Wellington

Today we drove for about 3 hrs and got to te ferry dock to catch the 3h ferry ride through the Queen Charlotte Sounds. Now fun fact: a sound is an area of land that was carved by rivers then flooded with water where a fiord is an area carved out by glaciers then flooded with water. So the Milford Sounds are actually fiords! I'm off to Wellington for the night and it should be fun. I met a guy from Calgary and we are kinda chillin together which is crazy cause we can talk about home which makes me want to get there sooner! I am still debating whether or not I want to do the Tongiriri Crossing or not but it will be weather dependent as well as how badly I want my dresser drawer!!

Its now evening here in Wellington which is just a big ol' city and I've decided that I am heading home to Auckland on Tuesday. I tried to do this little hike up to the top of Mt. Victoria and I failed! I am so exhausted that I don't think I would make it up to the top of the crossing. I just want to curl up with a movie and a warm blanket and sleep! So that's what I'm going to do! That way hopefully it will be outbid my system by the time I'm home do I can see everyone and do everything I need to before I leave again!

On My Way

I am finally on my way! I have left Christchurch after spending another 2 nights with Angela and Ian. I am now in Kaikoura again for the night. Then Wellington for the 31st, and Taupo for the 1-3rd or possibly just the night. It all depends on the weather for Taupo. I would love to do the Tongariri Crossing which is an 8hr hike but I don't know if the blisters on my tender toes would appreciate another full day in runners. So we shall see. If I don't stay in Taupo due to poopy weather then I will be back in Auckland on the 2nd. That wouldn't be too bad I just don't know what I want to do quite yet.

I left my pals yet again and it breaks my heart a little more each time. I am so looking forward to not leaving people and making new friends that I can actually have constantly in my life!

So excited to come home and see everyone and call everyone and just be HOME!!

Much love and if anyone wants to come visit that's cool. I'll be home from April 13 - May 15 and would LOVE to see you!!

Heres a Maori legend:
This little man was taken in my the water god and was given god-like powers. He has brothers who he wanted to go back and meet and when he did they didn't like him cause he was more god-like then them. He his in the fishing boat and when the 2 brothers were too far out to sea he popped up and said "Kia ora!" then he used his special powers and caught heaps of fish and his brothers caught none. He caught so many fish the canoe was tipped on its side. He caught one more and it was the biggest fish he'd ever seen. He played with it for so long and it was so strong it drug the boat all over. The one bro threw in the anchor cause he was Sao scared. When he pulled it up he said woah woah woah this fish is cursed. Let me go get the priest and he can uncurse this fish before we kill it. He told them to not touch it till he era back cause he was Michael felps in the water and would be back fast. As soon as he was gone the brothers started hacking at the fish till it eventually died. There was blood and flesh flyin everywhere. Now the legend goes that the north island is the fish and it's sharp and rugged and still spurts blood from time to time. (volcano) and the south is the canoe which has the alps cause the canoe was tipped on its side from the fish. The anchor is Stewart island at the bottom of the south and thus NZ is formed! The bus driver just told us that and he did a much better story time then me but hey I paraphrased the shit outta that story!

Lost Another 1

I lost Nick from the UK today. He carried on and I remained. I was planning on sorting my visa out today but as it goes it's a public holiday here and they are closed! So looks like I'll do it at home.

I hiked up the mountain to get some pics. I wasn't planning on doing it do of course I wore my jandles and today I have very sore calfs! It was a pretty steep 1hr climb so it was a work out. I saw snow and was so excited because it felt like Christmas was coming soon. Haha looks like I was wrong about that one so maybe I will have a little Xmas in July. Excited to get on the move again though!

Milford Sound

MIND = BLOWN

I have never been anywhere like Milford Sounds before. Seriously I could die here and have seen everything I've ever needed to see. Words do not come close to describing how incredible and beautiful mother nature is. And I saw it in its natural form (raining as much as 9m a yr!) and am head over heels for this place. Now I may be biased because I am a sucker for waterfalls and this is called the land of 1000 falls but still...holy poopers! Do a google on it and see some pics cause mine are a little dark. But understand pictures don't come close to seeing it first hand.

I got on the bus this morning at 7:30am and am just getting off the bus at 8:30pm. It's been a crazy long day of driving and I'm exhausted! Tomorrow I get on the bus to Christchurch at 8:00am and into Christchurch at 5:00pm. Yet another long day on the road! Excited to get back up north and to people I know and one step closer to home!

Much love!

Queenstown

We arrived in the rain and the following day was the same. It was a rainy cold one that I tried to get out and enjoy. I walked around the shore for a bit then through the botanical gardens. It was good but cold and wet. Nick and I went for coffee and to dry out our shoes at a nice little cafe and then headed back to the hostel. At 12:30 he was going for a canyon swing and I was going as his support system. Essentially you free fall for 60m then swing across the canyon a few times going up to 150km/h. It is kinda crazy but I think doable. It was fun to watch him do it but I sure wish I had the guts to try it.

We enjoyed a Fergburger for lunch which is a famous burger joint where they serve HUGE burgers for a good price. Mine was $10 and I was full forever!! After that we just walked around town some more and I got myself a new shiva necklace. It's pretty!! We went to the bar for a free BBQ and then were out till 1am. Drink free was the way to be for me but thats cause my ass doesn 't fit into my jeans very well (no wonder with eating a Fergburger!).

Wanaka

It was a quick stop in Wanaka but it was good. We managed to grab a bottle of wine and sit at the lake edge for a few hours before the wind blew us around too much. Then we headed for a cup of coffee and to relax a bit. We have had a lot of days with exercise and nonstop action so we believed that a break was necessary! Wanaka is a really pretty spot though. Lord of the Rings territory for sure which is exciting but just makes me want to watch the films (movie day when I get home!!). After walking around Wanaka for a bit we went back to the hostel and cooked up a big pan of stirfry (2 pans actually cause they were small). It was a very cheap $6 meal that 5 of us shared. I have managed to make really good fiends with a Nick from the UK, Julia from Sweedan, and Sandra from Germany. We make up practically half the bus and have fun together. We went for a drink in the bar and met a Canadian from the east coast and went to a different bar for a drink with him. The night scene in Wanaka is pretty dead!

9:00am we got back on the bus and made our way to Queenstown. Its only 150km but we took our time and made some stops. One of which at the home of bungy where crazy people paid to throw themselves into a canyon. We drove through Arrow Town (gorgeous especially in the fall) and got into QT at around 1:30. Took a stroll around, got rained on and had another $5 coffee break. We then got a free dinner of Thai curry which was more like a snack so then we went and got a subway sammy to fill ourselves. We managed to eat under the safety of an umbrella while I fed the ducks half my Sammy and watch giant eels and fish swim around. It was pretty sweet. It then started to down pour rain and I was thanking my lucky stars that I was wearing the winter jacket I borrowed!

To Wanaka

The weather changes as fast as my plans! We were awesomely awoken at 5:55am with a fire alarm. High five to that team member...dick head. So I laid around for a few hours until 8am and it was time to go.

I hiked the Franz Jospeh Glacier on the 22nd of March. Our group met at the glacier office at 9 to get all geared up. We got over trousers, gortex rain coat, socks, boots, cramp ons and a toque/mitts. So we all looked like a crew about to climb Everest or something.

We started out ascent on Franz Josef Glacier at 9:45am and it was a slight mist to drizzle. By the time we started actually trekking it was constant rain and blowing. Oh goodness it wasn't good weather at all. Now the glacier trek was amazing. Something I've never done before which was really cool. We strapped on our clamp ons and we were off! We walked and traversed about 600m and it took us approx 4 hours. We climbed into an ice cave which will only last about 3 weeks because this glacier is one if not the fastest moving glacier on the planet. I'm don't quite remember and don't want to give Uncle Frank the wrong info. It was a very long day and the majority of the path was our guide chopping out ice steps in the glacier to walk on. It was really a sight to see but at the end of the day I couldn't be bothered to pull out my camera and take pictures cause it was just plain ol' cold! To give you an idea how much rain we had, it rains about 7m a year here, when I got down I poured my backpack out because there was so much water inside and I rung my socks out!

I met a Canadian on the trek and we ended up having dinner with him and 8 more of us. It was so delicious and fun! We deserved a $7 beer after what we went through! We headed to the hot pools after that to soak away our aches and get ready for bed! When we got back to our room we put everything we wore into the dryer including our backpacks.

Today I am heading to Wanaka which is suppose to be a very underrated place along the way to Queenstown. I will probably spend one night here and spend 3 nights in Queenstown so I can figure out my visa situation. I don't have any pics from yesterday because I didn't take my iPod with me anywhere. But here are some pics of the drive and Wanaka. The weather is once again gorgeous and sunshiny! The drive is about 300km and follows the coast until it cuts through the southern alps and goes straight to Wanaka. We stopped off at Lake Matheson to take a hr walk and some amazing photos. Unfortunately I again forgot my iPod and only have pics on my camera. But trust me, you will be jealous when you see them. The 2 most beautiful peaks from Able Tasman and Mt Cook perfectly reflected on a mirror like kettle lake. Maybe just google search a pic of Lake Matheson and checked it out cause mate, it's sweet as.

My days have been filled so much with cartwheels down the middle of the deserted highway, swimming in kettle lakes, kayaking and doing the most unbelievable things!