Queenstown!!

Well hello. So I'm still terrible at posting on here but I have a slight break in the assignments that I need to complete so I'm gonna skip about 8 weeks from where I left off and jump to our lecture recess. I keep getting confused in my mind it's spring break even though it's actually fall here. So I guess it's really fall break...that's not really important though. Anyway I went to Queenstown, New  Zealand! It was awesome and incredibly beautiful.

Day 1
My flight was at 5 AM. I was lucky to find that a couple of other girls that had the same flight as me and they had found a wonderfully nice person to drive them to the airport at 3 in the morning. So I had a wonderful human being drive me to the airport at a time that nobody is supposed to be awake at. We got to the airport and they got their tickets to Brisbane and I went to use the kiosk thing that they had used to get my tickets to Brisbane and then Queenstown but because I had an international break it didn't work. I had to go to the counter, but there wasn't anybody at the counter yet so I asked the security people when they'd open and it wasn't for another 30 minutes or something. So the other two girls were nice and waited with me. Once they opened I got my tickets and we went to security. There was nobody in the line so we were the only ones going through and they had nice signs saying that they wanted you to take out aerosols and umbrellas, but no lotions which was weird. Anyway we walked through and I was part of a random check which was weird. The security lady took a weird stick with a circle at the end of it stuck it in random places in my backpack that was stuffed with a bunch of stuff and then tested it or something. I don't know. All I know is that she did her thing and then said I was good to go so I left and we found our terminal which wasn't very far away. I got some breakfast before my flight and then got onto the plane.

New Zealand from the plane

The plane was pretty much empty which was really cool! The flight attendants were still strict about you sitting in your seat so that the plane was balanced for take off. The two seats next to me were completely empty which was awesome. When the plane was in the air a lady took the aisle seat and slept which was fine I didn't really need all three seats but it would have been cool to try and lay on the seats and see what happens. Once we got to Brisbane I said farewell to the two other girls and then found my way to the international airport via bus. Finding it went surprisingly smoothly and I found my flight to Queenstown. My flight this time was full which was lame but whatever. I was next to this guy and his dad I think. I didn't actually talk to them but I'm pretty sure they were related somehow. He kept bumping me every once in a while which was awkward because I was trying to do my whole "look out the window and pretend to sleep so the person next to me doesn't try to talk to me" routine. It worked for the most part except for one awkward moment where he bumped me and I looked at him and we made eye contact he apologized and I just felt awkward because I wished I hadn't looked at him.

When we landed I was super excited already because I could see New Zealand from the plane and it looked awesome! Once we landed I was amazed at the scenery at the airport. I think the person I was talking to in customs could tell I was excited because I kept moving back and forth and was talking rather fast when answering her questions about what I was going to do. I was really excited. While waiting in line for customs there was this older guy that sat on the floor in front of one of the rooms that I think you declare stuff in and one of the security people said he needed to move. That was probably the main entertainment I had while waiting in the line was watching this man and the security guy have a misunderstanding and confusion happening.

Once I got through customs and everything else I got money from an ATM and found where I was supposed to wait for the bus to get into town. The only downside was that the bus cost $12!! Even if it's in New Zealand dollars that seems like a lot but I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I got to the town and immediately had a sense of loss. Don't panic. It wasn't like I was freaking out and panicking I actually kind of laughed. I just struggled to figure out which direction I was supposed to walk at first in order to get to my hostel. I actually only walked the wrong direction for a few steps and then went the correct direction and then found my hostel almost immediately. I was quite proud of myself. I checked into my room which I had made sure I had my own room. Then it was time for dinner where I found a food court and had some teriyaki chicken noodle thing which was beautiful because the stupid flights didn't give me any food (they gave food to the two guys next to me though...). Then I nice night in to get myself for the rest of the trip.

Day 2
My alarm didn't go off. Luckily I woke up before I had to check out but I had my alarm set to go off at 8 on the weekdays but today was Saturday and I didn't realize that the night before. Oh well. I knew where I had to go and I didn't have anything scheduled for that day. I found my other hostel and shoved my bag in their closet and then went for a walk around their botanic garden and the side of the lake. Then I got lunch and explored the other side of the lake. It was time for dinner and checked into my room which ended up being me and five guys for the whole time I was at that hostel. That was a little bit strange and awkward. After I checked in I went to the main shoreline and waited for the sunset. Then back to the hostel.

I like the seagulls at the bottom ;)

Day 3
I had a tour to Milford Sound which was really pretty and the weather was really nice. The bus ride there took all morning but we had a few stops at different places. One was at Mirror Lake (I think that's what it's called) and we went through a bunch of mountains that had glaciers. Our tour guide was pretty cool and knew a ton of information (which is probably why he's a good tour guide). Apparently he was a double for Boromir in a running scene where he ran in the woods for like 500 meters and got paid for it. I don't know if he was in that one or not but he also talked the people making the movie needing people that knew how to canoe for the scene where they are canoeing down the river.

Mirror Lake I believe.

Milford Sound

There's a rainbow

Once we got to the lake we took a tour on the lake. The lake was beautiful and after it rains there are a ton waterfalls on the cliffs. Unfortunately I didn't get to see that but there were still plenty of waterfalls that I got to see. One of them had a rainbow showing off of it which was really cool. They just finished filming Prometheus 2 there so now people are going to associate it with aliens and horror nonsense but I saw it before the movie came out so there. I actually might have to watch the movie just to see the lake again.

For the most part I walked alone but I met some other girls that I would talk to every once in a while and ate with. The tour didn't pay for any of our meals so I had to buy my own but at least they stopped at places for us to get food at. I don't think I mentioned this before but the tour group I thought I was going with was basically not a tour group. I guess it was more like a travel agent that just set everything up for me so I tried to meet new people everyday which can be a struggle.  Anyway that's not important. After the boat ride it was back to Queenstown. In the bus they played a New Zealand movie called Whale Rider. It was pretty interesting. We finally got back to town and I went back and went to bed.

Day 4
This day was pretty relaxed. I had the Shotover jet in the morning. So I was on a boat that went like 85 mph weaving through a canyon and doing spins at high speeds. It was only 25 minutes which is kind of lame because I would enjoy to do it for at least an hour. At least. It was still loads of fun though. I couldn't bring a camera with me unless it was a go pro strapped to your head. They insisted that when they spun you had to hold onto the bar in front of you but they really just want you to hold on the whole time. The bar is heated too! What?! So cool! and they had towels that you could wipe your hands with if they get wet. Which they did. The people sitting behind me were screaming so much it was awesome. Ah! It was so much fun. =)

Wild goat

I met a girl there that I had lunch with after the shotover jet. She missed her tour and so she was waiting for her tour to come back to the hotel they were staying at. After lunch I went up the Gondola. I went to the main spots and then decided to go on a hike that was at the top of the hill. At first I wasn't really sure how long the hike was or even where it was going but there was a path so I decided to follow it. After I was about half an hour in then there was finally a sign saying how far different destinations were which the closest one was an hour and a half away. I wish I knew that before. I didn't really want to go back yet because I still had a ton of time and not much else to do. So I just kept walking. I was going to see if I could get to the one destination that was super close but then I got distracted by goats. That's right. Goats. I found wild goats and it was really exciting.

After my hike I walked back to where the main gondola area was and waited for the sunset. It wasn't that exciting but it was still nice. Then I went back down the gondola and met up with the girl from before and waited with her for her tour group because I'm nice like that. Then I went back to the hostel.

Day 5
I had the morning off so I met up with the girl from before and we went to a couple of art galleries and then looked at some souvenir shops. I had a canyoning trip in the afternoon which was really fun. There were only three other girls that were on the trip with us. Our tour guides were pretty cool too. One of them was Japanese so he didn't speak the best English but he was still awesome. Apparently he goes between Japan and New Zealand for work with the change of the seasons which is super cool to me. So canyoning. Basically you play around in a canyon. We rappelled, cliff jumped, zip-lined, and slid down in the rocks. It was super fun! I couldn't bring a camera unless it was a go pro strapped to my head again though.

We started out riding some zip-lines through the forest and canyon. Then we rappelled down the canyon wall and into the actual canyon. We had been told that there are different kinds of jumps depending on the depth of the water. So with deep water it was a pencil jump where you keep your legs underneath you with a slight bend. In medium water you jump into the water and land with your legs in front of you like you're sitting with your legs up. With a shallow water you do a superman jump. Yep. You had to jump head first and land on your stomach. We only had one of those. We rappelled a couple of times and did quite a few jumps which was fun. I really enjoyed when we slid and floated along with the river dodging rocks on the side as you go along. I didn't have to dodge too much because of how small I am so that could be why it was one of my favorite things to do. There was one part where we zip-lined and stopped in the air above the water where we had complete control and had to do everything ourselves. Basically we just had to rappel without a wall and just kind of fall into the water. That was fine. The girl before me though got her hair caught in the rope or some mechanism and ended up ripping the ends of her hair off so that she could get down.

I almost forgot about the suits they made us wear! They were so ridiculously tight. When they were trying to figure out what size to give me they started with thinking that I'm a small and then deciding that I'm a 0?? Which is not true but it was the smallest size they had I think and it was so tight. I struggled so much trying to put that stupid thing on and then when I got it on I felt like a stiff snowman that couldn't move. Like I was in a body suit! ...well I guess I technically was. I couldn't even zip up the little shoes they gave us all the way because my calves are too wide. The reason we had the suit was for all the gear we had for zip-lining and other rope stuff and then to keep us warm because that water was cold! There was one point where my hands were numb and I didn't realize it till I saw a sandfly on my hand chased it off and my hand continued to bleed. I didn't even feel the sandfly bite me which normally you do.

Ice statue at the ice bar

After that I got dinner but I don't remember where. In the evening I was signed up for a bar crawl. The main reasons I went was because I paid for it and because there was an ice bar involved. It was super cool. It was like 23 degrees F (I don't want to spell the whole word sorry) so not terrible. They gave us a coat to wear. I was kinda sad because I thought they were going to give us an eskimo hat but they didn't! and the jacket they gave us didn't even have pockets! They gave us some cheap gloves as well that I didn't where when taking pictures with my phone. It's called an ice bar because everything is made of glass. Everything! The glasses were made of glass. What you could sit on was made of glass. There were statues made of glass. Once you were done with your drink they gave you a drink you could throw and break your ice glass against a designated area of the wall. It was pretty cool. Literally and figuratively! ...I didn't mean to do that.

The bar crawl itself was better than I thought it would be. I got there kind of early and signed in. Which, quick derailment, was a struggle. Every time I checked into something the people there were a bit lost. I would say what company I came with and some of them would be confused others wouldn't but they would always ask me if I had a voucher or not. If they didn't do that then they would end up having to call someone to confirm that I was supposed to be there and that I paid for it. So they always figured it out but there was always a moment before every activity I had that I questioned whether I was at the right spot or not. Anyway since I got there early I was sitting at a random table awkwardly on my lonesome. These two girls ended up joining me which was nice and then another guy joined us so we had a nice little foursome group happening. We met a couple of other people at the second bar and started talking politics. Of course. Sigh. The ice bar was the third bar we went to. At the last bar (number 5) it was definitely more of a party bar with a dancing area that was just a mob of people. I lost the people I went with before I even entered the mob so I decided to stay away from the mob. I mean really. I wouldn't be able to find anybody because I'm so short not to mention I would probably get lost in the mob and never find my way out. So I found the water and had three glasses of water. That's right water because I like my brain cells...I don't know. While drinking my third glass of water one of the guys with the crawl saw me and asked what I was drinking. When I told him I was drinking water he responded with "You would". I laughed because it's true but was thinking the whole time "You've known me for like two hours and talked to me for like 30 how the heck would you know that". After drinking my water I went back to the hostel and went to bed. Although falling asleep was a bit of a struggle for some reason. Maybe that happens when you drink. I don't know. I only had the weak shots that I apparently got with the crawl.

Day 6
I had to check out of my current hostel this day and go back to the first hostel I was staying at. When I was making reservations for my rooms I thought that I was booking it at the same hostel but I was wrong. Luckily they were really close together. Actually the town was pretty small so I was pretty familiar with it after a day which I was super proud of myself for. Anyway I checked out and shoved my bag in the storage shed of the other hostel. I couldn't check in yet.

After that I went to check to see if the tour that I had originally planned on doing was still going to happen or not. So this is a bit of a fun story. I signed up for this tour online and was the only person that signed up for it. I repeatedly talked to them to see if anybody else signed up for the tour which in my mind it was obviously their best tour. It was a 4x4 tour with the highest amount of 4x4 driving they had, not to mention that it had the highest amount of Lord of the Rings sights as well. Well I went in the morning again to see if even one more person had signed up for it but nobody had. Rude. They had another tour happening at the same time and it was basically the same it just went in a different direction and didn't have as much 4x4 driving but at that point I just wanted to go on a tour. That was the whole reason I wasn't leaving New Zealand today so heck yeah I was going to do a tour. Anyway I ended up going on the other tour which was still amazing. Probably one of my favorite parts because I'm such a nerd and the scenery was beautiful and I couldn't have asked for a better day.

So my tour was in the afternoon and I needed to eat before that. I met up with the girl I met previously again and we went to Fergburger which always has a massive line. We went super early expecting to wait forever in the line but when we got there the line wasn't too bad. So we got a fergburger and fries. The fries were awesome and the burger was massive but it was a good meal. I don't know if it's the best burger I've ever had but it wasn't disgusting which is what really matters. After that we went to her hotel room to charge some cameras and then went our separate ways. She had Lord of the Rings tours too but it was different which in my opinion (because I'm biased) wasn't as exciting as mine. Anyway I went to the tour!

There were four older guys that I think were a family. They said they left the girls in town to shop while they did something fun...that was weird to me. There were also two Chinese people that were with the group, and then there was me. The tour guide was awesome. He asked as we started the tour if we were Lord of the Rings fans. I kinda nodded because I enjoyed it and knew some stuff about it but also knew that there were tons of people that were a whole lot crazier than I was. So after most people nodded he told us about all the crazy fans he had that could speak the two elven languages and a lady that had surgery on her ears so she had elf ears (an American of course...). Then he asked if we were fans and everybody was pretty much like "yeah...no, apparently not". So we went to all sorts of places we went to the Lothlorien forest, where Beorn's house is, where swamp areas were filmed, Isengard, all sorts of places. It was so awesome and he showed us all the scenes of Lord of the Rings and other movies on an iPad. I saw a clip in Wolverine where they messed up because they drove on the wrong side of the road in New Zealand so there was an arrow on the road pointing the wrong direction from what it should have been for the movie. It was awesome. The car in the Wolverine had a Lord of the Rings sticker on it too which was awesome. We went through the town of Glenorchy, that's the direction we went. I don't really have very many more words for how awesome it was so I'll just post a bunch of pictures. Also beware that if you watch Lord of the Rings with me know you may get a bunch of "I was there!" or "I saw that!" while watching it. Fun facts may also be shared. :-P

:O

Lothlorien forest XD

Sorry! Ignore my stupid finger! I just still really like it!

Once I got back from the tour I quickly checked into my room again. It was actually the exact same room I was in the first night which was nice because I knew exactly where it was. After checking in I went to watch a movie because, well, I didn't have anything better to do. The girl I met was going to join me if she could but her tour lasted longer so she didn't get to join me at the movie. I saw the Jung Book which was very enjoyable. Once the movie was done I went back to my room and figured out everything I needed to know for my journey back to Australia before going to bed.

Day 7
The day to leave had finally arrived. NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I know. My flight was in the afternoon but I had to check out so after getting breakfast quickly I left at around 9. I found the bus easily and got on it and I didn't have to pay! I don't know what happened but when I started talking to the bus driver he just waved me on so I just sat down and didn't have to pay again. That was really nice considering I thought I was going to have to spend 12 dollars again so the fact that I didn't made me so happy. I got to the airport and I was super early. Like almost 3 hours early. So I ended up waiting for a really long time but it was better than being late and missing my flight and being stuck in New Zealand ...probably.

Anyway I got my first flight and it was non-eventful I sat next to these two other girls and we pretty much had the same attitude of "I'm glad you're not huge so you wont take up some of my space but you just stay there and I will sleep in my seat". Actually, I didn't sleep. I think I read something on my phone or something. Then I got to the Auckland airport and had to figure out how to get to the international airport. I got a little lost and went to far when trying to find the bus but I figured it out pretty quickly and found the bus. Once I got there and through security I tried to figure out what gate to wait at since I'm used to chilling at the gate for hours not in some random sitting place. Well all the signs and whatnot didn't tell me what gate to go to until like 20 minutes before they started seating. Which was weird. So when I got there they signs said "Relax" and I just thought "what does that mean?". Was I supposed to find a nap room. What? I don't understand. So I got food because I was hungry and hadn't had lunch yet. So I ate waiting for the sign to change where all the food places were and charged my phone because I kind of killed it on the previous flight. Then the signs said the gate will be announce in an hour and then counted down from that point on. So I kept waiting for the stupid sign to tell me where I was supposed to go. Honestly, I think that was more stressful than know what gate to go to begin with and just waiting there. So they're whole "Relax" thing didn't really work it just stressed me out. The sign finally told me where to go and I practically sprinted there.

There weren't very many people waiting so I had a pretty empty flight again. There was a girl that had the aisle seat while I was in the window seat and she pretty much took up the whole middle seat as well with all her stuff. Normally I wouldn't really care because I wasn't going to use it anyway but she was sick. So she was spreading her sick germs into the small safety zone I had and guess what. I got sick. I blame her. The flight was to somewhere in Malaysia so they had a stop in Cairns and then would continue on. They showed the new Star Wars movie on the plane so I watched that but at first it was dubbed in an Asian language which was really interesting until I changed it so it was in English again. The only problem was that my arm control thing seemed to be weird because the sound was so loud no matter how much I tried to turn the volume down so I ended up having my earbuds not in my ears but hanging off my ear and listening so I wouldn't be deaf after the flight. The gave me food on this flight too which was super nice of them! I wasn't expecting that at all.

I finally landed back in Australia and had to figure out where I had to go to find my ride. I started going the wrong direction but a parking person (I think) started yelling at me. I think I was going to an area that was for employees only but I didn't know that because there were no signs. Once I figured out that she was yelling to get my attention I went and talked to her and she directed me in the right direction to go telling me to follow lines on the floor and all sorts of stuff but I found it and got in the bus and ended up back at the lodge once again safe and sound and tired. So I went to bed.