My latest adventures in NZ!

Greetings again from New Zealand! It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon on Friday and I'm sitting here in my room attempting to pack for my weekend long backpacking trip. In NZ they call hiking "tramping". This will be my first real camping trip. I'm going with 8 of my good friends and we are going to a national park at the bottom of the South Island called Fiordland. It is supposed to be a really beautiful tramp! If you want to check out where I'm going click on this link... http://www.fiordland.org.nz/Explore-Fiordland/Things-to-do/Walking---Hiking/Hiking-Tracks/Routeburn-Track.asp

I'm trying to think back on all that I've done since my last post. Let's see...

Last weekend I went to Queenstown, a town in the central Otago region about 3 hours west of Dunedin. I finally got to do what I've been waiting for so long to do----bungy jump!! It was the coolest thing I've ever done! My skydiving experience in Colorado last summer comes in second place! It was such an adrenaline rush and so much fun! I jumped off a 43 meter bridge and was plunged into the river below and then jerked out of the water and spun around a few times. I was then lowered into a raft where the bungy staff detached me from my harness and bungy cord. I immediately wanted to go again becase it just did not last long enough! I'm thinking about going for the 143 meter jump next time! I also went on a shotover jet boat. I've posted a picture below. A trained driver (obviously) drove the boat at about 80 MPH and would get within inches of the canyons on the river. It really seemed like we were going to crash into the rocks. It's amazing what those drivers could do! It was a blast and so much fun! I went on a tramp up a mountain in Queenstown where I could look out over the entire city and see the lake and snow-capped mountains that were all around. Queenstown so far has been the most spectacular place I have been in NZ! I also went luging and attended a wine tasting at the Wooing Tree Vineyard. I hope to make it back to Queenstown in the winter time, as it is the best place to ski in NZ!

The other day after my lectures (classes) I went fishing with four friends at the end of the Otago Peninsula. We drove out through the country side to a remote little place and hiked down to the sea and attempted to fish in this little cove. We enjoyed the company of the sea lions that were swimming around us. There were at least 10 sea lions on the rocks/in the water by us. We didn't have any luck catching any fish, but it was still a fun afternoon exploring the land around me!

St. Patty's Day was a lot of fun here. We had a big party at the complex where I live. I have two Irish friends who live next door so it was fun celebrating St. Patty's day with some real Irish people ha! They sure were loving that day!

Two weeks ago I took my first roadtrip in NZ with four other girls. I was a little hesitant when first getting in the car with my friend Emily driving, as it was her first time driving a car on the left side of the road! She handled it very well though and I was very impressed! We only got flicked off three times by impatient New Zealand drivers, ha! We went to a little town just north of Dunedin called Oamaru. The main attraction in Oamaru is the world's smallest penguins. We went to the penguin habitat and watched the penguins come onto land at dusk and into their mating grounds. It was really neat seeing them come out of the water and travel up the bank. We stayed in a hostel that night and the next day stopped at the Moeraki Boulders. These are huge round boulders in the ocean.

The night after we arrived back from Oamaru I went to my first rugby game. The Otago Highlanders played the Canterbury Crusaders. We did what Americans would call "tailgating" before the game (of course) and then headed to the stadium. It was hard for me to follow what was going on because rugby is such a fast-moving game. We won the game which was very exciting though and then enjoyed a concert afterwards by a local NZ rock bank called Shihad.

There's so much more to tell but I'll keep it at that for now! I'm so happy here in New Zealand and am having the time of my life! I'm enjoying every minute of this wonderful experience! I feel so blessed that my parents have given me the opportunity to be here--I owe them big time. Well, I better go get my pack ready for the weekend....

Love,
Maddin

Trip to Queenstown, NZ this past weekend, March 13-15:

I bungy jumped off a 43 meter bridge, was plunged waist up into the river below, and jerked back up a time or two and twisted around until I was lowered into a raft in the river and freed from my harness by the bungy staff. Coolest thing I've ever done! Such an adrenaline rush! I'd like to do the 143 meter Nevis bungy jump next time!! You may think I'm crazy, but I totally recommend everyone trying this!

Pictures

On the train ride standing outside of the car--my friend Allison


In our caving gear at Waitomo Cave (pre-caving)


My friend August (from Texas) and me infront of the beautiful train station in Dunedin


AustraLearn friends at St. Clair beach



...more pictures to come soon!

FINALLY, my 1st post from New Zealand!!

Greetings from New Zealand!! I apologize for taking so long to write on here. I will really try to get better at updating my blog more often. I’m having an absolute amazing time here in NZ! I know my family doesn't want to hear me say this, but I could definitley see myself living here! It'd be a great place to come visit me, right? I’ve been here since Feb. 19. I am on my third day of classes. It is so weird to think that I haven’t been in school in three months since the beginning of December. Here’s an update on what I’ve been up to for the past two weeks....

I travelled on a flight from L.A. to Auckland, NZ with about 150 other students in my AustraLearn study abroad program. We arrived in Auckland after a 12 ½ hour flight across the Pacific Ocean. We were served dinner and breakfast on the plane; I only got out of my seat once to move around! The plane was huge! I slept for about 6 hours. It was kind of hard to get really comfortable. We were greeted at the airport by AustraLearn staff and boarded chartered buses. We drove 3 hours south to a town called Rotorua. We stayed at a hostel in this town for three nights while we did our program introduction. AustraLearn gave us helpful information about how to adapt to life in New Zealand and to ease our transition into our new university. While in Rotorua we went caving at Waitcomo Cave which was about two hours from Rotorua. This was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life. We wore wetsuits and swam around in the cave and floated on inner tubes down a river in the cave. We also went to a real Maori village. The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. We watched the Maori people perform a dance for us and we feasted on an authentic Maori meal. I also went luging. I got to see lots of pretty scenery around the north island. Lots of farm land and wide green open spaces with mountains in the distance--so pretty!

After 4 days I flew to the south island of NZ with the 70 other students from AustraLearn who are attending the University of Otago with me. It has been so much fun getting settled into life here in Dunedin, the town where the "uni" is located. Dunedin is definitley a college town with the activities in town centered around the students. Last week was something called "O Week", which stands for orientation week the week before classes begin. Basically, it's just one big party for a week straight. There is an annual toga parade where freshmen Otago students wear togas and get eggs thrown at them by upperclassmen. It is a tradition that has been going on at Otago for 75 years. I didn't take part in the egg throwing but I saw the aftermath of it around town and it was quite disgusting. It made worldwide news as it got more out of hand than in past years. A very interesting tradition that would never be allowed in the States, that is for sure.

I learned how to kayak the other day in the Otago Harbour. I went on a train ride the other evening with the rest of the other international students at Otago. We road through the countryside and got to see lots of pretty scenery in the mountains. I plan to go camping on the beach this weekend and go tramping (hiking) on Sunday. The beach is about a 15 min bus ride from where I live. My friends and I have been going to the beach as much as possible and soaking in the lasts few days of summertime left here in Dunedin. The beach is gorgeous and the water is really blue. I may try surfing tomorrow, we'll see how that goes! I also went to a cricket match the other day but it got rained out so I didn't get to see them play. Hopefully another time. I do plan on going to a rugby game here at Otago soon! People in NZ are obsessed with rugby like Americans are about football. Rugby seems a lot more intense than football because it is just as rough but they do not wear any pads and the game is constantly going even when a player gets tackled.

The people of NZ, referred to as Kiwis, are wonderful people. They are so friendly and I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know lots of them. I have great Kiwi neighbors and I love learning about the Kiwi way of life. It is so laid-back here in NZ and everyone is so easy-going. It's so nice being in a culture where people are not in a hurry all the time. I've also noticed that Kiwis are not so concerned with having the fanciest of clothes, cars, things, etc. as we Americans often are. For example, the majority of the cars that people drive around here are atleast 15 years old...but no one even cares. There are also very few SUVs here.

Random things about NZ:
--They drive on the left side of the road. I'm still having a hard time remembering to look right before I cross the road. They do not yield for pedestrians here so I really have to pay attention and turn my head about 5 times before I cross the road so I don't get hit. I had a close call the other day.
--I go to the grocery store, or the supermaket as they call it, and can bring my shopping cart filled with my grocercies home to my flat and the supermarket will pick it up from your flat the next day--very convenient service!
--Dinner=tea, sandals=jandals, bathing suit=tog, classes=papers, schedule=timetable, cheers=thank you
--you call your professors by their first names even if they have a doctorate
--America is a big influence on NZ and countless times references are made about America in the classroom. Just today my sociology professor was talking about 9/11
--I am 5 hours behind central time in the U.S. but one day ahead---that's an easier way to look at it than trying to count 19 hours back to figure out what time it is at home!

There's so much more that I think about on a daily basis that I think would be intersting to share but of course I can't think of all of them right now, so I'll just have to save those thoughts for another post. This one's already really long and if you've made it all the way to this point, congrats, and I thank you for reading!

Please email me! I'd love to hear from you! Hope everyone is doing well! Talk with you soon...
Love,
Maddin