Langs Beach

This weekend has been absolutely perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my last weekend in New Zealand. It's incredible to me that I am starting my week of "lasts". My last Packed to the Rafters episode (a new Aussie show addiction), my last Sunday with my host family watching tv and relaxing, my last school week, my last trip. All of these lasts are starting to happen and somehow I feel like my firsts were yesterday. How did 11 weeks go by so fast?

But enough of the depressing! This weekend my family took me to their batch (beach house) at Langs Beach. It's an hour north of Auckland and absolutely gorgeous! The water is bright blue and the waves are huge!! We were worried that the forecast said rain all weekend but waking up Saturday it was GORGEOUS so we headed to the beach! Nick's parents have this red batch with everything you could ever need, including a stunning view of the ocean and a place close enough to hear the roar of those magnificent waves hitting the beach. I don't know if I've ever been more relaxed!

Yesterday Emma and I decided to surf. Yes I said SURF! Nick took us down to give me a personal surf lesson. Tanya was nice enough to catch the humiliation on camera!! It was so nice of him to try to teach me! He joked that he would never take a first time surfer out in these conditions (the waves were literally ridiculous and the tide was in) but I gave it a go and had a blast just riding the board in like a boogie board! I felt cool just holding the surf board and wearing the wetsuit!

That night we went to The Pizza Barn a town over. It was the coolest restaurant and had so much character. We had a delicious meal reminiscing over the last 11 weeks. The highs, the lows and of course the funnies! It was the perfect way to spend the evening. We left the restaurant for the pub to watch the Blues unfortunately lose :( but the evening was still one of the best!

This morning we woke up for a long walk/run along the beach and through the town. It was perfect. Then Nick and Thomas grilled us a delicious breakfast with fried eggs, fried tomato, bacon, toast with speghetti (I'm now a true kiwi for having this! Yum!) and coffee! Then it was off to boogie board! Emma and I had a blast catching waves! It reminded me so much of being a kid again! David and I used to get awful skin burns on our stomachs and forearms from boogie boarding so much in Florida! So fun to be 23 and doing it in New Zealand with my 12 year old host sister! I felt young and loved it!

We headed back to Auckland today but not before hitting Bennett's Chocolates (for the second time) for coffee and chocolate! The perfect end to the best weekend. The rest of the day was spent reading, relaxing and then meeting some family friends for curry and conversation!

I'm absolutely in love with this family, their friends and everything they have shared with me here. I'm not ready to leave them and yet I am ready to be home in some ways. It's such a strange feeling and very much bittersweet. Wish me luck in this last week! In exactly one week I will be in the air flying home. Ahhhh!

   

The Corremandel

This weekend has been one of the most spontaneous surprise weekends yet! Cassie, Allison and I decided we weren't quite ready to quit traveling yet so we hired (rented) a rental car and set off Friday for the Coremandel! Cassie and Allison's host parents have a bach (beach house) in Whangamata and we decided it was the perfect place for a getaway! After having a few issues getting out of town (brilliant brittany asked to pick the car up from the airport instead of the city-cost us 1.5 hours in time to correct that mistake) we were finally on the road! Little did we know the drive to the Coremandel is treacherous! The amount of winds and twines and cliffs we drove through was insane! Not to mention it was raining, fogging, and pitch black out! My driving skills were tested to the max with these ungodly roads. Allison learned firsthand what true carsickness feels like and spent most of the ride with her head out the window. By the grace of god we made it safely to our lovely bach!

Stopping to get some dinner we headed back to the bach in the freezing rain to bunker down with a sappy girly movie and bottle of wine. Such a relaxing evening and exactly what I needed!

This morning we woke up and had a delicious breakfast at a local cafe. Then we were off to Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach! Cathedral Cove was never on the schedule and yet this stop was by far my favorite! Narnia was filmed at cathedral cove and the sights were breathtaking! Allison and I even climbed out on the rocks to get an up close and personal feel of the waves! The waves were crashing all around us. It felt so surreal to be in a place of such beauty. Definitely a highlight!

Next was Hot Water Beach. Here we dug a hole in the sand with 100 other tourists. Volcanic springs beneath the sand allow you to dig holes that will fill with hot water. It's like sitting in a very sandy hot tub that you have to dig yourself! Haha but really it was very cool and we really enjoyed doing it! Then we were back off for a 3 hour drive to Auckland for the Blues game! We picked up Jordan and met up with friends at the game! It was so fun and I'm starting to become a true rugby fan!

This weekend was an incredible surprise. Every moment was filled with something new and something beautiful. I am left with two weeks in the most beautiful place I've ever experienced. How do you say goodbye?

Switch of Classrooms!

I have officially switched classrooms! I am now working in a New Entrance (kindergarten) class! New Zealand is very different from the States. Children do not start school until their fifth birthday. This means that on their fifth birthday, no matter when in the year (other than summer and weekends obviously) they come to school for their very first day! This means that most schools only start the year with one or two New Entrance classrooms and then as those classes fill other New Entrance teachers start! Long story short, Tanya has offered to have me in her brand new class for the next three weeks!!!! I actually get to see a true start to a school year with the age I want to teach!!! I am so blessed! Also have I said lately Tanya is my guardian angel??

Yesterday was our first day, and along with our first day it was 12 five year olds first day too! I didn't know what to expect! Crying kids? Crying parents? Chaos? Calm? Amazingly the kids didn't cry, the moms did cry and there was a little chaos but mostly calm! I am amazed by these little ones already! After having only one day under their belts, they came in with confidence today, even telling their parents the schedule of the day and where their backpacks and home packs go! I have already fallen in love with their little personalities and every day I am overjoyed to be going back to school! It's such a welcome relief to feel so happy in a classroom again!

I have also started another milestone in my life! I have officially submitted applications to HSE and Carmel job openings! I'm even being pushy and mailing principals! I am proud of myself for stepping out of my box and tackling fears! I've learned that persistence is key so I plan to hunt these jobs down with all I have! I'm so lucky to have Jordan and Cassie to help me edit emails and as mutual moral support as we all go through this crazy process of finding and landing jobs! Prayers and thoughts of encouragement would be much appreciated!!

As excited as I am about my new class and job search, 12 little 5 year olds really wear a girl out! Time for bed for me! All of my love to everyone at home! See you all in three weeks!!! (Can you believe it?!)

2 week holiday: Christchurch

Today we made it to Christchurch...
There's not much to say about Christchurch other than that it is terribly sad and still suffering from the two earthquakes in 2011. This city is like walking through a zombie movie. The parts of the city rocked by the quakes are deserted as if life simply stopped and everything froze as it was that day. We were able to do some exploring, even looking at the cathedral that gave Christchurch its name, now partially in ruins. It was so sad to see and yet there is this undeniable pulse in this city to rebuild and make better.

After going through the parts of the city still so badly in need, we headed to a new part of town that is made entirely out of freight containers! Little shops, grocery stores and fully functioning restaurants have moved into beautifully colored containers. They continue with business while their permanent buildings are being repaired! This is one of the coolest forms of architecture I've ever seen! We even had brick-oven pizza made in a little pizza parlor inside a container! Each container had its own personality! I loved it!

The rest of the day was spent watching movies and relaxing with our friends. I am so glad we are able to end this journey with some of the most incredible people! We are so lucky!

In all honesty i am most excited for tomorrow....tomorrow brings massages for us girls! We found discounted massages and will be indulging in an hours worth of heaven. Let me tell you, my body needs it after two weeks on a bus, sleeping in bunk begs, throwing myself off bridges and water-sliding through rocks! I can't wait to just relax!

For now, though, I'm off to bed! Sweet dreams from Christchurch!

2 week holiday: Rangitata

It was not the best start to a day a girl could ask for. After a minor freak out and talk with the girls about job perspectives and our futures, I decided to forget everything about my future for the next few days so I can enjoy the end of this once in a lifetime adventure. To make the mood worse, it rained all morning and many of the activities for lake Takepo were cancelled. We all said a little prayer of thanks for such gorgeous weather at Mt. Cook yesterday and Queenstown the days before.

As we left Mt. Cook this morning to head towards Rangitata, we made a stop at lake Tekapo. As the rain continued to pour, outdoor ice skating and the hot pools were about the last things we wanted to do. Instead we sat in a mountainside cafe, ate some of the yummiest tomato soup and drank much-needed coffee by the fire. I couldn't have asked for a better thing to do on a cold and rainy day. My spirits began to brighten as I warmed up and dried off.

Next we were off to Rangitata. The rain continued but I wasn't about to let that affect my last day of our Stray Bus adventure! We stopped in a delicious little chocolate shop in Geraldine, had yet another coffee and some truffles. It's amazing the things you find to do when it rains. When we finally made it into Rangitata where Cassie and I immediately ran off to find sheep! It has been on my bucket list to touch a sheep while in New Zealand, unfortunately we did not take into consideration the fact that sheep do not have being poked on their bucket lists. As we got closer they ran away. Such a sad moment for me 🐏

The rest of the day was spent relaxing until dinner. Our bus driver made our whole bus a delicious lasagna dinner with salad, garlic bread and chocolate cake with ice cream! YUM! I think this was the best dinner yet! Then our little "old" bus group retreated to our room to play spoons, giggle and reminisce about our trip together. We all miss the rest of our crew who headed into the Deep South today without us! I'm so excited to head to Christchurch with them tomorrow though! We booked our next hostel for two days with all of them! I can't wait!

For now I'm off to bed in a triple bunk bed thinking about graduation and reminiscing on the fact that in two days I will be considered a graduate, even though I'm so far away. To all of my best friends: I'm thinking about you and this incredible journey we have had together these last four years! I'm proud of you all and wish I was there with you! Love you all!

2 week holiday: Mount Cook

Today started with a switch of buses. It was so sad to load a bus with a new driver and new people. Thank goodness some of our old friends were coming on this trip too! We took off on one of the most terrifying drives ever driven. Our new driver is not exactly great, I buckled in and held on tight through bends and winds through mountains on the way to Mount Cook.

One of the funniest things on our journey was a truck full of sheep! After seeing the sheep truck we thought it was just a truck carrying sheep, but then you could see two dog heads barking between the semis tires! There were the two cutest sheep dogs barking in the wind with their heads out to the world! So funny!!

Our first and only photo stop today was at Lake Pukaki. It is the brightest turquoise because of glacier flour coming down from the glaciers above! Absolutely stunning!

When we finally made it to Mount Cook we dropped off our things and started a hike to Hooker Glacier at the base of Mount Cook. This was a 10km hike and every moment was beautiful! I don't think I've ever been in a more beautiful place (I know that phrase is becoming redundant)! We hiked through rivers, over suspension bridges, on beaches and even saw ICEBERGS!!! It was one of the coolest experiences I've had, and definitely the most picturesque!

Tomorrow we head off to Rangitata where we will hopefully be doing some horseback riding and other fun things! As for me, it's officially 7:00pm and I am curled up in bed. Time for a little rest after such an intense few days! Love and miss you all!!!

2 week holiday: CANYONING!!!

Today was INSANE! I've decided that Queenstown is my favorite place in the world. The day started with a beautiful walk along Lake Wakatipu with a yummy chocolate croissant in one hand and flat white coffee in the other. The views were stunning! The mountains literally rise from the water all along the lake!

Then we were off for our CANYONING ADVENTURE!!! We found the little store to get briefed and sign our lives away! Then we loaded a van that drove us 15 minutes out of Queenstown to our canyon! Here we geared up in wetsuit, wet jacket, wet socks, wet shoes, life jackets, helmets and carabeaner harnesses! Then we were off to the water! We were instructed to "get acclimated" to the water! We belly and back flopped in and immediately I knew today was going to be epic! We started our short 10 minute walk up the canyon to our first zipline through the trees! We were instructed to not hit the two trees we flew through. And of course I couldn't control my body and smacked my foot into the tree. The guide who caught me lectured me to never do something like that again haha little does he know that I truly cannot control my body and may be the clumsiest person ever but he would soon find that out with our next adventures...

We got to do another zipline across a HUGE canyon! It was insane! Then we got to repel down a cliff side! I ACTUALLY REPELLED!! Our next stop was WATER! The water was by far my favorite! We floated, jumped off 15 meter cliffs, ziplined out to the middle of a canyon and dropped into the water 18 meters up with a repel down, rock climbing a cliff and even did rock water slides! Every moment was insane and I would kill to do again! We met some of the coolest people that were on our team. We saved each other from rapids, pulled each other up rocks and held each other through the waters!

One of the scariest moments of the trip happened during my second jump. As I rock climbed up to the guide at the top of the rocks who would help me jump our professional cameraman who was attached to the mountain above me fell into me! His carabeaner broke and he went hurtling into me. Thank god for my "catlike" reflexes (thanks to my dad of course) I was able to grab onto my guide and hold on for dear life! He saved me from falling 15 meters in a very ungraceful and dangerous way. Obviously in my mind I was thinking "this could only happen to me". But really the trip was fantastic and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to go!

The rest of the afternoon was spent going up the gorgeous gondola to get a birds eye view of the mountains, Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu! We even got to do this fun activity called luging! It was like little go carts that zipped around the top of the mountain! Basically it was the best day ever!!!

Now we are heading off to Mount Cook which is the largest mountain in New Zealand! It's hard to believe I only have 3 days left! Can't wait to see what ahead for the rest of the week!!!