Writing comes so freely to me once the sun has set and the crickets begin to sing. It is only in these quite moments when I can truly listen to my thoughts and allow them to land on the page. These quite moments have been fleeting for me lately but I have finally grabbed a moment to complete my story of our latest adventure to New Zealand.
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| At the Moeraki Boulders |
After visiting Akaroa, Jeremiah, Julia, and I continued our travels down south. Our next stop: Dunedin. I believe this was my favorite place that we visited on our road trip south. Dunedin seems to have a young feel, with a bustling city life, a chocolate factory right in the middle of town, and the university making up a good majority of the population. We stopped to visit Julia's sister Claire who lives in Dunedin. Claire showed us some of the greatest spots in the city, including the steepest residential street in the world, Baldwin Street. It was hilarious walking up the steep hill and watching the cars climb up the road at a crazy angle. Apparently every year there is a festival held there where people race Jaffas (a small round orange chocolate candy) down the road to see who's Jaffa will get to the bottom the fastest. Claire also lead us to some amazing views at Tunnel Beach with cliffs rising out of the ocean. Tunnel beach has a fantastic staircase that takes you down through a stone cliff right out onto a secluded beach. The four of us had a lovely time playing in the waves and clambering up and down the rock faces.
After visiting tunnel beach we moved on to my favorite place of the whole trip, the Taiaroa Head Peninsula. It is a very pretty drive following the curves of the bay as it heads out to the end of the peninsula. Rounding the last curve we could immediately see what we came for. A giant bird dwarfed all the other seagulls as it soared and glided around the lighthouse and out of sight behind the cliffs. The Taiaroa Head Peninsula is world's only mainland location where you can see the Royal Albatross. The Royal Albatross spend nearly their whole lives out at sea, only landing to nest. Even during nesting season it is rare to see them taking flight around the peninsula. For us the weather conditions were just right. I loved every minute of watching these enormous birds soar around us, sometimes flying within a few meters of where we were standing. With wingspans up to 3 meters, it was a surreal once in a lifetime experience.
After Dunedin we moved on to Queenstown, a lively tourist town full of outdoor adventure. It was very crowded with international travelers in a way that I haven't experienced anywhere else on the South Island. For the adventure seeker, Queenstown will not disappoint. The three of us enjoyed exploring Queenstown and riding the gondola up to overlook the lake. However our favorite part of Queenstown was definitely the bungee jump! Jeremiah and I booked with the Nevis Bungee and Julia booked the Nevis Swing. We were taken up over a canyon where we proceeded to jump and swing our way into some adrenaline rushes. Jumping head first 134 meters towards a rocky bottom was something I will not soon forget. You might ask why on earth someone would ever willingly jump off of a solid platform out into nothing. All I can say is that it was exhilarating! Bungee jumping was invented in New Zealand so it felt appropriate that we should try it here.
Our final leg of the journey brought us up the West Coast of New Zealand to the Franz Josef glacier. The hike in is beautiful. It follows the cold glacial river up a valley where waterfalls pour out of the cliff sides into the river. The glacier itself is quite beautiful but it melts a lot each year. Because of this people are not allowed close to the glacier to protect you from any falling ice. It is possible to take a helicopter ride over the glacier to see it more fully, but we enjoyed our walk and the distant view. On the ride home we stopped in Hokitika, the Pounamu capital of New Zealand. Here Julia was able to pick out a special jade necklace for her partner Tyler. The Pounamu was blessed by a Maori priest and Julia cleansed it in the creek. It was a special gift from her to him and I was excited to be there when she gave it to him.
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| Franz Josef Glacier |
I love New Zealand and could write about it forever. It is my home away from home. Until next time, I am Sending my LOVE to YOU!
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| Sister Pic with Claire and Julia |
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| Royal Albatross |
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| Seals playing in the water at Otago Peninsula |
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| Riding the Gondola Up |
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| Franz Josef |
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| Road Trip Buddies! |
After visiting Akaroa, Jeremiah, Julia, and I continued our travels down south. Our next stop: Dunedin. I believe this was my favorite place that we visited on our road trip south. Dunedin seems to have a young feel, with a bustling city life, a chocolate factory right in the middle of town, and the university making up a good majority of the population. We stopped to visit Julia's sister Claire who lives in Dunedin. Claire showed us some of the greatest spots in the city, including the steepest residential street in the world, Baldwin Street. It was hilarious walking up the steep hill and watching the cars climb up the road at a crazy angle. Apparently every year there is a festival held there where people race Jaffas (a small round orange chocolate candy) down the road to see who's Jaffa will get to the bottom the fastest. Claire also lead us to some amazing views at Tunnel Beach with cliffs rising out of the ocean. Tunnel beach has a fantastic staircase that takes you down through a stone cliff right out onto a secluded beach. The four of us had a lovely time playing in the waves and clambering up and down the rock faces.
After Dunedin we moved on to Queenstown, a lively tourist town full of outdoor adventure. It was very crowded with international travelers in a way that I haven't experienced anywhere else on the South Island. For the adventure seeker, Queenstown will not disappoint. The three of us enjoyed exploring Queenstown and riding the gondola up to overlook the lake. However our favorite part of Queenstown was definitely the bungee jump! Jeremiah and I booked with the Nevis Bungee and Julia booked the Nevis Swing. We were taken up over a canyon where we proceeded to jump and swing our way into some adrenaline rushes. Jumping head first 134 meters towards a rocky bottom was something I will not soon forget. You might ask why on earth someone would ever willingly jump off of a solid platform out into nothing. All I can say is that it was exhilarating! Bungee jumping was invented in New Zealand so it felt appropriate that we should try it here.
