Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I spent the last week in New Zealand which turned out to be one of the most incredible experiences of my semester so far!
My friend Pontus and I flew to Christchurch on Sunday and spent the night there. Christchurch was the city that was hit with the HUGE earthquake in February which literally destroyed the city. I was really shocked to see the city still in ruins. There were piles of rubble which were once buildings and stores without roofs. We walked the streets to find a place to eat and there were no one on the streets. We walked past a cemetery where tombstones had cracked and pieces were everywhere.
Having witnessed all this damage and realizing that some of these people have no choice but to stay in the city really makes you thankful for everything you have. There was still a red zone in the center of the city where all the streets were blocked off and you weren't allowed to go through.
We had an early flight the next day so we went to bed early. Our flight the next day was to Queenstown which is southwest of Christchurch. Because of some fog our flight was delayed and hour. While we were waiting, all of a sudden the floor and glass sliding doors starting shaking and I could see the air conditioner on the ceiling shaking back and forth in the ceiling tiles. I JUMPED to the ground and realized we were experiencing an earthquake. Next thing I knew it was over and I looked around and noticed that no one had really even reacted to it since I guess it was pretty common for this to happen as an aftershock to the earthquake in February. We learned later on the news in Queenstown that it was a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. Pretty scary stuff.
The flight to Queenstown was only 55 minutes so next thing we knew we were flying over the amazing mountains. Queenstown has definitely got to be one of the coolest places. We headed to our hostel from the airport which was a quick 25 minute ride. Our hostel was the nicest hostel I have ever stayed at and was located right in town and just a few seconds from the lake. We got upgraded to a 4 person room which had its own bathroom and a 37 inch flat screen TV on the wall. The hostel also had a sauna and a really nice kitchen and lounge area.
Our friend Emily, Karli, Emily's sister and her boyfriend flew in a few hours after us so we decided to walk around the town and enjoy the fresh air. The weather was pretty cold coming from Australia with highs in the 30's and 40's during the day and lows in the upper 20's.
We had lunch at this burger place called FergBurger which was recommended by my Kiwi Roommate Jess. It was packed but definitely worth the wait!
It was the Queen's Birthday Monday so some of the shops and stuff were closed but we managed to find a cheap place to buy some gloves since we didn't have anything warm with us. After that we walked around some more and ran into our friends who had just arrived. They were hungry so we went with them to an irish pub. When we got back to the hostel we decided to hit up the sauna and relax since we had a REALLY busy day Tuesday!
We got up really early Tuesday to get ready for SKYDIVING! It was Emily, Karli, Pontus, and myself that were skydiving and Kenny and Alicia were going to do the Canyon Swing. It was about a 20 minute drive to where the Skydive place was. We were split up into two groups and we anxiously waited for our turn. It was a very small plane that took us up and took about 10 minutes to get up to 12,000 feet. The views from the plane were amazing and even better when falling from 12,000 feet. The feeling is not something you can even describe. It was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done!
As if that wasn't enough adventure for one day Pontus and I decided to go Jetboating. Jetboating is a really fast boat that can do 360's and maneuver really close to canyons without crashing. There is only one company that is allowed to do it in the canyons so we figured it was worth it to do that one versus another one which just operates on the lake. It was really fun and pretty freaky at times since I was on the end and could have sworn we were going to crash like 10 times.
After all the adventure we headed to Pantagonia which my roommate suggested for some amazing hot chocolate and ice cream. It had amazing views of the lake and mountains and was the best hot chocolate I've ever had!
The next day we got up really early to rent a car and go for a drive through the mountains. Neither of us had driven on the left side of the road so it was a little strange starting out. First we drove to Glenorchy which was a really small town with awesome views. There was just one road that goes there and it winds around the mountainside.
Gotta love the luxury model they give to those under 21
We turned around where the road ended and headed the opposite way to Wanaka which is another small town situated right on a lake. We found a cool restaurant right on the water to have lunch at. We continued further north and saw some snow covered mountains in the distance and decided we wanted to try to get closer so we drove in that direction. Along the way we noticed a waterfall in the distance and decided to stop and have a look. We had the great idea to hop the fence with a bunch of cows to get a closer look at the waterfall. There was one cow in particular that wasn't too keen on us being inside the fence. haha
Here he is staring at me
New Zealand has more sheep than people and it was definitely clear as we drove through the country roads. We kept on driving toward the snow covered mountains until it was getting late and we had to start heading back. The views were amazing and we were definately glad we made the decision to rent the car.
After we returned the car we met up with Emily, Karli, Kenny, and Alicia to get ready for the "kiwi crawl" we decided to do. The kiwi crawl got us into 5 bars total including the famous Minus 5 Ice Bar. The ice bar was definitely the highlight of the night. We had a really good time and it got pretty crazy. haha.
We woke up early again on Thursday since it was our last day and we wanted to do the luge ride. You take a skyrail thing up the mountain and then you luge down on one of the tracks. Because the track was icy it was closed for awhile until the ice melted. The views from the top of the mountain were amazing!!! We luged down a couple times before having to head back to the hostel. We had an afternoon flight back to Christchurch.
As soon as we got to Christchurch we went to the Antartic Centre which is owned by my roommates family. It is a huge building which is full of cool attractions that resemble Antartica. First we went into the "storm" which was a room with snow and ice and then all of a sudden gets really windy and the temperature starts to drop like an actual storm. It was pretty cool. We took a hagglelund ride which is the vehicles they drive in Antartica that can go in water and on the sides of hills. There was a track that they had built which was a reenactment of how it actually is. Then we went to the movie theatre to watch a movie on Antartica in 4D. The seats shook back and forth and when the boat hit a wave we got a little wet. It was really crazy!! We quickly stopped by the penguin display before it closed.
Then it was off to the hostel where we relaxed for awhile before heading to bed. Our flight left early in the morning back to Australia.
This was definitely a trip that I will never forget. Queenstown is definitely a must see place and is I forgot to mention but is also home to where they filmed Lord of the Rings. I have a list of the things I didn't get to do for when I take my next trip there!
I had my first final exam on Saturday and have been trying to get ready for Bali, pack, and clean since then since when I get back from Bali I have just 3 days left here!
I didn't have much time for this post as usual but hopefully you at least enjoy the pictures! I'm not sure if I will get a chance to write before I head home but I will definitely have a final post after Bali!
Cheers,
Bryan
