Anyways, there are a few people without whom this blog would not exist. First and foremost Matt Mullenweg, thanks to the genius founder of of WordPress without of which I would not be able to have sent you these glorious pages.

Ok, but more seriously, I do have genuine thanks to give. Michael Bartley was there every step of the way for me during this trip, including countless late night emails and skype conversations regarding resizing photographs and uploading youtube videos. Thanks to my mom, Gloria Hubacker, for checking the blog EVERY DAY, and for leaving me encouraging (and sometimes embarrassing) stories and comments for all to read, just helping to make me feel like I was home. Heidi Hansen could easily be hired as a fact-checker/editor and was my resident expert on all things New Zealand and I owe her much.

Thanks to everyone else for their comments and support along the way- Saam, Miss T, Susan, Heidi (again) and Ian, to name a few.

I’ve had several people ask concerning what will I do with my blog now that I am returning home… and I have yet to decide. It has definitely become an addicting habit, but I’m not sure what I would write about upon arriving in Seattle. (Job hunting? boring…First year teaching? petrifying…) Although, those who know me also know that I will NEVER stop travelling, so perhaps this page can be used for all my future adventures as well. I mean, hey, in less than a month I’m going to Las Vegas! (Well, because not all locations can be as exotic as New Zealand!) If you have any thoughts regarding the future status of my blog.. feel free to chime in.

Oh, and in the meantime, wish me safe travels home! BYE!!!

I got the bus early Saturday morning and arrived in Rotorua midday. i had already booked a day trip the following day to see New Zealand’s famous one of a kind glowworm caves and then a spa package at a local geothermal spa on Monday (I told you! Birthday weekend), so Saturday was the time I had allocated to go to the Maori village. Being the hub of cultral events for Maori traditions, there are plenty of concerts or villages you could go see, and that’s one of the main tourist attractions. The other is that the city of Rotorua is actually sorrounded by hills on all sides that form a ring, and the outline of the creater. The volcanic activity is wwhat gives Rotorua it’s other main attraction- geo thermal activities such as gysers, boiling mud, etc. And it provides for an interesting aroma.

That afternoon, after settling in my hostel, I was given directions into the center of town. I was told to cut across the field, where I encountered soccer practice, a farmers market and steaming lakes! It was crazy to just see steam boiling around as I walked along. I made it into town and took a shuttle out to the traditional Maori village, called Whakarewarewa (Maori only has like 14 letters).

There are other tours that people can take, however, this village is still inhabitated by Maori’s, who run the tours and concerts themselves.

I arrived just in time to see a small concert where they perfrom tranditional song and dances. (Sorry- I had bad lighting!)

They ended with the Haka- the famous Maori war dance. It was performed to psych up the warriors mentally and physically before heading out into battle- and it was pretty powerful and gave me chills!

 (As a side note, the New Zealand rugby team always performs it before their international matches to intimdate their opponents.) Here’s a link to a snippet of what a larger concert would look like that i found off of youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-lrE2JcO44

After the concert, we were allowed to go down and take pictures- which felt a little tacky, but I still did and tried my best Maori warrior face.

 (Yes, his is better.) After the concert, there was a short tour around the village, which looked poor and rundown. It included stops at mudpools, the cemetary and of course thier souvineir store. We were told we couldn’t continue up a the path as we would only enoucounter a gate from the Te Puia Institude that was built on the other side of the village in 1963. They started going their own tours focusing arund a gyster, but still going on the villagers land. There was confusion trying to schedule and collect payment between the Whaka tours (who had been operating and living there since well before ’63) and the Institute’s tours. It was agreed that only the institute would collect and run tours, but still giving the villagers thier portion for using their village, etc. After a while, new boardmembers were instilled and politics came into play, with them not understanding why they were giving the Moari a “handout,” apparently forgetting who’s village it was in the FIRST place. Regardless, as a result, the gate was put up and they each independently run thier own tours. Hence, why even though there are more theatrical and larger Maori concerts or experiences, I was happy with knowing that I was doing the one actually run by Maori’s.

After taking some pictures and before having to meet the shuttle going back to city center, I decided to try some of the corn I heard was cooked in the containers from the ground just by all the heat and steam. I didn’t realize I had been walking by them all the while, until I saw a woman opening one!

They call the method of cooking the food in the ground “hangi” and I decided to had to have some corn. But, since it was so late in the afternoon, I was able to purchase a whole hangi meal for discounted, so how could I refuse! They put the meat, potatoes, veggies and stuffing into a tray, cover it with tin foil and into the pit oven it goes! It’s like a tv dinner… from the earth!

I made my way back to the hostel, content with the cultural experience in Rotorua and looking foward to the next day.  My grandfather and his wife do extensive travelling and when they found out I was going to New Zealand they told me the one thing I absolutley HAD to do was see the glowworm caves! I had booked the bus trip on the internet and it was an all day event- as the glowworm caves were actually a couple of hours outside of Rotoura, but this was going to be my last chance and the closest I would be so I had to do it. I got packed for the day and went to the bus station, only to find out that there was only me and two other people going to the caves that day! We had the whole bus to ourselves, and they were going on to Auckland afterwars, so it was just going to be ME on the way back!

The trip was actually really great, though, because it meant we could talk a lot easier than if there was a whole tour group. It turns out that the driver was originally from the village I had just toured yesterday and it was through him I found out all the political history.

Once we got to the caves, they dropped us off and we met up with another tour about to go through. It was UNBELIEVABLE. There was no photos allowed, which for someone like me is a major disappointment. Thank goodness for marketing photos on the internt, but I swear it really does look like this!

When we arrived, we had to actually go through the caves and walk down to where the water was with the boat that we traveled on, looking up at the glowworms above us. Our guide had obviously been doing this for a long time, and even though he was informative…. it sounded like he was narrating a BBC documentary and not talking to real people? Which honestly made it easy to tune him out but at least I could just focus on the magnificant geology around us.

The boat ride was amazing and silent: there are a series of ropes in place at different levels (depending upon water levels, I’m assuming), and the guide pulls us around a couple times just using the ropes. Then, we go around to the exit- where we almost couldn’t go because of the high water levels from recent rain- we had to duck so we didn’t hit our heads!- and pull out to the dock we were disembark and walk back up to the street level. We WERE able to take pictures from there…

We looked at the shop and then met our bus drivers who took us to a place for lunch before heading back to our respective cities. It was an amazing experience and I could go into all the scientific garble about the glow worms and how they’re the only ones like that in the world- although apparently there is another cave like this in Maylasia, but people can’t go down there because there’s such an extreme lack of oxygen that the carbon dioxide levels are too dangerous!  And how really  what you’re seeing is the life cycle of one insect, that never leaves the cave, and they get caught and eaten in their own children’s nests! But.. I won’t bore you.

It was a fantastic day, but back in town i made a horrible discovery. It was one that all travellers expect yet still dread. I had finally and officially run out of money. That’s not to say I literally didn’t have one cent to my name, just that the money I’d allocated myself for this whole trip was gone. I guess it’s a good thing I had already reserved my spa package the next day… and that I didn’t have much longer to go until I was back home.

The day at the spa was very cool- as it wasn’t just a spa. They had built a spa at these amazing hot pools, called Hells Gate, where there were different ph balance pools, used traditionally for medicine purposes or cooking as well as boiling mud pools- which the guide said was the only place in the world you could actually see boiling mud. There are lots of spa’s in the area profiting off of the regions geothermal activity, but again this is only one run and operated by Maori’s. I took the tour around and learned about the region before heading back to the facilities for some relaxing- but there were some strict rules.

 This is apparently the pool that my mud bath was later to be drawn from!

The tour around the property all the hot pools took about an hour and we learned about how the Maori’s would use the ph nuetral pools for cooking and the sulpher pools for medicinal purposes, etc. The native guide tried to explain to me why the different pools so close to each other could have such different temperatures and acid amounts.

Got it?

After the tour, you could take a couple minutes to do an imitation Maori carving. (Apparently, there have been several measures taken as so me being white and female does not offend the powers that be…)

I didn’t do too bad, if I say so myself! (The man told me to give it to my father.. since ‘guys like that sort of stuff… I didn’t really bother to try and explain that my father probably wouldn’t appreciate the woodwork and would probably rather have lotto tickets… oh well.)

Here’s where the pictures stop, as I went in to start my spa package. The funny thing was, that during my mud bath or soaking in the hot pools, they kept offering to take my picture, and while you know I normally love that sort of thing… it somehow ruined the relaxation mood. I politely declined. I had my birthday massage and then was back to the city to catch my bus back to Hastings! My New Zealand adventures are almost entirely over.

The kids were great and my host teacher Adrienne was super supportive so it was overall really fun. It was almost like team teaching. I also would use her methods of classroom management already in place- like marbles in the jar for good behaviors and her “Apple Tree” where each children has their own apple and have to  move themself down if they don’t follow the classroom rules after warnings.

(Once at the bottom of the tree, they had to write/draw a problem solving “what did I do” and “what should I have done” sheet…. but the whole thing reminded me a little bit of saying that kid is a “rotten apple” or “bad seed….” I don’t know… Anyways.)

The kids would start the day with story writing, which could be about thier weekend, something we’d done in class recently, etc. At this age we were just hoping to get them writing, and we’d go around monitoring

and providing more support to those who need it.

After the brain break we’d get into our reading groups,  but with Adrienne and I splitting them it was seamless to rotate through them al in the 45 minutes and hear them all read. Here, Adrienne tries to hear each of her reading groups read everyday, which seems overwhelming for me as a new teacher. I would be happy if I heard them twice/three times a week.

After reading was morning tea. I’m glad to say there was never a photograph taken of me in the lovely duty outfit, which consists of a neon yellow vest (and in Term 1/4 a floppy bucket hat!)

We went on to maths-  again with Adrienne splitting the math groups with me so we’d get to work with all levels. Blake is trying to decide if he really needs to learn how to tell time. I’m doing my best to convince him.

The neat part was that I got to plan and teach the whole math unit on time and temperature. The kids loved the clocks we’d made and would frequently interrupt our lessons or activities to tell me what time it was. “Look Miss H! It’s 11:00!” (Maybe not quite grasping that it was something that happened everyday?)

Handwriting was something very new to me having to teach, but I got the hang of it.

After they do their date and goal (size or shape or ligatures, etc) and whatever letter we’re working on, the teacher goes around marks their best one with gold highlighters (yellow) and ones they need to improve with pink. (it’s pink to “think about it”) It’s a system theh whole school is using for formative assessment and it works well. I think it especially works well with the young ones, who can’t read any real comments you’d write anyways but know if something’s pink they have room to improve. Of course, conversley, the “pink for think” marking I’d sometimes see has the same connotation as getting a paper back with red pen all over it, and instead of being looked at as a growing tool or something is now a dreaded form of assessment by some kids.

After lunch, I’d initiated a read-aloud of a chapter of a novel every day and had choose Charlotte’s Web- mainly because Heidi already had it.

On certain days the kids would be antsy and restless but overall they enjoyed the readings, and it was something I continued to do even after my full control was up. It was also great because when we’d go to the library for them to check out books, some would start choosing short novels, and said they wanted their parent to read a chapter to them everynight. (Caleb was raising his hand at that point to tell me what day is was in England. We’re still working on ‘relevant connections.’)

Another new thing for me to teach was phys ed, as I was used to schools that have their own pe teacher. The unit for the term is decided by the team, and ours was ball skills. At this age, the kids are only taught the skills to play certain games later, so I was for bounce passing and kicking. We’d go out to the cement basketball courts to use the lines already in place, and I’d have my whistle around my neck.

PE time could also be very hectic if you didn’t have it strictly organized— which I’d learned the hard way a few times with children and balls going in everywhich way. From then on, I was strict.

Finally, I’d had blast planning and teaching the Sir Edmund Hillary unit that whole school happened to be doing during my time in control.

I promise we had the last column completley filled out at the end, and I never knew so much about Sir Ed as I do now, but the kids really enjoyed the unit and what they would remember and take away from simple stories was really interesting to see. Also, the facts that are just assumed were also interesting- when we learned that Sir Ed put three flags in the snow, it was assumed that one was a New Zealand flag. Of course, being a commonwealth for Great Britian at the time, there wasn’t. The neat thing that I enjoyed was that this one topic could be dealt with at deeper levels all across the school.

Then, we also had Sir Ed Day Challenge, where each class would do something of thier own decision- we had children do relay races with a backpack about half the weight of what he carried, and some other classses had thier children drag tires, try and breathe through straws, etc. It was a really fun day to be a a part of.

Overall I had a great time in Room 8! It’s funny if you think that my presence in that class probably won’t be as memorable as their presence will be to mine, but it was still worth it. We had an amazing experience together

and some fun along the way!

Hence, why I decided to go for a walk around the block. Now being out in the somewhat country, where we actually live on an orchard, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when Heidi said the “block” was actually about a 40 minute walk.  So I got my ipod and headed off!

It was that time of day (4:30 these days) when the sun is low over the horizon but still bright and the lighting is amazing making long shadows of everything. The kind of lighting they use in movies when people “walk off into the sun.”

I passed goats eating the underlay of orchards, sheep grazing, horses in paddocks and tons of birds. The majority of vehicles who passed me was just farm equipment. At one point, I could smell an intense fragrance of onions from a field where they had just been picked…. The afternoon was so calm and quiet, it was amazing to be able to think about where I actually was.

While I am looking forward to coming home to my city life with my family and friends, New Zealand definitely has some things to be missed.

 Leigh was nice enough to come and get me Saturday morning with her 5 year old daughter Olivia and her 3 year old son Thomas. We headed back to her house, had some lunch and then met up for coffee with Molly and her friend Kelli. Molly is teaching PE and health down at a high school in Wellington, and her friend Kelli came over with her to help her get settled and travel over the holiday but decided she loved it and changed her ticket to stay an extra month!

The weather this weekend was not ideal, but at least it was familiar, so we talked over coffee and then split up to look at some shops and said we might try to meet for dinner or drinks. After checking out the Napier shops, Leigh and I had to go to the lovely hotel called East Pier to meet my host teacher and her husband for drinks at the bar/hotel their son-in-law manages. It really is on the pier and has a great view!

Adrienne and her husband Tony also live in Napier and Tony is a principal of another primary school in the area who hosted GST students on occasion so he knew Leigh and welcomed me to come visit during the next three weeks, as they even have a deaf student who uses a Cochlear Implant. I don’t think she actually signs, but it’d still be interesting for me to see.

 Napier is a beautiful ocean-front town, but really increases in popularity over the summer. This is THE Art Deco city- and every summer they have a huge Art Deco festival where people from all around the world come to bring old fashion cars, dress up and have parades and picnics in the art deco style.

 After drinks with Adrienne and Tony, we headed home to grab some dinner and have a check-in with Leigh’s family before heading off to meet Kelly and Molly for more drinks! Leigh took us to “the strip” where there are four or five nice bars next to each other, and leaving her husband to watch rugby with the neighbor. Little did we know that everyone at the bars would be watching the rugby match as well, but no matter. We had a great time, chatting away ourselves.

We talked about tomorrow’s plans as the girls didn’t know when their ride was leaving so we tentatively agreed to meet up the following day. Back at Leigh’s house, I headed into my “sleep-out” which is like a separate unit from the house- almost like a mother-in-law that has a bedroom and it’s own bathroom. Leigh says that they sometimes rent it out during the really popular concert or art deco weekends when the accommodations are booked out in the city. It was divine!

The following morning, I got up and going as Leigh was going to drop me off at the Napier Prison tour at 9:30. It was a really interesting tour, as it’s the oldest prison in New Zealand, and to see the accommodations, I was appalled to find out that it just stopped operating as a prison in 1993. Now, it’s been converted into a hostel where you can actually come and stay! The tour was enough for me.

We learned about the quarry across the way that the prisoners had to work at in order to build their own wall secluding them inside. Before the prison, it had actually been used as an army barrack during New Zealand’s 1860 wars between Maori tribes and the British (with some Maori tribes fighting against the British, but others joining with them to fight against rival tribes…. Sounds familiar.) It then began holding prisoners on their way out to the Catham islands and continued as a prision up until the 1990s!

There were  a lot of interesting stories- like about people being buried standing up as when they were executed they were considered such bad people that they weren’t even given the respect of having their soul be laid to rest, and their punishment followed them into the afterlife. Other stories told of how prisoners would make copy of keys in soap or mud so that they could escape and would take orders from what other prisoners wanted from town. They would then climb the wall and scale the hill into town below and run their errands, but always returned to their cell at the end of the day!

None of these stories can actually be confirmed, and are just collected from actual former prisoners, or guards, etc because the government apparently keeps all the records confidential. Interesting as they don’t release how many people were executed or the maximum number of inmates, etc. We did see the hanging yard, where hanging still happens today- but this time it’s clothes from the backpackers staying! (There’s a whole about four/five stones from the top where the rope came out from!)

However, hanging stopped in 1879 and New Zealand banned capital punishment back in in 1957! At  the end of the tour we were able to take fake mug shots, which I of course took advantage of!

Leigh picked me back up on her way back from shopping and we headed home to plan the rest of our day. We decided to meet up with Molly and Kelly before they headed out of town and go over to the Filter Room- an ale and cider house. It was a wet afternoon and apparently people had the same idea us, for it was pretty popular for 12:30 on a Sunday. It’s a really cool place, where for ten dollars you get 6 decent size classes of your choice from about 10 beers or 10 hard ciders! Leigh and I split a tray so we picked three each- I of course picking ciders- and tasted away. Here are the Washingtonains enjoying their beverages down under!

 The girls’ ride back down to Wellington came to pick them up around two so we said our goodbyes and as they headed back down south, we headed back to Leigh’s house for a relaxing, rainy Sunday evening.

I was excited to get to go to Leigh’s school with her on Monday. Leigh only works every Monday and Wednesday, doing consistent relieving (i.e. substitute) work for the various professional development days that consistently happen at her school so it’s a great opportunity for me to see another New Zealand school.

Hamish (Hay-mish) and Blair work and play together— they are especially fond of looking up 80′s rock ballads on YouTube and, of course, duck shooting. We went over on a Monday evening, with Hamish fresh back from a weekend out fishing on his boat. He entertained us with a great meal and drinks. Blair was especially pleased…. (Can you figure out who Heidi and I think he looks like?)

We had to get up early the next morning, so we left Hamish to finish of the bottle of wine- but not before he had asked if we wanted to go for a “try dive” on Wednesday. His girlfriend Tory is a dive instructor and would be back later that week if we wanted to go for a FREE SCUBA dive- where they gear you up and teach you the basics in a swimming pool.

I wasn’t going to turn down a free SCUBA lesson so Heidi and I said we were in!

Wednesday after school, we headed into Napier to meet her at the dive shop. We loaded up our gear

and I got fit for a wetsuit. They said I could take it off and then get into again once we got the pool- but I decided that I wasn’t going to get in and out any more than I had to!

and then headed over to the public swimming pool. Heidi and I were lucky in that no one else had signed up for the dive that night (which is open to the public to try for free, also!) and we had Tory all to ourselves. The pool, however, we didn’t. There was swim practice going on in the lanes besides us, so I can only imagine what they thought as we waddled into the swimming area and I goofed around taking photos getting pumped up.

I was having a great time, hamming it up for pictures….

 until it came time to actually start the whole underwater breathing thing!

Heidi had no qualms and just plunged her head in the water! When I hesitated, Tory said she’d hold my hand, and I didn’t refuse! We went through a series of exercises, building up to independent swimming. First, you just stand in the water and put your face in to practice breathing, then you practice breathing with your eyes closed (as many people who panic take their masks off, or they think if they can’t see that they can’t breathe, etc…). After that, you go down on your knees underwater and practice breathing completely submerged. Tory held my hand for that one, too….

But once I got the hang of it, I was addicted! Tory got out and took some pictures of us and we got to “have a play.”

This is me completely submerged, looking up from the bottom of the pool!

It was funny swimming with the swim teams lapping back and forth in the next lane as even though we have a ridiculous amount of gear, I somehow felt so invisible slinking along the bottom. I had to resist the urge to like go up and pinch their bottoms!

We left exhausted and starving and I slept great that night! Tory said that after 3 pool sessions, book work and 3 open water sessions you’re considered certified for life! It’s something I’d consider looking into once I’m home and having the financial resources as I know it can be expensive. If only my mother still had all her gear from her old SCUBA diving days!

However, there was one Saturday that I could go and it was right before the south island trip. I was stoked! I was even bragging about it to other staff members and found out that Lynda (who teaches next door to Heidi and is a star!!!) is also an avid horse fan. We made plans to go together and had a great day out.

In fact, our principal is a great fan of the races and gave us a membership pass- which is what you need to sit inside rather than just out on the bleachers. Once inside, we found him and he then gave us his friends’ so that we both could go. We felt very “flash” in the Members Only place… thanks to these little tokens.

Also, while the weather wasn’t the best, when the sky cleared there was a  beautiful rainbow coming right into the track- which he felt MUST be indicative of good luck.

In fact, five minutes within walking inside the gates, we ran into Lynda’s former principal (apparently horse racing is a principal’s thing here…) who was working as a Steward. He led is into where the winners get taken for drinks and brie, and where we got to have a glass of champagne! He told us that we could sit at his reserved table on the top floor and then even gave us tickets to lunch at the fancy restaurant! It was fantastic!

We weren’t, however, so lucky on the track. I never cashed a ticket, although Lynda had two small winners. She was quite pleased- as she should be!

On our way out (as Lynda had another engagment that evening), we stopped by to say goodbye to our principal Malcolm. He had just finished the Term and was off on sabbatical so I actually wouldn’t get the chance to work with him very closely, but he was so hospitable in the time I was with him at Frimley.

All in all, Lynda and I had a great day and I get to say I’ve had another kiwi experience!

We departed this beautiful town and arrived into Christchurch in early afternoon. Christchurch, or “ch-ch” as it’s locally called,  is said to be the most “English” city in all of New Zealand, and when you arrive it’s easy to see why. They have a town square that centers around a catherdrawl, red telephone booths, and a huge park and botannial garden.

I was off on errands, as I had to to the post office and pick up a new rain jacket before the shops closed(story to follow.)  Afterwards, I had a late lunch at what was my favorite thing in churstchurch, the Art Center.

What looks like an abadoned buildilng is actually part of a series of old buildings that have been restored and now hold upwards of twenty galleries and shops,  cafes, even a movie and play theater. I wandered athrough the halls and around corners looking at the shops after lunch, where you could watch people carving word, or creating pottery. Somehow I ended up at the fudge shop… weird.

Afterwards, I felt like I should head over to what are supposed to be spectacular Bottanical Gardens and have a look around. I walked in and did the first, shortest loop I came to, when I suddenly just felt exhausted. It didn’t help that I knew my hostel (and bed) was less than a block away. I went back to just ‘rest’ for a minute when all of a sudden I was waking up and it was after 6:00. I feel bad that I didn’t see much more of Christchurch, but it was obvious that ten days on the road was getting to me. I went down to make my dinner and just hung out in the lounge the rest of the evening, gearing up for what I knew was going to be a very exciting day in Kaikoura.

Day 11: Chiristshuch to Kaikoura

I was excited as I knew Kaikoura was to be another wildlife experience, but this time for marine life. KaiKoura itself means “eat” (kai) + “crayfish” (koura) so the town is known for it’s seafood. I had signed up for the whale watching expedition, as they say you can see them all year around off of this coast! The weather had also been exceptionally good the whole time I was on the south island, as it’s supposedly winter here but the sky was clear almost every day! In anycase, they said that rain was coming in, so with my new rain jacket, I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from seeing the whales!

We arrived in Kaikoura and when I got dropped off at my hostel, I opened our own window in the room was was breathless. The view was stunning. I had to stay at YHA hostels the whole trip (buying bulk discounted vouchers to keep the cost down) and I frequently found that they were a little ways out of the city center, but I didn’t mind walking to the whale center while this was the view.

 We got on the boat, with a sea sickness and bad weather warning in affect, took off. The reason that there are so many whales and dolphins around is that within a short distance off shore is a huge underwater canyon, where the nutrients are apparently irresistable to the marinelife. Sperm whales in particular are common sights year round, and what we were looking for today, but at the right times of the year you can also spot Orcas and even Blue Whales (the largest animal on earth.)

They had a GPS loction already of a Sperm whale, so we took off towards the deep canyon and came across one right away! The crazy thing is that we only see less than 10% of their body and with them being the second largest animal it’s hard to even imagine how much is under the surface.

Also, I learned something I always wanted to know, which was how the sperm whale got its name… C’mon- admit it, you’re curious too. Well, If you know what a sperm whale looks like then you can envision the huge, sqaurish blob that is thier head. (google it if you don’t) So, apparently, the first people that ever caught a sperm whale, cut into it and all of this white-ish stuff oozed out, which they assumed to be part of the males reproductive system. Only when they then caught a female and the same thing happened did they realize it must be something else, but the name had stuck. In fact, what it is is that they have like a large cavatiy of like waxy whale oil- that’s found in the blubber of all whales but only the cranial cavity of the sperm whale. There are several theories, one being that it cools and warms to help the whale sink and float…. but regardless- the name is forever!

On our way back in, we’d heard about a school of Dusky Dolphins so we decided to swing by and take a look. Sure enough,  there were HUNDREDS of Dolphins. They were leaping and doing flips, and swimming right next to the boat. It was so exhillerating. I took a short (shaky, but I blame the boat) video just so you could try and get an idea of how many there were all around us but my uploading success must have beena fluke as I can’t get it to work this time. You’ll have to settle for a solitary dolphin- but it’s doing an impressive flip, up close!

They dropped us back off at the center at the end of the beach and the bad weather that had eluded us for most of my south island trip finally turned up, and the mile walk back home was much less enjoyable. Thank goodness I had my new jacket.

Wait, you might ask, why did I NEED a new, albeit very cute, rain jacket)? Well, good question… I was going to omit this part of the story, but then I remembered  that I didn’t believe in censorship and was stuck.

I was doing really well with this whole carry-everything-on-your-back-new-bed-every-night trip UNTIL… Dunedin. I should have known that staying in two days was going to make me too complacent and I was on the bus for only about twenty minutes, when I realized that I had left my black, rei, waterproof (in otherwords, can’t live without) rainjacket hanging peacefully on the back of the door. I was pissed… and embarassed, so when I arrived in Ch-ch, I had to get a replacement (thanks again, Mike). I called the hostel, who said if I sent them a prepaid package, then they would send it to me at Heidi’s- assuming it was turned in- but who knew how long that would take and I didn’t want to take any chances. Darn good thing, too. That night was stormy but I was content reading and packing up for my final day on the south island tomorrow.

Day 12: Kaikoura to Picton to Wellington

A day of travel and not much sight seeing to get my back on the north island… We left Kaikoura and arrived in Picton miday, just in time to grab some lunch before hopping on the 1:45 ferry. I grabbed a seat in the front of the vessel in the area of the in-demand reclining chairs and also where I could see some of the scenery.

 Arrving in Wellington I grabbed some dinner and just chatted with the girls in my room until time for lights out. One of them had spent a month or so in Austrailia and send 200 postcards! Now, let me just break this down a little bit for you…. the cheap postcards here are NZ$0.50 but to send internationally is NZ$1.50 so that’s at least NZ$2.00 per postcard. NZ$400– you following? That’s equivilent to US$311.99! All I can say, is that I can think of tons better things to spend $300 on… although who knows. She probably has better karma than me… 

Day 13: Wellington to Hastings!

Today I slept in as long as I could, but the check out time at the hostels is usually ten am, so can’t have too much of a sleep in and still have time to get ready and packed. I stored my backpack and went off in search my a leisurly brunch and read my book. I also completed my first ever So-do-ku, which I know has been all the rage for a while, but I’m a little behind. I bought a book for my bus ride back, and little did I know then what a good investment it would be.

I explored the downtown area a little more and bought the new Flight of the Concords CD (Yes, Mike. I’ll mail it to you after I burn it) They’re a local music duo/comedy that has started becoming popular in the state- pretty funny if you like that dry “Office” type humor…

Back to the hostel in time for lunch and to walk to the bus stop. The bus was right on time at 3:00 so I should have been rolling into Hastings at 7:45. However, little did I know was that right outside Wellington was a horrific accident on a two lane highway, where a truck had gone off the road and into a house! about thirty minutes outside the city we stopped and didn’t move again for two hours. Blair was still there to meet me at the bus stop a little after ten, and I crashed shortly after. With two days before back to school, I had to recover from my vacation!

All in all, I’m so thankful that I went on the trip, as the things I saw and did are once in a lifetime. I’ll be gaining a lot of experience this upcoming month with my “full control” in Room 8 and time is going to fly! While my future posts may not be as exciting (or detailed) as these from my south island trip, I’m sure they’ll still be worthwhile reading.

A lot of good going to bed did me, as I woke up still sick the next morning- a cold I’d felt coming on got to me after a day on the ice. There’s nothing worse than getting sick while on vacation- and I was on vacation during my vacation! I thought that maybe I could get some rest during the 8 hour bus ride to Queenstown, but you’d be surprised at how action-packed it really was!

Our first stop was at Lake Matheson, the most famous of New Zealand’s many mirror lakes. It was beautiful, and even though Mount Cook (the highest NZ mountain) was hidden behind clouds, we walked to the lookout and took pictures that look like optical illusions!

Then, just as it was time to go Mt. Cook started to peak out for a photo.

We also stopped around 2 in the afternoon at a pretty little town called Wanaka which is right before Queenstown.  Driver Stu had made special arrangments for two couples (both on their honeymoons, believe it or not!) who were unable to sky dive in Franz Josef, as it had been all booked up, to do it here. Normally, if a bus drops you off in a town, you have to wait for the next Magic bus to come through- be it the next day or two, and this doesn’t work for people who have already planned their short trip. However, Stu worked it so that he dropped them off at the airport on our way in, and went through to make his pick ups and then came back around to get them on our way out of town. We got back to the airport just in time to see them jump and I have to say it was a pretty spectacular sight. It was impressive to watch them fall: first as small little dots, then turn into colored parachutes and then land right in front of us- thanks to the expertise of the trained person they jumped tandom with.

When both couples had landed safely, I honestly teared up- much to the amusement of everyone else.

The craziest part, is that one of the couples on their honeymoon got off at the next and final stop before Queenstown to do the original first ever bungee jump! (Can you tell that New Zealand is known for its extreme sporting events- especially in the south island.) I couldn’t believe that people who an hour and half before jumped out of a perfectly good airplane were now going to throw themselves off a bridge! Talk about adreneline junkies… The Irish trio were also signed up for bungee and when we rolled in I could see them sweating from rows away. We got to watch them all take the 43 meter plunge (more if you wanted to get your head dunked in the river below…) and while some took more coaxing than others, they all did it! You couldn’t get me to bungee jump for a million dollars….. sky diving, however, I’ll admit looks tempting.

Overdosed with adreneline, we continued our journey and arrived in Queenstown about an hour later. Queenstown is considered like ‘the hub’ of the south island and is a quaint little resort town. Someone once told me it maybe has about 3000 residents, but at any given time there are 30,000+ tourists and more during peak snow season. When we arrived, we went off to our respective hostels agreeing to meet up where Stu had pointed out earlier around 8 oclock.

I made it another early night, as Stu had a full itnerary for those interested in bar hopping with him. After a warm scotch with water and lemon (for my cold, people…), I called it a night. Plus, I had my own adventures the next day.

Day 6: Queenstown

Seeing Queenstown by day, I had a little bit of an idea what all the fuss was about.

I had purchased tickets for the gondola and luge ride (gondola like cable car, not romantic boat. I know, I was confused too), which is one of Queenstowns quinnessential tourist stops. You ride a cable car up and and can have a leisurely look around or.. it’s New Zealand so you of course you can bungee or parasail off the cliff. I had decided that I would “luge,” as it’s apparently one of only three places in the world that you can do luging on like a track (not made of ice, I’m assuming.) I wasn’t convinced at first, but I decided I would go see what the big deal was about.

First, however, I had Shotover Jet. This is apparently a New Zealand icon as it has been done by several famous people while in New Zealand (Peter Jackson, George Lucas, to name a few). The ‘fatest jet ride in the world” was as extreme as I was planning to do this trip. It’s in the beautiful canyon on a river that in some spots has less than 6 inches of water! That’s enough, however, for the boat’s two Buick sized engines to propel water through two jets and out the back, coming out behind us as over 280km/hour. It also turns on a dime as they perform their famous 360 degree turns. It was a lot of fun, if also for the endearing woman who woud literally not stop screaming- even on the straightaways.

After my fast paced ride, I decided to slow it down by the taking the gondola ride. They offer to take your picture as you take off, but I declined, thinking why pay when I could do it myself for free!? Here I am in the cable car with views of Queenstown behind me.

The ride was beautiful and at the top so were the views. I checked out the luge thing, and decided that I could give it a go. You get a helmet and have to take the chair lift up and once at the top need to do the “scenic route” first before being allowed on the “advanced.” I warmed up a couple times on the scenic one (ok, 4) before I decided to give the advance a try and it was a blast as well. I couldn’t take very many pictures and it’s hard to explain but it is kind of like you’re going down the hill in a dysfunctinal tricycle.

After getting my fill, I headed back to do some shopping and exploring before the store closed and to grab some dinner before my evening engagment. The Irish girls, another girl from Germany who was travelling alone and myself had all made plans to meet up at the bar called Minus 5- a bar that since it’s made entirely out of ice the inside temperature actually flexuats between -5 and -10 degrees Celsius! We realized this was more of a tourist trap, but since we know I’m never one to forego a great photo opportunity, I was in! You can actually only stay inside for thirty minutes, as it’s so cold, and when I say everything is made out of ice, that means EVERYTHING- the walls, the bar, the seats and even the glasses! 

They provide you with heavy jackets and shoes if you need, and the bartenders can only stay in for the half an hour with you…. We goofed and took photos but were definitley ready to go by the time thirty minutes had passed. We warmed up at the bar next store, approrpiatey placed and called The Broiler Room- which feels just like it’s name!  

I said my goodbyes (leaving my counterparts at the bar was becoming a regular habit for me now) as I was still trying to kick my cold, and I was the only one having to get up for Magic the next day. Most people were staying on one more day to see the famous Milford Sound, but again, something that would have to be “next time” for me, even though many kiwis say it’s one thing you can’t leave New Zealand without seeing. Oops.

Day 7: Queenstown to Dunedin

Another short bus trip so that we arrive in Dunedin in time for those (ME!) who wanted to do the wildlife tours. This was why I had reserved two days here since the first was going to be soley out on the Otago Pennisula, where you can get up close to some of the rarest birds in the world, as well as sea lions and penguins. While most people picked the normal tour, I decided to fork over the extra money while I was in this part of the world to see the rare Royal Albatross colony. After a 45 minute drive out fo the pennisula, the rest of the bus stayed at the Albatross center, getting coffee and a bite and trying their luck searching the skies for the birds, while I was escorted up the hillside where the babies were sitting waiting for their parents to return with food. There are actually two babies in this photo, the obvious white one sitting in the path and then one farther up the hill, at the crest, if you can make it out.

 By babies, I mean that at three months they already wieghed 6 kilos (heavy), and had a three meter wingspan. We were even lucky enough to see an adolescent bird lurking around and take flight. Adults are rare this time of year, and only appear to feed their young periodically. After our time at the look out was up, I would have liked to spend more time looking around the center but the bus was waiting for me to go out to meet the sea lions and yellow-eyed penguins as we were racing the sun.

We drove out along the inlets of the penninsula and then up onto a farmers beach front property. Up on the hill away from the beach was where they were replanting bushes in hopes that the yellow-eyed penguins would return in larger numbers, and this was already proving succesful. Everynight the yellow-eyed penguin will come in from sea to return to their life long mate and thier territory for defending. They do, however, have to make their way past the sea lions sleeping on the beach and although most often the sea lions have no interst, the penguins are rightfullly skiddish anyways. We actually met such a penguin ‘coming home’ as he was coming up the track while we were trying to go down it!

The penguins for some reason prefer the short grass of the man made track to the long grass, where they have to look for holes and be more careful of their footing. That means that when the penguins use our track, we’re forced up the hillside to wait for it to pass.

It was crazy how close it would get to humans, as those coming to this portion of the beach are used to the wildlife workers and tours. After letting it pass, we made our way to the beach to see dozens of sleeping sea lions! Against all common sense, I kept having the urge to just reach out and pet one- but I refrained.

This beach is mostly where the male sea lions hang out,and people often mistake the couples lounging together as male and female. In fact, it’s an example of a dominant sea lion practicing said dominance on a smaller younger sea lion until a female comes to replace him. (“Your mine. Play with me, and stay with me.” but nothing intimate.) Also, sea lions are in no way as faithful as penguins so they regulary switch partners and this way have companionship when they are inbetween females- as they are very social animals. Many times people mistake a sea lion wanting to play as signs of agression or attacking. We were told, however, that if a sea lion showed signs of wanting to play with us, we were in fact to decline and run the other way.

After a while, we had to walk back to catch a glimpse of the fur seal pups playing on the rocks. By this time it was getting dark so my pictures are lacking but it was still adorable to see them splashing about. They stay on the rocks for days waiting for their mothers to return from sea. Since mothers can be gone anywhere from 1 to 21 days trying to collect enough food for her and her young, the pups use this time to practice swimming in the tide pools. They have to be careful, however, as there are strong waves that can take the sea pups out to see where their fins are not developed enough for them to survive- as well as sea lions looking for an easy meal.

We hiked back to the bus and were dropped off back at the hostel close to 7 pm! It was a full day and I was exhausted. Being  a Saturday night in Dunedin, and as it is home to NZ’s largest university I’m sure there were heaps of students out partying. Hillary, however, had a lovely evening in her hostel of laundry and internet.

Day 8: Dunedin

Not very many people on a timeline spend two nights in Dunedin, but I knew I wanted to see both the wildlife and the city. Dunedin is callled the “Edinbourough of New Zealand” and has tons of museums, galleries and not to mention- the Cadbury chocoalte factory! Cadbury is huge here- not just Caramel filled Easter eggs but year round chocolate treats. I guess it’s just like Hershey’s.

It was nice to get out of the cold weather in Queenstown and walk around the city. I headed through the center of town, called the Octagon due to its shape, over to the Otago Museum, that I’d heard a lot about from a colleage at school- especially the butterfly exhibit. It was again impressive. Not quite like Te Papa, but still an amazing free resource. I did have to pay to get into the butterfly exhibit, but it was worth it. Alone, it was difficult to get pictures of the butterflies landing on me, although I managed with a few one handed shots.

 I decided instead to take pictures of other people with butterflies on them!

After exploring the other wings, with heavy natural history emphasis, I still had a couple hours before my chocolate factory tour at 3. I headed back to the Octagon where I had seen a bead shop. I had seen a similiar one in Queenstown, where I’d heard about how you could make your own jewelry and I thought it’d be a great opportunity to make a one of a kind souvenier. The cool thing is that there is no studio charge and you can take as long as you want, you just pay for the beads you use. The hardest part is deciding! I think I would do it differently next time now that I have a better idea, and even though I left with what the lady called a “very funky” bracelet, it’s still MY New Zealand funky bracelet that cost about $7.

It was time for the chocolate tour and since it was Sunday, I wasn’t going to see the actual factory operating but for a reduced entry price and the same amount of free samples I was more than satisfied. In fact, at the end they take you up a silo where the walls are covered with chocolate splatter and you watch as literally ONE TON of chocolate drops from a container, through a funnel, down to the bottom where it apparently gets pumped up again for the next group. The funny thing is though, that before the beginning of the tour, they tell you that cell phones or cameras aren’t allowed so I have no pictures from inside the factory. It was like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with how secretive it was!

After I made me way back to the hostel, I updated my “blog journal” so that I can remember all my witty comments to post here and had some dinner. My backpack meals are becoming very intersting, piecing together what I might have leftover from the store in the previous town…. A lot of instant soup. Or peanut butter sandwhiches. In the lounge, I wrote, read and eavesdropped on a group of German travellers trying to play Scrabble. It was actually fairly entertaning. After a day of not travelling, the rest was welcomed, but the next day I was off early to Lake Tekapo.

Day 9: Dunedin to Lake Tekapo

 Today was another short day back inland to Lake Tekapo where I’d get a view of the mountains from the other side. The ride got off to an invigorating start as the bus took us to the World’s Steepest Street, just outside of Dunedin called Baldwin Street.

My friend John is becoming quite the cyclist- proving it this last summer by biking over the mountain pass in the middle of Washington State, managing roads that have a 7% grade (or was it 17%) incline. Regardless, I have found him his next feat—  Baldwin Street in Dunedin, NZ. While I’m sure he could figure out the actual percentage from the 1 in 2.86 grade, we’re looking at least 40%-45% people. The bus stopped so we could get our aerobic work out and photo shoot of the morning

before continuing on the ride to Lake Tekapo. I wasn’t prepared for how beautiful the lake was, nor the view from my hostel!

While it’s a quiet town with not a lot of flashy things to do, I decided I’d make the most of my trip and go for a horse ride around the lake, and then after dinner up to the internationally known observatory.

Two other girls from the bus were going for a ride, so the three of us got picked up and were off to the stables. It was fun, but honestly weird to be back on a horse after so long away from it! The trek was peaceful as we trudged along and the scenery was beautiful. I have to admit that I had wild visions of me racing along the New Zealand countryside like Arwin (that’s Liv Tyler’s Elf character in Lord of The Rings, for those who don’ t know) but I had to settle for the excitment of trying to prevent the 13 year old horses from eating berries off the path.

Back to the house for a quick dinner and then it was out to wait for my next adventure. The Mt. John Observatory is apparently internationally known and it’s sponsered by both Otago University locally, but another University in Japan so scientists are always using it to study something. The evening was too windy to open the “big” telescope, which was disappointing, but they dropped the price in half and we still got to look through telescopes with 100x magnitude. We drove to the top of the hill and even though the large telescope was closed, we were told that people are still monitoring this site and that we had to drive the final 100 meters or so with our headlights off so that those taking pictures from miles away wouldn’t confuse our headlights with a new star and then be sorely dissappointed to find out otherwise.

After arriving at the top of our dark ascent, I was closer to more stars than ever before. It was like we were looking at the roof of an electronic planetarium, the stars were so bright and numerous. We got an informative introduction, but I honestly don’t remember very much. We were told if we keep our eyes peeled we’d probably see some shooting stars, and as a result I was looking up the whole time she was talking. (But I did see three shooting stars!) We then got our opportunity to look through the telescopes, and see amazing sights. We saw the Orion and Tarantula Nebulas, where new stars are formed. We saw a constellation called “Jewel Box” where inside are several brightly colored stars that look like jewels (hence the name.) We also saw Alpha Centuri, which is the closest star to Earth second to the Sun and they closed with the grand finale of Saturn. It was so cool to see the rings and the moons, and seeing it look just like it does on the posters in classrooms, etc!

Back to town and off to bed so that I can start the final leg of my trip! At this point, nothing sounds better than the double bed I have at Heidi’s.

I was given the honor of the passenger seat for most of the ride down to Picton. We planned to arrive with enough time for me to purhcase my bus and hostel vouchers and then get on the afternoon boat to Picton. As we got closer to our destination, however, it became clear that we were cutting it too close. While booking my accomodation, I frantically explained my situation and was able to be put on the evening ferry at no extra cost- the only downside being that with Daylight Savings now arrived, the 6:15 ferry meant I wouldn’t get to see any of the beautiful sound as I embarked on the three hour ferry ride.

I arrived at 9 into a very dark Picton, as apparently the under 5000 residents don’t make much for an active night life. I was picked up by a shuttle to take me to the hostel and the German driver and I  made small talk where I found out that he was working and traveling around for one year. When I asked if he was going to stay in New Zealand for that whole year, he replied that the thought so in order to “practice my English, get work experience, and I don’t know…. maybe be inspired?” I couldn’t help but laugh at how casual he was about it- like it was on his to do list, but only if he had time. You know… do laundry, mow lawn, practice English, get inspired?

I arrived at the hostel and before I even had time to go to my room and drop off my stuff, I was thrusted my complimentary apple crumble (no where near as good as Heidi’s with apples fresh off the orchards) and went to the dining room. I ate without a word and listened to an older Scottish woman with an empty box (yes, box.. backpackers buy them, I learned, as they can be air-sealed again and don’t have to be consumed in one sitting) in front of her explaining to a group of Europeans how American was as arrogant as Nazi Germany- “No offense.” she said to the apparently German man beside her. You can see why maybe I stayed quiet.

I went to my room- nicknamed “the swamp”- and found that out of the 7 other bunk beds, only one had a body in it. I immediately felt a kindred spirit to this other traveler, for if he was in bed doing sodoku at ten oclock, then clearnely I couldn’t be a loser. Although I couldn’t possibly fathom what the other people were doing in this town.

Day 2: Picton to Nelson

So. I’ve decided that guide books should be allowed to be more blunt and honest in their description of of towns and not make every city sound so positive and adorable. Instead, they should just say it as it is–  maybe this will be my new career path. Here’s an example. “Good for 2 or 3 hours of entertaining walks and views, you don’t need to spend any real time in Picton.” Just save me the trouble, you know?

After getting up early, something that was going to be a habit on the bus tours, and having time to kill before I meet the first bus of my loop I decided to explore the series of walks that overlooked the harbor. I decided for the 1km rather than the 8 (c’mon people, it is my holiday) and started off. I should have perhaps realized that the reason it was 1km was because it was straight up rather than the 8km that went all the way around. Regardless there were some beautiful views!

After my morning exercise, I returned to town to wait for the Magic bus. It turned out to be an educational ride, with me learning all about the timber and forestry industry in Nelson and the South island. (see, “Did You Know” post.)

We got into the small (but larger than Picton) ocean front town of Nelson around 3pm. Again, in New Zealand most things close at 5pm so I had two hours to peruse the sights and I did pretty well— it also helps that everything is so close together. I saw the beautiful cathedral- which I would soon find that almost every town has one-

and the botannical gardens next to a gallery.

They have a small (again free!) museum that I wandered through and there are several small studios and craft galleries in this artsy town that I meanedered through on my way to certain stops. I do, however, have a Lord of the Rings Spoiler Alert! If you believe that the “one ring to rule them all” was in fact cast of the fires of Mordor then DO NOT READ ON.

Because…

In this small town of Nelson is the actual jeweller who designed and crafted the actual ring. And where you too can purchase your very own replica for upwards of NZ$900. If you want to read more about the making of it, the website has tons of behind the scenes information. http://www.jenshansen.com/thering.aspx

At 5, when the town essentially shut down and there was an hour left of light, I thought I would head out of the city a ways towards the striking ocean scenery that we had driven in past in order to catch a New Zealand sunset over the water. This proved more difficult than expected as  I never actually made it to the ocean front! Instead, I found the Port of Nelson and heaps of timber to be exported

and the marina where I still took some nice pictures of dusk  

and started walking back into town before it got too cold. I treated myself to a nice dinner- glass of wine and all- to celebrate my embarking on the trip. I will say, though, that I think I’ve figured out why many travellers keep such detailed, thoughtful and introspective journals. I think it’s out of boredom and lack of anything else to do!

Nelson is known as the gateway to the Abel Tasmen, an apparently amazing National Park known for spectacular walks, kayaking trips, wildlife etc. Still, my time was limited and it’s just another thing to add to my list for ‘next time.’  I was on to Greymouth.

Day 3: Nelson to Greymouth

As previously mention, today was the second longest bus ride I would take. (Although! I didn’t get car sick once on the whole trip!) We stopped at a place called Cape Foulwind where we could hike around- and you can probably guess the weather. It was nice to get off the bus and stretch out legs for a bit, though, even if the weather was less than perfect.

We also- as previously mentioned- stopped in Punakaki to see the pretty impressive Pancake Rocks.

The Pancake Rocks are limestone formations that began forming 30 million years ago, when lime-rich fragments of dead marine creatures were deposited on the seabed, then overlaid by weaker layers of soft mud and clay. The seabed was raised above sealevel by earthquakes to form the coastal cliffs and coastline. The sea, wind and rain have since etched out the soft layers to form the unusual rock formations that are there today.

We arrived in Greymouth at dinner tme, and most people went on the brewery tour- as there were tastings and bbq dinner all included in the cost. And since it was the only thing to do. I however, politely declined, although I ended up meeting my new Irish roomates for a drink later that evening. The three girls who I was rooming with were just joining up with Magic the next morning and would be my travel aquantances throughout the first half of my trip.

Since there’s not much more to comment on about Greymouth, I would just like to pause and take a moment to say that backpackers are a rare breed- that I think I misjudged entirely. Some will think nothing of packing a hair staightener, make-up and heels along with their hiking boots and fancy out door equipment. This goes for males as well as females; maybe not the make-up part, but what people consider a ‘neccesity’ (knowing full well they’re going to have to carry it on thier back) would be an interesting case study. It was also somewhat of a shock to me when we’d stop for tea breaks or sight seeing, that many of these young, fit, active sorts who could eat granola for breakfast and not shower for days would hope off the bus for their next cigarette. Just goes to show, you shouldn’t have preconceived notions, as anyone has the right to travel the world!

Day 4: Greymouth to Franz Joseph 

I had signed up the previous day for a glacier hike through these activity sheets that they pass around the bus and then the driver signs you up for. Obviously, you don’t have to sign up for any and can plan your own thing but with the amount of time I had and  the convenience of having it all ready to go when you arrived in the cities the system worked well for me. The south island has vastly different climate and geological make up than the north island and as such you can see everything from forests, limestone formations, to snow capped peaks in the winter and glaciers year round. Franz Joseph is a glacier that’s been receeding for hundreds of years, but ironically, not melting. It just shifts backwards over time, but the guide said that the actual mass hadn’t lessened.

The short ride to Franz Joseph went quickly with two stops- one in the greenstone rich town of Hokatika and the other stop at Ross where we learned about the history of gold mining in New Zealand- we arrived in town with just enough time to through our belognings on the bunkbeds and rush to the town center in time to depart with our guide. With it being winter, the half day activities had to get off in time in order to be back and off the ice by dark. The half day glacier expedition left at 1 and had us back to town at 5, so we got our money’s worth!

I had previously asked the three Irish lasses, who were also doing the same hike, if they’d mind me joining them- for safety reasons. “Fook safety! We could use the cumpany!” was Orla’s reply. We geared up with the provided equipment, including everything from wool socks, gloves, hats, boots, “talons” for griping the ice, and rain coats and piled into the bus to be taken to the site. We had to hike along the river bed for approximently 45 minutes just to get to the base of the glacier

 where we strapped on the talons and headed up!

It took another 45 minutes, just for the whole team to reach the first little ridge… only about 100 meters in. Kind of puny compared to how massive the whole thing is, estimated with a length of 12000 meters. But still, that’s a hundred more meters than I’ve ever been on a glacier! At the top, Orla celebrated with a cigarette, and me by practicing my mountaineering poses.

Yes, that’s another tour group behind us…. and the ax in my hand is actually what our guide carried the whole way in order to chip out rough patches for us, since some the steepest bits had been carved into steps and required maintanence to keep them up.

We had to start back as the sun was already ducking behind the hills, and we had another hour and half to get the bus. We made our way back, starving and freezing— but alpinists! 

After warm showers, we met for dinner at the local pub where some of the Magic gang were going to be. We heard about other people’s adventure (helicoptering to the top of the glacier and then jumping in an ice water pool!) and shared plans for the next stop of Queenstown.  I’ve also learned that travelling is a very social activity for many people, and they’re always looking for the “hot spot” in whatever town they’re in that night. The hostels encourage this help to their local economy by proving “free shot” coupons good at certain bars, or other deals to get people out and spending money. While I’m all for having a good time at home now and then, I’d rather spend my money elsewhere in New Zealand.

As a result I finished my meal and headed back to bed to prepare for the long ride into Queenstown.