"The Great New Zealand Road Trip"

"Adventure is out there!" - UP.  I have found that the people who wrote "up" were speaking of the South Island! Here are some reasons:
1) Day 1: Traveling, Lake Te Anau, & Glow Worm Caves
Sarah, Jon, Magnus, Espen, Jerry and I set off bright and early on Tuesday for our Fall break road trip around the South Island.  We mainly drove the first day, enjoying some rad mix-CDs and beautiful scenery that flew by our windows.  We ended up at Lake Te Anau, and set up camp for the night.

The view from our camp - we were lucky enough to catch the sunset!

Later in the evening, we drove back into Te Anau (first time driving on the left side of the road whaaat) to visit the Glow Worm Caves.  Normally I wouldn't be so excited about worms, but these guys mimic the night sky and shine inside caves to attract insects.  So, pretty sinister...but also magical to see!  The tour included a boat ride to the caves across the lake, and because we took the latest tour we were blessed to not only have a crystal clear view of the night sky, but Mars, Saturn, and Venus came out to say hello.  Truly, there are no words to describe how beautiful that was; the cold wind and the whole universe shining.  When we arrived, we traveled through the caves for a while (ducking waterfalls and traveling deep down underground)  until we arrived at a little boat.  We loaded in, and off we floated into the dark caves.  As we went deeper into the caves, the glow worms began appearing like little blue stars - so close you could reach out and touch them!  It was absolutely incredible, I can see why so many insects are fooled into thinking that's the real night sky.  Then, back to camp, one last look at the moon on the lake, and to sleep!

2) Day 2: From Te Anau to Queenstown - the Adventure Capitol of the World!
We woke early, packed up, and began the road to Queenstown.  Driving in itself is an adventure; the mountains are oh so beautiful and surround you(Plus, you know, there's the occasional sheep).  After stopping only once for a real NZ meat 'n cheese pie (yum!), we rolled into Q-town!  So not to chicken out, Jerry and I booked our bungee jump tickets as soon as we got there - 10:00AM for the next morning, 134 Meters! Go big or go home, eh?  We then explored the town, and started off on the Queenstown Hill Hike.  At the top, you could see all of Queenstown:

The view from the top - we were as tall as the mountains!

3) Day 3: Bungee Madness/ Queenstown/ Wanaka Day

After a quick stop in a 'Lord of the Rings" store(and admiring a signed cast poster), Jerry and I boarded the bus to take us to the Nevis Bungee jump.  Honestly, I think the reason it's named "Nevis" is because that rhymes with "nervous".  While looking over a 134 meter drop into a river, we psyched each other up and theennn.....swan dive into nothingness!

Pre-Jump...slighty terrified

Long story short: we did it!  It was probably the most frightening, awesome, and senseless thing I have ever done, but it makes for a good story.

The lucky Superman briefs came out for the occassion

After we arrived back, we all went out for ice cream for lunch (always a good choice) and piled back in the car to set forth for Wanaka.  We arrived just before sunset, leaving us time to check in to our cabin (a perfect fit - 6 beds, little kitchen, 6 of us!) and catch the sun setting over the lake and through the mountains.

Crazy enough, we went swimming in here later that night! 

Day 4) Wanaka and Lots of Sheep
After a hearty meal of peanut butter and Oatmeal, we walked down to the sunny beach (the one pictured above) and rented Kayaks.  It was blissful paddling out on Lake Wanaka, save for when a fellow traveler initiated water wars (including paddle splashes or full on collisions).  We made it all the way out to a little island, parked our boats, and explored.  After much jumping into/ being thrown into the lake, we paddled back to shore letting the sun dry us as we went.
One quick lunch later, we drove to a hiking point nearby, and spent the next few hours conquering a huge mountain.  Although scary at times (don't look down!), it was so rewarding to summit it and see how far we'd come.  It was also fun to try and catch one of the many wandering sheep on the mountainside but alas, none of us were successful. Good timing on the way back: watching the city of Wanaka light up as the sun went down and Venus appeared on our hike down the mountain.


Day 5) Mt. Cook
On the road again!  We left our cozy cabin bright and early and set out for Mt. Cook.  On the way, we passed part of where Rohan was filmed (for all you lotr nerds out there!) as well as the plains of Isengard.  Pretty cool!  We parked by Mount Cook, set up camp, and set off for a hike while the sun was still high.

Mount Cook and a glacier lake

The day was beautiful - the perfect day for mountain climbing!  See the lake above?  About 10 minutes into the hike, we took a quick swim in it.  And by quick swim, I mean wade in, do a push up in the shallow, freezing water, yell, and waddle out.  Crazy, but rather refreshing!  We hiked for hours, coming closer and closer to the Mountain.  Finally, we reached where the glacier met the path:

However, we didn't stop there!  Our scaling of the mountain continued, consisting of scrambling over rocks and the occasional cliff face.  It became extremely steep and slippery, so we had to turn back - but not before taking in a great view of Mount Cook and the other surrounding mountains.  After racing the sunset home, we made a hot dinner together and went into the shelter to fight the oncoming cold.  This didn't work too well, so instead we piled into the van (our second home by now) and scouted out a place with hot chocolate.  A very welcoming thing indeed!
We then came back and sat looking at the galaxies and stars (seemingly so close, so beautiful!) and reminisced about how funny/perfect/awesome the trip had been.  Someone then had the idea of making up scary stories, which just turned hilariously awful.  Which, naturally, made them even better!  After more stargazing (you really could not get enough), we crawled into our tents for one last night away from home.

Day 6: Hello Dunedin/ Moeraki Boulders
After saying farewell to Mount Cook, we headed home!  It was an awesome trip, but it was time to go back to good old Dunedin.  We stopped at the Moeraki Boulders (huge, circular boulders on the beach - a big attraction for many who come to NZ), and not again until we were home.  After a pizza dinner and reuniting with all our neighbors, we fell asleep at around 9:30pm...that's how you can tell it's been a real grand adventure, if you're that tuckered out!


Now, back to business! Or, rather, University.

That road trip was Sweet As!

Love,
Christina
(Who can now - sort of - drive on the left side of the road!)