Dooms Day.

The moment that many of you (family, in particular) have been waiting for. One of the main reasons I chose to study abroad in New Zealand was for the scenery aspect, yes, but also for the 'thrill-seeking' aspect. New Zealand is regarded as one of the most adventurous countries in the world seeing as how the first commercial bungee jump happened here in Auckland, New Zealand. A. J. Hackett first popularized this in 1988 in Queenstown with the Kawarau Bridge jump. I decided to do the Nevis which is the highest here in Queenstown. 137 meters (approx 440 feet) from the ground with 8.5 seconds of free fall; I wanted to push myself to the extreme. For my whole life, I feel like I have made safe choices and I have never been a very rebellious child (comes with the territory of being raised by Dangie and Big Mike).. and I figured taking all the risks of coming here and doing this thing on my own, I was going to take a walk on the wild side. What's the worst that could happen? So let's say I don't make it, what a cool way to go out right?

Round 1.

Round 2.

So my friend Lauren and I were the only ones who decided to take the plunge (no pun intended) and test our luck.  Our appointment was at 11:40am that day and we had to walk a few streets over from our hostel to get to the company to sign our lives away and make the drive up there.  As we began driving up the mountainside, my heart began to race a little, my palms began to sweat, and for a few minutes there, I thought 'What did I get myself into?'

We finally arrived, they weighed us, put our harnesses on, and put us in the pod to take us to the central platform where we would be jumping. Our group consisted of myself, Lauren, our friend Alex whom we had met when we arrived in Queenstown and Fabio, a guy from Brazil who had signed up to do this jump less than an hour prior (with some convincing from Alex.) Lauren was up first... she was completely calm and once her ankles were tied in and she was propped up to walk to the edge, the tears began to flow. I felt so nervous then and began to freak out a little bit, but with our supportive group and a little encouragement, she went for it.. I was so proud of her, as were the boys. It was their turn next and finally, saving the best for last (well at least that is what I told myself....) my name was called. My throat was dry, my knees were shaking, and I thought at that moment a tremendous amount of words that cannot be repeated (due to some young people that might be reading this...)

As I was sitting in the chair and they were putting all the gear on, I thought a few things. 1)Why was I doing this? 2) Please Lord, keep me safe so I can call my mom and tell her I am ok. and 3) Maggie McKenzie is actually going to kill me. (previously, she had PLEADED that I don't do this. They sat me upright and it was time to walk to the edge. Now this edge is about 1" by 1", so very tiny and all that you could see was a small stream and rocks below you. They began to countdown and I recall what one of my guides in Auckland had previously said to me when finding out that I wanted to Bungee. (She said "Whatever you do, when they count down to 1, MAKE SURE YOU ARE OFF THAT BRIDGE!)... and boy, did I take that advice!!! You better believe I was going to make sure that I was off of that bridge on one. I thought 'here goes nothing, and I took that plunge...'

Round 2. Much more confident.

As I was being pulled back up, I could not stop laughing at the idea of what I had just done. I thought about what my dad had said about 'what kind of crazy person/idiot would pay to jump to their death?' (Well dad, I jumped, you paid, technically :)... it was so amazing. When the guys asked me if I liked it, honestly I did, however a few moments of it were almost blacked out of my brain because so much adrenalin was pumping- so they suggested I try it again because the second time is a much different experience.. so me, being the crazy person that I am.. went for it. That's right, folks.. bungee jumped TWICE off the Nevis. And it was one of the best experiences ever. I went from screaming to laughing to just being in a state of amazement. It was one of the most exhilarating and freeing experiences of my life and I hope you enjoy the pictures and video footage :)

Milford Sound.

The first activity that the girls and I planned to do in Queenstown was to go to Milford Sound. This is regarded as one of New Zealand's top tourist attractions and even considered to be the 'eighth Wonder of the World.' For me personally, this was again one of those surreal moments where just a few months ago it seemed like only in my dreams would I see such beautiful scenery. Another dream coming true where I get to attest to the natural beauty of this world. Milford Sound, we learned is not actually a sound, but rather a fjord and it is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Cascading waterfalls. Glistening water. Sunny Day.  Milford Sound was actually perfection if I've ever seen it. However it is one of those things that description and words do not do it justice so for this entry, I will let the pictures do the talking.

Can't compete with this beauty.

Go, go chasin' waterfalls.

Milford.

The Perfect Day.

Also worth noting, the drive to Milford Sound was absolutely breathtaking. I should have only known that the natural beauty that surrounded us on the way in was a 'sneak peek' into what we were about to see. From valleys and snow-capped mountains to waterfalls and the breathtaking Mirror Lakes, I hope you enjoy the pictures that I took. :)

Leaving Queenstown.

Just another day in the life..

Mirror Lakes.

 

Queenstown: Adventure City: Day 1

The moment we have all been waiting for.... QUEENSTOWN!!! Man, was this city AWESOME! It was picturesque from the moment we stepped off the airplane... the mountains that surrounded us were so beautiful; to a point of seeming almost like they were unreal. (It was as if I was in my own version of 'The Truman Show'). Lauren had flown from Wellington because she had spent the previous week in Sydney with her older sister, so she was already at our hostel when we got there! So the girls and I picked up our luggage and headed outside where we met a new friend, Alex. Alex was an American from Manhattan who was finishing up his travels (which included Hawaii, Australia and NZ--not too shabby!) before heading back to America to graduate from American University. Because I enjoy meeting new people, I sat by him on the bus on the way to the hostel. I am surprised that he still talked to me when we got off because I harassed him with a million questions pertaining to his trip. Must be nice to travel for 9 weeks and not have to go to school... and once we reached our destination, we soon realized that not only was he staying at our hostel- but he was also one of our roommates- what are the odds?

View getting off the airplane.

Phat.

When arriving to our hostel, we soon realized that this hostel experience was going to be much different. Our hostel, Nomads, was much more commercialized. It was like a big party. Also- they had messed up our reservation for 5. There were only 3 spaces in the big dorm and they gave us a private en-suite room (normally $115/night) for free! So we got to keep our luggage there and we decided to take turns staying in the nice room.

After getting settled, the girls and I got some Thai food and then to Morgan's request.. we hit up 'Cookie Time' for warm cookies and milk for dessert... we had a packed couple of days coming up.. Milford Sound and Bungee jumping for Lauren and I... more to come!

Pompallier Mission House, Russell and other adventures of the B.O.I.

One of our activities that we did in the Bay of Islands was to take the ferry from Paihia to Russell. What an adventure. Upon arrival, we had no idea where we wanted to go and sort of stumbled upon random things. First off, we ducked in to some side shops to look at local artwork and handmade crafts and such by local NZ artists. After that we went to the museum of Russell- although we did not make it past the gift shop... souvenirs for friends and family, it was!

Afterwards, we stumbled upon the Pompallier Mission House. This was basically the headquarters for the French Catholic mission. Over 30,000 books (mostly hymnal and other religious books) were produced. We got to wander the gardens and we jumped in on a little tour where our guide was describing how they produced these books and such. She showed us the process from printing (on an old printing press!) through the glueing, binding and finished product! It was fascinating and something that I really thought my friend Paige would enjoy because she has such a love and appreciation for history-and she gets super excited about old, antique books- she would have just died over this!! (Wish you were here, Paigey!)

Kappa is everywhere :)

Old Printing Press

How the books were bound!

Old hymnal books in Maori!

Letters for the printing press.

Self-explanatory.

Beautiful flowers on the mission grounds.

After the tour (which seemed only appropriate-seeing as how the next day was Easter Sunday..) we walked down the street trying to find the first liquor-licensed hotel/restaurant.. (how ironic, I know).. but supposedly it was a MUST-SEE/EAT... we found it but due to some circumstances, we were unable to eat there.. bummer- but what we did see, it was beautiful and historic!

We also caught some young kids performing the Haka! Which was just an absolute hoot! They were adorable! And it was super impressive as well...

After we returned to Paihia- Megan, Morgan and I stopped to try some local fudge (yum&phat!) and then Hillary, Brenda and I got ready for a nice dinner out! Earlier in the week, we passed the restaurant Only Seafood that was a little pricier but had promoted a $45 3-course 'Early Bird Special'.... man was I glad that we stopped to inquire. In my guidebook, it says how the Bay of Islands region has some of the BEST seafood- and my guidebook did not steer me wrong. We went and had calamari, an amazing soup with Tuna in it, some of THE BEST fish I have ever eaten, a dessert to die for and wine!

Nom.

Safe to say that we were happy campers... this was one of MY FAVORITE parts of the trip. Granted, I LOVE seeing all of the sights and being active.. but this was definitely the top 'relaxing' moment.. we took our time, were not rushing to the next activity nor were we worrying about anything else,  just being in the present moment and enjoying each other's company. I have not gotten to see Hillary as much as I would like and Brenda had just met her on this trip to the Bay of Islands and seeing as how we all are juniors, we can really relate to each other... (also, Hillary is a sister... she is a Kappa @ Drake University in Iowa... it only makes sense...)

It was nice to just sit and chat and reflect on what a fun week we had! We all went for a drink and walked back discussing our perfect ending to this perfect week! Week 1 was a huge success.. and although Hillary was going to part from our group, Brenda and I were so excited for our next week with the girls! Not to mention- we would be reunited with Lauren!