Semester break for Uni quickly arrived and on Friday, April 15th, Jess, Nikki and I boarded a plane to Christchurch, New Zealand to start our long adventure! Break is about 19 days long and we were spending 13 of them in 2 different countries. There is so much I could say about my trip, However I will try to condense it so you all don't get bored!
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| The Bridge of Rememberance |
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| Fall in Christchurch |
Christchurch seemed nice when we arrived late on the 15th. We had a full day to explore before our Contiki tour of the south island began on the 17th, so we decided to walk around Christchurch. It was gloomy and rainy as we walked through the park and got a good look at the city. An earthquake struck Christchurch in September of 2010, and again in February. Even though the Feb. earthquake was smaller than the Sept. one, it did alot more damage and the destruction was still clearly evident. There was literally NOTHING open. Ok, a couple car dealerships, but besides that, there was nowhere to eat or visit. Buildings were half or fully destroyed, there was paint sprayed on buildings and inspection signs everywhere. It was heart-wrenching and very sad to look at. Many roads were closed and the city was very quiet. Downtown Christchurch suffered the most destruction unfortunately, including many churches and the famous cathedral. After our look around, we took a nap. Around 7pm we were suddenly awaken by intense shaking and our entire room moving. We all shot out of bed and grabbed each others hands, looking very scared. It was the longest 5 seconds of my life. Turns out it was a 5.3 magnitude aftershock and power was out in some areas. Can't imagine what the bigger ones must have felt like. At dinner, later we felt another one, smaller, yet no one else seemed to notice because they're all used to the small ones. In the morning around 6am we felt another shake. We were so glad to be leaving Christchurch!!
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| Destruction from the Earthquakes in Christchurch |
Our Contiki tour started on the 17th, when we met our group for the week. Some had been traveling the north island first and others just joining with us. Unfortunately, most of the group wasn't our age. They were either in their 30s, or their upper 20s acting like 18 year olds. We did meet Olivia (19 and from Argentina) and John and Jeff (26,25 and from Baltimore). They were fun to hang out with and we could relate to them best.
Day one on the trip consisted of lots of driving. Once out of Christchurch, New Zealand was very mountainous, hilly and there were streams of water and random waterfalls everywhere! Very gorgeous. We took a pit stop at a jade carving factory and it was fun to see all the different meanings and see jade being carved and polished in front of us. Our final stop was in Frans Josef on the west coast. We were in a lodge with bunks (we roomed with Olivia) and we got to go in the Glacier Hot Pools there. Basically, it was like 3 hot tubs, fed my glacier water at 3 different temps. I went in the hottest one naturally, was was completely content!! Jess and Nikki liked the middle temperature pool, not used to the heat! They were set in a jungle like atmosphere and it was very fun!
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| Jade from the Jade Factory |
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| Sheep crowding the roads! They're everywhere! |
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| Ending Scenes of the Chronicles of Narnia were filmed here! |
Day two, we got up early and were on the road south to Fox Glacier. The mountains had just gotten their first coat of snow, which made them extra pretty to look at. We put on coats, hiking boots and warm gear from the Fox Glacier Guide place and were off to hike a the Fox glacier. It was very cold and my feet froze, as usual, but the view was spectacular! Green hills, snowy mountains, glacier water streams, and white ice glaciers all in one! El was our guide and she helped our group of about 10 climb the glacier. We got to see different holes in the ice and learn about the rocks and how its all formed.
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| Climbing Fox Glacier |
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| Our Group! |
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| Jess, Nikki, Me and Olivia |
After the hike, we were back on the bus and on the road. We stopped at two places for some quick photos: Knights Point on the Tasman Sea and Thunder Creek Falls. Then we eventually passed Lake Waneka where Mission Impossible 3 had a scene or two filmed. So gorgeous! Queenstown was our lodging stop for the night and we were there for the next 2 days. It had just gotten snow on the mountain peeks and the fall colors were in full spectrum. Amazing! We stayed at the Aspen on Queenstown and got a nice hotel room! For dinner, the contiki group took a Skyline gondola ride to the top of one of the big hills/mts and had dinner at Skyline restaurant. It was buffet style and so good!
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| Knight's Point on the Tasman Sea |
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| Thunder Creek Falls |
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| Lake Waneka (From the Bus) |
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| Olivia and Nikki in the Gondola |
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| Queenstown from Skyline Restaurant |
Day three, or the most anticipated day of the trip, came up so fast!! We decided to be adventurous and take the plunge.... SKYDIVING was todays big task! We got up early and were signing our lives away in the NZone skydive office with other contiki friends by 7:30am. Then we were driven out to the launch site. It was so cold out! Breakfast was out of the question... Jess and I were so nervous and Nikki was pumped! Jess and I decided 9,000ft was enough for us and Nikki did the 12,000ft jump. We (jess and I) were in the 1st plane and got out suits on in a hurry. I met my tandem diver, Nick, and he seemed pretty confident. I told him I'd be okay once I was in the air, but until then, well, shaking was in order. We were the last two on the plane, which of course meant we were the first to jump out! My legs were shaking so bad, but the plane ride itself was cool! We finally got to 9,000ft and Jess was out before she knew what hit her! I was so scared but excited. there was no turning back now! My legs were outside the plane and wrapped under it, my hands were on the straps of my jumpsuit, Nick pushed my head back and We were off! My eyes were closed until i knew we were in the air, I didn't want to see myself being hurled out of the plane. Instantly, I opened them and was at ease.... Free falling for 30 seconds and flying! I could see the mountains, Queenstown, sheep, water and the Remarkables mountain range. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen or done! The chute was pulled and we just floated for a while chatting about random things, turns out hes done over 8000 jumps so hes a pro! We landed and I went over to hug Jess. We survived and It was amazing! Best thing I've ever done! We greeted Nikki from the 2nd plane and then were off to check out Queenstown.
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| View from NZone Skydiving Base |
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| Before we were off! |
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| Nick, my tandem diver! |
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| The Remarkables |
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| We Did IT!!! |
Queenstown in a fun, small, skit/boarding town that reminds me of Colorado. It was beautiful and a fun place to be for a few days. Later that night we checked out the nightlife. We got to go into the Minus 5 degree bar. We put on warm coats and boots and got to be in a bar of complete ice for a half hour. It was so cool! Later we explored some more and enjoyed the Queenstown nightlife, which was pretty hoppin for a Tuesday!
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| The Remarkables |
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| Queenstown Pier |
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| Steep Hill! Interesting seeing people walk/drive down it |
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| View from our Hotel Room |
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| Minus 5 Ice Bar |
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| Ice Motorcycle |
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| Mermaid |
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| Ice Bench |
Day four, we walked down the big hill in Queenstown to the city and shopped around, stopped at the waters edge/lookout place and enjoyed the brisk fall air. It was a warmer day the the past few. Later that night the contiki crew went our for Pizza and enjoyed each others company on our last night in Queenstown. There were tons of dare-devil activities to be done while we were there, but we were good with one, not to mention they were quite spendy. Queenstown was definitely my favorite part of the trip!
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| Interesting that this isn't customary everywhere |
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| CONFUSING!! |
Day five we left Queenstown and stopped at the Worlds First Bungy: the Kawarau Bridge. We watched crazy people bungy jump and took in the beautiful scenery. Then we were off towards Milford Sound. We stopped at the Eglington Valley to fill up or water bottles with fresh glacier water from the stream. Then again at the Chasm. A national park with waterfalls and a chasm from rocks and water degradation. So pretty! finally we drove through the Homer Tunnel and into Milford Sound/Fidor. It was improperly named a sound apparently. It was pretty, but kind of rainy and foggy. Milford rains every 2 of 3 days. We boarded the Milford Wanderer and enjoyed an overnight boat cruise through the sound and had a great dinner and played board games at night.
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| AJ Hackett Kawarau Bungy Bridge |
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| So Scary~ even though its only 140 ft to the ground |
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| Eglington Valley |
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| Chasm |
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| The Milford Wanderer:Our Vessel |
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| Milford Sound |
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| Sunrise in Milford towards the Tasman Sea |
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| Horizontal Clouds |
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| Our Barracks |
Day six we cruised back to port and left Milford Sound. We were headed to Lake Ohau for the Evening. On the way we saw tons of sheep (as usual, they're everywhere in NZ) and deer (which are always fenced in. so weird compared to MN). We took a pit stop in Arrowhead for an hour or so and got to explore the Chinese mining settlement. The fall colors here were incredible and so was the gelato! Later we arrived at Lake Ohau lodge, had dinner, I took a dip in the hot tub, and relaxed for our last night.
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| Arrowhead |
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| Yay for Britz Campervans! |
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| Chinese Mining Settlement |
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| Beautiful Fall Day |
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| View from our Lodge at Lake Ohau |
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| Lake Ohau |
Day 7, our last day of Contiki, we drove from Lake Ohau back to Christchurch. We stopped at Lake Tekapo for a break and some beautiful photos. There,we got to see the Church of the Good Shepherd and the Border Collie Monument. Later we stopped in Geraldine for lunch. I had my first meat pie, which turned out to be chicken in some weird sauce, but it was still good. Olivia, Nikki and I checked out the museum and craft stands around the little town and then we were back on the bus. Our last stop was the 'best'! We got to see a Giant Salmon statue! worth the stop! haha. Then we arrived back in Christchurch. We had one last dinner with our Contiki friends and then went back to our hotel.
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| Lake Tekapo |
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| Church of the Good Shepherd |
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| Border Collie Monument |
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| First 'meat' pie |
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| In the Geraldine Museum (just for you dad!) |
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| GIANT SALMON! |
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| Who needs Sea World when you have Salmon World! |
Easter Sunday, Nikki and I found a church that was still intact, and attended service there. It was nice, but people were not as dressy as I'm used to. I don't think Easter is as big of a deal here. It was a nice experience and interesting to compare a NZ Catholic mass to the MN/ND ones I'm used to. Some words and songs were definitely different. Then a nice old couple offered to bring us to our hotel so we didn't have to pay for a cab. They were so sweet and we chatted about how they have a daughter and grand daughter that studied abroad. So nice to chat with them! We all hung out in the park and enjoyed the beautiful Easter weather. It was weird not being home with my family for Easter, and it just didn't really feel like Easter not being with them. I wish I could have been home, but It was interesting being in NZ too.
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| Christ the King Catholic Church |
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| Easter Sunday at our Hotel, the Chateau on the Park |
Early Monday morning we boarded our flight to Sydney, hung out there for a few hours, and then were off to Nadi (pronounced Nandi) Fiji. Our jet was a Boeing 747 with two levels! Biggest plane I've ever been on, we were on the second deck. We arrived late and got to our place on Bounty Island. We were welcomed with a nice 'Bula (welcome)' song and went to bed early. It had been a very long day.
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| Sydney from the Airport |
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| Sunset over Fiji from the Airplane |
We had two full days in Fiji to enjoy the hot sunshine, swim in the ocean/pool, snorkel, kayak, and sunbathe. It was nice and relaxing and so nice to be in warm weather after 10 days in chilly weather. The scenery was beautiful and we were content. I even saw a jellyfish close to the beach! I almost had a blonde moment by contemplating picking it up (this was before it registered that it was a jelly fish), thank goodness the lightbulb went off in my head! The only downfall of Fiji is the people trying to con you for your money, and the lack of communication between people and islands. Everyone denied what others had told us and there were lots of inconsistencies of info between people.
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| FIJI! |
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| Beautiful |
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| Sunset on Bounty Island |
We stayed on the mainland our last night and caught an early flight on the 28th back to Brisbane. It had been a long 2 weeks and we were all ready to head back to the sunny coast... which was of course raining when we arrived.
Overall, It was an enjoyable break with scary, exhilarating, special and fun times that none of us will forget! It was also nice having the American Dollar go a lot further for 13 days than in Australia! Gotta love exchange rates. Now, a couple days off to get back in the groove of school, though I'm finding it hard already. I am so ready for classes to be over!! I have mostly final papers left and lots of work to do. Not looking forward to it. But, in two months, Minnesota will be graced with my presence again only I will be more worldly and cultured.
