Sorry for the late post of this blog, but the system was down the past 2 days for my blog!
Saturday, April 30th:
Today, we woke up at 6:30 a.m. and had breakfast at the hotel. This was our last today for the tour, which was very upsetting. I did not want the amazing trip to end after all of the fun I had! We left the hotel around 7:30 a.m. and first headed to Lake Matheson, where the “twin peaks” are famously reflected in the still water. Lake Matheson is about a 15-minute drive away from Fox Glacier, and is famous because the “twin peaks,” which is Mount Cook and Mount Tasman, are reflected perfectly in the glacier water. It reminded me a lot of the Mirror Lake we went to. Anyplace I looked in the lake, there was a perfect reflection of what was on land. To get to Lake Matheson, we had to take a 20-minute walk in a forest. Since it was early, it was a bit chilly outside, but the walk was beautiful.
After Lake Matheson, we drove to Christchurch, which is about a 6-hour drive away. To break up the drive, we stopped about 3-4 times at different places to sightsee and get lunch. Along the way, the bus driver stopped at the side of a mountain and let us get out while he explained what is usually there during the winter. The bus driver told us that when it snows and the mountains are covered in powder, the mountain is used for skiing. The only catch to it though is that there are NO CHAIRLIFTS! To get to the top of the mountain, you have to walk up entirely by yourself. There is a moving pathway though that these people put their skis or snowboards on, which takes it to the top for them. If you ask me, it sounds horrible, but these people obviously enjoy doing it. It would be a great workout though!
The next stop was at a lookout that overlooked a tiny bridge between two canyons that we drove on.
We stopped at that place because not only is the view really nice, but there are a ton of Keas that live there. A Kea is a large species of parrot found in forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. They are olive-green and have a large narrow curved grey-brown upper beak. The Kea is one of the few alpine parrots in the world. Keas are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Keas are pests to people living in the mountains nearby because they eat the tires and rubber off of the top of cars, and if you are not looking, they will take your belongings. The tour guide told us that one time she was there, a Kea swooped down and took someone’s camera sitting on a rock. The entire time we were there, the Keas were sitting on the top of the bus picking at the rubber. I thought they were kind of cute, but everyone that lives nearby hates them because of the troubles that they cause.
The next stop was our lunch stop, which was at the “Wild West Coast” in Hokitika, which is the Jake Capital of New Zealand! Since a lot of the greenstone is formed in this city, there was a huge factory that we went to that made beautiful jewelry and keepsakes. We got to see them make a necklace and had the opportunity to buy jewelry from there. According to the people who lived in Hokitika a long time ago, a person cannot buy a piece of Jade jewelry for himself or herself because it is bad luck. Therefore, since I did not want bad luck, I did not buy anything for myself because I did not want to risk the bad fortune for the rest of my life! After we went to the factory, we got lunch and then shopped around the town before getting back on the bus. After this stop, we headed straight to Christchurch and watched everyone’s adventure videos such as skydiving and bungy jumping from Queenstown. It was really funny to watch the videos where people were scared out of their minds! We arrived at our hotel around 5:30 p.m to end the trip.
We stopped at that place because not only is the view really nice, but there are a ton of Keas that live there. A Kea is a large species of parrot found in forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. They are olive-green and have a large narrow curved grey-brown upper beak. The Kea is one of the few alpine parrots in the world. Keas are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Keas are pests to people living in the mountains nearby because they eat the tires and rubber off of the top of cars, and if you are not looking, they will take your belongings. The tour guide told us that one time she was there, a Kea swooped down and took someone’s camera sitting on a rock. The entire time we were there, the Keas were sitting on the top of the bus picking at the rubber. I thought they were kind of cute, but everyone that lives nearby hates them because of the troubles that they cause.
The next stop was our lunch stop, which was at the “Wild West Coast” in Hokitika, which is the Jake Capital of New Zealand! Since a lot of the greenstone is formed in this city, there was a huge factory that we went to that made beautiful jewelry and keepsakes. We got to see them make a necklace and had the opportunity to buy jewelry from there. According to the people who lived in Hokitika a long time ago, a person cannot buy a piece of Jade jewelry for himself or herself because it is bad luck. Therefore, since I did not want bad luck, I did not buy anything for myself because I did not want to risk the bad fortune for the rest of my life! After we went to the factory, we got lunch and then shopped around the town before getting back on the bus. After this stop, we headed straight to Christchurch and watched everyone’s adventure videos such as skydiving and bungy jumping from Queenstown. It was really funny to watch the videos where people were scared out of their minds! We arrived at our hotel around 5:30 p.m to end the trip.
I must admit, it was really sad saying goodbye to everyone that was in our tour group. We all grew close during the week we were together, and had such an amazing time. Luckily, we had one last night together at the hotel in Christchurch, but I knew when getting off of the bus it was the end of the journey. Most of the people on the trip are studying abroad in Australia, so I am sure I will see a few of them around. I would do anything to go back to the previous Sunday and do the trip all over if it was possible. To say our goodbyes that night, we all went out at a bar near our hotel. One of the bouncers had a tattoo of New Zealand on his leg!
After going to the bar, we went to bed since we were all exhausted. It was an amazing trip, and I still think about it everyday.
Sunday, May 1st:
Today, we slept in until 10:30 a.m., which was when we had to check out of our hotel. Most people left today to go back to their homes, but the 7 of my friends and I were leaving Monday morning. We walked to a local bakery to get breakfast, and then got a cab to take us to our hostel we were staying at that night which was down the street. The hostel is called The Jailhouse Hostel, which definitely takes after the name. A long time ago, the hostel used to be an actual jail! I did not know this until we walked in and saw that it looked exactly like a jail and there were bars still on some of the doors. It was a little creepy knowing that inmates used to be there and that we were sleeping in the same place that murderers slept, but I got over it knowing we did not have another place to stay. There was dress up clothes that we could have put on and dressed up like an inmate. One of the rooms was left exactly like it looked when the hostel was a jail, which was pretty cool.
Once we checked in and put our bags down, we decided to walk to a mall that was about 45 minutes away. Since there is literally NOTHING to do in Christchurch after the earthquake, we wanted to at least be outside for a bit. The 7 of us got lunch at the mall and then went shopping for a bit. As I was walking, I came across a store called, “Colorado,” in which I called George to come meet me in front of the store. George also goes to the University of Colorado at Boulder too, so I wanted to take pictures in front of it with him. It just so happened too that we were both wearing CU apparel! As we were taking a picture, a lady working inside the store ran over and asked if we lived in Colorado. She got really excited and ran in the back of the store to find us something to bring back home. She came across a couple of Colorado pens to give us!
After being at the mall for about 3 hours, we decided to walk back to our hostel and relax for the night. The next morning we had to leave the Jailhouse Hostel at 3:45 a.m. to catch a 6:30 a.m. flight back to Sydney! The 7 of us played cards that night, and then went to bed around 9:30 p.m. since we had to wake up so early.
Monday, May 2nd:
Since apparently I am one of the few morning people in the group, I was on wake-up duty at 3 a.m. We left the hostel at 3:45 a.m. and went to the airport. Luckily, our flight was uneventful and we arrived in Sydney around 8 a.m. where a shuttle was there to take us back to Sydney University Village.
When I got back, I was honestly depressed having to unpack my bags and look at all of the souvenirs and memories I brought back with me. New Zealand was definitely one of the top trips of my life. The 7 of us that went together had such an amazing time and all got along so well. By the end of the trip, we were all talking about it and said that we definitely got closer over those 12 days together. When we got back, I kept saying, “Well, it is back to reality, if you can even call it that.” Even though studying in Sydney is pretty much a vacation, we all had papers and tests during that coming week.
I know I have said this over and over, but I would honestly do anything to go back and relive those past 12 days. I am excited for my upcoming trips though, so it makes it all better. Even though we have been back for a week, everyday the 7 of us talk about the trip and tell everyone how amazing it was.
New Zealand, you will be in my heart forever. It is not goodbye, it is see you soon.
Heaps of Love,
Heidi
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