I had my first exam
last Wednesday and it was pretty easy and I felt good about it so I was happy
to have one down. The next two days, I
studied/pretended to study with people in the library and took my second exam
on Saturday afternoon. Annoying to have
a Saturday exam, but I hung out with Werner beforehand and had my first teza
(iced tea sort of thing, but nothing like sweet tea) and after my exam, I went
to a BYO at Indian Spice and then hung out with friends that night, so it ended
up being a good day!
Sunday, Erin and I
went to George Street for a sushi lunch date and then we relaxed in the
Botanical Gardens lying in the grass and soaking up the warm sun! Werner met up with us later and taught us how
to properly throw a rugby ball so we tossed that around for a while. It’s a lot easier to throw than the football!
Afterwards, I went to the gym and then
went over to Liz’s for a girl’s night complete with endless episodes of Gilmore
Girls, pizza, and laughter!
And Monday, we set off
on another study break trip! Werner and
I picked up the rental car and tent and then we set off! Poor Werner was the only guy, as Kelly, Erin,
and Rachel were with us as well! Our
first stop after endless Mumford: Lake Tekapo.
And after numerous attempts to properly pronounce this place, I finally
have it down! The weather was absolutely
gorgeous without a cloud in the sky; and wearing a flannel shirt and chacos
never felt so good! There is not much in
the town except for the lake so we headed down there and hung out on the
rocks. Maybe it was just the perfect
weather and setting, but Lake Tekapo is definitely high up on my list of
favorite places! The snow covered
mountains that surrounded the lake were stunning and so mesmerizing! We spent hours skipping rocks/teaching people
to skip rocks and splashing our feet around in the water. There is also a beautiful small historic
church in front of the lake that we visited.
I decided that if I were to ever get married in NZ (although the chances
of that are very slim so don’t worry Mom and Dad), I would hold the ceremony in
that church! 
Soon we found of
stomachs growling and drove down the road to find some food, but I guess in a
small tourist town they can make everything twice as expensive, so we ended up
with pre-made sandwiches from a convenient store, but we were content eating beside
the lake. After dinner, we headed to the
campground to set up our tent. The rates
were a little pricey since they were per person, so we may have only actually
checked in two people, but it worked out fine!
After setting up the
tent, we hopped back in the car towards the lake to watch the sunset…which was
perfect! There was also a full moon that
night, which was amazing to see.
Unfortunately, my camera is not capable of properly capturing any of
this! But here are a few pictures! Once it was dark, we headed to the town
tavern for some water and while there, made a list of everything we need to
do/accomplish before leaving…which is a lot!
So I am going to be super busy my last week or so here! But I still have another month and a half
before I leave J
The next morning, we
woke up at 5:45 to watch the sunrise. We
probably did not need to wake up quite so early since we had to wait for it to
come over the mountains, but the extra time gave us a chance to drive down to
the perfect viewing spot by the lake.
The sunrise was not full of colors, but the picture painted of the sun
casted upon the mountains and green hills was completely worth the little
sleep. Once back to the campsite, we
packed up, grabbed some desperately needed coffee, and after an embarrassing
moment when asking for directions (just me being stupid since, as most of you
know, I lack any sort of internal navigation system), we hit the road toward
Mount Cook (Aoraki). It was about an
hour drive, but the views of Lake Pukaki on the way kept us glued to the car
windows!
Once we arrived at
Mount Cook Village, we stopped at DOC (department of conservation) to ask them
the best hikes in the area. We had
initially planned to actually tramp in the area into a hut a couple weeks ago,
but that trip was canceled due to avalanche danger and the danger was still
severe, so we just decided to go see the area.
But, we ended up hiking the Hooker Valley Track, which was the perfect
choice for another stunningly beautiful day!
I was super excited to be hiking in shorts and a t-shirt! We set off around noon with a view of snowy
mountains surrounding us and a pale blue river running along the trail. We took a quick detour to see Freda’s rock
and monument. She was the first woman to
hike Mount Cook in the early 1900’s…and she did it in a skirt! So legit!
I declared her my hero for the trip J We even
witnessed/heard a few avalanches in the mountains high above us.
The hike was a perfect
meander that was very pleasant and not too strenuous. It took us about an hour or so to reach our
destination: a beautiful lake with Mount Cook, the tallest mountain in NZ, rising
behind it. We snagged a giant rock to
hang out on and eat our packed lunch. We
spent an hour or so soaking in the sun and exploring the area a little. There were even a few mini “icebergs” in the
water, which we surprisingly entertaining to watch change and break apart. We really lucked up with the weather, as we
were able to see the very top of Mount Cook!
One of my friends who previously visited it was unable to see more than
a fifth of the mountain. The whole
mountain, especially the top peak, looked exactly like the mountain in “How the
Grinch Stole Christmas.” Eventually we
reluctantly headed back to the car, and only then, did we realize that we were
all beginning to turn a little pink/red (some more than others) from the
sun. We had not seen weather like this
and had completely forgotten sunscreen. NZ
also receives more rays due to the ozone hole over the country, so my pale skin
was certainly not ready for that! But we
all survived!
After the hike, we
regrouped and drove down the road a few minutes to the blue lakes (which were
actually green?) and then walked up a short path to an overview of a Glacial
lake and the Tasman Glacier. Afterwards,
we hit the road toward Omarama. Once to
town, we drove out to the Clay Cliffs.
And the instant I saw them, I had to remind myself I was in New
Zealand. They are very reminiscent of
Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah! But
very unique and interesting nonetheless.
So once we explored the cliffs, we hopped in the car and I drove us to
Omaru, where we stopped at a KFC to eat dinner.
But basically, we just took all of our leftover lunch food inside and
only a couple people bought anything.
They were probably not too happy with us, but oh well! After we were full, we stopped to buy some
aloe for our sunburns, and after a minor explosion when opening the bottle in
the car, we set off for Dunedin. Once
back, I dropped everybody off and while getting ready for bed, locked myself
out of my room. Being too lazy to call
Campus Watch that evening, I walked over to Erin’s and slept at her place
because we were planning on waking up early the next day anyway. 
So the next morning,
out alarm went off at 5:15am!
Yikes! But, it was totally worth
the effort to get up and see one of the most beautiful sunrises (two in a row)! We took the car up to the top of Mount
Cargill and watched the sun rise above the ocean and Peninsula. Absolutely gorgeous! We also took pictures by the Dunedin city
sign and then headed back to our flats to sleep for a couple more hours. But of course I was still locked out, so I
called Campus Watch and a guy came to let me in, but he grabbed the wrong set
of keys and so he had to go back. And he
woke up all my flatmates with his super loud radio at 7am! But once into my room, I took a nap and then
returned the car and tent with Werner later that afternoon. 
And yesterday was also
Halloween! So we dressed up as the plastics
from Mean Girls (because it was cheap and easy) and went to a small party at a
friend’s house!
Happy Halloween
everyone! Sad I’m missing Franklin
Street Halloween festivities, but I hope to see pictures soon! Have fun J
Can't tell you how much I am enjoying your blog. It must be a dream adventure. Can't wait until you come back so we can have lunch and catch up.
ReplyDelete