Alright, so my break has been action-packed, exhausting, and amazing! I loved touring Sydney and experiencing the beauty of NZ! So, I am going to try to give a detailed re-count of my trip, but I am going to post a link at the end of the post that will take you to all of the pictures. :)
Friday, April 8- Day 1
So, Friday was a busy day! We left for the airport around 9 and flew to Sydney around noon. Upon arriving in Sydney, we had to find the hostel that we had booked for the night. Well, lets just say Rob didn't look at what area of town the hostel was located. Though it was not the best area of town (by the sounds of the night life), it was ok. We were really close to the Botanic Gardens and the Opera House. So, we just stayed inside at night which was ok with me! Ceina and I put on Finding Nemo and had an early night. By the way, Finding Nemo takes on a whole new meaning when you're actually in the city that they're talking about!
Saturday, April 9- Day 2
So, before I left school, I thought I had everything that I needed. I was pretty proud of myself for packing 4 shirts, all of my underwear, about 5 pairs of socks, and 2 pairs of jeans all in one bookbag. However, I did not realize that I had forgotten one important thing: a towel. Well, let me tell you showering without a towel to dry off with is quite amusing. :) Though I thought about just skipping a day of showering, I did not know when I would get my next shower since we would be camping in NZ. So, I decided to try my luck on air-drying. Yeah... it doesn't work when you're not in the sun. So, needless to say, I got a good laugh at myself and took a really long shower (or so everyone thinks).
Now, after my shower ordeal, we all checked out of the hostel and went to the Botanic Gardens again. I didn't really want to sit around, so I walked around the Botanic Gardens exploring and taking pictures. It was so beautiful! Now, as I was getting going in my walk, I saw a little coffee shop in the middle of the gardens. I decided I definitely could go for a cup of coffee, so I stopped by to grab some on my way through the gardens. While I was waiting for my iced mocha (YUMMY!!!- they make their iced coffee with ice cream instead of ice!), I was standing off to the side and nibbling on a cookie that I got. It was a huge cookie and I was planning on saving a lot of it for the plane ride, but a man in front of me started making fun of how big the cookie was. He told me that he didn't think I could eat the whole thing, so he just knew that I wanted to share. Well, I knew I wouldn't eat the whole thing, so it probably doesn't surprise most of you that I did offer him a part of my cookie. Well, after I offered, he told me he really didn't want any of my cookie, but he really wanted me to try his banana muffin. (Little side fact: the man is the age of my granddad) That just seemed really weird to me, but I tried to be polite and just tell him that I appreciated the offer, but really didn't want to eat his muffin. He then kept on and on and broke a piece off and put it in my hand. So, I was really confused by this and just stared at the muffin in my hand for a while until he came back. He then told me that his buddy didn't believe that I had taken part of his muffin from him (which was really the truth b/c I didn't take it, he put it in my hand.) When he looked down and saw the muffin in my hand, he said "You didn't eat it!". Now, I know he didn't do anything to the muffin. I saw the man at the counter hand it to him, so I wasn't worried about eating it. I was still so confused by what was happening. Well, I put the little bite in my mouth, and the little old man went off a happy camper bragging to his friend that a young girl took a muffin from him. Oh well... Hopefully that made his day. :)
Ok, after my odd encounter, I walked through the gardens for a while longer. I walked and walked and ended up on the other side of the gardens completely. I saw the government house and where the Queen's castle used to be before it burned.
After leaving the Botanic Gardens, we still had time to kill. So, we took a ferry to Watson Bay. Now, I am like my dad and get a little bit of motion sickness when in the car and on boats, so I had to stay up front where the wind would blow in my face. I don't know why, but it just seemed to help. So, after arriving at Watson Bay, we had just enough time to get fish and chips and then catch the next ferry so we could get to the airport in time. That was the best fish and chips I have ever had and I couldn't even eat half of it, because they gave me so much! So, we waited in the airport and were finally off to NZ around 6 PM!
Sunday, April 10- Day 3
So, since we couldn't pick up the campervan until 8 AM Sunday morning and a lot of Christchurch's hostels were not open due to the earthquake, we stayed in the airport for the night. Apparently it is a common thing, because there were about 50 other people doing the same thing throughout the airport. They also had showers in the bathrooms! Though it was an interesting experience, I definitely did not get much sleep. After a night with very little sleep, it was finally time to pick up the campervan! We got going on the road around 11 AM and drove to Queenstown stopping at Lake Tekapo on the way. That night, we spent our first night in the campervan at a campground by Lake Watapiku.
Monday, April 11- Day 4
On Monday, we spent the day hiking up a mountain in Queenstown. Now this was an interesting experience since I forgot my belt. I have a pair of jeans that I have had since jr. high maybe? Well, they have finally seen their better days. I can not keep them up b/c the waist is way too big and they are so worn out that they are starting to get holes in them. However, I wanted to wear those jeans instead of my newish ones on the hike. So, in order to keep my pants up, I borrowed Sabrina's bandana and tied two of my belt loops together so that I could pinch the material together. Yes, it was extremely fashionable! :) However, it got the job done. After hiking, we went grocery shopping for dinner and stayed at the same campground as the night before.
Tuesday, April 12- Day 5
So, we got up Tuesday morning with all intentions of bungee jumping as a group. However, the more I started thinking about it, the more the "practical" Elizabeth started to come out. Why would I spend about $200 on an 8 second thing when I could spend less than that on horseback riding through where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. No, I have never really been a Lord of the Rings fan, but I have been wanting to ride a horse for a LONG time! Plus, I have been wanting to see the Lord of the Rings and what better time to watch it than after I ride through where some of it was filmed?! So, the practical side won over the adventurous side thought I am still kind of disappointed I didn't jump! I wish money grew on trees and that I had all the time in the world!
After horseback riding, we drove part of the way to Milford Sound and stayed at a really sketchy campsite in the forest. I mean there was only one other camper and they looked really creepy. Also, the campsite was in the middle of a forest. However, we survived! :)
Wednesday, April 13- Day 6
We drove the rest of the way to Milford Sound stopping at Mirror Lakes (so pretty). Milford Sound was really beautiful, but everything to see there was going to cost a good bit of money. A lot of their hikes were closed, because they were being fixed up. So, it was a little disappointing that we couldn't hike a lot there, but it was still worth the trip! After spending a few hours in Milford Sound, we made the drive back to Queenstown. Now, a little side note about New Zealand: they don't have interstates that will just take you from town to town. There was literally one road to get you to Milford Sound and one road out. So, we had to go back to where we came from in order to go somewhere else. That meant that we spent the night in Queenstown again. However, this time we spent the night at a campground that had showers, a campfire, a kitchen, etc. So, since I had not showered since Saturday, I was feeling pretty gross! That shower felt SO nice! :) I even took another shower the next morning just because I could! HAHA
Thursday, April 14- Day 7
We woke up Thursday and grabbed a few things in Queenstown before heading to the northern part of the South Island. We stopped to see the Franz Josef glacier (unfortunately it was raining so I didn't get a good picture) and stayed at a campsite called Goldsborough. It was in a little part of a forest that used to be an old gold mining town. That was where we first met the birds that would continue to follow us everywhere else.
Friday, April 15- Day 8
We continued the drive to Abel Tasman National Park (supposedly the main attraction of NZ) and stopped at several places on the way. We made a stop at the beach, pancake rocks, a brewery (I wasn't very impressed), a cave, and a few lookouts. Most of the day was spent driving, but we finally arrived at the campsite where we were able to have a fire (finally) and stayed on the beach. I could walk about 10 feet from the campervan and be on the beach, so it was pretty amazing. Plus, all around us was Abel Tasman National Park and a tropical forest.
Saturday, April 16- Day 9
We decided to stay at the same campsite again Saturday night, so we spent the day hiking in the forest and hanging out on the beach. While hiking, we climbed up a river which was great until the river level started to get higher to where the rocks we were just standing on where no longer there. We ended up going through some of the trees so that we could get to the rocks we could stand on. I ended up with wet feet, but had a great time. After hiking, I went for a walk on the beach. Here it comes Mom, the moment you've been waiting for... :) I really missed my mom while I was walking, because that is usually our thing. When at the beach, my mom and I usually get up in the morning and go for an hour long (at least!) walk on the beach. Our walks are usually very quick paced but still fun.
So, did you know in a tropical forest it rains practically every night? Well, it rained both nights we were there. I was kind of thankful for that, because the guys wanted to leave the campfire going through the night, but I didn't really feel comfortable doing that. I mean, we were really close the fire and plus, I didn't really want to be one of the ones responsible for setting part of a national park on fire. :) However, the rain made it impossible for fire to spread anywhere and put the fire out each night!
Sunday, April 17- Day 10
We spent all day Sunday on the road to Christchurch (which we found out had another earthquake Saturday night). It was a really long drive, but we made it to Christchurch before it got dark. There are only holiday park campsites in and around Christchurch, so we ended up staying there. I was pretty thankful, because I definitely needed a shower and they did have showers there. :)
Monday, April 18- Day 11
We woke up and cleaned the campervan, because we had to turn it in that afternoon. After having lunch at Maccas (McDonalds) and cleaning out the RV, we headed back toward the Christchurch airport where we stayed all afternoon and night until our flight departed at 6:45 AM.
Tuesday, April 19- Day 12
So, Tuesday was perhaps the longest day of my life. We landed in Sydney at 8:30 AM and our bus didn't leave until 8:15 PM. So, Ceina and I had several hours to kill. We took a train into the city center and bought bread, peanut butter, jelly, water, and chips that we would be eating for the next 2 days. We then made our way to Darling Harbor and back while stopping at St. Mary's Cathedral and in a few parks. Now, St. Mary's Cathedral was the first cathedral I have ever been in. It was massive and absolutely beautiful. Everything was so gorgeous, but one thing bothered me about the cathedral. There was a gift shop inside. Now, I know that the cathedral is a pretty big tourist attraction, but it just reminded me of when Jesus went into the temple and turned over all the vender tables and everything, because it was destroying the Father's house. I wished I could have stayed for the Easter service at St. Mary's, but I do plan on finding a church to attend on Easter Sunday. Darling Harbor was so much fun. We stayed there and watched a few street performances. They were so funny and really talented! After a few hours in Darling Harbor, we took the train back to the airport and caught the Greyhound bus.
Wednesday, April 20- Day 13
If I thought Tuesday was long, Wednesday was even longer! The Greyhound dropped us off in Melbourne at 8 AM and the bus for Adelaide didn't leave until 8 PM. So, we had another day to kill. When we arrived in Melbourne, it was raining (of course). That meant we couldn't go to a park and sleep for a while as planned. So, we ended up going to an aquarium. It was cool, but not that great. After the aquarium, we went to a nearby mall food court where Ceina fell asleep. I read for a little while while she slept and then we walked around the mall for a little while. After walking around, it was my turn to sleep. You know you are sleep deprived when you are willing to get a few minutes sleep in a mall. It was the little power nap I needed though! We continued to walk around the mall, because it was raining until it was finally time to catch the next bus.
Thursday, April 21- Day 14
Our bus arrived in Adelaide at 6 AM. We didn't feel like trying to catch another bus to school, so we just split a taxi. At 6:30, I got back to school and crashed completely. I did take the time to call my parents to let them know I was back safe and sound, but it was a 2 minute conversation that went something like this:
Me: "I'm back at school, but I'm going to sleep so I will call you tomorrow. Love you."
Mom: "It's so good to hear your voice! How was it? Tell me all about it."
Me: "It was great, but I'm exhausted so I'm going to go to bed and I promise I will tell you all about it tomorrow."
Mom: "At least let your dad hear your voice before you hang up"
Me: "Hey Daddy! I love you, but I'm going to sleep."
Dad: "Isn't it about 7 AM there? Aren't you supposed to be getting up?"
Me: "Not when you've been up for 3 days straight. Love you! Talk to you tomorrow."
Yep... I was SO through! Now, I am back at school with a few days to catch up on sleep and schoolwork. However, we are not having any meals served until Wednesday. I tried to make a trip to the store to get groceries, detergent (I desperately need to wash clothes), and toothpaste (I still have some, but am going to be out soon!) today, but was unsuccessful since guess what... It's Good Friday and a public holiday. So, nothing was open. Ooppss... My days got away from me, so I didn't even realize it. So, I will be making the trip again tomorrow so that I can have food for the next few days. Alright, all of my pictures have not been added to the website yet, so I can't put the link. However, I have added them to facebook (it was a lot quicker than this website). So, if you are my friend of FB, you can see them all there. If not, be on the lookout for the links really soon!
Happy Easter weekend!
Sydney Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3521006023/a=158193405_158193405/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
New Zealand Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3521542023/a=158193405_158193405/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
