New Zealand

A 19-day adventure by Diana Read more

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Trip start
September 16, 2015
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DIA
September 16, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Starting off our vacation the right way!
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LAX
September 16, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
We found meeshee!
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Sydney Airport
September 18, 2015 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Got in at 6:30 AM Australia time and Dom's passport wouldn't scan. Michelle was picked for a random bag inspection. But we made it out!
We'll hang out in Sydney today and head to Auckland tomorrow!
Also, the train out is a double decker!Read more
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Sydney Harbor Youth Hostel
September 18, 2015 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Dropped our stuff at the hostel, cleaned up a bit (costume change) and time to recoup!
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Opera Kitchen
September 18, 2015 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Harbor - side drinks and snacks. Life is good!
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Pancakes on the Rocks
September 19, 2015 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Breakfast!!
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Auckland
September 20, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Crashed at Nomads Hostel then caught up with Jens and walked around the Auckland piers. It's chilly here but we haven't been caught in the rain yet! Noon bus to Rotorua!
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Rocky Mountain showdown victory!
September 20, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
Fight cu down the field cu must win fight fight for victory cu knows no defeat! We'll roll up a mighty score never give in shoulder to shoulder we will fight fight fight fight win!
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Fat Dog
September 20, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
Such a great first dinner in Rotorua! The people are super nice and their food and drinks are spectacular!
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Mt Ngongotaha
September 21, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
Went on a short hike and saw the only surviving Rata tree (stupid possums). Picnic lunch and great views of Rotorua!
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Mitai (Maori) Culture Experience
September 22, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
Went to hear the story of the Mitai Maori people. The host, John, was an amazing orator and was able to say "chocolate cake" in all of the 16 languages represented by the guests. :)
They put on a traditional song and dance show. The war dance was the best with lots of shouting and sticking out their tongues.
Afterwards, we ate a Hangi meal (complete with stuffing for the Brits) of chicken, lamb and lots of potatoes!Read more
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Waitomo Glow worm Caves
September 22, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Going tubing thru a cave of glow worms! Hurray for wet suits!
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Hobbiton
September 22, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
Where the (outdoor scenes of) Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies were filmed. Short folks!
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White Island
September 24, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Active volcano! Complete with boiling mud pools, steam, and lots of sulfur!
Random: we ran into my high school Geometry/Calculus teacher on the boat! One of my favorite teachers, I was shocked he remembered me ("You would get 96% on a test and be devastated. You always had to do everything perfectly." - nothing has changed!). Wonderfully serendipitous, it was great to catch up!Read more
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Huka Falls
September 26, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Supposedly New Zealand's most-visited waterfall and it is quite spectacular! The water is crystal blue and rages through the chasm.
We walked about an hour and a half from our hostel to reach the falls, following the river on a lovely hiking trail. There were huge trees throughout the forest and they grew in very strange ways. Some had branches that seemed to start off normally enough, but somewhere down the road they got lazy and drooped back down to the forest floor.
A picnic on our way back from the falls made a great end to the trek.Read more
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Gypsy Fair?
September 26, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
Yep, right in the middle of Taupo. A traveling gypsy fair. Complete with: donkeys, face painting, banjo-playing folk singer, fried food, palm reading, body piercer, and playground toys randomly strewn across the lawn. Katy managed to get the stilts walking, Kristen destroyed Dom in tennis-style tether ball, Kristina found a skip-it, and I almost killed myself on some see-saw balancing contraption.
So. Incredibly. Random.Read more
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Hole in One Challenge
September 26, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
Think you're a great golfer? Try hitting a golf ball off a gusty pier toward a floating platform. They average a hole in one once every two weeks!
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Wellington
September 27, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
Ate "breakfast" at Fidel's Cafe on Cuba street then hit up the Te Papa museum - New Zealand's best and most popular (and free!). Katy took us to a cult beer bar and walked us thru some tasters, then Dom, Kristina, Aaron and I went to a sushi restaurant complete with sushi train! It looked super sketchy but ended up being delicious!Read more
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Welcome to Queenstown!
September 28, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
Just the view off the plane was incredible! Though the airport crew was not pleased with my picture-taking skills...
Showed up at our hostel and - surprise! Fire trucks, alarms, and sexy firemen.
A gorgeous evening for bungee jumping; Kris, Kristen, Jens, Katy, Kristina and Aaron all took the plunge! Kristina's was the best to watch - the operators basket-tossed her into the air!Read more
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Milford Sound
September 29, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Took a cruise through Milford Sound. Carved out by a glacier, the U-shaped valley has mountain walls that plunge straight into the frigid water. We lucked out with fantastic, sunny weather, but on a rainy day the rocky walls turn into hundreds of waterfalls. That sight must be spectacular!
The bus ride from Queenstown to the sounds took around six hours roundtrip, but never fear - the most ridiculous bus driver ever is here!
Bus driver Carlyn (sp?) spent the first hour and a half telling us the intimate details of his life story. From before his birth, when his unwed mother was "sent away" for being pregnant, to when he was 21 and met his parents for the first time, and on and on and on... He was once recorded saying "um" 96 times in half an hour, managed to leave two passengers behind at a photo-op stop, drove the coach bus into a tiny dirt forest road (not part of our itinerary), coordinated a musical quiz game using songs on his ipod whilst simultaneously driving the coach along narrow, windy, cliff-sheer mountain roads ("um, let me um, drive the bus here so I um don't drive it off the road"), and took more than one stab at the Indian family on the coach ("um I'm gonna um put in a movie for you if I can um figure out the bloody DVD player. It's um called um the Fastest Indian and um it's not about um a boy from Mumbai..."). Needless to say, it was an endlessly entertaining adventure.Read more
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Early Anniversary Dinner!
September 29, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 10 °C
JSH steak house pre 5 year anniversary dinner - so good!
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Minus 5 Ice Bar
September 29, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 10 °C
Negative 10 degrees Celsius, igloo room, rented parkas, ice sculptures, ice shotglasses ...
WINTER IS COMING.
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Dart River
September 30, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
Wet-suited up then took a jet boat up the dart river. The river is "braided" meaning it twists and turns through rocky islands. After rainfall and/or floods, the channels/braids change, reshaping the landscape. Even in summer the river is only between 10 - 14 degrees Celsius because the water melts off a glacier - hence the fleece and wetsuits. We felt like marshmellows!
The jetboat was awesome! It's like a giant jetski and when it gets going only needs 4 inches of water to operate. We got to sit up front next to the driver and were whipped around every time the boat did a 360!
After the jetboat, we hopped on inflatable kakaks. Dom, Michelle and I would have failed on the Amazing Race - we have atrocious communication/teamwork skills. Our kayak was going backwards more often than forwards. Small victory: nobody ended up in the water (except Kris)!Read more
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Fergburger!
September 30, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
New Zealand's most famous burger joint! Hour-long waits are common but the burgers are worth it! Dom and I had dinner at Devil Burger (delicious and no wait) so we went next door to Mrs Ferg for some fantastic gelato - hokeypokey flavor (a candy in NZ, it's almost like caramel honeycomb) was a winner!Read more
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Goodbye Queenstown!
October 1, 2015 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Possibly our favorite city so far! This place is beautiful and has more to do and see than could be accomplished in a year's time.
Nine-hour bus to Christchurch, here we go!
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