Queenstown, New Zealand



View of the New Zealand mountains

from the airplane



I've made it back from New Zealand in one piece, and what an adventure! New Zealand is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. As soon as we crossed the ocean and onto land, we could see mountains. Queenstown was completely surrounded by mountains, some with snow on the top, others without. The sight was spectacular!



Part of Queenstown



Day 1 was our relaxing day. We wandered around the center of town, and went into shops. We visited the world-famous Fergburger (although not many in the US have heard of it). I ordered an original burger with cheese and aioli sauce which is a garlic mayonnaise. The burger was delicious and I now understand why anyone who visits Queenstown eats at Fergburger.



Kiwi bird



Day 2 we went zip lining. There were 6 zip lines with the last being the steepest zip line in the world. It was a lot of fun! We went zipping through the forest, down the side of a mountain. along the way, our guides pointed out the mountains used in the Lord of the Rings. Very cool. The guides also talked about the birds native to New Zealand and the ones that have become extinct like the Moa, a 12-foot ostrich like bird. Another bird mentioned was the Kiwi. This is the national icon for New Zealand, and the local people are called kiwis.



View of Queenstown from the Gondola





Ready to go Ziplining





One of the mountains where
Lord of the Rings was filmed



Day 3 was whitewater rafting. I have never done this before, and would definitely do it again! We had to put layers and layers of wetsuit on since it was (only) 55 degrees and the Shotover River was going to be cold. We took a bus that the company provided to the river on one of the most dangerous roads in New Zealand. I could see why! It was this skinny gravel road that wrapped around the mountains! I think this road was the scariest thing I experienced in New Zealand. Once we made it to the river, we got into our rafts and made our way back to the lodge. I was one of the two people in the front of the raft and so I helped set the pace for rowing. It was hard work! We went through several rapids that were intense, and I got soaking wet. We also had a bit of down time while floating down the river. I looked at the surrounding mountains and occasionally saw a goat during these times. It was so pretty. We also visited Minus 5 which is an ice bar. We were suited up in big coats and then led into what looked like a vault. Everything inside the bar was made of ice, even the seats! There were many ice sculptures lit up by color changing lights. It was a neat setup and our allotted 30 minutes went by quickly!



Getting ready to go whitewater rafting





Shotover River





Inside the ice bar





Gondola that I jumped from



Day 4 we went bungy jumping! This was such an exhilarating experience and I loved every minute of it. The AJ Hackett company provided bus transportation to the bungy site. I wasn't nervous at all at this point, but a friend I was with could hardly speak. We reached the site, put harnesses on, and then got on a platform that took us to the gondola where we would be jumping from. There were some guys from England that rode the platform with us, they seemed pretty nervous too. My friend, Becky went bungied first, and then it was my turn. They connected all kinds of cords to me and then helped me walk to the plank. This is when I became very nervous! They counted down 3 -2 -1 and then I just went for it. I tried to do the best swan dive I could in that moment. The drop was so much fun and my only thought during it was 'I can't believe I'm still falling!' I dropped 134 meters or 440 ft. It was so worth it and I wanted to do it again. After the bungy jumping, my friend Caitlin and I decided to do the canyon swing. This was the tallest swing in the world where we free fall 70 meters and then swing another 200 meters. It happened so fast, we were harnessed up and suddenly the workers counted down and we dropped. The swing felt much more like a ride but it was still so much fun, and was worth it! It's hard to compare anything after bungy jumping and so I'm glad we went zip lining and white water rafting on the earlier days.



Bungy Jumping!



About to do the canyon swing!





Showing off at the bungy and
canyon swing gear I obtained





Caitlin and I are the small dot right below the gondola on the swing





Mirror Lakes





Kea, a large flightless parrot native to NZ



Day 5 was much more relaxing. We went to Milford Sound which is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The bus ride was about 4 hours out of Queenstown and we made periodical stops since the landscape was gorgeous. One of my favorite stops was called Mirror Lakes, and the water looked like glass that reflected the mountains, and the non-tropical rainforest. We reached Milford Sound and boarded a small cruise ship that sailed through it. It was so breathtaking, and there were waterfalls everywhere. The boat took us right up to the waterfalls, so close that I was getting wet. We also saw a number of sea lions laying in the sun. This was a such fun day, and I'm glad we were able to make it to Milford Sound. I ended up with over 200 pictures from just this day!





Milford Sound





Sea Lion





One of the many waterfalls we saw



Queenstown, New Zealand is the most spectacular place I have ever visited. Everywhere was so beautiful and there were so many adrenaline activities available. I would definitely recommend visiting the country, I would like to again some day!

 

Study break #2



Freo street performers festival



The second study break was much more relaxing than the first. The plans for the Margaret River fell through last minute and so I just stayed in Perth. However, I was able to do quite a few things around Perth. One of the evenings my roommate Dan and I made kangaroo. It was a little sad to eat remembering the ones I fed at the zoo but I liked it nonetheless. It was similar to steak and we made it on kebabs along with capsicum (green peppers). Another one of nights, a couple of friends and I went to a Mexican restaurant. I never imagined missing Mexican food so much! The food wasn't very authentic, and there were pronunciations beneath the food items. It was still good but Mexican food isn't very popular here in Australia.







scuba diving on Anzac Day



The Monday after Easter was Anzac Day which is similar to the U.S. memorial day. There were lots of parades and celebration. Tom, Dan, and I decided to go scuba diving in celebration :) It was just a try-dive for people considering certification but it was still fun to do. We went to a "shipwreck" made by the company and saw colorful fish there. After scuba diving we went to Fremantle. There was a street performers festival for Anzac Day. That was pretty fun to see. There, I saw the most tattooed guy in the world, he's in the Guinness book of World Records.



London Square



Later in the week, I went to London Square in Perth city. This is an alley of shops and it looks like buildings from the early 1900's. I was able to get some souvenirs and take a few pictures. On Friday night we went to the Fremantle prison for a tour. This is no longer an active prison and we chose the "torchlight tour" because we thought it would be scary. It was similar to a haunted house and the tour guide told stories of the prisoners.



After the Freo prison tour



More parrots

On Saturday I went to Rottnest Island. This is a vacation spot about a half hour off the coast. The island is one of the only places native to Quokkas, which are marsupials that look like a mixture of a kangaroo and a mouse. Very cute. We also saw a peacock. Apparently they are native to the island as well. It seemed that no one else gave it a second look while my friends and I were frantically taking pictures of it! We visited the lighthouses on the island as well as the beach. It was a very fun day.



Quokkas



Peacock by the food court



 





Rottnest Island





Fish and Chips flavored ice cream, it didn't
taste very good!



With only 3 weeks left of school, I have a lot of assignments due. There wasn't much homework throughout the semester, and now everything is due at once. For instance, in the next two weeks I have 3 papers, a project, a speech, and a final exam and so I have been busy studying! I suppose it is nice to get the homework out of the way before the next study break in New Zealand!



Photo for a photography project