Sunday on the south island

Sunday we had church at 1:00, because of the earthquakes two of the buildings in the area were not being used and a whole ward had basically moved out so they had to redo the boundaries. It was the first week for the new ward and everyone thought we were part of it until we explained who we were. We doubled their YSA class and had a fantastic lesson, the teacher was very good. Relief Society was hilarious. We basically did a lot of getting to know everyone and there were some phenomenal ladies in the ward. One of them is married to a professor that teaches in Washington for 6 months of the year and down here the other 6. She had short grey hair with a bright purple streak in the front, and she was full of spunk. There was also a family from Oregon that have lived has for the past 6 years and is working on receiving dual citizenship. There was also a missionary couple from Bountiful Utah, they didn’t know grandma though. After church we all went home and helped make a huge spaghetti dinner for everyone to share. We had a grand time eating and talking all together for a few hours. Then I went home and took a nap while others watched HP4. At about 8 I went down to the park with Mikaela, Brooke, Mandy, and Kirsten. There was a concert and fireworks for Waitangi day and we had a grand old time at the celebration. The concert was an orchestra and various solo opera singers. We didn’t pay much attention to them though, we played a few games and took a ton of pictures until the finale of the concert that had fireworks set off in time with the music, it was really great. Everyone else just watched the fireworks from the hotel and missed out on the cultural experience.

Saturday the fourth (i'm only 16 days behind now)

Saturday morning we got up and had to check out by 10:00. Then we all wandered and did last minute shopping, I actually bought a few things at the market that day, a cool paua shell bracelet and a jade necklace. The people I bought them from were super cool, I talked to them for a while and got a picture with them. After we bought a few things we chilled in the park and listened to an older guy sing, he had some pretty good oldies stuff that I sang along with. In fact, most the music that they play in stores down there was good oldies stuff, I loved it. At 11:30 we met at Fergburger and Ramona got us all food for lunch before the drive to Christchurch. That was a pretty long drive, 6.5ish hours. I tried to sleep, but I was interrupted by several stops along the way. I swear these people don't know how to travel, they would die on one of our family road trips. We stopped at the fruit place again, we stopped for gas, I mean petrol, twice, and we stopped for potty breaks way too many times. We also stopped at a beautiful lake that had robin egg blue water, and at a salmon farm. Natalie is from Seattle so between the two of us everyone learned everything there is to know about salmon at the stop. The hotel we stayed at in Christchurch was more like an apartment than a hotel, it was really nice. The room I was in had four bedrooms, two baths, a full size kitchen and a living room along with a balcony and a porch area. There were 7 of us in that room, the others only had 4 or 5 people and less bedrooms and space. Our room was #21, and it took us at least 10 minutes to find it because whoever numbered the rooms never learned how to count. It was clear on the other side of the carpark from 20 and 22. There were a bunch of old men standing around (that were slightly creepy) when we arrived and we enlisted their help in finding 21, they couldn’t find it either though so when we finally found it we all had a little celebration. We all went grocery shopping as apt groups so that we wouldn’t spend a lot of money on food while we were there and then we just relaxed in our rooms. I lived with both Brittanys, Emily Swenson, Brooke Cannon, Natalie and Stacey. We had a TV so we flipped through channels and found a movie on called the Accidental husband, it was close to the end so we finished it and then watched the Guardian because it came on next. We pulled out the hidabed, which I don’t think had been used for a long time, and made ourselves comfy. After about 10 minutes of the movie the whole bed collapsed and everyone on it was folded in half. It was hilarious, I couldn’t stop laughing for a long time. We pulled the mattress off the bed and laid it on the floor after that.

Day 5, halfway through the South Island.

Friday morning we woke up and left in shifts for the swing. It was about a 45 minute drive and we were shuttled by the company. There were only 6 of us per group and we all went tandem cuz it was cheaper. My group didn’t leave till 10:40 so we just hung out at the hostel till take off. Anyway, we got there and had to walk out on this tiny, wobbly bridge to the platform where they drop you. It was terrifying. Sarah and I went together and we decided to go backward, the scariest part was walking backward to the very edge of the platform as he hooked us up to the thing. I knew we couldn’t fall because we were attached to a safety line, but it was still gut wrenchingly scary. Anyway, that song that says “momma told me not to come…that ain’t the way to have fun” was playing and instead of counting down for us the guy yelled “this is the way to have fun” and dropped us. It wasn’t scary once we were falling, it was incredibly fun. I continued to scream the whole way until we stopped swinging, but it was a laugh scream if that makes sense. That was really one of the coolest things I have ever done. I loved it! The beginning was a 70 meter freefall before we were caught into the 300 meter arc, it was crazy. Steph and Emily took pictures and video for us so we wouldn’t have to buy them from the company, the video is actually really good. I tried to upload it to facebook but it didn’t work on our limited internet so that will have to go up when we get back to the states. While we were at the swing place everyone was online because they had computers with free internet. Natalie started skyping with her mom and got her mission call. It was too hard to read on the screen but she was called to the Salvador Brazil mission. She is so excited because her brother is in another Brazil mission right now and they will get back about the same time speaking Portuguese. It was really cool to see her get her call, we had to explain to a bunch of people why we were all so excited and jumping around up there. The drive back down to Queenstown was uneventful, we just talked about the swing and were so tired when we got back (after the adrenaline wore off) that we had to take a quick nap before taking on the world again. After sleeping, Brittany B, Stacey, Emily S, Sarah, and I went out to eat for lunch. We split up between fergburger and a fish’n’chips place down by the lake. I loved those fish and chips, they were soooo good. While we were standing there waiting for our food Pascal (the artist) walked by. We got all excited and waved to him, he got this big old grin on his face, shook his head, and walked away, so funny. There was a market set up in the park by the lake where we ate lunch so we wandered around that for a while. There were lots of cool wares, but most of them were pretty pricey. Once it got a little later we all met up to celebrate Natalies call and our last night in Queenstown, but it didn’t really work because everyone drifted and wanted to do different things. Brittany B and I found an Irish pub with live music so that is where we spent most of the evening. It was so fun. A much different feel from the Altitude bar. We pulled up a couple chairs close to the band and took pictures and tried to sing along when we could guess the lyrics. During a break between songs we introduced ourselves to them and asked for a picture, they were surprised and excited because we were their first groupies. When we left the pub we went over to Padagonia, the best ice cream place in the world according to most people. I don’t know if I quite agree with that but it was pretty dang good. I had a scoop of white chocolate almond and a scoop of a caramel swirl and it was to die for. We ate our ice cream and then walked around the pier for a bit. There was an old man that we had been seeing all over the place playing his guitar and singing. No one ever stopped to listen to him though so we decided to be his groupies too. There were about 6 of us and we talked to him for a while and listened to some old songs. He was actually pretty good for being so old. After that we went back to watch Pascal again, most of our group was already there watching him, I think he thought we were crazy. That was a good ending note for Queenstown though, watching him paint and enjoying the beautiful night outside.

day 4 on the South Island

Thursday we all drove to the beautiful lake Wanaka. On the way we stopped at a fruit stand place that had a million different kinds of fruit and dried fruit and candied fruit and nuts and everything in between. The best part was the free sample table, best fruit I have ever had. I bought a box of yellow plums, we were in heaven. We then stopped at Have a Shot, where a lot of girls shot a gun and a bow and arrow for the first time. I watched because it cost money and shooting is not a novelty for me. Actually, I didn’t watch, I read a book that Mikaelas host sister lent her. It was called Stormbreaker and was about a 14 year old spy.

It was cheesy, but I liked it. We finally got to the lake and had a grand old time on the beach. I read and slept and talked to people. Some girls rented paddleboats and other things but I was content watching from the beach. As soon as we got back to town we were dropped off at the AJ Hacket bungee place to book our bungee and swing expedition for Friday. We got there as they were closing so they let us in as their last customers of the day. Most of us rode the swing but a couple did the bungee.

It was 140$, and that was with a discount. Anyway, as soon as we signed up and payed our fee we went home to change and get ready for a night on the town. Actually we just walked through all the shops again and then down around the lake and the pier. It stayed light out till after 9:30 so we just wandered around town and then stopped to watch a street artist.

His name is Pascal Froment and he is French. He painted landscapes and cityscapes with spraypaint and it was one of the coolest things to watch. We all settled down around him and watched for hours as he painted. Some of the girls bought paintings from him but most of theirs were deeper colors. I loved the bright sunsets that he did the best. His English wasn’t so good so it was hard to talk to him but we became friends of sorts. He laughed at us a lot.

Day Three

we were supposed to see dolphins too, but no such luck

This is Tiare, Ramona's daughter.

James

On Wednesday we woke up super early and drove for 4 hours to Milford Sound, the only Fiord in NZ that is accessible by car. I slept for most of the drive, but the last hour or so was the most beautiful scenery I have seen yet. I know I say that about every piece of land we visit, but it is true this time. There were sheer cliffs covered in moss and greenery and waterfalls everywhere and the best part was the fog. You can’t take good pictures of fog, they never convey the feeling. It was majestic and amazing and I am glad we got up so early and drove so long to see it. We went on a 2 hour tour/cruise thing around the sound and out to the Tasman sea, it was incredible. I loved the open water and the motion of the boat on the waves, it was like a huge rollercoaster. Ramona and some of the girls didn’t like it so much, they felt a bit seasick after only a few minutes. As with all touristy attractions they took pictures of our group on the way to the boat and tried to sell them to us afterward. Some of the girls got in trouble for trying to take pictures of the pictures, it was pretty funny. We got home just in time for dinner and everyone was so tired from the long day that we all just lounged around till bed.

Day 2, tuesday

Tuesday was a good day, although not as full as Monday. We got up and filled up 2 of the vans (Chris and the kids didn’t want to come) to drive to Glenarchy. It was a beautiful drive and took a few hours. Why did we drive there? Because we stopped at the scene of Isengard and at the entrance to Lothlorien. It was awesome! We took pictures and I got a couple sticks and rocks as souvenirs, no big deal. James drove the van I was in for that trip and he was hilarious! The drive took us through several little river/streams and James loved driving through them at high speeds. We went through the biggest one 5 times, forward and backward because he loved it so much. Ramona drove the van behind us and she was so proud that she could follow him

Once we got back from our driving adventure we had free time for the rest of the day. Several people took naps, some went shopping, but a few people decided to go downstairs for the activity of the day put on by the hostel. It was a hike up the gondola. We were given conflicting information about it though, one guy told us we could easily wear flip flops and that it would just be a little walk but then the girl that actually gave the tour told us to go change our shoes. It turned out to be a pretty intense hike that went straight up the face of the mountain. It was soooo steep, but the view from the top was incredible and I am so glad that I decided to go instead of taking a nap.

Our guide got called into work at her other job so as soon as we got to the top she took off and we were on our own. Before she left though she passed out free drink coupons for the altitude bar along with a meal and drink for 5$ coupon. So we all went to dinner at the bar and all 20 girls ordered a pizza and a juice of some kind. The bartender was really confused that none of us were drinking when we had free drinks. To end the wonderful Tuesday we went to the movie room and watched the Fellowship of the Ring. There weren’t many people in there when we started it but by the end I’m pretty sure that we would have been classified as a fire hazard. There was absolutely no room for another person. It was hot and uncomfortable for people and I felt bad for the girls that were watching it for the first time (I know, sad) because they didn’t have a very good experience. But I enjoyed it as always and went to bed happy.

South Island day 1

This is very late in coming because after the camping trip we went to the south island and didn't have internet for 10 days and when we got back our connection expired and was jut barely reset today. So now the daunting task of catching up on the past 3 weeks looms in my near future and I am not too excited about it...

We left at 5 am on Monday after the Coramandel to catch our 7:00 flight and had the best airport experience of our lives. Apparently they don’t care what you take with you on domestic flights in New Zealand. We could have all brought our full size liquid containers, razors and even bottles of wine in our carry-on if we had known. We got through security super quick and just sat around waiting until someone realized that we didn’t even have our boarding passes. We would have never gotten past security without them in the US, but in NZ they didn’t even check our ID or anything, so we had to go back out to print them off before it was actually time to board the plane. Our plane was awesome, it was All Black and I loved it. Anyway, I sat by Sarah and Brittany and we flew the hour or so to the Queenstown airport. It took a while for us to get our 3 vans from the rental place and get to our hostel, but once we did we couldn’t even check in yet so we left all of our belongings in the bar under the rooms and ate lunch at the world famous Fergburger across the street. Our shotover jet adventure was at 1:00 so we all met at 12:15 and drove out to it. That was one of the cool things that we planned before we left the states. It is a super fast jetboat that skims along the top of the water at crazy speeds of up to 85 kilometers (52.8 miles) an hour. The drivers were really cool and drove as crazy as they could including several 360 degree turns, it was so fun!

(Ford of Bruinen)

After the shotover jet we went to Arrowtown. It was a very small town with only one main street but it is famous because the little river behind it is the Ford of Bruinen in the LoTR movies, so we took pictures, ate ice cream, and shopped around a bit before heading back to the hostel to check in. Check in was a huge ordeal. We all (25 people with the Cutris and James) sat in the little foyer while Ramona figured out who was sleeping where. It took about an hour because the room I was in had two empty beds that had apparently been taken by guys. After much negotiating Ramona payed for the two extra beds so that we wouldn’t be sleeping with men. She was very ruffled by the whole thing and it was quite entertaining. Once we were all settled we took a nap because it had already been a long day and then we all went out to eat at a Chinese place down the street. It was really good, we ordered 6 dishes for each table and passed them around the table so everyone got to try some of everything and we were all stuffed by the end, it was an awesome first day in Queenstown!