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