00.001-07:00

Immediately after returning from the Whitsunday's I caught a plane to Sydney for my last bit of traveling in Oz. It was quite a contrast coming from the gorgeous and warm environment of a tropical paradise into a rainy and dreary big city, but nonetheless, I ended up having a great time in Australia's largest city.

I met up with my friend Nicole, whom I met 7 years ago when we both served on the same missions trip in Mexico. She was visiting her brother who lives in Sydney. I had not seen her since that week so long ago, but we picked right back up and thoroughly enjoyed our time together. Her brother and his roommates welcomed me into their place and included me in all they did that weekend. Nicole was a great tour guide and we explored the city all day Friday and some more on Sunday. I saw the opera house, the harbor bridge, Hyde Park, markets, malls, Sky Tower, a beautiful cathedral, and much, much more. We ate out at a delicious German restaurant, went dancing in crazy King's Cross and attended Hillsong church. It was neat to see all the famous things that Sydney is known for.

On Saturday it turned out to be a clear, beautiful day so I went and explored Bondi Beach. The water was so pretty and the houses on the cliff made a nice backdrop for the big waves. I walked from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach and it was such a nice walk along the rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean and watching all the surfers.

Welp, that was my last adventure down under. These next two weeks will consist of studying and hanging out with peeps. I'll probably post a few more pictures of some things around UQ and Emmanuel, but we'll see. Thanks for checking out my blog. Can't wait to share more details with you all in person!

The Whitsundays aka Paradise

2008-06-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

This past week was study week here at uni and so what did all the Americans, including me, go and do? We traveled. I guess you could say that we just chose to emphasize the ABROAD part of "study abroad."

Anyway...I spent Sunday through Thursday with 5 other friends from college up in Airlie Beach and out in the midst of the Whitsunday islands. It was seriously so awesome! We sailed around for 3 days on the Apollo, snorkling, scuba diving, basking in the sun, jumping off rocks, visiting pure white sand beaches, watching sunsets/rises, seeing the most stars we have ever seen in our lives, etc. No joke, it was paradise! We kept asking each other, "Did you know that we're sailing the Whitsunday's right now?" There were about 20 other people on our boat and while it was definitely close quarters, it just seemed to work out. No one got really sea sick and we all just enjoyed the magnificent beauty displayed before us. The pictures don't even do the place justice.

***For my family and the Fullers and anyone else who might appreciate our craziness***

Patrick was meeting the rest of us at the airport Sunday because he was coming straight back from Melbourne and had planned it so he didn't have to come back to school before leaving for the Whitsundays. He had given me the key to his room in case he forgot something and as expected, he forgot a towel. So, the night before we left Tim and I went in his room to get the towel and started trying on his hats and clothes and just messing with his stuff. We then got the brilliant idea to wear his clothes to the airport when we went to meet him. Needless to say, Patrick has a few token clothing items that define him and we decided to sport them. Tim wore Patrick's Redwings jersey and I wore his pimp hat and pink fanny pack. Yes, Patrick does actually wear all of these things in real life and sometimes even together. So...the whole point of the story was to tell you all that I brought the airport dress up tradition all the way to Australia. Be proud! (*check out the first pic of this blog)

Brisbane Weekend

2008-06-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

So I know it's been a while since I last blogged, but I guess a lot has been going on. I only have two weeks left down here in Oz and time is flying! Two weekends ago I spent time in Brisbane with friends from college just enjoying what the city has to offer. Went to Chinatown with Allie, had a BBQ with Impact Friday night, went to the horse races all day Saturday, and then an AFL game on Sunday. Super fun weekend just hanging out with friends and doing stuff in my "home town."

At the races, everyone gets really dressed up and all the girls wear those cool hats like in Pretty Woman. Oh and I made my first ever bet on a horse, $2 that it would win, but I lost. It was a good learning experience though.

One interesting thing about AFL is that after the game they let everyone come onto the field and just goof around. A live band plays and everyone just kicks balls around and enjoys the afternoon. Pretty cool to go onto a professional playing field. Can't say I'll ever be able to do that in the states.

Straddie

2008-05-17T23:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 17th, I went to Stradbroke Island, aka Straddie, for the day with my friend Tim. We took a bus, then a train, then a ferry over to the island, which is just off the coast of Queensland. It was a beautifully sunny day and the island was so sweet! Lots of natural beauty and not touristy at all. We spent the entire afternoon walking around Pt. Lookout along the rocks and across the seemingly endless beaches. We enjoyed a swim in the warm, clear water and just the peacefulness of the day. There were a couple different places that reminded me of Peter Pan and what the mermaid lagoon might look like if it were real and where Captain Hook might have hid Tiger Lily :) A storm came in right as we were leaving the island and it was cool to watch the clouds change and then see the lightning strike.

The Great Ocean Road

2008-05-08T01:24:00.000-07:00

On Monday May 5th I traveled along one of the world's most scenic, rugged and majestic coastlines- The Great Ocean Road of Victoria, Australia. I traveled with Wild Wombat Escapes, aka a eco-enthusiast guy who drives a little van around and shows/tells you about all the little ins and outs of the Great Ocean Road. It was just me, 3 guys and a girl from England and a girl from Korea. It was a long day of travel, 10 1/2 hours to be exact, but so worth it! I saw wild kangaroos, wild koala bears, a red fox, eagles, dolphins, the world renowned Bells beach, Apollo Bay, the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, the London Bridge, the Island Arc, Split Point Light House and Otway National Park. Plus, a got to go up in a helicopter over the coastline, see a full rainbow and finish off the day with the most amazing sunset that I have ever seen. It was seriously so awesome!

Melbourne

2008-05-07T05:31:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I went down to Melbourne, Victoria and stayed with my friend Marla Musgrove from home. Marla actually lives in Geelong, which is about an hour outside of Melbourne. She is down in Oz working for Campus Crusade for Christ. Friday night I got to meet everyone on her team and we enjoyed a nice meal together at a restaurant in the city. Seriously the biggest chicken parme I have ever seen!

Saturday Marla took me all around Geelong. We walked along the water front and took funny pictures with all the ridiculous painted wood statues that were strewn about along the way. Later in the afternoon we went to see her friend Dave play rugby and then enjoyed another meal all together at a Thai place, followed by sundaes at The Chocolate Room. Yum yum...

I spent a decent amount of time exploring the city on my own Friday afternoon before meeting up with Marla, but Sunday we took the train in together and had a great day running all over the city. It reminded me of my time back in NYC...just wondering the streets, checking out all the cool buildings, people watching, shopping, running to catch a tram, and overall just enjoying the adventure of being all alone in a new place. There are parts of Melbourne that remind me of NYC and 3rd Street in Santa Monica. It seriously is such a cool city and very visitor friendly. The architecture was really neat around Flinders Street and Federation Square, the Queen Victoria Markets created a fun environment, and the live music by the Yarra River was so nice. Marla's friend Mike made us a gourmet dinner Sunday night once we got back and later on we just relaxed in the hot tub.

It was nice to stay in a house for a weekend and be off campus and yet not in a hostel. Also nice to reconnect with an old friend. To sum it all up- Great city, great company and great food all weekend long!

PS It was cold, in case you can't tell from my attire...first time I have really ever been cold in Australia. I guess it is Fall here...weird...Brisbane is still warm and sunny though :)

Fraser Island

2008-04-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

This past week was Anzac Day, which is similar to Veterans Day in the US. Because it was a national holiday classes were canceled and I ended up having no class Wednesday-Friday. I spent the holiday week/weekend up in Hervey Bay and on Fraser Island. It was an awesome trip! Hervey Bay is about a 4 hour bus ride from Brisbane and then Fraser Island is a 35 minute ferry ride from the bay.

I went up there with my friend Patrick and we spent 3 days camping on the island with 14 other people from our hostel, which arranged the trip. There were 5 Norwegians, 2 Irish couples, 1 English guy, 1 Israeli girl, 3 German girls and us. It was a great group! We all got along really well and thoroughly enjoyed our time together. It was so interesting to learn about all the different cultures and get to know people from around the world. Everyone has such a different and unique story and it was so fun to hear them all!

Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island. We set out for the island Thursday morning in 2 large 4x4 vehicles with all our supplies strapped on top. We spent the next three days off-roading in the rainforest and driving on 75 mile beach, right next to the crashing, shark infested waves. It was seriously unreal!

We camping behind sand dunes, swam in the clearest blue lake, ran down sand dunes into another lake, cooked on the beach at sunset, woke up early for sunrise, fought off the wild dingos and just enjoyed the being away from reality. So much beauty! The pictures should speak for themselves! The weather was perfect the entire time. I even learned how to drive a manual 4X4 truck on the opposite side of the car and road while on the beach! Pretty sweet!

(Blue lake is Lake McKenzie, green lake is Lake Wobby, the shipwreck is from 1905, cove area at the beach is the Champagne Pools)

Field Hockey Accident

2008-04-22T02:47:00.000-07:00

Got whacked by a field hockey stick on Sunday while playing in a game for my college. Yes, field hockey. "You don't even play field hockey Sara?!" I know, I know...but they needed more players so they wouldn't have to forfeit and since I wasn't doing anything I decided to try it out. Molded a mouth guard, put on a jersey and picked up a stick. It proved to be fun and I was actually doing well until I found myself holding back tears as I looked down at my swollen hand. To make a long story short, I got it checked out and despite the hugeness and the soreness when I touch it, nothing is broken or dislocated. Yeah!

Manly and Moreton Bay

2008-04-22T02:34:00.000-07:00

After Mt. Coot-tha, Dan took us to Manly, which is a nice little town bordering the water of Moreton Bay. There are some nice little restaurants and shops in town and a bunch of sailboats and yachts docked in the harbor nearby. It had started to rain some while we were there which wasn't ideal of course, but I still got a good feel for the place. I could imagine going out there on a sunny afternoon to have a picnic and play on the beach. If the tide is really low then you can walk out on this huge sand bar to this tiny island, of which I forget the name. (Helena maybe?) The sandbar would also be a great place to play a game of whiffle ball, sand soccer or any other sport on. The pictures really don't do the place justice. Stupid rain!

On top of Brisbane

2008-04-22T02:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon my friend Dan showed my wing mate Lucy and I some parts of Brisbane and the surrounding areas that we had never seen. We started up at Mt. Coot-tha, which as you can see from the pictures, provides an awesome view of the city. It was neat to see the buildings, the river and the mountains in relation to each other. Hopefully you can see the rainbow in the distance of one of the pictures! It was kinda a rainy day, but it cleared up for us while we were at the lookout point.

Impact-Christ Community Church-Chapel

2008-04-22T01:39:00.000-07:00

Before coming to Australia I prayed that the Lord would prepare a place for me to worship Him and fellowship with other believers. That prayer has definitely been answered! I have been getting involved with the college group here on campus, Impact, as well as a church in Brisbane, Christ Community. There is also a chapel service held at Emmanuel every week and that too has been a major blessing. God has definitely been teaching me a lot through His word, as well as speaking through the pastors and leaders of the various groups. It has been really awesome to see how genuine and humble Impact, Christ Community, and chapel are. God is doing great things through the various ministries! I did not expect God to challenge and mature me the way that He is choosing to do so while I'm here in Oz, but it's exciting to experience Him constantly and know that no matter where I am in the world, He is there too!

The pictures are from a bake off that we recently had with a bunch of us from church. I made my mom's M&M cookies and lemon bars. So good! The boys made a caramel tart that looks gross, but was surprisingly good. (Top Picture: Dan, Twitch, Me, Allie) Various other desserts were concocted as well.

Byron Bay

2008-03-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

This past week was my mid-semester break. Don't know why they call it mid-semester break because it's not really in the middle of the semester, but oh well. Anyway, I went to Byron Bay for the week and had a great time! Byron Bay is this chill little beach hippie town, 2 hours south of Brisbane in New South Wales. The beaches there are super sweet, with the clearest water I've ever seen, plus it's super warm, the sand it soft and clean, and there are actually waves as well!

I took an express bus down there with my friend PJ and we stayed at the Middle Reef Beach House, which was pretty much just 2 houses converted into a hostel. We met some really neat people and enjoyed talking and playing cards with them in the evenings.

During the first two days we just relaxed on the main beach. The weather was perfect and I really felt like I was enjoying authentic Australia. The third day it rained, but we passed the time browsing around the town, which is full of cute little boutique shops, cafes, used book stores, and lots of natural/herbal/healing places. It cleared up later in the day so we hiked to the lighthouse, which is near the most easterly point in Australia. The view from above was spectacular! On the way back down we went swimming at Wategos beach around dusk and it felt so good! Day 4 was a bit overcast as well, but we went surfing in the morning which was so much fun! We caught lots of small waves and had a blast!

Other highlights included getting stung by a blue bottle jellyfish type thingy, eating gelato every day and the best BLT with avocado sandwich ever! I sound like a fatty now...:)

Anyone who loves the beach and food and quirky towns would love Byron!

Easter In Oz

2008-03-28T19:31:00.001-07:00

He Has Risen!

While I know that Easter is so much more than festivities and food, to be honest it was hard to be away from my family and friends during a holiday. I guess it was just hard knowing what everyone was doing at home and I just didn't want to miss out. But, I did have a good weekend here and the great thing about Easter is that I can celebrate the resurrection anywhere...Praise the Lord!

Friday I went to a Good Friday service with some friends from Emmanuel. People from the church that I have been attending met in the park and it was a really nice day. Someone led worship, different people read scripture, and the pastor spoke about the significance of the cross. Saturday I went to this thing called Easterfest. It is a 3 day music festival where a bunch of different Christian bands play. I got to see some neat local singer/songwriters, as well as the Newboys, which were awesome! It was fun to meet and get to know some more people from UQ, most of whom are involved in Impact, the Christian group here on campus. On Sunday I went to church and then just hung out at Emmanuel for the afternoon. My friend Allie and I made cupcakes and cookies later that day which was fun. We put food coloring in the frosting so it reminded me of decorating cookies at home. Oh and my hall did a little "Secret Easter Bunny" and gave each other little treats which were super yummy :)

Noosa

2008-03-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I traveled to Noosa, Australia with my friend PJ. Noosa is this little beach town about 2 hours north of Brisbane. It is apart of the Sunshine Coast and boy did the sun shine! The weather was perfect! I ended up getting really sick while we were there which was a bummer, but I still enjoyed hiking in the national park and relaxing on the sand. There was a surfing contest going on as well, so we got to see some pretty impressive tandem long boarding where these super buff guys lift these tiny girls into the air and try to do cool ticks before falling off.

Noosa in general is just a really chill surf town full of lots of cute cafes and boutique shops. Everyone just walks around in their swimsuits and gets super tan. I wouldn't mind living there...it's kinda expensive though, so that's the only downside. Oh and the waves are small too. I guess every place has its pros and cons.

Emmanuel Blue

2008-03-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

My college, (as in where I live), is a very spirited college. Last week all the colleges competed in the annual Swim Carnival, aka swim meet. Emmanuel's color is blue and so we all dressed in blue and painted ourselves in order to support our swimmers. The procession over to the pool was honestly just as big and exciting as the actual swim meet. We have a pipe band and they led the procession and along the way we sang songs and chants and all that good stuff. Our girls ended up smoking the competition and winning 7 of the 8 races, while our boys...let's just say our boys didn't do so well. Anyway, it was really fun getting all into and having pride for my college. The group picture includes all the girls in my hall, the 2 blonds in the next picture are Claire and Amber, the guy is Patrick/PJ, and the other girls are Ellie and Kate. Ellie was one of our pro swimmers.

City Botanical Gardens

2008-03-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

After visiting the koala sanctuary, I went to the botanical gardens in Brisbane. The City Botanical Gardens is a very big open park located right in the middle of the city along the river. It is full of cool trees, large open grassy areas, and lots of trails that wind through the park. People were playing boche ball, throwing frisbees, kicking a soccer ball around and just strolling through the park on their bikes. It seems like the perfect place to have a picnic and just chill out and relax for an afternoon.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

2008-03-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I visited the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and got to interact with koalas, kangaroos, emus, dingoes, crocodiles, and a some other very interesting animals. Lone Pine is the world's largest koala sanctuary with about 150 koalas. All the koalas are named too! When I saw my first koala I seriously thought it looked fake! When I first felt a koala it felt fake too! They are so cute though!

Anyway, it was pretty interesting learning about koalas. Baby koalas are called joeys just like baby kangaroos are. There is a 34 day gestation period and then the baby koala is pretty much born underdeveloped and is about the size of a quarter. It then crawls up to this little pouch in the mother koala and spends the next 6 months fully developing. Pretty crazy! Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves all day long and then sleep when they aren't eating. Sweet life! The reason koalas are so sleepy is that eucalyptus leaves are really hard to digest and they don't provide much energy.

Besides the koalas, I got to feed and pet kangaroos that were just chilling out and jumping around in this huge open field. They eat right out of your hand! Pretty cool as well! Did you know that kangaroos can't jump backwards?

City Cat to Streets Beach

2008-03-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

One very cool thing about Brisbane is its public transportation. There are buses that run all over town, all day, everyday. There is also the CityCat, which is a boat that runs along the river and acts just as a public bus does, but obviously avoids the traffic. Last weekend I took the CityCat to Streets Beach, which is a man made beach right along the river. It's pretty cool- real sand, water, grassy areas, etc. Obviously no waves, but a nice way to spend an afternoon. The pictures don't really do the place justice, but hopefully you get the idea.

Arriving in Brisbane

2008-02-23T00:35:00.000-08:00

My time in New Zealand went by so fast, but overall I felt like I got to see so much in the time I had and if anything, I now know what places I would love to go back to and what places I would like to visit that I didn't already visit. It is impossible to see everything in one visit, but I am happy with what I did see and am excited to go back one day!

Finally getting to Brisbane was kind of surreal. I didn't feel really anxious or really excited on the flight over- I just felt like this was the next thing, the thing that I had been planning for so long, and now it was finally happening. Kinda hard to explain. Upon arriving, an older man from UQ was there to pick me up. UQ picks up international students from the airport which is so helpful! He was really nice and talkative. He pretty much talked the whole way to school. It was dark already, so I couldn't really see that much, but we drove along the river and through the city. When we arrived at Emmanuel, the residential college where I am living, the hall porter was waiting for me. He took me to my room, gave me my welcome packet and told me that I could come and see him if I had any questions. I heard some loud music and students cheering so I went to check it out. All the new students were "bush dancing," which is pretty similar to square or line dancing in the States. They all had colorful pinwheel hats on and looked like they were having a good time. Check in was actually earlier that morning, so I missed the first day of orientation, but it wasn't a big deal. The president of the college happened to be standing next to me. He introduced himself and the residential adviser who was next to him. They were very friendly. They went to find my "wind leader," which is like an RA in the States. Her name is Karin and she is actually from Singapore. She was very friendly as well. She told me a few things about the schedule and then let me call my parents to let them know that I had arrived safely. I pretty much just went to bed soon after that because it was already late and New Zealand is 3 hours ahead. It was weird and overwhelming being in a new place and being in the "dorms" again, but kinda exciting as well because there was still so much unknown.

This past week was "O week" or orientation. There are about 200 new students at Emmanuel and about 350 students all together. The way it works here at UQ is that there are 10 different residential colleges. All the colleges have their own mascot and motto and sports teams and all that. It's kinda like the Greek system because we all have college pride and loyalty to where we live and we all compete against each other and have mixers together and stuff like that, but we also all go to the same university, UQ. Oh and by the way they call it "Uni" here. They also call freshman, "freshers." It has been different here for me because I am 4 or five years older than some of the students, considering some have just graduated from high school and are only 17. But, it is still cool to meet new people and I know that once classes start and all the older students return and sports start there will be more people my age. There are quite a few international/study abroad students here from the States which is kinda funny, and they are older, so that has actually been good. All in all it's not the age that matters, just the maturity level. :)

This week has consisted of lots of informative meetings, both at Emmanuel and at UQ, as well as a lot of activities, like going to a water park, having a Toga party, and visiting the city. UQ is huge and way different from Pepperdine, so I know it will take me a bit to get used to, but I also know that I came here to have a different experience, meet new people from around the world and just experience Australia in general. I trust that the Lord has great plans for me down here and I am excited to see what He is going to do through me and what He is going to teach me.

So far, it is really hot and humid here. Classes start next week and sports teams start in a couple weeks. I am planning to play soccer for Emmanuel and hopefully for the club team at UQ. By the way, our mascot is the Blue Dog. (Like the bull dog, just blue). I also signed up to play this touch football type sport that apparently is super fun and our school is really good at, so we'll see about that. I have my own room here, but live on a hall with about 14 other girls and there are about 14 guys on the bottom floor. The name of my hall is Gibson. There are about 10 other halls and we all make up Emmanuel. There are common rooms, a tiny little computer room, a tiny little gym, some big conference type rooms, a chapel, and some open courtyards within Emmanuel. Our college borders the river. We get three meals a day, they do our laundry and clean our bathrooms here as well which is so nice. I guess we are paying for it though, so don't think I'm too spoiled. :)

Whelp, I guess that is the gist of it for now. I will post pictures of Brisbane and UQ and all that soon!

Small Town Pride

2008-02-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

So New Zealand has a lot of small towns in the middle of nowhere, and in order to put their names on the map, they make up some random festival, like the Gum Boot Throwing Festival in Taihape, or they grow giant vegetables and set world records, like the World's Largest Carrot in Ohakune.

Anyway, along the way to places, I stopped to see a giant Kiwi, the replica of the biggest carrot (3:1 scale), and a huge gum boot. Apparently the female winner of the gum boot throwing contest had a record throw of 43 meters! Impressive! I had a chance to try some gum boot throwing myself and I actually wasn't half bad. It's all in the wrist...:)

Stray Friends

2008-02-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

On my travels with Stray I met some really fun, interesting people from around the world. Here are a few pictures of those friends. Colleen and Tracy (both have dark hair) are from Portland, OR. Lara and Ryan are from England, Ruth from Ireland and BP, our driver, is from Auckland. Everyone else is from all over. One of my favorite things to do during my travels was to ask everyone who was from a different country what the main differences were that they saw in me and how I talk and I would tell them of my observations. I have a notebook full of all these words and what they mean in different countries. Pretty funny! It's amazing how we might all speak English, but yet each country has it's own slang.

Some examples from NZ include:

"Keen"- excited or ready for it
"trolley"-shopping cart
"jumper"-sweatshirt
"jandals"-sandals
"togs"-swim suit
"Give way"-yield
"sunnies"-sunglasses
"mate"-friend
"cueue"-line up
"sweet as"-It's all good

There are plenty more differences, but I will list more later.

Along the way...

2008-02-22T17:10:00.000-08:00

So I think I have highlighted all the main stops of my trip in NZ, but there were a lot of cool places that we stopped at along the way that I want to share with you all. So much beauty in New Zealand! It was seriously so neat to experience God's creation so powerfully each and every day!

The pictures are in order from bottom to top of this list.
1. Don't remember the name, but a HOT water creek in the middle of the bush. Seriously too hot to go in. So weird!
2. Mud/thermal pools near National Park in the North Island
3. Punakaiki Rocks, aka Pancake Beach.
4. Blue Pools- Glacier fed pools. Extremely cold, but so clear and well worth jumping into. The bridge getting to them was kinda sketchy though.
5. Queen Elizabeth Park-Looked like a nice beach to relax on.
6. Knight's Peak Lookout-Views a secluded beach at the bottom of a cliff.
7. Mt. Cook- NZ's tallest peak and where Sir Edmund Hillary trained before climbing Mt. Everest. It was pretty cloudy the day I was there, so the peak is kinda hard to see.
8. Lake Matheson- You are not supposed to be able to distinguish the real image from the reflection because it is that clear!
9. Kawarau Bridge- Home of the first commercial bungy jump. Scary!
10. Church of the Good Shepard at Lake Tekapo- One of the oldest churches in NZ. Supposedly there is an 8 year waiting list if you want to get married there!

Okay, so I think the pictures are out of order. I will try and figure that out soon. Bear with me as I get used to this blog thing.

Ponsonby and The Brown Kiwi

2008-02-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

My last day/night in New Zealand was spent in Auckland. I stayed at this cute, homey hostel called the Brown Kiwi. I was supposed to have stayed in it my first night in Auckland at the beginning of my trip, but since all the delays occurred it never happened. So my last night I finally made it to TBK. I spend the day walking around posh Ponsonby, which is a suburb of Auckland. Lots of fancy little cafes and bars, boutique shops and fashionable people all around. It was fun to check out the city and just relax for a day before heading to Australia.

Christchurch

2008-02-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

It was long bus ride to Christchurch, but fine otherwise. I was on my own again, but it was good. To be honest I really wasn't that impressed by Christchurch, except for Christchurch Cathedral. Maybe I just didn't have enough time to see all of the good stuff in the city, I don't know, but it just seemed kinda dirty and sketchy if you walked out of the center of town. Oh well. I visited the cathedral and walked around Cathedral Square which was cool. The architecture of the cathedral was very intricate and detailed. I flew out of Christchurch the next morning and made it to Auckland safely.

Queenstown

2008-02-22T16:29:00.000-08:00

My day in Queenstown was the last day I got to spend with my original bus driver and friends. Queenstown is a nice city, full of restaurants and shops and is nestled on the shores of crystal clear Lake Wakatipu and in the midst of the Remarkables mountain range. After checking in to our hostel, I walked around town with Lara. We got ice cream from this amazing place called Patagonia Chocolates- Waffle cones and big scoops! Anyway, that night Lara, Ruth and I treated ourselves to a nice meal out since we had been cooking in dinky little hostel kitchens for a couple weeks. It was nice to go out and eat some good food. I was sad to leave my bus and the people I had connected with, but we had a good night hanging out and I'm glad that I actually had met people that I would miss. The next morning I caught another bus to Christchurch, which would be my last destination in NZ before flying back to Auckland. These pictures are of the Remarkables, but it was kinda rainy and dark and I was on the bus while I took them, so they really don't do justice to just how "remarkable" they are. Sorry!

Makarora

2008-02-22T16:02:00.000-08:00

By Feb. 12th I was well into the South Island of NZ. I stayed at the Makarora Wilderness Resort, which is nestled amongst native bush right on the edge of the Mount Aspiring National Park. The day we got into town I decided to go jet boating down the Wilkin and Makarora Rivers. Jet boating consists of skimming along in just inches of water at about 30-40km. With the pristine river valleys and rugged ice capped mountains the surroundings were breathtaking! It was super fun to go so fast in such shallow water. The boat driver would also get really close to the river banks and do 360 degree spins which were exhilarating! This one older lady got on the boat thinking she was just going for a leisurely cruise down the river. Let's just say she was in for a surprise and wasn't too happy about it! Wouldn't the word JET before the word BOAT make you question it a little? Anyway, she didn't ruin our ride or anything, I just thought it was something to note.

Franz Josef

2008-02-22T04:45:00.000-08:00

February 10th takes me to Franz Josef, NZ where a giant glacier exists in the middle of a rain forest. Crazy, but so awesome! The Franz Josef Glacier originates in the Southern Alps and descends into the Westland National Park. I took a guided hike of the glacier and it was amazing! We had to hike about 3 miles just to get to the actual ice and then were on the ice for about 2 hours. The guides cut steps for us and lead us over crevasses and what not. The guide company gave us all the gear, pants, jackets, boots, crampons...the whole nice yards. It really wasn't too cold though unless we hit a shady spot. The guide was wearing shorts, so it obviously wasn't that cold. Anyway, is was a moderately difficult hike and very worthwhile. There is nothing like being on a massive, moving piece of ice in the middle of a rain forest. Very unique!

Oh Barrytown

2008-02-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

Our second day in the South Island we went to a little town called Barrytown. When I say little, I mean little. The "town" consists of the bar and a few scattered shacks and a random school. We stayed in rooms behind the bar and to be honest it was the dirtiest place I have ever stayed. Just gross and lots of bugs too! All part of the traveling experience I guess. Anyway, that night we had a "fancy dress party." A fancy dress party just means that we all dressed up weird and had a party. The theme for the night was BP's pool party, since BP was our driver. I dressed up as BP- I wore all his clothes and even his cologne. Pretty funny! The one cool thing about Barrytown is that it's right near the beach. I got a chance to go running in the morning and it was beautiful. There were lots of rocks on the sand, but it had been kinda stormy the night before, so the ocean and sky looked so cool!

Sailing in Manahau Bay

2008-02-19T19:01:00.000-08:00

While staying in Abel Tasman National Park I went sailing on a catamaran in Manahau Bay. As you can see from the pictures, it was stunning! We went out at about 9:30am, sailed for a few hours, then stopped off at a beach to eat lunch, and then continued sailing until about 4:30PM. It was so relaxing and the weather was great! The girl in the photo on the left is Ruth from Ireland, then Lara from London in the middle.

Old MacDonald's Farm

2008-02-19T18:49:00.000-08:00

Our first stop in the South Island was Manahau, which is in Abel Tasman National Park. We stayed at this place called Old MacDonald's Farm. It really was an old farm, set up for camping and backpackers. The most interesting animals on the farm were llamas. That night a bunch of us made fajitas in the tiny kitchen. So good! There is no Mexican food in NZ, so homemade was just the way to go. The big disappointment was the El Paso salsa- that's all they have. Oh well.

Interislander Ferry- South Island Begins

2008-02-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

In order to get over to the South Island we had to take a ferry. Now I have been on ferries before, but this ferry was super nice. It had 7 different levels, restaurants, cafes, a movie theater, a children's play room, 2 viewing decks, recliner chairs, and much, much more.
The trip down takes about 3 hours and the views are great.
In the picture is my friend Lara, who is from London.

New Zealand's Capitol City, Wellington

2008-02-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

The last city I visited in the North Island was NZ's capitol city of Wellington. It is called the windy city and apparently has one of the hardest airports to take off or land in because of it's location and how the wind blows. Wellington is very pretty and fairly clean. It has lots of shops and restaurants, along with a nice wharf/harbor and gorgeous botanical gardens. It is also knows for it's Te Paupa museum. I ended up exploring taking the cable car up to the botanical gardens, especially interested in checking out a huge rose garden. I was not disappointed!

National Park/Tongariro Crossing

2008-02-19T15:30:00.000-08:00

Day 5 took me to National Park, NZ where the Tongariro crossing is. This is one of the places where The Lord of the Rings was filmed. We called the big mountain Mt.Dome, but I think Mt. Ngauruhoe is the technical name. The is the place where Frodo has to bring the ring to apparently. The actual passing is like a 9 hour hike/walk and is supposed to have breathtaking views, but it was super duper windy that day and so they wouldn't let anyone cross. But, we still hiked around for a couple hours in the mountains which was nice. Once again, the scenery is amazing!

Lake Taupo

2008-02-19T15:18:00.000-08:00

So I realized last night that I probably wont be able to go into great detail about each and every day of my travels because it will just take too long to catch up. I am going to try and be brief, but still share the highlights and show lots of pictures. This might be kind of difficult for me since I love to tell stories and account for every detail as my friends and family can attest to. We'll see...Anyway...Day 4 takes me to Taupo, NZ where there is a beautiful lake which is in the middle of a bunch of volcanoes. Clear skies and pristine blue waters greeted me when we came into town. I took a dip in the water and read on the shore for a bit. Very relaxing!

White Water Rafting

2008-02-19T04:20:00.000-08:00

Day 4 I want rafting down the Kaituna River, which has Grade 5 rapids and a 7 meter waterfall which is the largest drop in the world that a commerical raft can go over. I'll be honest, I was a little scared beforehand, but it ended up being pure fun! So thrilling! The river water was super clear as well and the surrounding bush was very green and lush! So pretty! I obviously didn't get to take my camera on the raft, but once again I got to where I pretty attractive outfit consisting of a yellow life vest and a yellow helmet. Raft it! The raft guides were super chill and on the way to the river they all just kept joking about how dangerous it was and how someone had died before and what not. Kiwi's are seriously so relaxed and they love to joke around and just give everyone a hard time which makes everything so much better.

Maori Culture

2008-02-19T04:05:00.000-08:00

The Maori people are the original New Zealanders. In Makatu, NZ I visited Uncle Boy's cultural house where I was introduced to the Maori culture. A traditional Maori greeting is touching noses with the other person. We had a special dinner that was prepared underground and then Uncle Boy's family performed the traditional Haka dance, along with other culturally significant dances and songs. They got us all up in front later and taught us a dance which was fun. Definitely a very different and unique culture. During the dances all the performers try to be very intimidating. They cross this eyes and stare down at yoy, while sticking out their tongues. (Actually only the boys are allowed to stick out their tongues). Everyone of us from the bus had a big sleepover in the huge cultural room.

Beauty along the way

2008-02-19T03:56:00.001-08:00

Along the way to our destinations we stopped at some gorgeous spots. Bridal Veil Falls and this beach near Rotorura full of hundreds of conch shells are two such places.

Tuma Tuma Tubbing in Waitomo Caves

2008-02-19T03:45:00.000-08:00

Day 3 we headed onto Waitomo, where we went caving/tubbing in these underground limestone caves that are full of stalagties, mites, etc. plus thousands of glow worms. We had to wear thick wet suits, gum boots, and helmets. The caves are under serene farmland full of grazing cows. We made out way through the caves walking, crouching, swimmming in the cold underground river, floating down the river in tubes, etc. Quite a unique and fun experience! We even stopped in the middle and had hot lemonade and fish shaped chocolates. Kiwi's are seriously so random! I couldn't take me camera down in the caves, but at least you all get to see me in my hot outfit!

Endless Summer

2008-02-19T03:31:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of my travels took me to Raglan, specifically Manu Bay, where the surf film Endless Summer was filmed. Seriously so beautiful! The beach stretches forever, the water is warm, the waves are big and it was pretty much heaven on earth! The hostel where we stayed that night has this great deck that overlooked the entire bay. Pretty impressive!

The girls in the picture are Team Canada, Brittany, Crissy, and Kali. They ended up hopping off pretty early on, but we had a blast the first few days.

Hot Water Beach

2008-02-19T03:22:00.000-08:00

The first night we had a big "bobby," aka a bbq, with everyone from the bus. Our driver who just happens to be a chef cooked for us. We had Hokey Pokey ice cream for dessert, which is sweet vanilla ice cream which chunks of honey comb stuff in it. So delish! After dinner we went to this place called Hot Water Beach. There are natural thermal pool under the sand at this beach and so if you dig deep into the sand you can esentially create your own spa in the sand at the beach! The water is really hot too! How sweet is that! We all started digging and had a pretty good hole going, but then the waves came and filled up our hole with cool water so we had to start over. So worth it though! Don't know where else in the world you can dig your own hot tub on the beach!

My first day on Stray

2008-02-19T02:55:00.000-08:00

While in New Zealand I traveled with a company called Stray Travel. They are a hop on, hop off bus company that takes you all around the country and are known for going off the beaten path. I bought a pass that allowed me to see most of both islands in the 17 days that I had to travel. The beauty of Stray is that it lets you be as independent as you want or you can use their resources as much as you want. The bus drivers will find you accomodation each night and help organize adventure activities for all who want to participate. If you like a place you can stay for as long as you want and just catch the next bus coming through town. It's a great way to see the country, meet new people from all over the world and it eliminates the hassle of trying to navigate through a foreign country on your own. It's especially great if you are traveling on your own like me!

Since I was delayed a few days, my travel plans changed a little bit. Stray and I had a little miscommunication about where I was supposed to be picked up and the bus I was planning to catch left without me. So, I had to wait until the next day to start my travels. Anyway, I was pretty distraught about everything going exactly opposite of how I had planned, but in the end I really do think everything worked out for the better. I had a great driver, BP, who was super friendly, helpful and just fun to hang out with. I ended up meeting some great people from all over the world, connecting especially with some girls from Canada, London and Ireland, as well as many others. I got to stay with my bus pretty much the entire time because of my schedule and all in all I am so thankful that the Lord made me wait to catch the bus.

My first day on the bus we drove to Hahei, which is a small beach community on the North Island. We stayed at this little camping ground area that was right on the beach. That day I went kayaking in Mercury Bay and Cathedral Cove. The water was warm and clear, the beach was beautiful and our guide even made us coffee and hot chocolate on the beach when we stopped for a break! So random, but so good!

Pictures from Auckland

2008-02-19T02:50:00.002-08:00

I finally made it!

2008-02-18T16:12:00.001-08:00

Sorry this it has taken me so long to finally create a blog! Getting to New Zealand proved to be more difficult than I ever expected and once I was finally there the time flew by! The next few posts will be highlights of my 17 days in New Zealand.

On my way to New Zealand I had a layover in Fjij. There had just been a cyclone, so when we arrived it was still pretty wet and the streets were flooded, but the view from my hotel room was pretty sweet. Very lush and green and you can see.

I finally made it to Auckland 4 days after I was supposed to have left LA! Not exactly how I planned it, but once again I was reminded that I am not in control of everything. You'd think I would have learned that by now. Anyway, Auckland is a fairly big city in the North Island of NZ. It is called the City of Sails and is the birth place of the famous yahting race, The America's Cup. On my first day in Auckland I walked around the city, visited the Maritime Musuem, Albert Park, ate my first meat pie, and saw the tall SkyTower.