So the first week of
my family’s vacation was spent in Australia (see previous post), the second
week was all about New Zealand, one of my favorite (and most beautiful) places
in the world!
Day 8: We drove
to Kaikoura, and checked into the Dolphin Lodge Hostel at 4:30pm. We thought it
would be a good idea to go on a hike, because you know, when in New Zealand…you
should totally do outdoorsy stuff like that! We bundled up (fortunately),
because it ended up being an 11.15km loop that took us in total about four
hours! Dad wasn’t too happy about that…ha. Halfway through the hike we got to
see seals, which were really neat until they started getting aggressive and
started barking at us! But it was, literally, every turn we took was a
photographic, breathtaking view. 
After the
hike Dad went back to the room, because his back was hurting, while the rest of
us went to eat at a place called The Sonic. I had stuffed squid, which was a
bit of a stretch for me, but turned out to be so good! Mom and I ended up going
back to the room after dinner, because we had an early morning and I was
driving the next day. Caitlin, Lindsay, and Andrew headed off to some place
called The Groper, and didn’t get back ‘til two or three in the morning…another
good night of fun for them!
Day 9: We tried
getting an early start on our drive to Punakaiki, but when we stopped for
coffee Andrew confused “ the big brekky” (brekky being short for breakfast here
in Australia and New Zealand) for a breakfast sandwich. This mistake delayed us
just a bit considering the MASSIVE plate of eggs, bacon, ham, hashbrowns,
tomatoes, and toast couldn’t be taken to-go.
When we
finally arrived in Punakaiki we first stopped to look at the Pancake Rock
Blowholes, which were a series of rocks that looked like a stack of pancakes,
and blowholes that you could only see at the right time of the day when the
tide was coming in high. We made our way to our hostel, checked in, and then
asked about the best place to eat dinner. Punakaiki is small, so there were only
two options…Punakaiki Tavern or The Beach Hut. We asked which had better food
and view of the water, and were told The Beach Hut had nice patio seating, so
we set off to find it.
We actually thought we were lost
when we pulled into this place to turn around; The Beach Hut was ACTUALLY an
itty bitty hut…like the size of a sno-cone stand. And there was no view, unless
you walked about a hundred yards past some brush. And patio seating? No, it was
four picnic tables with umbrellas. Not what we were expecting at all. We
decided to stay and eat there anyways, because we talked to some locals who
said this was THE BEST fish, and they were right, it was!
After we ate we went on a little
hike to Razorback Point; we hiked into an open cave and then spent some time
trying to take artsy pictures on the beach with the sunset behind us. What we
didn’t realize while we were trying to get this perfect pictures was the tide
was starting to come up…Andrew was taking photos of Lindsay doing cartwheels,
and Caitlin was taking photos of me doing handstands. We had set all our stuff
on the sand (phones, fanny packs, camera lens, gopro, jackets, etc) and all of
a sudden we hear Caitlin start making noises and we realize that the water is
chasing us and headed towards our stuff! Lindsay and I sprint from our poses
towards our stuff, while Andrew and Caitlin scramble to grab everything too.
Everything was rescued but a lot of it got soaked; my phone was completely
submerged in water for about one second before I could grab it, but it somehow
recovered and survived with no problems :) I only wish that that scene could’ve
been recorded on video…our faces, us sprinting and diving to save our stuff,
would have been priceless to see!
We got back to the hostel just in
time to watch the sunset on the beach, and then us kids headed to the only
other place in town, Punakaiki Tavern, for drinks and a few games of darts.
Lindsay and I (“team not so awesome,”
creatively named by Andrew) whipped Caitlin and Andrew’s “team awesome” duo.
Then they beat us the next game…ha. We closed the bar down, then headed back to
the hostel for a quick game of Scrabble before bed. I lost. 
Day 10: Today we
got up early, and drove to Charleston for our first adventure activity in New
Zealand…underworld rafting! This was basically caving and tubing combined; we
did a lot of walking and exploring in an underground cave and then at the end
we hopped in our tubes and rafted down the river back to our starting point. We
saw lots of neat cave formations (which all have scientific names that I can’t
remember) and even a five-foot eel! One of their big selling points was that
you got to see glowworms. I was actually pretty disappointed because I was
expecting to see thousands and thousands of little shiny glowworms during this
hike and over halfway through we had only seen a handful of them at one
stopping point. But then, just when I thought we weren’t going to see anymore,
and that their advertisement was a bust, we hopped in our tubes and as we
turned the first corner MILLIONS of glowworms appeared! It literally felt like
we were outside stargazing, it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen.
After our underworld adventure it was time to get back in the car and head to our next destination, Greymoth (for lunch). My dad was driving at this point, too fast I might add, considering he was having one of his episodes but was too stubborn to pull over and let me drive. The roads were full of twists and turns, just like you were driving in the mountains of Colorado. I got car sick and threw up about thirty minutes into the trip; lemme tell ya, salt and pepper cashews don’t taste as good on the way up as they do on the way down…(TMI? ha). We finally got to our lunch spot at Montieth’s Brewing Company and sat down for beers and tapas. We had entirely too much food on our table, but of course we ate it all!
After we
ate we decided it was best for me to drive the last five hours to Fox Glacier.
This was the longest stretch of driving in our trip, and it didn’t help that
our GPS kept taking us off road, or at least not the fastest routes. We didn’t
arrive to our hostel until after midnight AND I killed my first animal while
driving that night too…I thought it was a fox, because it looked like this
cute. little, red-furred animal…turns out it was a opossum, and their quite the
nuisance, so I actually did a public service…doesn’t make it any less
traumatizing! Poor thing.
Day 11: Today was
the day we were going to hike a glacier! We got up early and headed to our
check in point at Fox Glacier Tours. Upon arrival we got all our gear,
consisting of mittens and a jacket. Wait what?! We’re about to hike a glacier
and that’s all we get?! My family showed up in tights, a long sleeve shirt, and
our Patagonia nano-puff jackets. Why is everyone else in full on ski gear!? I
thought we were going to be given all that stuff? Shit. We start to get on the
bus with our coffees and our guide says “Y’all look like the most prepared ones
here.” Sweet, thanks for the sarcasm. All I can think is, I am going to freeze.
And y’all just don’t understand, I HATE COLD WEATHER. 
When we get
to the site where the helicopter takes off we are given our boots and wool
socks. My family and Andrew were in the fourth group to fly up to Fox Glacier.
Finally it was our turn. We boarded the helicopter (which was sweet, I might
add) and hopped off about midway to the top of the glacier. As soon as we got
off I was freezing! After we all got out, our guide fitted us with metal spikes
for our boots, so that we wouldn’t slip on the ice when walking, and ski poles
to help if needed, as well…then we were off! I think in total we climbed up,
down, and around the glacier for about three hours. We had lots of fun :)
After
hiking Fox Glacier it was time to get on the road again, this time to Wanaka,
one of my favorite places in New Zealand. It was still early when we arrived to
our hostel, so as us kids were unpacking and getting settled and changed in our
room, Mom and Dad went for a walk along the lake and said they’d meet us in
town for dinner soon. This is how “dinner” went…margaritas and chips/queso/pico
at Amigos, then beers at Lake Bar (which had a perfect view of the lake, obvi),
then finally a DELICIOUS dinner at one of the best pubs in town, Lai Whaka Pai.
Dad turned in around 11pm, Mom and I stayed out ‘til about 12:30am, and then
Caitlin, Andrew, and Lindsay bar hopped until about 3am or so (I think that
when I heard them “sneak” in to the room).
Day 12: We woke
up and drove to a coffee shop called Urban Grind for breakfast. Mom and Dad had
woken up earlier and headed into town, but knew to meet us at Urban Grind
around 9:30am so we could figure out the plans for the day. After we all ate
and got our caffeine fix, we did a little shopping around Wanaka, then drove to
Arrow Town for even more! Arrow Town was this local iconic town just thirty
minutes outside of Wanaka, and towards Queenstown, which was our final
destination. I found the cutest bag and suede cape/kimono at a store called 2
Gypsies. I spent too much money but, you know, oh well. It happens.
After
leaving Arrow Town we drove to Queenstown, checked into our hostel and then
started exploring the town. First stop, dinner at the famous Fergburgers! These
burgers are to die for. They are so good, and so big that it should be a crime
for one person to eat an entire one! After we ate we inquired about the “big
swing” (which was completely booked) and a jet boat tour. After booking our jet
boat tour the salesman told us we HAD TO go to the Queenstown haunted house and
the ice bar…so we got some discount coupons and set off to find them.
We were a
little sketchy about the haunted house, not knowing if it would REALLY be
scary. But, as we were walking by on our way to the ice bar, Caitlin went in to
ask what time they closed and came back out saying that a teenage girl was in
tears because she was so scared…we were sold. And we decided to do it before
the ice bar just to be sure we got to it. Andrew was the leader of the pack
(getting the worst of it all by far), then Caitlin, Lindsay, me, Mom, and
finally Dad bringing up the rear. It was pitch black once you were inside, and
it was like a maze where you had to look for little red lights to follow and
find your way out. The people could not only scream to scare you, and get all
up in your face, they could actually touch you too! We had a lot of fun…and
made it out without any tears.
We ended the night with the ice bar
and another bar called Cowboy (obviously we had to go there being from Texas
and all). The ice bar was cool, er, uh, I mean, cold! Everything was made out
of ice, the bar, the seats, the tables, the walls, even the glasses you drank
out of! We lasted about forty-five minutes before our hands got too cold and
our fingers lost feeling. Eskimo jackets
and gloves can only do so much in below zero temperatures. From there we went
to Cowboy, where we played shuffle board. We, either Caitlin and Andrew’s team,
or mine and Lindsay’s team, ran the table ALL NIGHT; nobody could beat us! That
being said, we didn’t have much competition besides ourselves…we had to teach
every.single opponent the rules of the game and how to play. Regardless, all we
did was win. We didn’t go home until three am; that was the latest I had stayed
out and I was sooooo tired! It was worth it though.
Day 13: Our
Shotover Jet Boat Tour was set to start at 9am, with what we were told was an
8:15am check in. I had packed my stuff the night before, knowing that it was
going to be an early morning after an even later night, and I wanted to go to
Starbucks to get everyone coffee. I left my things packed nicely by the door
and told Andrew to put my stuff in the car then come pick me up from Starbucks
so we could get on our way, all bright-eyed and bushytailed. I thought I was
doing everyone a favor, and being super nice, by offering to get up (extra
early) and go get coffee…my dad thought otherwise. My dad was convinced we were
going to be late to the jetboat tour, all because Lindsay and Caitlin were
taking too long to get ready, and I had gone to get Starbucks. Fortunately I
was off getting the coffee when he went off on everyone; it was a bit tense
when I hopped in the car with all the coffees. I was one of those times where I
knew something was wrong, but I also knew better than to ask.
Nobody
talked on the drive to the tour. Dad was huffing and puffing and speeding
around corners. And after all that, we got there right at 8am for check in,
which the woman at the front desk told us we didn’t actually have to be there
‘til 8:45am! Ha. We didn’t laugh it off…until later.
The jetboat
tour was AWESOME. I highly recommend anyone for this if you want an adrenaline
rush and the constant thought that you are going to crash because you are
high-speed turning so close to a big rock or squeezing through an itty-bitty
area with only a stream of water!
After the
jetboat tour we had brunch at a place on the water called Ivy and Lola’s then
it was time to head to the airport and fly back to Sydney. Once back in Sydney
we checked into our YHA hostel then headed out to find a place to eat. Some locals
said Malaya was the place to go; they were right. Although expensive, it was
very tasty…a nice “last supper” with everyone.
I was in a
weird mood that night…I had mixed emotions….on the one hand, being in close
proximities for the past thirteen days (in the same car, or the same
room…hardly ever leaving each others sights) had me annoyed and needing my “me
time,” alone. On the other hand, I was
overcome with this sadness knowing that in a few short hours my family would be
flying back to America, eight thousand miles away, and that more than likely I
would be saying yes to my company’s proposal of a second sponsorship (meaning I
wouldn’t be moving back to the states in just two short months as planned).
Day 14: Lindsay
and Andrew’s flight left early this morning, so they woke up and caught a cab
to the airport straight away. After saying our goodbyes, myy parents, Caitlin,
and I basically did everything I had already done the first day with Lindsay
and Andrew; we saw the opera house, harbour bridge, botanical gardens, hyde
park, and all that good stuff.
Overall it was a good
two weeks, and as soon as they all got on the plane, I missed them.
XO - Cristin
