Road Tripping!

After several days cleaning on the streets around Christchurch, I had to take a few days off to allow my hands to heal.  Although I felt guilty for taking this break while others still searched through rubble in hopes to find their loved ones, the blisters and splinters in my hands would not allow me to even wash my hair, let alone spend another day shoveling without gloves.

I am very grateful for my blisters though because they mean that I am still alive.  I was very blessed not to have been in Christchurch on the day of the earthquake.  One of my friends had asked me to accompany him into town to buy shoes, but since I was going shoeless for a week, I turned him down at the last moment to save my soles the pain of walking on hot blacktop all day.  Had I not, I would have been in the center of town when the earthquake hit, shaking the foundation of many of the historic buildings and toppling them to the ground.  God works in mysterious ways but I am very grateful for the way he protected me on February 22.

I am also very grateful for some things now that I took for granted before this experience.  Among this list are: running water, electricity, flushing toilets, basic food needs such as bread and eggs, petrol (gas), bus transportation, and family & friends.  All of these items are things that people in Christchurch are living without at the moment and may have to do without for several weeks or months, and yet, they still share everything they have with the volunteers as we help them clear their streets and yards.  Being here during this clean up stage has also made me very thankful for the gloves, wheelbarrows and covered handle tools that I know I would have back in the states.

Christchurch is still in shambles but the help continues to pour in.  As of today, Lincoln Uni is housing police officers and rescue workers from three different countries.  With all these additional people, the university had to find something to do with the students who arrived early for school.

And that’s why we’re going on a road trip.  As of this moment, the first day of school has been moved from February 28 to March 14^th.  In order to get the students off campus, Lincoln has asked the Kiwi students to go home if they can and organized a bus trip for the halls students around the south island.  This is an awesome opportunity for us because the uni is paying for the 2 buses and the transportation fees for the 100 students that signed up.  They have also purchased tents so we can camp in camp grounds/on the beach and arranged other accommodations at ridiculously low prices in backpackers/hostels.  Furthermore, we will have the opportunity to stay at the Otago Uni in Dunedin where their staff has arranged for a live band and large get together with their students which is sure to be a good time.

During this trip, we will go up to Kaikoura (B), Hammer Springs (C) and Nelson (D), Over to Hokitika (E), then down to Wanaka (F) and Queenstown (G) and then over to Dunedin (H)and back up to Lake Tekapo (I) before returning to Lincoln (J) on March 10^th. 

Please continue to pray for the people in Christchurch as they are still in desperate need of help. 

See ya again when I get home!


Cheers!

Blisters = Peace

Blistered and tired, I sit in my room tonight, finally feeling a little peace after the earthquake.  Two days after the 6.3 quake that destroyed the historic Christchurch area, I woke up this morning as an aftershock shifted my bed into motion.  This little reminder of what happened two days before made my restless sleep turn into restless awaked-ness.  Agitated that there was nothing for me to do, I decided to go work out.  An hour and a half later, as I walked back to my room, I was stopped by my RA who informed me that there was a meeting to mobilize a Lincoln Uni group to go help clean up.

Immediately I volunteered.  I wanted to help and this was the only option they were giving us.  After signing in, about 60 of us students loaded up in cars and headed into one of the Christchurch suburbs.

Upon arrival, we were met with welcome arms from the community.   It was absolutely insane to see some of the damage from the quake however.  The roads were broken and oddly shaped from the recent shift.  There were also holes in the pavement, preventing us from driving on roads that had been in perfect condition just days before.

And as you can see here, this earthquake also caused lots of liquefaction.  Now if you are anything like me, you have no clue what liquefaction is.  As one of the locals described it, this substance is mainly silt and water that has bubbled and spewed up out of the ground, breaking through cement, concrete and grass, releasing the pressure from beneath the surface.  Looking around just the neighborhood we were in, it was hard to imagine all that mass coming up from what we would consider a pretty stable/hard surface.

BUT WE WERE THERE TO MOVE IT!

Armed with shovels and wheel barrels we had collected around Lincoln, we dug out two foot ditches along the sides of the streets in our adopted neighborhood to try to locate the drains and move the liquid part of the liquefaction into them and out of the city.  We also dug out driveways and cars that had been parked along the street.  After completing this task, we went door to door, asking people if we could help them on their own property.

One of the houses that I ended up working on had 4-7 inches of liquefaction covering their entire lawn and in their car port.  To make matters worse, the couple was disabled and had no way of moving the tons of liquefaction off their lawn on their own.  4 hours later however, my group had their entire property cleared and the liquefaction piled for the town council to remove.   By the time we were ready to leave @ 5:30 pm, the entire neighborhood had been dug out and there was nothing left for us to do there, so we loaded up and headed home.

So yes, I have blisters covering both my hands, a sunburned elbow where I missed reapplying sunscreen, filthy clothes that created a trail back to my room, and I am exhausted, but today I made a difference.  You could see it in the locals’ eyes when we left that their hope was returning.  New Zealand is hurting and broken, but there is hope even with the disheartening news today of no rescues, 98 dead and 206 still missing.

Please continue to pray for the New Zealand people.   There is still much to do here and it’s going to be a very long time before life is back to normal.  Without even the basics of drinkable tap water or being able to flush the toilets, this is going to be a very rough time for Christchurch.

Christchurch Earthquake

When I woke up Tuesday morning my initial thought was that this was going to be my last un-scheduled, uneventful day before registering for classes and getting into the swing of things the Wednesday, but I was very, very wrong.

As part of what I am calling my Kiwi Experience, I got dressed and left my room without my shoes as I will continue to do for the next week.  (In NZ there are very few places that require shoes.  For example, the day before I had rode the bus to nearby Rolleston and gone shopping without shoes.)  While sitting in the lobby checking my e-mail, my friend Felix asked me to go to Christchurch with him so he could get soccer shoes.  Thinking purely of my feet, I turned down his offer and watched as he left.

About an hour later, Shelby and I walked over to the book store to see about sending gift back to the US.  Then, at 12:50, we exited the door of the book shop and were standing there trying to decide what to do next. Suddenly, it sounded like a herd of people were running on the floor above us. 

Then we felt the earthquake.  It is such a weird feeling to have the ground under you move so violently.  We heard screams from people in the book store and when we looked in, books were falling off the shelves.  Unsure of what to do, Shelby and I just stood in the open hall until the ground stopped moving before heading outside.

At first, I was laughing, excited to have experienced my first earthquake.  When I looked around however, the only people who looked happy were the international students so I began to realize how severe it might be.  As we walked back to our dorms, I heard a lady say "I reckon that was close to a 6.1".

Prior to hearing her comment, I had thought it would have been a 2 or 3 from my previous TV watching knowledge and UNEXPERIENCE of being in earthquakes.  I was very, very wrong however.  When reports started coming in, they said it was a 6.3 at a very shallow level.  Still unaware of what was going on, I began asking around.  I also had a chance to jump on my facebook and post that I had been in an earthquake.  As I was talking to one of the RA's, we were hit again as an aftershock shook the ground beneath us.

During the next few minutes, all the students were evacuated from their dorms and brought to the Cafeteria where they tried to keep us calm and together.  While sitting there waiting for news on our rooms, another quake shook the building.  People ran outside and dove under tables, but the group of us from Colorado simply sat there because we had been told we were safe..... and didn't know how to react if we weren't.

For the next few hours, we sat in the Cafeteria as news came in on the TV showing the City Center of Christchurch destroyed in places.  It looked so grave and it was hard to comprehend that the same shakes that had shock beneath us and left us unharmed could be destroying so many places and hurting/killing the people in town. 

 

One of the most historic places in Christchurch, the Christchurch Cathedral, was gravely damaged when the green tower crashed down within the building.  It is still hard to comprehend how a building we were in just a few days before could crumble to pieces in seconds.  Seeing this image made the whole ordeal real for me, and worried sick about my friend Felix.

When they let us back into our rooms about five o’clock, I grabbed my computer so I could let my family know that I was ok.  It was then that I actually found out that people had died in the city.  Reports showed that atleast 63 people were confirmed dead with hundreds more trapped.   They even compared the scene on TV to that of 9-11, hitting very close to home for us American students.

According to the Christchurch Quake Map, 56 quakes hit the Christchurch area on the 22nd and so far, another 30 have hit this area today. ( Click here to see the quakes )  So…. it is really hard here in the Christchurch area right now and I know the people here would truly appreciate your prayers.  Homes can be rebuilt eventually but things take time. And people can’t be replaced.  Please keep the family and friends of those missing, injured and killed here in your thoughts and prayers. 

Also, I have still not heard from my friend Felix. 

Please pray for his safe return soon.

Arthur's Pass Excursion

After arriving back to my home at the Uni, I discovered several new faces on campus.  It seems that as I was out discovering the island, several people decided to move on in to the halls.  One of the people who moved in while I was gone was Felix.  

Felix, a REDHEAD German ecology exchange student here invited me in to go to Arthur’s Pass the next day with him and his new made friend from Norway.  So, Sunday morning I packed up Pete and we headed to Arthur’s pass.  As you can tell from these pictures, the south island is absolutely gorgeous!

After checking out the weather conditions and finding a short hike to try out, the four of us (Felix, Caroline, Pete (my dragon) and me) hiked up to Devil’s Punch Bowl. 

This short hike had a rather rewarding view of waterfalls and New Zealand green-ness.  This place is so beautiful!

Queenstown

Somewhere between February 15^th and the 19^th I learned that Queenstown, often referred to as “The Adventure Capital of the World”, is just that.  After an 8.5 hours bus ride from Christchurch to Queenstown on Tuesday, Shelby and I got off the bus and jumped head first into this adventure city…. Literally!  We walked over to the A.J. Hackett Bungy store where we signed up for The Ledge/The Nevis Bungy combo and then checked into our ”sanctuary rooms” (which is an all girls dorm room) at Base Queenstown Hostel.

(The above picture is at Lake Tekapo)

After a less than restful night of sleep, dreaming about breaking cords and falling out of loose harnesses, Shelby and I woke up early to go to the top of “gondola hill” as the locals call it.  This hill is just outside the main hub of Queenstown and is home to the famous Ledge Bungy.  The gondola didn’t open until 9 am, so being the competitive person I am, I thought I would race Shelby up the hill by taking the hiking trail to the top.  As you can imagine, not working out for several months and a rather steep hill don’t mix too well.  By the time I arrived at the end of Tiki Trail 45 minutes later, I was wondering if my legs would be able to push me away from the platform at all.

(This is from about half way up.... notice that I'm above the clouds)

An hour later, I found out that they would.  After filling out a “toe tag”, and being weighed (multiple times to make sure it was correct!), Shelby and I made the walk of doom with two other girls and a young man from France.  After the first girl chickened out, it was my turn and I was top of the world.  For your first jump they suggest running and jumping arms out as far away from the platform as you can so that’s just what I did.  The main crew member counted down from 5...4...3...2…1 and I took two steps, jumped and screamed!

 

(Here's what I was jumping from....)

If you haven’t Bungy jumped before, it’s an amazing feeling.  It’s like playing the trust game with a cord, you know the game where you have your back turned to someone and you have to trust they’ll catch you as you fall backwards….. times a thousand.  In that last critical moment, if you think about it, you’ll chicken out because who in their right mind would jump off a platform hundreds of feet above the ground, placing all there life in the hands of tiny little elastic strings?  Well I did. And I survived. And I loved it. 

(AND THERE'S ME DIVING OUT!)

After being brought back up to the platform, the Bungy crew told me they were doing a special where the 2^nd jump was 20 NZD and the 3^rd was 10 NZD.  Anyone who knows me will tell you I love a bargain so I jumped on it!  For my second jump, I ran to the edge of the platform, jumped and turned back towards the platform with my finger guns up as I fell, doing what the crew call “The Matrix”.  For the third one I didn’t actually jump but instead, I laid down on the platform and two of the crew members threw me over the edge.  It was an absolutely amazing experience!

(This is as the two Bungy Crew people threw me off the platform)

While I thoroughly enjoyed The Ledge, I was becoming more and more nervous for the Nevis, the tallest bungy jump in Australasia, but I refused to chicken out.  At nine the next morning, we boarded a A.J. Hackett bus that took us about 25 minutes out of Queenstown up a private, VERY STEAP, road.  Now everything about this bungy jump is scary.

  (That little building thing behind me is what I jumped off of!!!!!!)

1. They are so afraid of someone falling (while not attached to a cord), everyone has to put on a harness before you can even cross the building to go outside to take pictures on the hill.

2.  This “hill” is actually several mountains with a gigantic rift in between them.

3.  You have to ride in a basket that’s held on a cord to get out to the bungy platform and the crew member who runs it is very adamant about freaking people out.

4.  The bungy platform that hangs on this very thin cord over the middle of the gap has glass pieces in the floor so you can see all the way down.

5.  The bungy platform sways back and forth.

Now I don’t know about you, but I have had a “slight” fear of heights since I got hurt jumping out of the hayloft in my grandparents barn between my sister and my cousin years ago.  As I watched the first person, a forty-something, successful businessman jump, I knew if something went wrong with this jump, I would have a lot more than a black eye to explain to my mother…. If I survived.  Before I could get any more nervous however, they sat me down and attached the ankle cuffs to my legs.  From there I was moved to the “preparation chair” where the connected me to the bungy coard with a rather small ring, linking my feet together as well.  After a quick smile for the camera, they helped me waddle over to the short plank.  I said one last prayer, looked out the mountain ahead of me and with the help of my good buddy mark, made it to the ledge.  5…4…3…2…1! And I jumped/leaned over and fell off the plank.

Now I know this may sound stupid but I only screamed for a split second and then realized that it would be a while before I hit the bottom.  The Nevis allows you to fall 143 meters (that’s over a football field long!), and you experience 8.5 seconds of free fall before being jerked back up by the bungy cord. 

 But anyways! I am now safely home at Lincoln Uni getting ready for the education side of thisgreat adventure.

First glances of Lincoln and Christchurch

Feb 13^th – Song of the South <3

After a quick goodbye to Ms. Carolyn at the New Plymouth airport, Shelby and I entered one of the smallest airports I’ve ever seen!  It was pretty awesome though, because unlike large commercial planes, we walked up the steps of the plane to get on board; it was like having a personal jet!  Once in the air, we were also able to see the summit of Mt. Taranaki rise up through the clouds as if it needed to wave us goodbye as we left what had been our home for the past few days.

The other super cool thing about this flight was we were actually located UNDER the wing so as the plane landed in Wellington (the capital of New Zealand), we got to watch the wheels touchdown on the landing strip…. And it was quite impressive!  P.s. I was super excited that the wheels didn’t pop on the landing!

From Wellington, we flew on to Christchurch, leaving the capital without ever exiting the airport.  Under an hour later, we arrived at our destination on the south island where we were met by a wonderfully kind man who took us to Lincoln Uni . (Uni is short for University)  Once there, we were shown our rooms for the semester and then fed in the Cafeteria. 

The rest of the evening, I spent trying to organize my room before deciding to read myself to sleep.  I picked up one of the books Carolyn Aish had given me during our stay and needless to say, several hours later, I was still reading it.  If you get a chance, I would highly suggest reading “A Chosen Love” by Carolyn Ann Aish.  It’s a great story set in medieval times and will keep you reading all night long even if you know you need to sleep.  Click here for more information.

So yes, I made it to Lincoln! :)

Feb 14^th – Christchurch Cathedral

While I did wake up at 6 today, the comfort of the duvet we were supplied with kept me in bed several hours longer than I had expected.  After packing up for the day, Shelby and I made our plans to spend the rest of the week in Queenstown, the Adventure Capital of New Zealand.   (We will leave the morning of the 15^th and return to Christchurch on the 19^th if plans don’t change, so please don’t worry when there are no new posts for a few days.)

We also decided to try our luck at traveling to Christchurch, the nearest large city to our college in Lincoln.  As you can see from this picture, Christchurch was full of beauty.  On this particular day, they were having the Flower Festival at the Christchurch Cathedral.

While the beauty of the Church is outstanding, the flowers that lined the sides and covered the aisle down the center of the cathedral added to its majestic appeal.  They also had groups singing within the Cathedral that sounded absolutely beautiful as the vibrations resonated within the walls of this masterpiece.     It was well worth the $5 NZD that we paid to tour this church.

We did have to return home however to prepare for our epic adventure to Queenstown tomorrow morning.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to explore this beautiful area and meet people from around the world.

As always, I am sending my love to you; happy valentine’s day!

Lighthouses and Shells

Feb 11th - Lighthouse Looking

We started our day by going to Stratford, also known as the Shakespearian town.   This little town has a building called the Glockenspiel clock tower which houses several figurines of Romeo and Juliet.  Four times a day, the figures appear out the windows of this building and this classic story of forbidden love unfolds in the tower located on the main drive right before your eyes.

From Stratford, we returned back to the house for lunch and to Skype.  This was very exciting seeing as how I got to video chat with my mom and Dr. Frasier for the first time from Taranaki!  Following catching up with those two, we set off on our search for a LIGHTHOUSE. 

This was the first one we came across.  It was actually connected to the Sea Rescue place just south of Warea.   Since it wasn’t really a very popular place to go, we were able to go down on the rocks and find all sorts of shells.  The neatest ones were these Paua shells which are often made into jewelry.

From the Sea Rescue lighthouse, we traveled down the coast on the coast road ‘til we found the Cape Egmont Lighthouse.  This gorgeous lighthouse is nestled up from the coast and is surrounded by a small herd of cattle.  It was gorgeous!

From there we headed to Lucy’s Gully, a place nestled up in the Pouakai range of Egmont National Park.  Although we did not see any, we could hear the cries of the famous Kiwi bird as soon as we got out of the car.  (P.S. Kiwi birds are nocturnal so they don’t come out at night.) 

At the end of the day, we retreated back to the house where I had my first dose of fish and chips from a local shop in Inglewood, and they were to die for!  Fish and chips is actually a very New Zealand dish of battered and fried fish (with in our case was Gurnard Fish) and French fries.  Pair that up with some Ginger beer (which in non-alcoholic) and pineapple fritters (which is a battered and fried pineapple ring with cinnamon) and it’s the perfect ending to another amazing day in the land of the Kiwi!

___________________________________________________________

Feb 12th - Shell Search Saturady!

Well….. today was our last full day with Ms. Carolyn Aish, the Inglewood author who graciously took us into her house this week.  After a wonderful breakfast of Big Bugs ‘n Mud cereal and the creamiest yogart you can imagine, we headed to a remote area along the beach to go hunting for shells since we had so much fun doing so yesterday. (P.s.  That means we’ve spent 4/5 of our days in New Zealand thus far exfoliating our feet in the sand of this beautiful country!)

And we were very successful in our hunt.  As you can see below, I was able to find more Paua shells as well as some curly, snail like ones and oyster shells.  It was fabulous! 

The only problem was, the sun zapped the energy right out of me!  So…. after eating cheese cake and ice cream for lunch and “taking a sleep,” Shelby and I are now packing a preparing for our flight tomorrow.

After we get dropped off at the airport and say goodbye to the precious Miss Carolyn, we will fly from New Plymouth to Wellington (the capital city) and then catch the connecting flight from Wellington to Christchurch where we are to meet someone to take us down to the University.

I don’t know when I’ll have internet again though, so “tut tut”!

Eating Big bugs in Mud, Pimping and Blow offs

When you go to live with someone you've never met, it can be an interesting experiance.  Living at Mrs. Aish's place has been just that, but in a good way!  After a quick shower yesterday morning, we sat down to morning tea, which in turn fed not only our bellies but also our minds.  Here's just a few language differences that I've learned so far.

Jug = Tea Pot

Pimping = To tattle tail
Rubish = Trash

Blow off = Toot/Fart

The boot = the trunk

Tog = Swimsuit

Tea = Dinner/Meal
Cold Drink = Drink with Ice


After our morning tea, we headed out to the information center in the Puki Ariki Mueseum where we were able to plan the sights we wanted to see while in Taranaki.  We traveled down into Pukekura Park where we enjoyed the day taking picutes and walking in the cristean New Zealand park.  Just up the hill from the park however, was a free zoo.  Amongst the animals we became bats and frogs and butterflies ourselves.

One of the neatest things in the zoo was the bird walk through.  Although it wasn't large, the Animals were kept close enough to the visitors that you could litterally reach out and touch them if you wanted to risk getting pecked by a parrot. 

After several hours meandering around the Park area, we through our bags in the boot and headed down to the sea.  We came across a "back beach" where we were able to run and frolick in the water.  As we were taking pictures however the tide came in and surprised both Shelby and I.  Luckily, I didn't have my camera in hand when this wave hit me and blew sand and water all the way up to my face!




Towards the end of the day, we went back to the Center City shopping area for tea.  As we sat there attemping to eat without blowing the food out of our mouths from laughing so hard, we enjoyed our "snow with a flake" (aka a McDonalds Ice cream cone with a stick of shaved chocolate pressed gently into a brick).  This treat which was only $1 NZD and fabulous. 

We also got to seach through a golden coin store ($2 store) for a treasure and then it was off to the supermarket for.....


Big Bugs 'n Mud Cereal....
and Sun Screen....since I was already changing colors. 

We were laughing so hard we were crying!!!!  Ms. Carolyn Aish is an absolute blast!!!!

After our day out and about though, it was time to go home and plan our next leg of this epic journey.  Shelby and I decided to fly from New Plymouth to Christchurch this Sunday (the 13th), so we have just a few more days on the North Island.


P.s. If you'd like to see more pictures, check out my facebook. (It's easier to add pictures on there)

Click me to see more pics!

The Naked Bus and Feet in the Sand

Woo hoo!!!! After sleeping through our first alarm, Shelby and I jumped out of bed, in a hurry to check out of the private room Base Auckland had upgraded us to late the night before (Thanks Jason!).  (P.s. We slept harder than rocks…. We slept like diamonds!)  Then at 7:30, we jumped on the Naked Bus, and premire bus system that offers some tickets for one New Zealand Dollar (that's about 75 cents american money) and headed south on our way towards New Plymouth.  This exciting trip was full of twisting roads, road construction, and two hundred or so pictures of beautiful New Zealand landscape out the window of a bus going 100 Km/hr.

Although Auckland was alright, it seemed that the further we got away from that city, the more excited we were to be there.  As the Naked Bus traveled down the west coast from Auckland to New Plymouth, we made several stops to add passengers and use the “toilet” ( they are not bathrooms, they are toilets).  One of my favorite stops however was our stop for lunch!  Yes, I know those of you who know my appetite are probably saying “duh” but the lunch stop was my favorite stop for a different reason than the food part.  At our stop in Mokau, I hiked down the trail to the beach.  This beach was especially cool because it had black sand!  This sand, which I was told is iron sand that is from the volcanic activity around the area, is completely black and feels different from the normal, white-sandy-beaches sand.  It is found mostly on the west side of the north island.

After this forty minute break, we hopped back on the bus and a short time later arrived in New Plymouth, where we were greeted by the lovely Ms. Carolyn Ann Aish. (She’s an author… you should check out here work by clicking here! )  This Kind Kiwi (the name Kiwi is used to describe people from New Zealand) took us to the water front where we were able to see this here Wind wand…..

She said that when the wind is really blowing, it looks like it’s going to break in half!

 We also walked part way down the New Plymouth coastal walkway, a 7Km walkway beside the ocean.  

Next, we went to the Dairy Shop where we had the most amazing ice cream.  Mine was passion explosion, this white and orange/yellow swirl ice cream that was made with real passion fruit…. And they left in the seeds!  It was delicious!  Following this, we still had a little bit of time before Ms. Aish had to pick up her grandsons Dwight and Ethan so she took us to her most favorite place around,  down onto the beach where the water from the Tasman Sea was coming crashing in!  We took off our socks and shoes, rolled up our pant legs and headed in!  Here’s just a few pictures of this leg of journey!

... it came in a little further than we thought it would.....

Last of all, we headed home.   Ms. Aish made us buttered chicken (which reminded me of curry) with rice and a salad.  We also got settled into the Caravan!  In New Zealand, a caravan is like a camper.  This particular one has two places to sleep and is just perfect for Shelby and I to catch some much needed Z’s.

 So, so long from the Caravan!!!  Good night New Zed

Feb 8th - Less Expensive

10 am

Yes, I have finally made it to this beautiful place.  After what turned out to be a 12 hour flight instead of the 13 hour flight because of a great tail wind went quite smoothly.   As we had been told by several veteran NZ travelers, Air New Zealand was all it was cracked up to me.  I can’t say the same thing for United however.  On our first flight out of Denver, Shelby sat between a couple with a crying, poopy pants baby and I sat next to a lady whose first words to me were “you’re probably going to be one of those people who gets up 4 or 5 times aren’t you?”  But we survived and it was a beautiful ride watching the US fades away behind us.  When we arrived in San Francisco, it was hot!!!!   We had the chance to watch the third quarter of the Super Bowl and talk to our friends and family one last time before we left thanks to free Wi-Fi in the airport and then we were on our way.  12 hours, two meals, 2 movies and no more than a few hours of sleep later, we were here. 

 Being here in Auckland is making me want to just fly to Christchurch, however.  Everyone we meet has told us how amazing the south island is and that that we should go there.  While I know there should be things to do in Auckland city, we don’t know what those things may be.  Hopefully we’ll find something soon as it would be a shame to waste any time while in New Zealand.

Six hours later.....

4 pm

So…. We found something to do in New Zealand today!!!! After searching the street shops , we decided to go to the Sky Tower. 

Although we did not actually go on the tour, we made our own tour.  It was on this tour that we created the Badge Challenge…. or at least that is what I am going to call it for now.  As some of you know, I brought my friend Pete to New Zealand with me.  This rainbow dragon made by Kyle and I has a small jean backpack I thought I was going to fill with small objects to represent each place I visited; I have now decided to attach a “badge”, very similar to a united states souvenir pin, to his backpack instead.  This is a cheap way to collect a trinket from the places I go.  Shelby has also decided to do this and will be decorating her new Kiwi bird’s bandana.

  Here’s Pete and his first badge.

After our self-guided tour of the Sky Tower, we decided to go to a nearby park that looked absolutely gorgeous to take pictures.  Of those pictures, here's a link to some of my favorite…….

Click me!
or me!
oh me me me!!!! click me!!!   

And then we decided that Pete needed to grab the tower!!!

And then….well…. The good news is my little sister will now be receiving two spare batteries and an extra battery charger for her camera and I now have wonderful brand new ocean blue Panasonic camera with a Lumix lenses; the bad news is my black camera that I knew how to use is no longer in service after it fell to a tragic death this afternoon just moments after taking this picture.  As Shelby was going to hand it to me to look at, she dropped it on the lenses and now a new lenses is the only way it would work (which I was told would cost more than a new camera).  Prior to arriving over here though, I had decided that if anything happened to my camera, I would replace it because that was far less expensive than losing those memories.

So, even though it has been a rough day, I AM EXCITED TO BE HERE!!!!  It's going to be a blast

Tomorrow’s plan:

-Not break anything else

-Not miss our bus

-Make it to Mrs. Aish’s home safely

Cheers!!!!

Ahead of Schedule

As it was kindly pointed out to me today, I only have two more "wake-ups" in the states before I leave for five whole months.  While as exciting as that sounds, it's also slightly terrifying.... since I hadn't started packing yet!!!!   I am a professional procrastinator though.  (I often think I do my best work when I don't have time to make mistakes.) But today, I packed!

Well, to be truthful, I didn't just pack.  At 5am this morning, my mom woke me up so I could go shopping to et the last few things.  After an hour and a half drive to my local Walmart, I retrieved the essential last items for my trip.  Along with 100% deet to ward off the sand flies who are sure to try to devour  me, a boat load of medicine to keep me healthy and other basic essentials, I picked up some other pretty cool things.

My favorite thing was this.......

Yes, you are correct.  It is a toothbrush, but it's no ordinary toothbrush.  It folds in half and becomes it's own carrying case!!!!!  It's super awesome :) (Walmart- $1.29)

I also got this......

This is a gorillapod.  This fabulous contraption is a tripod that you can also twist and maneuver to grip on to different objects/surfaces to set up cool pictures.  Just set your timer on your camera and wa-la! Self-portraits that show your whole face!  (To those of you who have ever taken pictures with me, you know full faces don't normally appear in them.)

And last of all, I got the ingredients for my last family dinner before I leave.  Since I will be headed to Denver Sunday morning, Saturday (ahh! that's tomorrow!!!) is my last day with my family so we're going to have a special, sit-down-and-enjoy-our-time-together-dinner.  This also means that I get to do some cooking with my mom, which is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world. <3 

Tomorrow is going to be about spending time with the people I love, before I start loving them from the other side of the world.

And that my friends, is why I decided to stop procrastinating and REALLY PACK today, one day ahead of schedule.  Currently, my checked bag weighs 44 pounds and that's with me throwing things such as fruit snacks, a barney towel, a rubber duck,  honey sticks and granola bars in just because I had extra room. (The limit is 50 pounds)  I also packed my carry on and it is five pounds under the limit at 10lbs.  All that is left to pack are my last minute items and my computer in my personal bag and I should be good to go! Cheers!