Final Thoughts

Overall, I had the trip of a lifetime travelling around New Zealand during the past month. As I sit here in the LAX airport trying to reflect, there is just too much that I learned and experienced during my trip to put into words.

I met amazing people, both kiwis and world travellers. Had amazing times learning about NZ culture including school systems and the adventurous lifestyle and I absolutely loved the beautiful country!

To try to sum up my experience with the people from  New Zealand I have two stories.
1-Yesterday, I sort of overbooked my day in an attempt to get everything in during the last day. While we were hang gliding I was super nervous that I was going to be late and miss the Canyon Swing (well, I was late in fact) but Michel kept saying to relax because they would figure it out. Finally when it was clear I was late I asked the guide what to do and he calmly told me to call the people at the swing and he would take care of it. They chatted for a minute or so and ended up having a driver take me across town for the swing, even walked me along the trail into the building. I was obviously apologetic and feeling bad for rushing our group and having people go out of their way for my mistake but each person involved genuinely acted like they couldn't have cared less that I caused this issue. It was totally fine and no big deal to rearrange and find a driver for me. That's how my whole trip had been...  sure the people in NZ are friendly, but I think it's more than that. It's a genuine satisfaction with life that allows each person to be kind and relaxed every day. It's not having traffic or lines or the hustle and bustle day after day and just appreciating what you're doing in the present.
2- People in Nz are seemingly not concerned with things. I gathered this assumption after realizing I hadn't heard anyone compliment another's hair, dress, make up, bag, etc. Once I noticed, I started focusing on it and never heard a comment like that at all!! Granted, given my attire and lack of make up, there was a small chance a compliment like that was coming my way- but I think it was evident that most people there just don't see those things as important. I heard many compliments to kids about their behavior and things of that nature but nothing about appearance.

Wouldn't you know, I'm sitting in LAX when a girl in a cute dress walks by and a girl walking the other way stops her to say "wow, I love your dress!" Couldn't have planned it better.

I'm not saying everything is perfect over there, but I did learn valuable lessons about how I may be able to approach life differently in order to find more contentment- the kiwi way!

In short I did the following during my trip:

Climbed the Auckland Harbour Bridge
Jumped off the Sky Tower
Attended two professional rugby games
Helped facilitate a school wide cross country race
Abseilled, black water rafted, caved, and rock climbed through the Waitomo Caves
Soaked in a geothermal spa
Saw thermal pools and a geyser at Wai o tapo
Went on OGO
Attended a Maori cultural dinner and show
Completed a high ropes course
Visited NZ history museum
Hiked to Huka Falls
Attended a week of outdoor camp at Outdoor Pursuits Centre including: skiing, caving, hiking, overnight camping, high ropes course
Attended a beer brewing festival
Took a tour of Parliament
Rode on a ferry across the Cook Straight
Walked the Abel Tasman Coastal Track
Saw the Purknacki pancake rocks and blow holes
Climbed Fox Glacier
Took part in a luge race
Went hang gliding
Jumped off the Canyon Swing

Visited:
Mellons Bay Primary School
Pigeon Mountain Primary School
Bucklands Beach Intermediate
MacLeans College
Motueka High School

Travelled for total of 26 days:

Baltimore
San Francisco
Auckland
Bucklands Beach
Hamilton
Rotoura
Taupo
Tongariro National Park
Wellington
Nelson
Motueka
Greymouth
Fox Glacier
Queenstown
Christchurch

Drove 3052.7 km (nearly 1900 miles).

And especially learned a lot about many different people and cultures and how there is so much to see in the world- just gotta get out and do it!

(Europe 2014 :)

Queenstown & Christchurch

Today was another cloudy day that ended up being the best last day I could ask for. Although sky diving was canceled (making that four failed attempts for the whole trip), I booked a hand gliding trip in the early afternoon to see the sites from above. My two travelling buds, Michel and Patrick and I spent the morning relaxing, having tea (like true Europeans :) and walking around the market. Michel and I then headed to hang glid which started with a beautiful drive along the water. The weather was so dreary in the morning but was quickly clearing up to become a gorgeous day.

Hang gliding was super fun with breathtaking views! You are attached with a guide via something sort of like a straight jacket to the large kite like flying device. We are then attached to an extremely small plane with what looks like a very inadequate rope. The plane pulls up our hang glider and guides us around in the sky before we detach. The views were absolutely incredible!!! The clear water, and beautiful mountains made for an exceptional experience. While detached from the plane, the guide takes some turns and drops which feels like a roller coaster ride. The weird part was, I felt totally secure although we were just flying around attached to something that looked like a big kite!

At the end of the fight, the guide somehow perfectly landed us on the ground with seemingly no bumps at all. I'm so happy we were able to fit in this awesome adventure!

Next I went directly to the Canyon Swing where I met up with a few other friends. This is like a bungy jump except you are attached by your waist in what I consider a much more effective harness. All of us were excited for the jump and talking about how we would go. There are over 70 ways to jump off this ledge-people jump in sports equipment, blind folded, doing flips, sitting in a chair etc (even naked!). One by one before each jump you could tell the demeanor of the jumper drastically changed. Once you entered the area to jump everyone was terrified!! The guys who work the Canyon Swing are notorious for scaring people way more then they already are. For example, they pretended to push me off twice right when I walked into the area for the jump. Also, they will scream "WAITTT" right as you jump. The famous example is a guy who wanted to sit backwards in the chair blindfolded for his jump- the guides kept telling him to sit back in the chair until he just fell into the air. Like anyone needs a little extra to get them scared at a time like this!

Just like most of the scary things I've done in this trip, I was not nervous what so ever before the event. I was, however, absolutely terrified the few moments leading up to the jump. I had planned on diving out so when I went in the platform the guys told me to lean out for a picture. Once I was leaning I thought I was going to loose it. After a few terrifying seconds of the guides pretending to drop me and me begging just to jump already I was finally off. I can't say I remember the free fall but as soon as you fall into the swing I felt much more secure. As you swing around the Canyon, the scene is really pretty, but it's tough to focus when you're shaking! When I was pulled up I told the guys I was still terrified and would not be jumping again (a few brave people take a second jump) and then pretended to drop me again right as I was standing back up in the platform!

Overall it was definitely the most exhilarating part of my trip. It reminded me of cliff jumping in Italy except this jump was over 200m the hope was to NOT hit the water.

After we all went for fish and chips and I had to say my goodbyes :( I was so sad to be leaving Queenstown, my new friends, and my trip overall! I made promises to take a trip to Europe next summer- something that is already in the works in my head. I will have tour guides in London, Ireland, Amsterdam, and Germany!!

In the morning I left very early to make it to Christchurch with enough time to see the city before my flight in the afternoon. Although I was prepped by many other travellers about what the city would be like, it's still shocking to see in person. Two years now after the big earthquake and most of the city us still in shambles. Roads are closed, buildings are destroyed and the whole pace looks nearly abandoned. The devestation was overwhelming to say the least. The rainy weather and early Sunday morning time frame probably didn't help the situation but regardless, it was a very sad site to see.

I made it to my flight hours early and hopped on an earlier flight to Auckland. At least I'm starting out my departure with the correct flight!

Queenstown

First off, I'm very thankful to the many people who gave me their two sense about not including Queenstown on my travels. To be honest, I wanted to make it here, but I thought I wouldn't have enough time. Luckily, I was able to rearrange my plans and fit it two fun filled days before I leave this weekend.

This morning I met up with my friends and headed up the mountain on a gondola. On the top, there are luge racing tracks (similar to go kart racing) so we bought a few runs and had fun racing down the tracks. In between races, you head back up to the top on a lift to go for another ride. It was awesome and gave us some great views of the city.

After, we were determined to schedule an exciting activity for the afternoon to make up for not being able to sky dive this morning (too cloudy). After much discussion and debate we made plans for an epic day tomorrow. It's amazing how many options of bungys, sky dives, swings etc. that this town has to offer. Lots of people are here to ski and snowboard at nearby slopes but I don't have the time for that unfortunately.

In the afternoon my hostel roommate and I walked around the town doing some shopping and sight seeing. Right next to our hostel is a huge tent area with music, games and info regarding the Winter games which just began. We are going out to a burger place that's supposed to be amazing (no one has heard of Five Guys so we'll see if this beats that).

Tomorrow is going to be fabulous but I'll spare the details so I don't receive any threatening emails from my parents (it's not a bungy)!

West Coast

The last two days consisted of a lot of driving and a lot of rain. I headed from Motueka to Greymouth which is straight down the west coast and us populated by only 1% of New Zealands total population. 

Before I left, I had a fabulous home cooked breakfast made by my South Korean friend. It was a stir fry if sorts with egg, pumpkin, onions, and kaikoura which is a type of seafood that he caught the previous day!

Just as a general guide to driving in NZ, tack on at least one hour to any drive time you're given. I was curious every time a kiwi explained that Wellington was "about 4-6" hours away or Queenstown is about 3-5. I wondered where the two hour cushion came into play but I quickly learned it was up on the side of the mountain. The speed limit is almost always 100 k/hour. However, if you want to make it alive to your destination you probably spend half of the drive at around 60 severing around the mountains trying to keep up. Although the scenery is gorgeous, it is exhausting driving here.

I made it to Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blow holes after a few hours and stopped to have a look at this beautiful area. These formations have been created in the Tasman Sea and look like a stack of pancakes!

Finally, I made it to Greymouth, which wasn't the most exciting town, but it gave me a place to sleep before my travels the next day.

Early in the am I drove down to Fox Glacier which is one of two glaciers in NZ. It's amazing because it is very close to sea level and constantly changing size. When I got to the tour, I noticed two guys that I had seen previously at two other stops on my trip so I figured it was time for us to be friends. Turns out, they are just travelling together after meeting in the north island. One of the guys, Patrick is from Ireland but worked for the past year in Sydney and the other, Michel is from the Netherlands and was in Malaysia for work and decided to extend his trip. 

When I started talking to them, a girl in our group called me out on my American accent. She is originally from Boston, when to University of Maryland and taught at St Timothys which is a private school in Baltimore! Very crazy. Now she teaches in Cairo although I'm not sure she had heard about the current tragedies when we were on our tour.

We had a great few hours climbing on the ice and learning about how it changes throughout the day. While it had rained most of the night and morning, the rain let up for the walk which was much appreciated. After, the guys were headed to Queenstown, just like I was so we made plans to meet up later that night. What we didn't realize is that it would take us nearly six hours (google maps had it at 3 hours 50 minutes) to get there. Mind you, it monsooned for 5 of those hours.

Anyway, we made it and it was easy to see right away why everyone loves this place. It's a cute town situated on the mountain overlooking a lake with amazing views all around. The actual town is small but there are always tons of tourists skiing or doing other fun things.

We had a great dinner and met up with my roommates later. We are all nearing the end of awesome trips here, so we made a lot of plans to do all the exciting things that Queenstown has to offer in the few days we have here!

Motueka Day Two

Today I walked to the high school which is only a few minutes from my hostel. It was the coldest morning I've had so far on the trip but it was a clear, beautiful day outside.

I sat in on a "double" Year 13 class as they were getting prepared for their trip at the end of the week. First, they shared about their previous trip to the mountains and explained some things they learned. Apparently one of the students incorrectly belayed another student, causing her to fall so they were giving him a hard time. They used a website to practice deciding which route to take up a mountain using the ridge line and they reviewed how to determine the weather without modern technology.
Next, they started working on an assignment where they are to plan a trip and take into consideration the many factors that go into a camping trip. Finally, they checked the weather for the remainder of the week and discussed packing for the trip according to the weather. When I realized the rest of the week is expected to be rainy, I decided to make an early exit and hike the Abel Tasman Coastal Track a day early.

I rushed around, and drove about a half hour to the start of the park. I had exactly four hours to complete the four hour hike up the coast where a water taxi would pick me up and bring me back. Many people opt for the three day hike where you stay in huts along the way. That's a little much for me, but two guys in my hostel are starting that hike tomorrow!

The views are absolutely amazing!! Super blue water, blue skys, and lush rainforest. The temperature was a perfect chilly 60 degrees and it ended up only taking me about 3 hours and 15 (I was scared to miss the boat). I was so happy I decided to hike today because clear, beautiful days are hard to come by in winter here. As expected, clouds started to take over during the end of the trip and literally when I stepped foot on the beach for the water taxi pick up it started to rain. It's been pouring ever since!

I had delicious thai food for dinner and another interesting, relaxing night hanging with all the guys in our hostel. Tomorrow I head down the west coast and am hoping for good weather because I know there will be some sights to see!

Motueka

On Monday, I arrived at Motueka High School for another school visit. I found this school because it has a reputation for its stellar outdoor education program. The school is similar to the others that I visited: groups of classrooms that open to a court yard or field.

The day began with an All School Assembly. While they didn't sing, they did have students give out awards, explain upcoming events and offer some words of encouragement for the upcoming term. Two students read the well known story of the farmer and the mule. I pretty much have this story memorized from high school volleyball- the moral is: "shake it off and step up." Great words to live by.

I met with the head of the department, Mr. Wheeler and we had a great conversation about his past and the current state of the program at Motueka. He explained how the outdoor ed track is used primarily as an alternative for students who are not so keen on their studies- the program allows a different type of student to succeed in school. It also attracts a huge international population, as many as 40 students a year in a school of roughly 600-650 students. The fees for international students go right to the school and help offset a lot of program costs. Mr. Wheeler expressed that this really helped with the success of the program because the principal appreciates the draw of the program to these students and therefore supports it.

We discussed the layout of the schedule and how day trips and overnight adventures are sorted out through the school. Later this week, the Year 13 (12th graders) are going on a three night trip into the mountains. For the older classes, they try to go on an overnight trip each term.

The school has a shed full of equipment for use of the students which is helpful for enrollment. Similar to PE classes in NZ,  a few days a week are spent in the.classroom while the rest are set in the practical setting.

In the afternoon, I took a walk to the local iSite, which is becoming almost a daily task for me. The iSite offers hundreds of maps, brochures, and a few nice people who help sort out your travel and book your trips. I made plans for the Abel Tasman Coastal Walk which is a popular series of walks in New Zealand's must popular National Park. I also made a plan to climb Fox Glacier later in the week. After, I took a long walk along the water. The layout of the land is amazing here: beach, vineyards and mountains all in a row.

I got back to my hostel and had a super fun night with a great group of people. There is a couple from Belgium- a school teacher and immigration officer. There are four guys from Argentina who are working here for a few months before they finish their year abroad with a two month trip around south east Asia. Finally there are two guys from the Netherlands who previously worked as accountants but got bored with it and decided to take a year off, and a German guy who is taking a break from university. There is a kiwi staying here for the week because he is taking part in some sort of sky diving extravaganza where he jumps 17 times this week (insane). His stories about travelling are amazing and he was truly confused about how I was only here for a month. He urged me to get a work visa asap and live a little! I also chatted with Korean man who is staying here for a few weeks. In very broken English he explained his very tough life story in South Korea-very interesting and sad. Now he refers to me as the tall American girl :) The Argentineans didn't believe I am from the states because I apparently don't look like an American (I think that's a good thing!)

We celebrated one guy's 27th birthday with cake and ice cream and had a fun night talking about the differences of our countries and stories about our travels.

It won't let me upload photos again- bummer.

Wellington

This is now my third time rewriting this blog post... I've gone to save it and the internet cuts out and loses the post, annoying! (I write it all on my phone so there aren't many saving options). And now I'm unable to include any pictures- anyway, I have a whole fabulous weekend in Wellington to write about!

Friday, I arrived in the city to see how lively it was with people everywhere, shops and restaurants open. I had dinner at an Indian restaurant which was lovely however I was getting a little bored with dining alone so I was excited to have friends to meet up with for the remainder of the weekend!

My sister and brother in law have a close friend from Elon who is temporarily working in Australia and coincidentally was visiting Wellington the same weekend I had planned to be here. I tagged along with him and his mate (an Aussie) at Beervana which is a local micro brewing festival at West Pac Stadium. It was awesome to be able to try local beer and food- we even went to a session to learn about the brewing process.

This particular info session focused on the malt of the beer which is basically the barely or wheat. The speaker explained how important malt is for the brewing process even though it is often overlooked as people are more focused on adding hops to make the beer different. He emphasized that malt is the foundation of the beer so you have to put special care into the fundamentals of the process.

Just that morning, I was reading through our hot off the press welcome back to school packet of information for teachers at Calvert. This 17 page packet contains schedules along with letters from many admin sharing stories and offering motivation for the upcoming year. Wouldn't you know that our new Headmaster based his letter on focusing on fundamentals! Two obviously very different topics, but one clear message :)

After the festival, we had Mexican food at a fabulous restaurant and headed towards some pubs in the downtown area. Wellington is by far the most lively town I've never to- but that may have been subsidized by weekend visitors.

On Sunday, I took an early walk around the harbor area although I was bummed that the clouds were ruining my pictures. I also took a tour of Parliament (making Mom proud) which was very interesting. We weren't allowed to bring our phones or take any pictures but we did see the national library, house floor, and committee rooms. It reminded me a lot of the MD government buildings in Annapolis and the similar process of a state government. I grabbed many pamphlets on the way out to study as I'm sure I'll be quizzed on this venture when I get home :)

It started to rain in the afternoon, but we still drove up to Mt Victoria which offers panoramic views of the city. We took some good pictures and even got to see a few planes land right by the water.
By late afternoon it was time to head to the ferry terminal to travel across the Cook Straight to the South Island. The weather was pretty miserable but the boat was nice. There were couches to rest in, a food court, bar and cinema to enjoy the three hour trip.

We made it to the South Island late and I was in for a rainy drive along the coast to Nelson which should have taken about an hour and a half.

I was warned about the lack of people, and gas stations before but I assumed that somewhere on my (ended up being over two hour) drive I would come across at least some form of life preferably a had station as well. To make a long, dramatic story short- I drove up a mountain, and back down it, with absolutely no cars, houses, people in sight convinced I was going to run out of gas- without any cell phone reception. After a lot of panic, I thankfully made it to Nelson and to my hostel to sleep for the night.

Today I drove a little further up the coast of the northern part of the South Island to Motueka to visit the local high school which is well known for their outdoor education program. On my drive, I passed through a small town Richmond that had a "Salisbury School" -awesome!