As I'm sure it is getting warmer at home, it is colder and rainier here. It doesn't make it any less beautiful though. The cold really isn't bad until night time. My flat isn't heated and doesn't have insulation, so that is taking some getting used to. I started going to hot yoga recently to warm up!!
School is going well, and we have four more weeks of classes until exams. Life is relatively the same as it is at Middlebury during the week with school and working out so I will elaborate a little more on the places I've traveled to. I hope I don't sound too cheesy in describing everything...
Otago Penninsula...About a 45 minute drive from Dunedin, where my school is, the Peninsula is home to penguins, fur seals, and a rare bird, the Royal Albatross! It's crazy how such exotic (to me, at least) wildlife is so close to a major NZ city (Dunedin has a population of about 120,000). There are also tons of sheep and beautiful pasture land on rolling hills as you drive out to the beaches.
seemingly infinite numbers of sheep...Yes, they really are everywhere!! For example, I walked the "Coast to Coast" trail in Auckland, which is a four hour hike from Auckland City to Onehunga. It's an awesome walk because you literally walk from one side of the Auckland isthmus to the other and you hike over two extinct volcanoes in the process. At the beginning you're looking at the harbor to the Pacific Ocean, and when you finish you're looking at the harbor to the Tasman Sea. Anyways, even along this trail, probably about a two hour walk from the city center, there are more sheep!! Apparently they truck sheep in to graze on the uninhabited volcano-formed mountains that the trail passes through.
train ride through the Taieri Gorge...The International Student Office sponsored this train trip from Dunedin through the mountainous Taieri Gorge and back. I've never gone on a scenic train ride before, and I really enjoyed it. Again, I couldn't believe that such amazing scenery could be so close to the city. Looking out the window of the train was extremely scary at times though because we were so high up!
Otago Highlanders rugby game...We watched them play the Chiefs. Students made up well over half the total number of fans. I really enjoyed the game. I cannot even imagine how crazy the Rugby World Cup will be here in August/September. They are building a new stadium in Dunedin for it. Sports in general here have been so interesting. Watching tv, there is mostly cricket, rugby (rugby union and rugby league), and netball. Rugby is undoubtedly the most popular. Finding March Madness games, even at sports bars, was impossible...just ask my Dad. :)
Moeraki Boulders...The town of Moeraki itself is adorable, and the infamous boulders are really unique. It's a small fishing village. I ate at the local restaurant with my parents when they were here, and I think it was the best fish I've ever had in my life. We also saw Hector's dolphins playing on the beach...so cool! Apparently there are only 8,000 left in the wild. The boulders are huge and completely spherical. They are especially good for taking silly pictures.
two types of penguins in Oamaru...So far, I've been really lucky with penguin sightings! Both the little blue penguin and the rare-yellow eyed penguin are visible at dusk. They are so cute!! I'm glad my parents also got to see both types of penguins.
Waterfall hike in Dunedin...I love this hike. It's about 2 hours from the door of my flat to a beautiful waterfall, then a little further to a lookout over the harbor and the city of Dunedin. I've never gone at night, but apparently you can see glow worms! It's on my to-do list...
St. Clair/Tunnel Beach...St. Clair's is the closest beach to Dunedin. It's beautiful and apparently good for surfing. Tunnel Beach is absolutely amazing. The geology of the cliffs/ tunnel formed at this beach is really stunning. And it's only a 20 minute from my flat...
riding the gondola and hiking around Queenstown...Although, I haven't actually participated in many of the famous thrilling activities in Queenstown (bungy jumping, sky diving, para-sailing, jet-boating), I still love the town. I did go white-water rafting which was so much fun! Queenstown is the most touristy of all the towns on the South Island, in my opinion, but that doesn't make it bad. It's really charming. The gondola ride takes you to a beautiful look-out. I also took probably the most beautiful hike of my life with my Dad there.
camping at Moke Lake...I had so much fun camping at Moke Lake. It's about a half-hour drive from Queenstown. We hiked around the lake and spent the night there. Again, beautiful mountains, sheep, cows, and more sheep.
the beautiful "town" of Glenorchy...There really isn't much in Glenorchy, but it may be my favorite spot. It's north of Queenstown on Lake Wakatipu among the Remarkable Mountains. I'm hoping to come back here when my brother Rob comes to visit in June.
hiking around Fox Glacier...Spent the day hiking around Fox Glacier. It rained the entire time, but it was still awesome to see it. The glacier makes the surrounding region a lush rainforest. It was an amazing day of hiking, but at the end we were pretty soaked. We tried to hitch-hike back to town, but I think we were too wet and dirty because no one seemed interested in picking us up.
the Wild Foods Festival at Hokitika...Wow! This festival was crazy. People dressed up, and we were YMCA. There were crazy foods including shark and lion meat, bugs, and sheep testicles...pretty gross. The bonfires on the beach in the evening were really cool!
camping/the sunrise at Lake Mahinapua...What an amazing campsite. I actually slept outside our tent because the stars we absolutely beautiful. I remember when I first went to Middlebury, I was shocked by all the stars that were visible. This night was even more shocking. I've really never seen anything like it. The sunrise was also breathtaking.
the steep drive though Arthur's Pass...What a beautiful drive through the mountains! Going up, we calculated that 20 km/hr is only 12 mph...
the stars and the sunrise on Curio Bay...On the South Island road trip with my parents, this was our first stop. Driving through the Caitlins on the way there was also amazing. We stopped at Nugget Point, a beautiful lighthouse, and the southern most point (on the south island). We didn't want to leave Curio Bay! We felt like we had the beach to ourselves. When we first got there, my Mom spotted a sea lion about 15 feet from the back door to our hotel room!! We also saw another yellow-eyed penguin that night. We were lucky because it was a clear night, and again, the stars were incredible.
Fiordland/Lake Manapouri...Another beautiful spot. The mountains are incredibly steep and continue for miles right out into the Tasman Sea.
hiking around Mount Cook/Tasman glacier...Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Sir Edmund Hilary trained there for hiking Everest, so there is a museum there about him. It's a really beautiful spot. The glaciers, especially the Tasman glacier, were really impressive.
the pale blue Lake Tekapo...Another beautiful lake surrounded by impressive mountains. Lake Tekapo is pale blue/turquoise because of the nearby glaciers. The combination of the sunlight and the minerals in the ground up rock make it the shade of blue that it is. The vista looked like a painting or postcard.
Now some details on my mid-semester break in the North Island...All of my friends here were going to Australia for break, and since I was already planning on going to Australia with Rob when he comes to visit, I went to explore the North Island. It was an adventure!
Wellington...I loved Wellington! It's a small city by U.S. standards, but it felt huge compared to the cities on the South Island. The museum there was one of my favorites of all time. It's called Te Papa which means "Container of Treasures". It was all about New Zealand, mostly Maori history. I also hike Mount Victoria for a lookout of the city and the harbor, went to the botanical gardens, and toured "the beehive", the Parliament building. I learned that anyone (NZ citizen or not) can make a submission on a particular bill to Parliament and it has to be read aloud in committee. You can also request an in-person opportunity to speak to the committee (http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/SC/MakeSub/). I was really surprised by that. I wasn't in Wellington for very long so it was busy.
"the beehive"
Whanganui/Jerusalem...From Wellington I took a bus to Whanganui then went "wwoofing" in Jerusalem. "Wwoofing" stands for "Willing Workers on Organic Farms". On their website, there is a list of tons of farmers looking for workers in exchange for meals and a place to stay. Whanganui is a cute town on the Whanganui River. I rode from the main town with the local mailman out to the Sisters of Compassion farm in Jerusalem. The ride with the mailman took almost 5 hours. It was a beautiful drive, and I was able to take it all in because we stopped frequently. I orignally thought wwoofing with the sisters would be good because it was safe, and it was Easter time so I was sure they would be going to mass. I'm so glad I did it. I really learned a lot from them, and I learned a lot about farming. I picked apples for about 5 hours/day, and cleaned the church too. There was a group of high school boys and their teachers on a retreat at the farm and the nearby marae, or Maori village. One of their teachers is American and went to language school at Middlebury....small world!!
Jerusalem as you drive in
Paekakariki/Drive to Tauranga...The sisters were going to a hui (Maori word for meeting) for Easter, so I ended up getting a ride with them to Paekakariki where they needed to drop off one of the sisters, then ultimately to Tauranga. They dropped me off at the hui where I met up with the next couple that I "wwoofed" for. Their farm was also beautiful! It was a kiwifruit orchard. I didn't actually do much with the kiwifruit because they said the work is done with contractors, but I cleaned a lot and painted a chair. They were incredibly nice, and drove me around Tauranga and nearby Mount Maunganui. They are both beautiful beach towns in the Bay of Plenty. The food I ate with them was some of the best I think I've ever had. I may be exaggerating slightly, but most of it came off their farm so it was really fresh. They had a huge garden, feijoas, avocados, apples, mandarin oranges, and pears in addition to their kiwifruit. There was a farm with red deer down the road. I couldn't believe it...so many cool farms!! I told my parents, driving around this region was like Indiana's corn fields but with kiwifruit because it was just one orchard after the next. When I asked the couple I stayed with why this region was so fertile, they said it was because of it's position in relation to the ash that came off of volcanoes. There were tons of people selling their produce on the sides of the road. I saw someone selling avocados $2 for 5!! No wonder why it's called the Bay of Plenty!
Sunset in Paekakariki
Kiwifriut!!!
Auckland...I also loved Auckland. I got to stay with family here, my cousins on my Dad's side. They were incredibly nice to me, and I got to meet their new son who was born in January! He was adorable!! It was so nice to spend time with them. I got to see a lot around Auckland, too. I went to the Aquarium, Mission Bay, Waiheke Island, and Rangitoto Island. Like I said earlier, I also did the coast to coast walk over Mount Eden and One Tree Hill. Auckland is amazing because it's built on over 60 extinct volcanoes. Hiking around Rangitoto Island especially was so cool. It's a volcanic island in the middle of the harbor, and there are over 40 species of plants! I also went to a Michael Franti concert in Auckland which was really fun.
View of Auckland from the ferry to Waiheke Island
Wow, typing all of that makes me so thankful for this opportunity! What an amazing experience. You really can't go wrong wherever you travel here. I really appreciate both the amazing natural environment here and the really unique and diverse cities. It's an absolutely amazing place, but I do feel home-sick once and a while. I'm sure time will continue to fly, so I will try to keep busy until the end of the semester. Thanks for reading. I miss you all at home. :)
