"Stars", "The Perfect Day"

I am sad to inform all my loved ones back home (this means YOU!) that I will not be returning to the USA - I have fallen in love with New Zealand!  Here's why:
1) Capers / Slip'n'slide on a Rainy Day

My flat went out for a breakfast bonding session downtown at "capers" - the mother of all pancake restaurants.  On our way home, it began to rain, and then full out downpour.  We stumbled across a random blow-up Slip'n'slide on the grass, and, as any sane, normal person would, decided "hey! We're wet anyway, let's goooo!".  And then, this is what happened:

Wheeee!

 

 

 

2) Swings - a - Plenty
I am pleased to say that I have already discovered three swing sets within ten minutes of our flat, one of them looking across the beautiful Leith river.  One night just before dusk, 5 of us walked down and swung away, peeping up at the very top over the river to watch the sun slowly set.  We then hiked up into the gardens to a bird observatory on the very top, and got another lovely view of the pink-streaked sky.  Sound simple, but truly it is times such as these that make such beautiful impressions.

3)Windstorm and Stars
One dark, windy night a group of us went to throw around a glow in the dark Frisbee at the park.  Seeing there was a raging windstorm, this proved rather difficult, and instead we ended up laying in the grass watching the stars.  How strange it is to see Orion upside down!  As we realized how clear the night was, we decided to hike to the top of the nearby woods to see them better.  We made it to the top and stood on a grassy plateau overlooking the city of Dunedin at night, the harbor, and what felt like the whole galaxy, while the wind in the trees sounded strong as the ocean.  We stayed until we were Popsicles,  then warmed up back at the flat, just talking until early in the morning.  Nothing like pondering the wonders of the universe with good company! 

4)A Musical Flat Complex
I am so blessed to have a great flat complex!  Not only are they fun people to live with, but there is a cool jam band in the making - two ukuleles, one violin, and two guitars! (Look for us in concert in T-minus a year or so!) This discovery warranted a whole afternoon of Ingrid Michaelson and Jason Mraz covers.  The afternoon progressed into a house cooking night, and then a night out on the town for dancing!

5) The Perfect Day
My favorite day yet in NZ! My flatmates, neighbors and I set out to see the Otago Peninsula.  We drove along the coastline, stopping now and then for a clear shot of the mountains, ocean, and occasional brave wind surfer.  The drive itself was pure beauty - driving along the dirt roads, towering, unspoiled mountains on either side, and truckloads of sheep.  I'm afraid I may have sounded like a broken record: "Wooow.Wow.  So pretty! Wow! NZ rocks! Sheeeeep!"

From the window on the drive down

We stopped at the albatross center, and were lucky enough to see two of the giant birds soar across the sky while we were out there.  Sometimes, you wait hours and don't see any, so we were super excited!

Minutes before the Albatross sighting!

Afterward, we drove to Boulder Bay, home to wild penguins.  We parked the car when it started to feel like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland and we couldn't go down the road anymore.  We hiked down a tiny path, then straight into the bush, headed for the beach in hopes of seeing a penguin.

With no real path, we carefully meandered our way through the bush

One of my favorite things was to brush my hand against the wheat as I walked, and having the wind toss both my hand and the bush as I went.  It was the ideal place - I remember thinking that if heaven was on earth, it would feel as this did: perfect, with the sunlight dancing with the wind in your hair, and completely untouched.  It gave you time to think about what was really important to you; like the wind itself was listening. 

Quietly, as to not disturb or scare any wild penguins, we made our way to the beach.  Because penguins are easily frightened, we hid in a fort of branches we found on the beach, and waited...waited...waited....and guess what?  We saw a penguin! Success!

Our sneaky hiding place

Afterward, we hiked back, taking in the last of the sun and enjoying the beautiful mountains.  To make it a totally kiwi day, we stopped in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and took out fish and chips to eat on the beach.  We ran into some feathery friends while we were there:

"Mine? Mine? Mine?" - for all the "Finding Nemo" fans out there

After a classic New Zealand meal of fish and chips, we explored St. Claire's beach a bit more, then drove on home for a movie night.

St Claire Beach

Overall, there has been some great traveling going on and I'm hoping for that trend to continue! Classes have officially started, so we'll see how the adventuring balances out with school.  It's nice to be back in class, especially when the professor has a Kiwi accent!


Thanks for reading, and Cheers!
Love,
Christina