But let me
stop yammering on about internet, and get right down to it: THIS COUNTRY IS
BEAUTIFUL!!! I can’t even begin to tell you everything I have seen and
experienced so far, but what I can tell you is drop whatever you’re doing right
now and hop on a plane to New Zealand. I’m not even kidding. I feel like each
place I’ve gone, I’ve wanted to just stay there. None of the pictures I take do
this place justice. The views are breathtaking, and each time we turn a corner,
there’s a new picture to be taken. It’s become the norm to stop mid-sentence
and shout at someone to “LOOK!” or point off into the distance with mouth open
or with a smile.
In case you
didn’t know, I’m studying abroad in New Zealand and Australia this summer with
UGA. I’m on the Animal Behavior trip with around 30 others students and 2
professors. I’m going to take a second and brag on this group because I’ve had
the opportunity just over the past week to become friends with some pretty
awesome people. I feel like this trip has given me such a great opportunity to
actually live out and be engaged with what I’m actually learning about and
studying, but more about that later.
Alrighty, so
for those of you wondering exactly what all I’m doing in New Zealand, my class
and I are essentially travelling around the South Island with our awesome bus
driver J.P. (But seriously, he’s probably the coolest person ever. No
question.) I’m going to give you a brief overview of the travels and some of
the things I’ve learned thus far. If you want to skip ahead to some pictures,
I’m putting only a few at the bottom of this post. There will be PLENTY (enough
emphasis?) more on Facebook once I get back to the States or get some better
internet connection.
Here goes!
So I left the US on Sunday, May 12th and landed at Auckland
International Airport on Tuesday, May 14th. Yes, there was a full
day of flying, and, yes, I skipped one day of my life. Lest productive day
ever. I was so glad I met 8 other people traveling to AU/NZ in LAX because we
were able to find the terminal together and all get to where we needed to be
for the long haul flight. We flew from Auckland to Christchurch and had a full
day of being introduces to the Maori people and learning about the earthquakes
of the city. We also got to visit the Re: Start mall, a mall built out of old
shipping containers. I had heard about how bad the quakes had devastated the
area, but it’s really something different to see it with your own eyes. That
night, we walked over to a local Uni and had our in-country orientation and got
to know each other a little better.
I realize as
I’m typing this that this is going to get really long really fast, so I’m going
to break up the paragraphs by days. I definitely won’t be able to include
everything that happened, but I’ll do my best to at least hit the highlights
and the things that most stood out to me.
Ok, day 2 in
country began with a 6:30am lecture followed by a trip to Hinewai with
beautiful views and a nice little hike. Fun fact: they don’t go hiking in New
Zealand; they go tramping. We then ventured to Akaroa where we had fish and
chips for lunch. When we ate, some other people and I sat on the end of the
dock and just took in the view before hopping on a boat to cruise the harbour.
We got to observe some of the Hector dolphins, including several sets of mother
and baby, in addition to fur seals, various birds, and the blue penguin. I
highly recommend this cruise to anyone who might be in the area. After leaving
Akaroa, we travelled on the Kaikoura.
Not even
kidding, I could have stayed in Kaikoura for the rest of my life. We woke up
the next morning, got wetsuited up (I don’t think that’s a word, but it is
now.), and headed out on some boats to go swim with the dolphins. I made it
through two of the dives before I got sea sick. I’m pretty sure everyone on our
boat except maybe 3-4 people got sick, but at least Ian, our guide, was really
cool. The experience was something though that was truly amazing, and if I had
to say, it was totally worth getting sick for. I mean, you can’t go swimming
and play every day with a pod of 400 Dusky dolphins. And apparently it was the
best dives they had had in the past weeks. We got to learn some about how
conservation and sustainability efforts tie into the local tourism market, the
whole concession application system. That afternoon/night we learned some more
about the Maori people by meeting up with Maurice and going on a Maori tour. It
was amazing. I went from knowing really nothing about their culture to
essentially becoming a part of their family by the time the night was over. We
got to learn about the values of various plants on a forest walk, learn a Maori
song, have afternoon tea, visit the remnants of an old Pa, weave flowers from
flax, play the Maori stick game, and end the night with a Maori Hangi (and some
singing) – delicious! Our bus did manage to break down before the flower
weaving, but honestly, I don’t think it changed the atmosphere of the day one
bit.
On day 4, we
went out to the Kaikora peninsula where we observed fur seals for our ethogram
project. The weather was absolutely perfect. We got to observe a lot of
wildlife at the peninsula and walk around the bottom since it was low tide.
Earlier in the day, we went over to the Ohau stream and saw some fur seal pups
playing upstream in a waterfall pool. Apparently, one curious seal pup started
that contagion a couple of years ago. We also got to go to this really great
seafood shack and ice cream stand for lunch. I split/shared with 3 other
people, and I got to try some really yummy things that I probably would have
never gotten before. And, in case you were wondering, I had some caramel fudge
ice cream. Later that night, we got to walk around town and eat, and I got to
have a nice little chat with a guy who owned a sheep and Angus farm just down
the road.
The next
morning, we got up early and headed out for Aoraki/Mt. Cook. We pretty much
spent the full day traveling, making the occasional stop here and there to
discuss various things like the braided river system, the impact of dairy
farming and irrigation, farmers markets (that may or may not have been
intentional), and the like. Let it be noted that I also had my first in-country
Tim Tam slam. Just a few (around 12) km outside of Glentanner, our bus started
to overheat, so we had to pull over for a bit to help it cool down. When we
made it to the place, we had some BBQ dinner, worked on homework, and laughed
at our small 10 person bunked rooms with no floor space.
Day 6
involved a nice 7 mile hike at Aorakl/Mt. Cook after we learned a bit about the
history and the search and rescue team. I thought it was really neat how we got
to also see their facilities and get the “behind the scenes tour,” so to speak.
We then walked the Hooker Valley down past one glacier and on to the other.
Some people brought their swimsuits and actually did the polar bear plunge. I
just ate my lunch and took pictures with the rest of the group. Unfortunately,
the weather wasn’t in our favor, and the mountain kept its cloud cloak on
throughout the whole day, but the hike still offered some great views. I can’t
even imagine what it would be like on a clear day. That night we had spaghetti
and gave our presentations. I was also involved with the group who made a Tim
Tam castle cake – pure epic. It even had a flag! Our professor then introduced
us to Tim Tam slams. I refrained because I’m already addicted (haha, but
really).
The next
day, day 7, was also a travel day with many stops along the way. First, we
stopped by Simon’s sheep farm at Ben Ohau to learn a bit about land tenure.
Also, as a nice little treat, we got to see where Lord of the Rings was filmed
on his site. This was the location of one of the battles and the place where the
city of Gondor was superimposed over the mountains. And it should be noted that
his wife was an Oark. We moved on from there and had lunch in a cute little
town (with a lot of ducks) before visiting the Fork Farm. We got to see the
dogs work some sheep and learn a bit about the New Zealand sheep industry. The
also had some beef cattle and deer on their farm as well. I also had my first
flat white coffee on day 7. Yes, it was totally worth it. It kind of reminds me
of a vanilla latte, but the taste is a little different, and I actually think
it tastes better (shhhhhh…don’t tell Starbucks!). We arrived at Queenstown that
night and had some great pizza at the Hub at our lodge. J.P. and our home on
wheels had to leave us for a while to go pick up another group. We then had to
pack everything we needed for the next 3 days into one backpack before heading
to Deep Cove the next day.
The morning
of the 8th day, we got to sleep in a little (until 8)! We then
stored out luggage, grabbed our backpacks, and headed off for Deep Cove. We
went by bus, by boat, and then by bus again. And that pretty much summed up the
day. We had afternoon tea, got settled in to the hostel and had a delicious
three-course dinner of soup, spaghetti and meatballs, and apple crumble.
Afterwards, we went for a night walk and saw some of the glowworms in the
surrounding area.
We awoke the
9th day in Deep Cove. This place is surreal, like something you see
in the movies (literately, Jurassic Park was filmed around these parts). The
meals Bob and John fixed us were some of the best things I’ve eaten since I’ve
been in New Zealand. We started off the day, after breakfast, with a nice 3
hour hike over to a waterfall on the other side of the cove. We went back to
the hostel to fix wraps for lunch before our cruise out to the sea. The cruise
was great, and I discovered that I do actually like tea if it has milk in it.
We got to see some amazing views, and there was one part on the way back where
they completely shut the boat down and had a time of complete silence. It was
crazy how much life you could hear in that silence, especially all the birds.
We went back to the hostel where we had some free time to do work, eat dinner,
and hang out.
Day 10
consisted of traveling back to Queenstown by bus, boat, and boat again after
cleaning the hostel. We stopped by the DOC Te Anau bird sanctuary and got a
“backstage tour” of the many birds housed there. We also stopped by a quaint
café on the way back, and I got some hokey pokey ice cream that was really
good. I’m pretty sure we saw around 3 or 4 rainbows over the course of the day
trip from Deep Cove to Queenstown. We were free when we got back to Queenstown,
so I went up and booked my horseback riding tour before going out to dinner
with some friends. We went to this nice little place for dinner called Fergburger
(Amazing! And those burgers were huge! And the chips are pretty darn awesome
too.) and then shopped around the city before heading back to go to bed. It’s
crazy how much sleep I feel like I’ve gotten on this trip, but yet I’m still
tired a lot (but it’s so worth it).
The free
day: day 11. AKA, horseback riding day / dream come true. I spent the entire
morning riding through the picturesque countryside on horseback, and I feel
like the whole thing was a dream. Naomi, the lady who came and picked us up,
(and her dog, Arnie, a wire-haired fox terrier) were so sweet. We got to see a
good bit of the LotR film sights like (and just know I’m going to misspell most
of these) Isenguard, the rock that Frodo and them looked over, the swamp/marsh
area it was based from (but that part was actually done in Wellington in a
lot), and a few other spots. Ohhhhh and I’m going to take a second and brag – I
cantered today for my first time! Honestly, I feel like this whole trip has
been a dream but one I don’t want to wake up from. I do miss my family, and I
wish they could be here to share these moments with me. We’ll definitely have
to make a trip back over here in the near future! Anywho, after the horseback
ride, I did some work and then met up with a few more head downtown. And that’s
where I’m posting from right now!
This trip so
far has been a journey, and it’s one I really don’t want to end. I remember on
the first day, our professor told us that he had some people crying in the New
Zealand airport before leaving, and now I understand why. There’s just
something so special about this country that you just can’t find anywhere else,
and the friendships I’ve made here are just wonderful.
With regards
to future blog posts, I’m not sure when I’ll next be able to make one. I might
try in AU, but the internet is even more spotty in the places we’re going, so I
can’t make any promises. I hope you’ve all enjoyed this little update, and now
the moment you’ve all been waiting for – some pictures! (Note: they have no
captions, but if you want to know more about them, either stalk my Facebook
page or ask me in the comment section below!)
--I'll try to post the pictures a little latter...this internet isn't exactly cooperating with me :)
Alright, now that I'm back in America here's a couple of pictures!
 |
| Christchurch (post-quake) |
 |
| Banks Peninsula |
 |
| Akaroa |
 |
| Kaikoura sunset |
 |
| NZ Fur Seal |
 |
| Kaikoura Peninsula |
 |
| walking on some water |
 |
| Gateway to the Fiordlands |
 |
| Horseback Riding in Queenstown |
