New Zealanding

Final Thoughts

joyaroundtheworld — Thu, 9 Feb 2017 19:39:00 GMT

106 days later...

This trip was something else. This trip was challenging and trying. This trip was memorable. This trip opened my eyes. This trip was long. This trip put me over the edge more than once. This trip made me strong. This trip showed me that I can do it.

I met so many amazing people, ate so much good food, saw so many awesome things, hiked in a number of surreal places, drove thousands of kilometers, spent a great deal of money, missed a lot of people, cried a lot, smiled a lot, and also laughed a lot.

Like I've said before, traveling is hard work. But as it went on, it also became easier. Parts of me don't want to travel again but more of me, does. So I will. The only question is where to next, but that, like everything, will sort itself out.

DAY 106. Until Next Time, New Zealand

joyaroundtheworld — Thu, 9 Feb 2017 19:35:00 GMT

We woke up, had a small breakfast, then continued to pack. After a bit, we said bye to Alison and David since they were leaving to go down to Wellington. I was so sad I wasn't going to be able to see them anymore on a regular basis. They've been a constant rock during my whole trip. We did a load of laundry and continued packing. I packed quickly so I wasn't very efficient in my organization but I still managed to fit everything in my carry on, big backpack, and box. After spray painting Helga and vacuuming her out, we were on our way to Auckland.

On the way, we thought of certain things, mainly food items that we were going to miss once we leave New Zealand. We quickly pulled over since we saw a sign for real fruit ice cream. I got blueberry and it was delicious. In Auckland, we stopped at Tank one last time too. Since our flight wasn't until 9PM and we didn't need to drop off the car until about 4PM, we aimlessly drove around for a bit then walked around one of the malls. Eventually, we went to drop Helga off. We had put 7,500 kilometers on her! She sure has been through a lot in the last month and a half. We were sad to leave her and the rental place guy kind of made fun of us for getting attached. Oh well. We got dropped off at the airport, we checked in our bags, then continued to wait around for our flight.

We got through security then hit a few of the bars and enjoyed some New Zealand wine in New Zealand for the last time. Out of the airport window, a pretty sunset was forming. It was a bittersweet ending. We found our gate and loaded onto the plane. We were lucky enough to have one of the middle rows all to ourselves. It was difficult to sleep on the plane but after 9 hours, we touched down in Honolulu, U.S.A.

DAY 105. To Waihi for the Last Time

joyaroundtheworld — Wed, 8 Feb 2017 19:31:00 GMT

Cassela and I made breakfast and then left the holiday park. We went grocery shopping and after, went to a hardware store then an auto store in search of silver spray paint to match Helga. We wanted to attempt to cover up the scuff mark on the right side of her bumper. Then we were on our way to Waihi. Alison was home when we arrived and it was lovely to see her again. We caught up over coffee and banana bread. Cassela and I left to go shopping in the city center. We also walked up to see the big mining pit. It was raining quite hard too. After we shopped some, we were hungry and picked up pizza. Back at Alison's, we hung out for a bit, then the four of us had a lamb dinner. Afterwards, cheesecake and ice cream ensued. All of us chatted a bit more then Cassela and I packed a little bit then went off to bed.

DAY 104. The Aftermath

joyaroundtheworld — Tue, 7 Feb 2017 19:28:00 GMT

We all woke up with numerous cuts and scrapes, deep and shallow, all over our bodies from making it painfully back to the house the night before. The bottoms of our feet were badly cut so it was hard to walk, our hands were sore and scraped up so it wasn't easy to grip or touch anything, and there were cuts on our legs, behind, and arms. Of course with a hangover on top of it all. We were moving quite slow this morning and none of us had motivation to do much. We packed up and the left the Air B&B and went to a park to chill. Cassela and I needed a place to stay for the night so we went and checked into a holiday park. We hung out for a bit and then I left to run a few errands.

I went to a Pak N Save to get a few things as well as a cardboard box so I could ship more of my stuff back to the states. I also went to the mall for a little while and picked us up some food. I got caught in traffic on my way back to the holiday park but picked the girls up and we headed to the airport. We dropped Michealla off, said our goodbyes, and went on back to camp. We talked to our neighbors for a bit, a couple older guys who live in Auckland they told us about their interesting lives. Then off to bed.

DAY 103. Cursed By Cruisers Again

joyaroundtheworld — Mon, 6 Feb 2017 19:10:00 GMT

We left Tauranga and drove a few hours north to Auckland. There weren't many places open because it was another New Zealand holiday, Waitangi Day, pretty much the equivalent to the US's Fourth of July. It's the day that the Treaty was signed, the document stating NZ's partnership with the British Empire. After going to a mall, we headed to the Air B&B we booked. We were drawn to it because the description included the words "pool" and "kayaks". We got there and it was the cutest home ever. Our big room was downstairs, had its own bathroom, a big bed, and was tastefully decorated. It also had a coffee maker and double doors out to the patio and pool. First things first, we went for a dip. We laid on the blow-up loungers in the pool and soaked up the hot sun. Heaven.

Then we went down the road to a liquor store and bought our guilty pleasure: cruisers -strong mixed drinks in a can. Back at the house, I got the scoop about the Super Bowl that was going on from another one of the guests. Then the three of us girls ended up talking to another guest, she was an older lady from Washington DC and told us about her interesting life. We played in the pool for a long time. Cassela and I had a water fight with a few squirt guns and we continued drinking. Cassela, the professional shotgunner, taught us how to chug beverages with ease. More shenanigans in the pool then we went back to the store for tequila....bad idea.

Back at the house, we walked down to the water, which was almost at low tide (another mistake). We floated around in the inlet and were marveled at all the small clams that littered the ocean floor below us. We attempted to catch the sunset out there and then we tried to come back to the dock at very low tide... Our common sense was overtaken by our strong headedness and we were stranded out in the dark, struggling to get back, and on the slippery mud and the clam-covered ground that was now exposed. We fell many times and we were practically mangled by the sharp clams and finally, we came back to the house covered in mud. We rinsed off and climbed into bed.

DAY 102. Tauranga Take Four

joyaroundtheworld — Sun, 5 Feb 2017 19:08:00 GMT

We left Taupo and headed north to Tauranga. On our way, we stopped at Kerosene Creek, the same warm river I'd been to before. It was fun to hang out in it again. Once we were on the coast, we stopped at the beach in the Mt Maunganui area and hung out in the sun for awhile. Then we went back over to central Tauranga and booked a hostel, the same one I stayed at for five days the time I was in Tauranga on my own. We settled in and tried to stay out of the hot, hot sun in the shade. Our room was on the second floor and had a big rooftop area just off of it. After awhile, I went across the street and ordered a kebab for dinner. I ate in the dining area before going up to our dorm room and hung out for the rest of the night.

DAY 101. The Mighty Tongariro Crossing

joyaroundtheworld — Sat, 4 Feb 2017 19:02:00 GMT

Our alarms started going off at 5am, it was still dark out and incredibly foggy. We made a hearty breakfast, changed, and got our packs together. 20 minutes away was the trailhead for the Tongariro Crossing. A good part of the big parking lot was already full and there were a few bus loads of people and it was only 7:30am. By now the fog had lifted and the sun was coming up. We grabbed our stuff and set off on the trail. There were soooo many people I couldn't tell if we were on a hike or in a parade. Apparently everyone also got the memo that this is an amazing hike and that its best to begin it early in the day..

The first part of the track was mostly flat and through the swamps, we walked along wood platforms. It started to get warm so we took of one layer. There were so many people, on some of the little uphill parts, a queue would form and we'd have to wait in line. There were markers every kilometer so we knew how far we'd gone. After a kilometer or two, the trail came to a big wide open area at the base of Mt Doom, which was massive and majestic on this day. There were a few toilets in this area and hoards of people were lined up for them. We took a quick break then were on our way. We could see people on the trail high above us and we were dreading the difficult climb to come. The trail went off to the right and we made the incline up sets of stairs. We kept stopping every so often to catch our breath and take pictures of the gorgeous landscape below us.

The terrain was quite barren, no trees, mostly brown and grey, but pretty. We kept climbing up and up and I could feel the burn. I could also feel my weak hips beginning to ache. We reached a part where the trail leveled out for a bit. I looked back and I could see a tall mountain in the distance. I had read that on a clear day, one could see Mt Taranaki all the way on the west coast. My favorite mountain that I hiked up to months ago, so beautiful! We continued on. The trail came down to another wide open area that resembled the desert. Or more like Mars. Reddish/brown in color, flat, sandy, and also rocky. We could see people high up on another ridge and we knew another tough climb was before us. We made it across the flat wasteland and before we started up the hill, I put more wool on my heels because I could feel blisters beginning to form.

It was a rocky and difficult climb. The wind was becoming more and more intense the higher we got, at one point Cassela's hat blew away and I was able to run and retrieve it. We started to go through our water supply. It was so so windy we all had our coats zipped up tight and our hats on. We finally made it to the top and tried to find a place out of the wind a little bit. We sat next to a big rock and had our chicken and veggie wraps. Along with chocolate of course. Mt Doom was right before us and we could see the hidden side of it where it was more of a red color than brown. We could also see brave souls who were climbing up it. Next to us was a side trail up to the Tongariro Mountain summit. Near us, we saw an older Asian lady who was wearing a pair of dress shoes!.....not hiking boots. Wow...we were impressed. We took pictures with the crossing sign and headed off. Once we climbed up the next hill, we were at the highest elevation of the whole hike. I was relieved and hoped it was all downhill from there.

Up on this hill, I could see the Emerald Lakes! I'd seen so many pictures of them before but now I was seeing them for myself. There were two greenish blue lakes and a third once which was more blue and kind of clear. They were all so pretty I couldn't stop taking pictures of them. The brown terrain surrounding them and the bright blue sky made for awesome shots. Further up ahead on the left was a much bigger lake known as Blue Lake, as well. Behind us on the right was the red crater too! From the spot we were at, it was more of a big deep crevasse/gully that was dark red and black, but super cool looking. The descent down the ridge to the Emerald Lakes was steep with soft gravel and rocks. It was easier to kind of just step and slide down. We took pictures down at the lakes which were just so pretty.

Next, we were back on even ground. Then a small climb up to the bigger Blue Lake and on around it. The trail went along the mountain side and out of the crossing area. Once we could see the other side of a mountain next to us, we saw that there was steam spewing out of a single spot. Cool volcanic/thermal activity going on. After a bit, the trail turned into a gravel path that wound down and around switchback after switchback. There were now gorgeous views of the mountains and lakes beyond. We could also see the trail for kilometers ahead of us, up and down and around the hills below. We could see people walking it so far away that it seemed like it was going to take us forever to get to those spots. Everyone was still in a pretty thick line as we walked on. Finally, we came to a hut where we stopped for a minute. A sign said we had 6 or so kilometers to go.

We were all beginning to get really hot in the sun and my hips hurt along with my knee and Michealla's knee was hurting too. I had a fair amount of wool in my boots now so my feet were crammed into them and on all the downhills that we were experiencing, my poor toes were smashed into the front of my boots, ouch! They were getting quite sore. On and on and on down the trail in pain. By now I could have swore we went at least 4-5 kilometers, we then saw a sign that said 3km to go. We had only gone 3km since the hut.... We weren't happy. After awhile, the trail out in the open turned and went into the jungle like forest. Thankfully, it was much cooler in there out of the sun but the downhill was still painful. We trudged on. Finally, finally, finally we reached the end!!! 2:30pm, it only took us 7 hours! 19 kilometers, complete.

Many people were hanging around waiting for their shuttles and there were dozens and dozens of cars lined up along the gravel road. I don't know how many hundreds of people hiked the crossing on this pretty day but they were from all walks of life, old and young. And we all accomplished something neat on this day. We, however, did not pay money for a shuttle back to the start of the track where our car was so we planned on hitchhiking. We asked someone and they said it was 35km away. We put our thumbs out as we walked a kilometer or two on the gravel road, back out in the hot sun. We then made it to the paved road on highway 46. We walked for a ways, then stopped and ate a few snacks, all the while putting our thumbs out when a car would pass. But no takers. About three different cars acted like they were going to stop and pick us up, they would brake as they drove past and would make it seem like they were pulling over for us but then would just speed off! How rude.

Then finally, a big shuttle van with two ladies in it pulled over for us! We were so grateful. Grateful for a ride, a place to sit down, and a spot out of the sun. They were really really nice and drove us all the way to the beginning of the gravel road leading up to the start of the crossing. They dropped us off, we were happy to be much closer to our car but it was still 7km to the trailhead. Back out in the sun and on the dusty road, we put our thumbs out once again. We walked a kilometer or two and then a young guy in his car picked us up. We were so happy! He was from Brazil but has been living in NZ for the last three years. By now it was about 3:30, 4 o'clock and he was planning to run as far as he could on the trail for two hours and then turn around. We thought he was crazy. Somehow the topic came up of having enough water for the hike and he said he didn't have any. No water at all. He gave us a ride to our car so in exchange, we took all the quality H2O we had out of our bottles and my camelback.

We were so happy to be back with our Helga. And so happy to have had a successful day. We drove north back to Taupo and got a holiday park. This one was huge and it also had a big pool and hot tub which we were excited to soak in. We showered the sweat and grime off of us and then headed to the pool. It also had a big tv screen next to it that was playing Disney movies for all the kids. And for the adults, there was a bar in the middle of the pool. We had a few drinks, which we definitely earned today. We were quite content; pool, drinks, and Disney movies. We left after awhile and went back to camp. We played beer pong with a group of the locals but I got tired of it and went off to bed after awhile.

DAY 100. Beautiful Mountains

joyaroundtheworld — Fri, 3 Feb 2017 19:47:00 GMT

We left Palmerston North and headed towards Taupo. It was an amazing sunny day as we drove next to Mr Ruapehu, which was snow capped and I believe it's the north island's tallest mountain. Next to it is Mt Ngauruhoe, also known as Mt Doom from the Lord of the Rings. I hadn't see both of these peaks up close before because the last time I drove the Desert Road, it was foggy and completely socked in. We planned on hiking the Tongariro Crossing in the morning so we wanted to stay close by. In Turangi, I went into the iSite to ask them more about the track and the future weather forecast. We drove along the lake to Taupo and walked around in the blistering hot sun looking for outdoor gear stores. I'm in need of a good backpack but didn't find the right one.

We went down to the lake to cool off. The water was pretty warm and we stayed in it for awhile. It was such a clear day that across the lake, we could see Mt Ruapehu and Mt Doom. Then we went to Countdown and headed back south. The drive to our holiday park in the Tongariro area was beautiful and I was getting excited about hiking through the mountains the next day. We found the little park and started to prep food for the next day. We had pork chops for dinner and made up our lunch for the hike. I stayed up late and got my gear ready before going to bed.

DAY 99. See Ya Later South Island

joyaroundtheworld — Thu, 2 Feb 2017 19:42:00 GMT

We sleepily rolled out of our tent, packed it up and walked down the hill to the hostel. Everyone was still sound asleep and so we retrieved our stuff in the campers room and our food from the kitchen. I left a note for everyone and we were on our way to Picton. It was just getting light as we came in, we got breakfast at a bakery and got in line at the ferry terminal. This time we took the Bluebridge service instead of the Interislander. We found a spot in the nice seating area and Cassela and I curled up with a sleeping bag and tried to sleep. It was difficult to get comfortable but we got a little bit of rest. We all woke up and hung out for a little bit before we came into the Wellington port.

It was raining cats and dogs, surprise, it's Wellington. We had a hell of a time trying to find parking and finally went to a parking garage. Poor Helga got a little scraped up in the tight garage. Nothing a little spray paint can't fix. I heard of a really good sushi place called Sushi Bi so we walked for about 15 minutes in the pouring rain there. We went into a nearby mall and sat down to eat. It was super super good and worth getting soaking wet for.

Back out in the rain, we walked for 20 minutes to Ninjaflower, a renowned piercing and tattoo shop that we'd been waiting to go to. Cassela and Michealla wanted to get their septum pierced and I wanted my eyebrow pierced. They said Cassela and I couldn't get them done because our anatomy wasn't just right for those particular piercings. I asked about a lip piercing instead but they said I couldn't drink for two weeks with it soooo that was a no-go. Michealla decided to go through with hers even though we weren't going to get one too.

We went to a nearby shop we had been to before and bought a few things. They were hungry again so we went to a small Asian restaurant. We called an Uber instead of walking back to the parking garage in the rain. We drove out of Wellington and went north. I drove for a few hours until we came to Palmerston North. We got food and headed to a holiday park.

DAY 98. Bittersweet Goodbyes

joyaroundtheworld — Wed, 1 Feb 2017 19:39:00 GMT

It wasn't particularly sunny on this day so we mainly stayed inside on our final day at the hostel, soaking up more of its good vibes and visiting with everyone. I am seriously going to miss the crap out of this place. We watched a few movies, I showered, and packed up some of my stuff. We needed to wake up early the next day, at about 4 to be able to leave at 5 and catch the ferry in Picton at 8. The other two went to bed first and I waited for Melody to get off work to say goodbye. I said bye to her and the others then went up to the tent. I didn't sleep well, for I anticipated my 4am alarm clock.

DAY 97. Who Needs Switchbacks

joyaroundtheworld — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 19:37:00 GMT

I woke up early because I knew Melody and Alex were going to make crepes for breakfast. They turned out really good and there was a group of us that ate together. Everyone was hanging out then I proposed to Cassela and Michealla a hike. We packed up and got ready to go. We headed south to the Nelson Lakes, which was about an hour and a half drive away. I figured we could do a portion of the Mt Robert hike on the Pinchgut track and still had time to come back to the hostel and cook for the barbecue. We parked at the trailhead and set off in the woods. It climbed a bit before it turned into switchbacks that went up the side of the mountain.

It wasn't sunny at all so it made for good hiking weather, not too cold, not too hot. More and more switchbacks up above the lake. We got tired of them so we just started climbing straight up through the switchbacks. It was harder but quicker. We eventually reached big rocks up towards the top. The view was great from there, the lake and the mountains beyond, even with the low clouds, it was pretty. We had lunch, took photos, then headed down. We didn't see any people on the track until we were about halfway from the bottom. We were quick on the downhill and soon, we were back at the car. I drove back to Nelson, we stopped at the store for food and went back home.

We made up a broccoli salad and put corn on the barbecue. The meat on the grill was taking forever to cook and everyone in the house was starving. There were a lot of other dishes on the table and we were all salivating looking at them, not-so-patiently waiting to eat. Finally, it was done and we dug in. Again, a massive delicious meal made by everyone. There was chicken, steak, schnitzel, bread, many different kinds of salads, and at the end, we got out a frozen cheesecake. Everyone had literally stuffed their faces and we were all laying/sitting around, full as could be. There wasn't a lot of drinking and no games. Most people went off to bed early and it was incredibly quiet even before midnight rolled around. I hung out with a few outside then went up to bed.

DAY 96. Nelson Day

joyaroundtheworld — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 17:26:00 GMT

After waking up, I headed to the city center to run some errands and to shop. It was nice to be out of the house on my own and to be a bit productive. Since Nelson is pretty small, I still ran into people from the hostel, however. It was Nelson Day, so not all the shops were open though. Each town/city has its own day when it was founded. I came back to the hostel and made a big salad. Otto made a bunch of mojitos for everyone to celebrate the day. They were dangerously good. We played ring of fire (kings cup) and it was a lot of fun with a few new people in the house. Then we played another card game and after, we just gave up on games. Tio played music from his native country of Kerabas (?) on his guitar for everyone. I started feeling the mojitos and actually had the thought to start drinking water instead. More hanging out before bed.

DAY 95. Hail Heath Ledger

joyaroundtheworld — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 17:23:00 GMT

We had breakfast then went to the beach. It was quite cold with the breeze and we all ended up napping. We left, made lunch back at the hostel, and watched a movie. Priya's boyfriend was here from Wellington and he does tattooing so Cassela decided to get one on her thumb. He uses the stick and poke technique so all it was was a little metal poker and some ink. We were all hanging out and so we put on a another movie. For the second Heath Ledger film of the day, a group of us girls sat and watched it, of course. The good die way too young. A lot of people went off to bed but I stayed up and once Melody got back from work, we chatted until late.

DAY 94. My Worst Morning. Ever.

joyaroundtheworld — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 17:19:00 GMT

I woke up around 8 or 9 with the most horrible headache and stomach ache of my life. This hangover was absolutely awful. I really didn't think I was every going to feel better again. And I was going to die. Between then and 2pm, I got up about 10-12 times to dry heave and puke up stomach acid. It was surely not a fun morning. I tried to drink water but I just couldn't keep anything down. People would come and check on me periodically which was really nice. I could see out the window that it was a beautiful sunny day but there was no way I could enjoy it and go to the beach with everyone. I finally got some sleep and woke up around 4. I was glad the worse was over and that I was feeling better. I got up, got some food in my stomach and hung out.

After a bit, some of the girls and I walked to cCountdown. We came back and hung out in one of their rooms, it was myself, Michealla, Cassela, Emmy, Priya, and Matt. After awhile, we all got ready to go out. I was surely not ready for another night of drinking but everyone was going and I didn't want to stay alone so I got ready too. It took a long time to round everyone up but eventually, we made it out the door. Frolicking in the streets on our way, we landed at a small bar where Tio was playing music. We left and went to a big bar that had a huge dance floor, called Malbas. I only sipped from the girls' drinks and had nothing more. We danced until late then I went to get food with Kate and Sarah and we walked home. We had tea as we waited for the rest to come back.

DAY 93. USA USA USA

joyaroundtheworld — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 17:13:00 GMT

I slept in late, had coffee and then we went off to the store. We came back and made a bunch of food including cupcakes. I miss baking in a real kitchen so I had fun making and frosting them even though it was from a box. We also made shepherds pie and a veggie salad. Everyone was just hanging out eating and beginning to drink. We set up the dining room table for beer pong. Otto and Nick are from Britain and have been keen on playing us from America. Cassela and Michealla squared up against them and lost slightly miserably. Then a few more teams played, a South American team and other European teams. It was cool to have national rivalries like that in the house. Matt, a guy from Maine, and I played against Anise, Otto's girlfriend from France and another guy. Matt and I won pretty easily and I made a good number of cups. I'm glad I was on my game tonight.

We figured there could be a Britain and US rematch so Matt and I played Otto and Nick to hopefully regain our American pride. We became US Team A. They scored a few times but we kept up and it was quite an even game. Matt and I stayed consistent and eventually pulled ahead. We only had two more cups to hit, Matt sank one in and on my turn I got the other. (They don't do redemption, so it was game over). We won!! Ahh victory over the Europeans and to put them in their place a little bit felt so good. Everyone was having a great time, playing games and drinking. Matt and I played a few more games (I think) and I played a game with Melody once she returned from work. By now, I had mixed a lot of wine and beer and went upstairs (to the designated campers room that has a not so good mattress, a small bathroom and shower, and places to put backpacks and clothes) to let some of it out of my system. And I stayed there until the next morning.

DAY 92. Hang Out Day

joyaroundtheworld — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 16:04:00 GMT

We woke up and moved out of our dorm room. We had breakfast then went down to the city center. We shopped around for quite awhile then went back to the hostel. We made food, hung out and I showered. I hung out for awhile with Melody, a French girl who lives in Canada. Not much was going on during the night and everyone was just hanging. We put on the Benjamin Button movie, after a bit the girls went to bed and I stayed up late until it was over. I climbed up the hill to our tent and went to sleep.

DAY 91. Cassela's Feeling 22

joyaroundtheworld — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 16:03:00 GMT

I woke up at 7:40am, awhile after Michealla did and we got things ready for Cassela's birthday while she was still sleeping. Michealla baked the cake while I blew up balloons and fluffed out big pom pom balls. We decorated the outdoor lounging area with crate paper and the balloons then got French toast and mimosas together. We woke her up at 8:30 while playing Taylor Swift's song, 22, and tackling her in bed. Then we told her to get up and follow us. We walked through the house, outside and up to the covered lounge area. She was really surprised by all the decorations and the food laid out she started crying. It reminded me of when a surprise party was thrown for me.

We sat down and had mimosas and French toast. She opened her gift then we told her to get ready for the day and to wear comfortable clothes. We didn't tell her but we planned to drive us to Marahau and go kayaking. She'd been wanting to do it and we haven't gotten a chance yet. We got in the car and drove an hour there. Once we got to the kayak place, she could tell from the sign what we were about to do. Michealla and I went inside to book and pay, but sadly they told us the winds were too strong for anyone to go out. We were bummed and walked back to the car to tell Cassela. We weren't sure what else to do in the area so we just went to a cafe for coffee.

On our way back towards Nelson, we stopped at two wineries. The first was small but overlooked the ocean and the second had mostly red wines. Back in Nelson, we hung out at the hostel, had cake then went down to the river with everyone and laid in the sun. I hung out with Pria, a girl from England and Emily from Germany. Back at Otto's, we got ready for dinner, we also didn't tell her where we were going or what we were doing. All dressed up, we drove to Styx, the same seafood place we went to a few weeks ago and where Cassela really liked their chowder. We drank while waiting what seemed like forever for our food.

At the hostel, we changed out of our dresses and hung out with everyone. We played drinking games until late, which was so much fun then went to bed.

DAY 90. Family BBQ

joyaroundtheworld — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 16:01:00 GMT

We cruised out of Murchison and arrived in Nelson. We headed straight for Otto's Backpackers and it was so nice to be back. We caught up with him as well as the others who we met a few weeks back and it was great to see some familiar faces. We hung out for a bit and then headed to the beach for awhile then went off to the store. We left Cassela in the car so we could go in and get the last of her birthday goodies.

Back at the house, we made fruit salad and put corn on the barbecue. We waited for the grill master to finish cooking heaps of chicken drumsticks and lamb chops. There was about 20 or so of us and we were all quite hungry. Everyone made a dish from their home country and we all served up. All the food was so delicious I wanted to keep eating but only had one plate. Eddie also stopped by to say hi. We all ate and hung out. The girls and I went to bed pretty early.

DAY 89. Camping on the River

joyaroundtheworld — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 15:59:00 GMT

We left Greymouth and headed to Westport, it was a beautiful sunny day to drive along the gorgeous coast. Though windy, we still went to the beach and made lunches. On our way towards Murchison, we listened to a podcast which was a great change from listening to music after all these miles. Sometimes, Cassela or Michealla will read aloud from one of their books that they're reading which helps get through the drives too. Sinc we didn't want to go to Nelson quite yet, we stopped about halfway there in Murchison. We drove around for a bit and then settled on a holiday park. It turned out to be one of our favorites, it was cheap, right on the river and had an amazing kitchen.

We settled in and opened a box of wine as we started to make dinner. We had delicious pork chops and tons of veggies on the big, covered deck that overlooked the river. On the other side, a few cows were busy drinking water from it. We finished up and headed back to our camp. It was a pretty, warm night but with lots of pesky sand flies. We played cards and also played some with the neighbors before going to bed. Cassela woke me up in the middle of the night to see the stars, and I'm so glad she did.

DAY 88. Keeping Things Interesting

joyaroundtheworld — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 15:55:00 GMT

We slept in, packed up camp, had breakfast and drove out of Fox Glacier. We stopped near the Franz Josef Glacier then continued on to Hokitika and checked out the beach and then went to buy groceries. We made lunch and left the little town. The coast was gorgeous to drive along as we went through Greymouth and continued going north up the west side of the island. We stopped just before Punakaiki at the pancake and blowhole beach. There were a lot of other tourists around and we walked down the pathway until we came to a place up above the ocean. There were rock formations all over and they were like big stacks of pancakes in all shapes and sizes. It was a really cool area! There was also a big blow hole and it was cool to watch the massive waves crash up on the rock cliffs.

We walked back to our car and I suddenly gasped because I saw that our poor Helga had a flat tire. I pointed and Michealla saw it too. All we could do was laugh and try to fix it. As we were moving our stuff out of the back so we could get to the spare tire, the big flat of eggs fell to the ground with not a single survivor. Just as we were getting the car jack out of its compartment, two guys that were parked nearby came and asked if we needed help. Of course we did and we were so grateful. They changed our tire very quickly and all the sudden, Helga was looking better. We attempted to pay them or to go buy them a few beers but they declined. We wanted to keep heading north to Westport but we knew that was too far of a drive on the spare tire. So we headed back to Greymouth, slowly.

We checked into a holiday park and got one of the rooms instead of a tent site. We changed and got ready then headed for Monteith's, one of New Zealand's oldest breweries which started back in 1868. The place was super cool and the beer was delicious. Then we went to Speight's brewery then crossed the street by the river and saw a bright pink sunset. We headed back to the park and went to bed.

DAY 87. The True Rainy New Zealand

joyaroundtheworld — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 20:44:00 GMT

We left the holiday park and went to a cafe for breakfast that was kind of out of town and in a small mall complex. I stopped into Countdown then we were on our way. I drove through Wanaka and up the lake for a few hours while the other two napped. I stopped at the Blue Pools parking lot so they could see them. It was raining pretty good by now and I waited for them to walk down. We continued driving, went past Haast and stopped in the Fox Glacier area.

It was down pouring now and we started to look for a hostel or backpackers to stay in for the night. Everything around town was booked up so we went to the holiday park. We should've booked a small cabin for the night in the rain but we got a tent site. We quickly set up camp under a big tree and went inside to cook dinner. We hung out inside in the kitchen/lounge area up until bed time.

DAY 86. Accomplishing Items on the Bucketlist

joyaroundtheworld — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 20:43:00 GMT

While we had breakfast, we booked our tickets for the luge ride and our time slot to Skydive in Wanaka. We walked a short ways from our camp and got in the long line to go up the gondola. The view of Queenstown from high up on the mountain was incredible on this sunny day we've been waiting for. There were also many mountain bikers going up the gondola and a number of parasailers were flying off the mountain to the town below. It was a busy day on the luge rides and we purchased five runs but our skydive booking was at 3:00pm an hour away so we hurried to go up the lift and get in as many runs as we could. We took the beginner course down since we had to our first time then did two more advanced runs and called it good. We thought that the Rotorua tracks were longer, better, and you could get more speed. I made sure to get plenty of pictures of the awesome view before we got on the gondola and headed back down.

We power walked back to the camp kitchen, got the chicken wrap fixings and headed towards Wanaka. We weren't exactly running behind but we still drove quickly towards the Wanaka airport. We got there and checked in on their fancy iPads. Cassela and I were thrown off because we were told we couldn't use our own GoPros for the jump and had to buy pictures or video for $170NZ of their footage. We mulled over that idea and I eventually caved and bought the video package on top of the skydive price...it was an expensive day. We watched the first group gear up and go in the plane and we were left waiting for an hour and a half until it was our turn. We were all uneasy then finally, they called our names.

We went to the main part of the hanger/building and got suited up in the outfit and a harness. I was feeling down before this but all the sudden I was amped. I didn't think too much about what was about to go down and just knew it was going to be epic. We put on shoes, got a helmet/hat with goggles and met our skydive guide. Mine was older but cool, his name was Robbie and we chatted for a minute then he interviewed me with a GoPro for my video. We waited around for a bit and the girls and I got excited. It was still gorgeous weather and we loaded up in the small plane. We all piled in, in each other's laps. Cassela was behind Robbie and I while Michealla was near the back of the plane with her guide, so she would be one of the first people to go out.

The plane zoomed up into the sky and we had a great view of the mountains, lakes, and the surrounding areas. It was loud inside the plane but Robbie and I talked along the way and then everyone starting strapping into their guide's harness. I opted out of using the gloves but Robbie secured my hat and goggles. We quickly went over what I should do while we were in free fall, to hold onto the harness until he said not to, to keep my head back towards him, and to keep my feet up and back behind me. We had obviously reached 12,000 feet because I watched as Michealla and her tandem buddy leaped out of the plane. I was filled was so many emotions as all this happened so fast, fear, excitement, and adrenaline, more than I have ever experienced. Then before I knew it, Robbie and I were scooting ourselves down towards the opening of the plane. There was a lot of noise and moving around and before there was a chance for any last words or any looks around the plane or anything, we were OUT of the plane. Out of this perfectly good aircraft and falling so incredibly fast towards the ground. There was nothing that could have prepared me for this part, the part when we fell out of the plane and into the open sky.

The air and wind was harsh. The free fall was frightening but exhilarating. Again, nothing at all could have prepared me for this. I was smiling but my mouth was dry from the intense wind and I didn't know what to do, whether to look around, look at the GoPro on Robbie's wrist or close my eyes. It all happened so fast. Robbie tapped my hand that signaled me to let go of my harness and put my arms out to enjoy the fall. This was an incredible rush and it felt shorter than the proposed 45 seconds but it also felt longer. All of this is so hard to explain, you would really have to skydive to understand my descriptions and feelings. I think I was screaming this whole time but I'm not really sure. I was mortified but adrenaline took over and so I was also smiling the whole time too. I had no concept of time but was getting used to the free falling when Robbie pulled our parachute out. It jerked us up but not as bad as I imagined it would.

It got quiet and the falling slowed. I was mildly freaking out with happiness and exhilaration. Robbie made the parachute swoop us around through the air and we were still so far off the ground. Looking down past my feet at the earth was scary but awesome. I finally got a chance to get a good look at the view of the mountains, lakes, and rivers beneath and around us. The big swooping turns Robbie made had me screaming a little bit, flying through the air like that was something else. I looked around some more and then we got close to the landing area at the airport. Robbie told me to lift up my knees and then to stand up when he said to. We were nearing the ground and I brought my knees up and we barely skimmed the ground. He said to stand up and we both stood upright on the ground, just like that. I had the biggest high I've ever felt and it was hard to even fathom what just happened. Michealla already landed and I was able to watch Cassela land. We were all excited and freaking out as we walked back into the hangar.

We took our gear off and compared stories. Cassela's guide showed her the pictures he took during the jump and she ended up purchasing them. We waited for my video and her pictures to be put on a thumb drive. I viewed my video on a computer and wasn't exactly pleased with it and made the mistake of not asking if it was possible to get a refund. My guide didn't angle the camera very well and some parts of it was footage of the side of his leg. For the price, I was expecting to get something better. Oh well. We left and headed back to Queenstown. We got ready to go out and made it to a few bars but I called it an early night.

DAY 85. Movie Night

joyaroundtheworld — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 19:42:00 GMT

We all slept horribly because it was freezing and windy last night so we slept in as much as we could. I woke up after awhile and showered then had breakfast. We did a whole lot of nothing since it was stormy and rainy out again. We had soup for lunch again and did a lot of reading. Later on, we got ready to go to the Onsen hot pools but once we got there, we found out they were booked up. We wanted to go to another kind of pool or springs but there wasn't that much else around so we just went back to the park. We booked a movie for 8:30 and made dinner up until then. We cooked chicken, roasted vegetables, and couscous and it turned out well. We got ready then walked to the movie theater.

We got our paper tickets and we had a few minutes until the movie started so we went to a candy store nearby and got some treats for the film. The movie was good, predictable but good. It was called Passengers and had Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt in it and was a romantic, futuristic movie. We came out of the movie and were intrigued by music coming from bars and the many people walking around but went back to our camp instead.

DAY 84. Rainy Q-Town

joyaroundtheworld — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 19:39:00 GMT

We woke up in hopes of doing fun Queenstown activities (extreme swing/bungy, gondola and luge rides, mtn biking, etc) but instead it was down pouring. I was pretty bummed out that we were in such a fun, amazing, beautiful city and the weather wasn't allowing us to enjoy it to the fullest. Instead, we went down to the city center and did some shopping. I bought some souvineers and we walked around in the different shops. Back at camp, we took a nap in the tent as it rained and rained. Then we all went and got ready for the night. Before meeting the cop friends we made for the pub crawl, we went for pizza. For the crawl, everyone met at the Happy Travels tourist office and went to the first bar.

Everyone got a free shot, though they were small and not very strong. We hung out there for a bit then went to the next spot. This bar had live music and was more packed. We were kind of over going to bars we didn't choose ourselves so we went back to Searle Lane. The six of us played jumbo jenga for a few rounds then walked in the rain to Winnie's. We had a few drinks, though weak still. We ended the night at the same pool hall. We drank all night but none of us even had much of a buzz. The girls and I walked to our camp. Bedtime.

DAY 83. Best Burgers & Cheap Bombs

joyaroundtheworld — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 19:34:00 GMT

In the morning, we went to Puzzling World. It had cool illusion rooms and a big outdoor maze. The illusion rooms were probably my favorite and we kind of gave up on the maze after awhile. After, we went to the beautiful Rippon Winery that overlooked the lake. We did a tasting with a large group and enjoyed the views from the property. The others didn't feel like hiking to Roy's Peak on a perfectly sunny day so we moved on to Queenstown. Once we were there, I had them drop me off at a trail head and I hiked Bob's Cove. It was a pleasant hike that followed Lake Wakatipu and then eventually climbed up above the lake. Back near the beginning, I took another short trail around the other side of the lake. It lead to an old mortar kiln that was massive and so cool.

Cassela picked me up and we headed back into town. We found a holiday park, changed, and drove down to the city center. We were hungry so we got in the long line for Fergburger. This burger joint was rated best burger restaurant a few years ago and is still reaping the benefits from its popularity. No matter what time of day it is, you can walk/drive by this place and there are lines out the door and half way down the block. The wait in line for us was about 30 minutes and about 30 minutes for the order. We walked around town a bit while we waited and it was raining so we ate back in the car. I ordered a beef burger with bacon and pineapple while they got a chicken burger. Both were so delicious and big and mine was so good I finished it.

We looked up popular bars in town and we went to Cowboys first. It was decorated in western stuff and had saddles as bar stools and of course played country music. We ordered a few drinks (which were pretty weak) and hung out for awhile. Then we went to another one close by called Searle Lane. Jäger bombs were $4 a piece up until 10pm so we got a few of those. Next to us, a group of people were playing jumbo jenga, regular jenga but the blocks were much bigger. We played with them for awhile which was a lot of fun. I met a girl from Tasmania, which was a first. We ended up chatting with a group of police officers who were from California. After a bit we went over to a bar called Winnie's where we hung out on the covered balcony. Then we walked to a pool bar and played a few rounds of pool. After a bit, we went back to our camp.

DAY 82. Mount Nope

joyaroundtheworld — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 19:31:00 GMT

We gassed up and headed inland. The drive to Lake Tekapo was gorgeous and even though it was a bit cloudy, the lake was still beautiful. I didn't expect this area to be established but it sure was with shops, lodges, and homes. We stopped and took pictures at a little lookout then went further down the road to the Good Shepherds Church. The church, with a pretty, rock exterior, looked out over the lake. This church and this scene is a popular photography spot. It was windy here and there were a lot of people around but we got some good pictures out of it. We left after awhile and drove towards Lake Pukaki, another thin long lake that leads up to Mount Cook. The drive around the southern part of it was beautiful. The lake was an intense bright blue color and there were green and yellow shrubs around it.

On our drive to Mt Cook, we stopped at a pretty lavender farm for a few moments. The drive along the length of Lake Pukaki was incredible. The mountains were unreal but up ahead in the valley towards what I thought to believe where Mt Cook was, were thick low lying clouds. We kept driving towards them and sure enough, we weren't able to see the mountain. I have been wanting to see it my whole trip and was also hoping to do one of the day hikes also. Mt Cook is New Zealand's tallest peak at 3,724 meters. It's a treacherous mountain that people have lost their lives on and few have summited. It was foggy, cloudy and heavily raining when we went into the visitors center. I was keen to stick around for awhile to see if the weather was going to change so we could see the mount but of course the girls weren't. We carried on back down the road.

We visited the clay cliffs which were on private property so we paid a small fee. At the end of a bumpy gravel rode, there stood a section of huge cliffs, carved out by wind and rain for years. We took pictures, had a snack and left. As we began driving through the Lindis Pass, there were beautiful purple and pink lupine fields on both sides of the road. We stopped for pictures and continued on. The pass was pretty but not what I excepted. The mountains were covered by small light colored shrubs, almost like we were going through the desert. Out of the pass and an hour further, we made it to Wanaka. We found a holiday park, had a quick dinner and went down to the lake. The two others hadn't seen the "Wanaka Tree" yet so we walked down to check it out. We sipped on wine back at the campground and went to bed after a bit.

DAY 81. Beach Day

joyaroundtheworld — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 19:24:00 GMT

We left the house and went for breakfast. We headed out of Christchurch and drove an hour or two south to the town of Timaru. First thing we did was go to the beach. It was a busy Sunday afternoon there and a lot of people were enjoying the warm day. It was sunny out and hot but there was a slight breeze so it was just perfect. The three of us laid down and read our books for awhile and then we went to test out the water. It was pretty warm compared to other parts of the ocean we'd been in. We all kept reading for a bit longer and then we left the beach.

We went to the store and bought a cart full of groceries for the next few days. We found a holiday park and started to cook dinner. I fell asleep on the grass on the sun for awhile. We ate and watched tv then I went off and showered. I called my family, hung out some, and then went to bed.

DAY 80. Recovery Day

joyaroundtheworld — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 19:21:00 GMT

We drove towards the water and found a cafe for breakfast. We continued walking down the same street where a little market was going on. There was also a small carnival next to the beach that we checked out but it wasn't worth hanging around for. After awhile, we went to a mall and Michealla got her toes painted at a salon while I walked around and shopped a little bit. Then we drove around some and ended up at a park where we laid on the grass and did a little reading. We headed to the store and bought food for dinner. Back at the house, we cooked burgers which turned out quite good. We played beer pong and hung out a bit before going off to bed.

DAY 79. Pancakes & Pong

joyaroundtheworld — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 19:19:00 GMT

I made pancakes for breakfast and then we made sure the coastal highway was open before we headed towards Christchurch. We drove along the water and saw all the slips that construction crews were working on. It was cool to see in person all the areas I'd seen on the news and the destruction that happened because of the earthquake. We drove inland a little bit and continued going south towards Christchurch. We finally arrived and found wifi so Michealla could do a little bit of work on her phone.

I saw on the web that there was an outdoor movie event at the arts center so we headed towards it. On the way, we saw a lot of cool street art and sculptures around the town. The arts center was a big beautiful, European style building and I was in love with it. We walked into the outdoor quad area and it was packed with families and kids. We sprawled our sleeping bags out and sat down with kettle corn that we bought there and watched Finding Nemo. I think we enjoyed it more than all the little kids. It was pretty fun watching all the families and such. I loved the pretty building and just sitting and relaxing.

Afterwards, we picked up whisky and beer to pay for our nights stay. Michealla made friends with someone who lives in Christchurch so we planned to stay at his place for the night. We met him, he's from Chile and his three roommates are Czech. We cracked a few beers and hung out. One of them went and bought cups and we used the pink ping pong balls we've had for awhile and played beer bong. After awhile, we played the finger game and then more of their friends showed up. They were from France, Sydney, and other places. The party got a little more lively with about 20 people there. We all played a game with a big water jug and a rugby ball then moved onto beer pong again. Some people left and then Michealla went to our room and went to sleep and I followed shortly after.

DAY 78. Didn't Expect to Make it to This Eastern Town

joyaroundtheworld — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 17:44:00 GMT

I woke up to an insane windstorm. It was so loud I thought the world was coming to an end and it was blowing so hard it was smashing the tent down on us. We made breakfast and headed to the springs. It was really busy but we got our tickets, changed, and went into the sulphur pools first. This pool was 40 degrees Celsius and the next one was 41 degrees. We went into all the different pools but couldn't go into the water park and down the slide because we didn't get that kind of pass. We hung out for a little bit longer but then we left.

Earlier that morning, I found out that the inland route to Kaikoura was open. This is the town that got hit the hardest when the earthquake happened two months ago and was blocked off to the rest of New Zealand because of numerous rockslides (slips) that covered the road. There was a lot of destruction but also a lot of work for construction workers. Even on this inland route we took, we went through about 7-10 sites where they were working on the road. Kaikoura was never really on my list of destinations because I really didn't think it was possible to drive there because of the closures. Its a touristy town with whale watching and dolphin tours and a lot of their income was ruined because of the earthquake. So I was excited to be able to get to it and see the after effects of the quake.

On the way there, we stopped at a winery called Marble Point. Before we even began the tasting, we eyed a few adorable puppies that they had out their side door. There was a white one with a brown head and a blonde scruffy one. All of our hearts melted and it was so fun playing with them and holding them. It took every ounce of my self control not to sneak away with one of them.

The wines were really good and Michealla and I bought the classic riesling and Cassela got the dry riesling. We chatted with the older lady who owns the winery about how the earthquake affected business for her and her family. The grounds here were super pretty and so was the small retail building. We said goodbye to the puppies and got back on the road. We went through more construction and finally made it to Kaikoura. It was a pretty coastal town and first thing we did was go down to the beach and test the water. We weren't too interested in doing a dolphin or whale tour here so we just went and found a holiday park. We set up camp and then walked to the grocery and liquor store. We made dinner and then got in the hot tub. We were all feeling pretty good and got up on the roof of our car and had a few heart-to-hearts. After a walk in the grassy field by the moonlight near the ocean, we went to bed.