Finally into February...

Tuesday 2 February
Today I worked on my Science and Social Studies papers, I wanted to get them done before we went down to the SOUTH ISLAND, and I did! During the day I went up to Nga’s house and worked on my paper, and talked to Mom and Dad on Skype and applied for a scholarship...since it was the last day to submit a scholarship, and they had some vital information that I needed. I returned home at dinnertime, ate dinner, and then played UNO with Cooper. He ended up being the champion…but just for that day. I have learned that he kind of cheats some times…like putting down 2 cards at once, and pretending he only put down one card…yeah…now I know why he was winning so much…haha. Then we played ping-pong. He used 2 cans of beans and tied a string to it to make the net, and then he had a small plastic/rubber ball, and we played ping-pong. He won again, tonight Cooper was the grand master Champion. After my humiliating defeat I packed my stuff for the South Island. Megan and I decided to share a suitcase. You don’t realize how much stuff you pack fro one week, until you try to fit it all in a suitcase, and share that suitcase with someone else. We fit everything into one suitcase, and went to bed anticipating our trip to the South Island…it was like the night before Christmas, and I was just waiting to hear Jingle Bells Fantasy.

Wednesday 3 February
Today, at about 9:45 the taxi van with Joy (our program director), Sam G, Jill, Daren, Lauren and Amanda pulled up to Paea’s. We loaded up our ginormous blue suitcase into the back of the van and we were off to the Auckland Airport. At 10:40 we boarded flight 525 to Christ church. The flight was pleasant, and I tried the veggie crisps. They are like potatos chips, but like something you might find in food storage…a little spongy. It wasn’t gross, but it wasn’t yum-o. Anyway, we safely landed in Christchurch at 12:20 and loaded up unto out glamourous tour vans. James (a man from the stake who takes the BYU group around, and is pretty much our personal tour guide) was in one van, and Joy was in the other. We started on our way to Queenstown. We stopped by Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. The water is literally a cool turquoise blue. It was SO beautiful! I had never in my life seen something this beautiful with my own eyes. There were mountains in the distance the reflected in the still blue water making this place like heaven on earth. Then, we got back in the van and drove a bit more, we eventually made an Ice Cream stop. I tried the goody goody gumdrops and the Passion Fruit Mango. It was quite good. While we were driving the scenery kind of reminded me of a mixture of Ruby Valley/Flagstaff, Az/Oregon…yeas you can be jealous, it was beautiful. At about 9:30 pm we arrived in Queenstown. At that time the sun was just barely setting, so we got to enjoy the sunset. We checked into our Hostel called Nomads, it is pretty new, and was pretty nice…compared to others I have stayed in. Then we went to the Night and day 24 market just up the street and Megan and I got 2 meat pies for $5. It was pretty delicious and cheap. I am sharing a room with Mekelle, Jayna, Breanna, Ashley, Lauren, Amanda and Megan. There are 5 bunk beds in the room, and I got a bottom bunk. Queenstown seems pretty nice; I hope to see more of it tomorrow!

Thursday 4 February
FREE TOAST is what I had for breakfast, it was provided by the Hostel, and did I mention? It was free. ☺ Also, if your friend is like, “Hey, you should try some vegemite on your toast, but only on a little corner, it will give you a taste of the “New Zealand Experience!” You should say, “Thanks, but no thanks!” **I did try some vegemite, and I don’t see why it is so popular, it is pretty gross (in my opinion).** At 9 am our group met up and headed out the Arrow Town. We checked out the Chinese Mining camp and ate yellow plums. We also learned that the miners survived the hot summer months because of the yellow plums, so I guess it was like eating history…Anyway, we checked out the houses that had been built into the side of the mountain, it was actually pretty cool. Then we walked up to the cemetery, it was pretty cool seeing the graves, but also the valley of Arrowtown, it was pretty good looking. Then we walked up to a WW2 war memorial, it was pretty cool, we got to see more of Arrowtown. Then we walked up to the town center, it is a “sleepy little town” according to the lady who worked in the pharmacy. I think it was cute and quaint. Then we went to the Kawarau Bridge, site of the first Bungy. There were about 8 girls from the group that did the jump, I think they are crazily brave to do so, but more power to them!! There was a part of me that thought, “Hey! You should have done that!” Then again, there was another part of me that was like, “What?! Are you crazy! BYU health insurance does not cover and accidents that might occur in the Bungy!!” After the jump, we went back to our Hostel and got some Lunch. I shared a pull-apart with Megan, it supposedly had pineapple, ham and cheese, but it had $3.00, so it was worth it! After the quick lunch break we went to Skipper’s Canyon for the Skipper’s Canyon Shotover Jet! On the way to the canyon, the bus driver stopped and we looked over the valley and saw a hill/mountain that Gandalf apparently stood on in one of the Lord of the Rings Movies, so that was cool, but then we had to drive down through the mountains to get to the river. After the treacherous (I say treacherous because the ride was long and bumpy (and practically on the edge of a very step cliff)) bus ride, we arrived at the river. The ride was pretty dang fun, the guy would spin the boat around (really quickly) 360 degrees, and then keep on driving through rapids! It was pretty amazing. The boat driver even stopped and showed us where Liv Tyler’s character (erewen?) rides her horse into the river (while the ring wraiths are chasing her and Frodo (because the ring wraiths have just stabbed Frodo, because he was wearing the ring)), and then she commands the river to flood. **We watched the 1st movie in Christchurch, and confirmed that this was correct** After the super fun boat ride, we went back to Queenstown, I tried to sleep on the van/bus, but is was just so dang bumpy, and the view was so beautiful, that I didn’t want to sleep. (Wow, this post is long..haha.) That evening Megan, Joy (our director), Lauren and Daren and I went to “Fergburger”. What is Fergburger (you might ask)? It is the only restaurant of it’s kind in the world, and they have really clever burger names. Megan and I split a Southern Swine Burger (Prime NZ beef, Streaky (American) bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado, Aioli, and tomato relish). It was pretty delicious. Then, we went walked down the street (1 restaurant away) and found a gelato shop called “Lick”. Megan and I shared a sticky toffee gelato in a cone. It was pretty “de-lick-ious”. They had so many different flavors: kiwi, strawberry, chocolate fudge, boysenberry, and Ginger bread! Also, I am pretty sure they change the flavors around every day…it was crazy delicious!

Friday 5 February 2010
MILFORD SOUND…oh my heck. This place is beautiful! Our group met up at 6:30 to start our 4 hour drive to Milford Sound. The roads to Milford were curvy, and there were plenty of ups and downs, luckily I didn’t get sick! It was a nice clear-ish day, and then we went through Homer Tunnel, and all of the sudden it was super foggy!! We could barely see the mountains that were just off to the side, let alone the road in front of us...We eventually arrived at the Mitre Peak cruise station. We got on the boat, and started the most beautiful (an only) cruise I have ever been on. There are mountains that seem to endlessly rise up into a misty sky. Also, in the mountains you can see veins of gold in the face of the mountain. SO COOL!! Oh yeah, did I mention, I got to drive the boat! Yeah, it was pretty cool. Do you want to know what is cooler? I drove the boat to a pod of dolphins. Yep, you read it right…DOLPHINS!!! I have posted plenty of pictures and even some videos of the dolphin encounter on facebook. After the Mitre peak cruise, we were driving back to Queenstown, and stopped at the glacier outside of Homer Tunnel. It was pretty awesome and ginormous. Also on the way back to Queenstown we stopped at Mirror lakes. This is apparently where Gandalf saw his own reflection in one of the Lord of the Rings movies (we also think that this is where Golom (Golum) saw his own reflection in the 3rd movie and he is having his inner stuggle/battle being all…my precious…the ring…Frodo...you know? The drive to and from Milford Sound was quite beautiful, gorgeous, amazing, picturesque, incredible…need I go on? In the morning it was a bit foggy/misty, however on the way back there were clear skies all around! Blue skies=prime picture taking conditions! That evening, Megan, Lauren and I went to Four Square (a nearby grocery store) to try to scrounge up some dinner. Lauren and I found a Lamb, potatoes, and veggie combination that was already made up (and most likely left over from the lunch rush) for only $2! It was pretty delicious, and was the best $2 that I have ever spent on a lamb and potato dish. After the dinner of champions, we walked around the city, and I checked out the touristy gift shops to try to find the best deal on gifts. At around 10:00 we met up with our group and sat on the beach, we were supposed to play games, but we decided to just hang out, and chat. This is the night that I remembered that my camera has a pretty amazing night setting, and I took quite a few pictures (see Queenstown…out and about album on facebook).Oh yeah, I officially saw the Southern Cross and Orion’s belt tonight.

Saturday 6 February 2010 Waitangi Day
Today I went to the Queenstown Arts Market. There were a lot of beautifully made things! I walked around all of the booths, and tried to scope out the best deals, and then made my move. I bought a cool coin necklace, this guy collects old coins, and then heats them up, and bends them, so it looks like a half circle. Then, the man puts 2 coins together the 2 coins make a circle, it is pretty cool. I also got some cool Paua shell things! Then, I went to the Farmer’s Market ad bought some Manuka Honey, from a man that is a part of the Glass Brothers Honey company. Oh yeah, I also went to the Patagonia Chocolatier (chocolatery…chalk-lottery? haha) and split a lavender Hot chocolate with Megan. It was pretty good, and we shared a wireless internet connection. After that, our group met up to go to the gondola (boxed sky lift) ride. It was kind of expensive, so some of out group walked down the hill, and ended up finding something cooler to do. This is no exaggeration. I remembered that there was a flier for a $25 cruise around the Queenstown bay. So Mekelle, Ashley, Breanna, Jayna, Amanda, Lauren, and I found the “Million Dollar Cruise” stand. We bought our tickets for the 4:00 ride, and waited for 4:00 to come. We got to sit on top of the boat. I coludn’t help but think of the line from the SNL skit “I’m on a boat!”, because I was literally on a boat. The cruise went around the Queenstown bay, up the Frankton Arm, and out to Willow Island. There was a great view of “The Remarkables” mountain range. Our cruise ended at about 5:30, and by 6:00 we were on the move again to the “beach” area away from the center of town. The reason I put the word “beach” in “quotation marks” is because the “beach” in Queenstown is rocky, not sandy, it is foreign to me. We had a barbeque with sausages, lamb, and chicken, it was delish. Then we presented our skits to the group. We were partnered up, and had to make something up that had movement, rhythm, and some kind of melodic song. Ashley and I did the cha-cha boochie dance/routine/roll call, and introduced ourselves. Ashley is from California (I have been to California), and lived in Scottsdale, Az when she was younger. It was pretty fantastic. Then we played some games to win some “South Island Survivor” games, like Volleyball (with a latex glove) in the wind and built a structure out of straws. It was good fun. On the way back to the Hostel, I took some more cool night shots, and then we tried to find some Aloe Vera (because my shoulders and arms were sunburned). No luck, most stores close at like 6 or 7, it is ridiculous. Oh yeah, the touristy stores close at like 10, or even 11, but the grocery stores close at 6 or 7….haha…oh well. Life is good.