*A Kiwi is a New Zealander, a kiwibird is NZ’s national bird, and a kiwifruit is that yummy green fruit.
*‘jandals’ = flip flops, ‘dairy’ = convenience store, ‘gutted’ = disappointed, and if you want your food to-go you order it for ‘take-away’.
*You can (legally) drive around a roundabout 9 ¾ times but then you have to get the heck out of there.
*Milkshakes don’t actually contain any ice cream; they’re literally just milk and flavoring. However, iced coffees do contain ice cream but not ice. Got it?
*New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote.
*Since New Zealand is officially a dominion of Great Britain, the Queen of England is also the Queen of New Zealand. And the Queen’s Birthday is a national holiday.
*The population of New Zealand is approximately 4 million people. The population of America is a little over 300 million.
*A debit card is called an EFTPOS card (which I have a really hard time saying).
*Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and Aucklanders are universally hated by all other New Zealanders because, among other things, ‘they don’t know what it means to be a real New Zealander’. In fact, apparently, ‘Go back to Auckland’ is one of the most insulting things you can say to a Kiwi.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
"Excuse me, can I ask you for directions?"
Today I made a quick trip to town to run a couple errands before classes started and something happened that made my day: a group of Kiwis stopped me to ask for directions. I guess this means I no longer look like a confused tourist! I don't know when it happened exactly but sometime in the two and half months since I arrived in New Zealand I went from feeling somewhat lost and confused by my first experience overseas to feeling almost at home in Wellington. I no longer feel the need to carry a map with me every time I venture to town and although I haven't seen everything the city has to offer, I feel like I can find my way around pretty well. Knowing I'll only be here for a few months has motivated me try and fit as much stuff into that time as possible and see as many places as I can. It got me thinking about life back home and how I too often put things off, thinking I'll have time to do them whenever. And knowing I'll have just one more semester in College Station before I graduate makes this feeling only that much stronger. I love New Zealand and although I'll be sad to leave, I can't wait to go back home with a fresh outlook and 'tourist' mindset - carpe diem!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
There and back again...
Last Saturday was the start of our winter break here at Vic. We decided to spend the first part of our break touring the south island. The trip was exhausting but full of beautiful sites, crazy stories, and memorable quotes.
We woke up early Saturday morning and took a shuttle to the airport for our 6:30 flight to Christchurch. We booked a rental car in advance in preparation for our road trip around the south island so once we landed we took a quick shuttle from the airport to the rental place and picked up the ‘Silver Bullet II’. Since it was still fairly early on a weekend not a lot was open. We grabbed breakfast at the first café we found.
Interesting New Zealand Fact #1: Businesses open late and close early.
This has been one of the things I’ve had to get used to. Maybe it’s because I live in a college town but I’ve generally found that most stores – the grocery store, coffee shops, gas stations, etc – are open whenever I need to go to them. Never make such an assumption in New Zealand. More on this later...After breakfast we spent the day walking around the city checking out the sites: the cathedral, downtown architecture, sidewalk market, various shops, and the Bridge of Remembrance (a WWI memorial) and enjoyed the first day of break by taking tons of pictures. Towards the end of the afternoon we decided to head to Sumner Beach to watch the sunset. We played in the sand, climbed the rocks, collected seashells/driftwood, and saw a beach wedding! I don’t think I will ever get tired of visiting New Zealand beaches. We had dinner at a little café by the beach and then headed back to Christchurch where we were staying in a backpacker’s hostel for the night.
Interesting New Zealand Fact #2: At backpacker’s hostels, everyone is your best friend. Seriously. People are not afraid to walk around topless, ask you for money, or invite you to dance on the tables.
I was a little nervous about staying in a backpacker’s hostel, mainly because I had no idea what to expect. For those of you not familiar with hostels I’ll just give you a quick rundown: you pay approximately $30 for a bunk bed (which, yes Karalyn, you have to make yourself!!) and use of common bathroom/dining/lounge/laundry areas. Basically, it’s just like summer camp.
We started out early again Sunday morning to make the six hour drive to Queenstown. Christina and I shared driving duty for the whole trip and are now experts at driving on the left side of the road. We made the most of our time in the car with ‘get to know you’ games, ‘blasts from the past’ courtesy of our ipods (Spice Girls anyone?), and the occasional Chinese fire drill and stops in small towns along the way when we needed to stretch our legs.
We got to Queenstown Sunday night, unloaded our stuff at the hostel, walked around town, took some pictures, and got dinner. Queenstown is very touristy but it’s so beautiful. We kept joking that the scenery in our pictures looked like fake backdrops because it was that picturesque. Pine trees, snow covered mountains, and blue lakes everywhere.
Monday was D-Day. Aka, the day Karalyn and I paid someone money to strap bungy cords to our feet and let us jump off a bridge.
Interesting New Zealand Fact #3: The Kawarau Bridge is the first commercial bungy jump site in the world.
It was a very surreal experience. That first second your feet leave the platform is terrifying but the feeling of flying through the air is so cool. I loved it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. And the view from the Kawarau Bridge was amazing; I think that was part of the reason I liked it so much.
We spent the rest of the day in Queenstown and later that night went to a place called Minus 5 which is a bar made entirely out of ice. The chairs, sculptures, walls, glasses. All ice. It was literally minus five degrees (Celsius) and they provide you with a big, floor-length jacket, mittens, and boots to keep you (semi) warm!
Tuesday marked the beginning of the ‘outdoorsy’ portion of our trip. We drove a few hours to Fiordland National Park where we planned to do a three hour hike to Lake Marian.
Interesting New Zealand Fact #4: Apparently there are no actual hiking paths in New Zealand, instead, just little arrows that show you which way to climb over the rocks and through the trees.
There was an avalanche in the area not too long ago which flooded the rivers and, as a result, our hike was a bit more intense than we anticipated. At times, we were literally climbing up a downhill river. I have a huge bruise on my side that is turning a nice shade of green (which, according to Christina, means it’s healing) to prove it. After an exhausting day hiking we ate dinner (at the only place to eat within a two hour radius) and spent the night at the Milford Lodge (the only place to stay within a two hour radius).
The place we were staying at offered great deals on cruises through Milford Sound (which was nominated for 7 wonders of the world) so we booked a cheap, two-hour cruise for Wednesday morning. It was a little rainy but the fog made for great scenery; it reminded me of those suspenseful scenes in movies when you can just see the islands/cliffs behind the fog. We saw tons of waterfalls, towering cliffs, a rainbow, seals, and even dolphins!
After Milford Sound we hopped back in the car for another long drive to Franz Josef where we were doing a glacier hike the next morning. Franz Josef is only about 200 miles from Milford Sound but there is only one road from Milford Sound and it goes in a big loop up to Franz Josef so it’s about an 8 hour drive. Let me just stop right here and tell you a few reasons why the roads in New Zealand are kind of crazy.
Back to the trip: The first half of the drive to Franz Josef went pretty quickly and we stopped in Queenstown on our way through to grab an early dinner at Fergburger, which has the self-proclaimed best burger in New Zealand and I’m pretty sure it was the best burger I’ve ever eaten. It makes me hungry just thinking about it. After our quick lunch Christina took over driving duty and we were back on the road to Franz Josef. The drive was going well; we had our gas stops planned out and were pretty sure we’d be able to make it to the hostel before it got too late. We pulled into a town called Haast at 7:53pm for our scheduled gas stop (our last fill-up before Franz Josef) but couldn’t seem to find the gas station. I ran into the local supermarket to ask for directions and was informed that there was a gas station in town, but it had already closed for the night and there was no way we would be able to make it to Franz Josef without filling up first so we had better plan on just staying the night in Haast. None of us were very excited about this option because we had already booked our hostel in Franz Josef and scheduled a glacier hike for 8:45 the next morning, which we would miss unless we got there tonight. About this time the rain started to pick up and we all got back in the car to talk it over. Remembering that the rental car came with roadside assistance we decided to give them a call and see if they could help us out. We all thought this was a great idea and pulled out our cell phones, only to discover that there was no cell service in Haast. Let’s recap: Running out of gas in a deserted town? Check. Dark and rainy? Check. No cell service? Check. Pushy locals who are trying to convince you to stay at their establishments? Check. It was about this time that Christina mentioned 'horror movie' and I was beginning to wonder which of us would get killed-off first. We decided to run back into the supermarket to see if they had a phone we could use. After getting disconnected multiple times we finally got through, only to be put on hold, at which point the owners of the supermarket informed us that they were closing for the night and we would have to go. Seriously?
Luckily, there was a payphone around the block and we finally got through to the roadside assistance service. They called the gas station in Haast, which refused to open up, but thankfully there was a gas station in the next town that agreed to open for small fee. We were finally back on the road and, after an exhausting day, we pulled up to the hostel around 11, showered, and went to bed.
On Thursday we did a glacier hike, which ended up lasting for about five hours. It was probably the most exhausting part of the trip but it was a great experience. I have never done anything like that before. It was a guided hike and they provided us with jackets, mittens, boots, and crampons (spikes for walking on ice). We squeezed through tight crevices (I felt like I was in an ice cube) and climbed up and down the glacier, which turned out to be much bigger than it looked from the distance. Overall it was another wonderful, tiring day in New Zealand. We grabbed lunch in town to get some energy back and then headed to Christchurch for our flight back to Wellington the next morning.
P.S. I just posted a few pictures here, there are tons more on facebook. If you don't have facebook or want me to email them to you just let me know!
We woke up early Saturday morning and took a shuttle to the airport for our 6:30 flight to Christchurch. We booked a rental car in advance in preparation for our road trip around the south island so once we landed we took a quick shuttle from the airport to the rental place and picked up the ‘Silver Bullet II’. Since it was still fairly early on a weekend not a lot was open. We grabbed breakfast at the first café we found.
Interesting New Zealand Fact #1: Businesses open late and close early.
This has been one of the things I’ve had to get used to. Maybe it’s because I live in a college town but I’ve generally found that most stores – the grocery store, coffee shops, gas stations, etc – are open whenever I need to go to them. Never make such an assumption in New Zealand. More on this later...After breakfast we spent the day walking around the city checking out the sites: the cathedral, downtown architecture, sidewalk market, various shops, and the Bridge of Remembrance (a WWI memorial) and enjoyed the first day of break by taking tons of pictures. Towards the end of the afternoon we decided to head to Sumner Beach to watch the sunset. We played in the sand, climbed the rocks, collected seashells/driftwood, and saw a beach wedding! I don’t think I will ever get tired of visiting New Zealand beaches. We had dinner at a little café by the beach and then headed back to Christchurch where we were staying in a backpacker’s hostel for the night.
Interesting New Zealand Fact #2: At backpacker’s hostels, everyone is your best friend. Seriously. People are not afraid to walk around topless, ask you for money, or invite you to dance on the tables.
I was a little nervous about staying in a backpacker’s hostel, mainly because I had no idea what to expect. For those of you not familiar with hostels I’ll just give you a quick rundown: you pay approximately $30 for a bunk bed (which, yes Karalyn, you have to make yourself!!) and use of common bathroom/dining/lounge/laundry areas. Basically, it’s just like summer camp.
We started out early again Sunday morning to make the six hour drive to Queenstown. Christina and I shared driving duty for the whole trip and are now experts at driving on the left side of the road. We made the most of our time in the car with ‘get to know you’ games, ‘blasts from the past’ courtesy of our ipods (Spice Girls anyone?), and the occasional Chinese fire drill and stops in small towns along the way when we needed to stretch our legs.
We got to Queenstown Sunday night, unloaded our stuff at the hostel, walked around town, took some pictures, and got dinner. Queenstown is very touristy but it’s so beautiful. We kept joking that the scenery in our pictures looked like fake backdrops because it was that picturesque. Pine trees, snow covered mountains, and blue lakes everywhere.
Monday was D-Day. Aka, the day Karalyn and I paid someone money to strap bungy cords to our feet and let us jump off a bridge.
Interesting New Zealand Fact #3: The Kawarau Bridge is the first commercial bungy jump site in the world.
It was a very surreal experience. That first second your feet leave the platform is terrifying but the feeling of flying through the air is so cool. I loved it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. And the view from the Kawarau Bridge was amazing; I think that was part of the reason I liked it so much.
We spent the rest of the day in Queenstown and later that night went to a place called Minus 5 which is a bar made entirely out of ice. The chairs, sculptures, walls, glasses. All ice. It was literally minus five degrees (Celsius) and they provide you with a big, floor-length jacket, mittens, and boots to keep you (semi) warm!
Tuesday marked the beginning of the ‘outdoorsy’ portion of our trip. We drove a few hours to Fiordland National Park where we planned to do a three hour hike to Lake Marian.
Interesting New Zealand Fact #4: Apparently there are no actual hiking paths in New Zealand, instead, just little arrows that show you which way to climb over the rocks and through the trees.
There was an avalanche in the area not too long ago which flooded the rivers and, as a result, our hike was a bit more intense than we anticipated. At times, we were literally climbing up a downhill river. I have a huge bruise on my side that is turning a nice shade of green (which, according to Christina, means it’s healing) to prove it. After an exhausting day hiking we ate dinner (at the only place to eat within a two hour radius) and spent the night at the Milford Lodge (the only place to stay within a two hour radius).
The place we were staying at offered great deals on cruises through Milford Sound (which was nominated for 7 wonders of the world) so we booked a cheap, two-hour cruise for Wednesday morning. It was a little rainy but the fog made for great scenery; it reminded me of those suspenseful scenes in movies when you can just see the islands/cliffs behind the fog. We saw tons of waterfalls, towering cliffs, a rainbow, seals, and even dolphins!
After Milford Sound we hopped back in the car for another long drive to Franz Josef where we were doing a glacier hike the next morning. Franz Josef is only about 200 miles from Milford Sound but there is only one road from Milford Sound and it goes in a big loop up to Franz Josef so it’s about an 8 hour drive. Let me just stop right here and tell you a few reasons why the roads in New Zealand are kind of crazy.
1. There is basically just one road (one lane each way) from one place to the next on the entire south island.
2. The one road almost never goes straight to where you want to go but winds around a mountain and/or lake.
3. Most of these roads are named highway 6 or some variation of that. These include 6a and 6b.
4. There is an insane amount of roadkill.
5. It gets dark around 5:30 and there are no lights on the side of the road.
Back to the trip: The first half of the drive to Franz Josef went pretty quickly and we stopped in Queenstown on our way through to grab an early dinner at Fergburger, which has the self-proclaimed best burger in New Zealand and I’m pretty sure it was the best burger I’ve ever eaten. It makes me hungry just thinking about it. After our quick lunch Christina took over driving duty and we were back on the road to Franz Josef. The drive was going well; we had our gas stops planned out and were pretty sure we’d be able to make it to the hostel before it got too late. We pulled into a town called Haast at 7:53pm for our scheduled gas stop (our last fill-up before Franz Josef) but couldn’t seem to find the gas station. I ran into the local supermarket to ask for directions and was informed that there was a gas station in town, but it had already closed for the night and there was no way we would be able to make it to Franz Josef without filling up first so we had better plan on just staying the night in Haast. None of us were very excited about this option because we had already booked our hostel in Franz Josef and scheduled a glacier hike for 8:45 the next morning, which we would miss unless we got there tonight. About this time the rain started to pick up and we all got back in the car to talk it over. Remembering that the rental car came with roadside assistance we decided to give them a call and see if they could help us out. We all thought this was a great idea and pulled out our cell phones, only to discover that there was no cell service in Haast. Let’s recap: Running out of gas in a deserted town? Check. Dark and rainy? Check. No cell service? Check. Pushy locals who are trying to convince you to stay at their establishments? Check. It was about this time that Christina mentioned 'horror movie' and I was beginning to wonder which of us would get killed-off first. We decided to run back into the supermarket to see if they had a phone we could use. After getting disconnected multiple times we finally got through, only to be put on hold, at which point the owners of the supermarket informed us that they were closing for the night and we would have to go. Seriously?
Luckily, there was a payphone around the block and we finally got through to the roadside assistance service. They called the gas station in Haast, which refused to open up, but thankfully there was a gas station in the next town that agreed to open for small fee. We were finally back on the road and, after an exhausting day, we pulled up to the hostel around 11, showered, and went to bed.
On Thursday we did a glacier hike, which ended up lasting for about five hours. It was probably the most exhausting part of the trip but it was a great experience. I have never done anything like that before. It was a guided hike and they provided us with jackets, mittens, boots, and crampons (spikes for walking on ice). We squeezed through tight crevices (I felt like I was in an ice cube) and climbed up and down the glacier, which turned out to be much bigger than it looked from the distance. Overall it was another wonderful, tiring day in New Zealand. We grabbed lunch in town to get some energy back and then headed to Christchurch for our flight back to Wellington the next morning.
Quotes from the trip:
“What?! I have to make my own bed?” –Karalyn
“Don’t worry. I’m an expert at driving on the left side of the road at night in terrible weather.” - Christina
P.S. I just posted a few pictures here, there are tons more on facebook. If you don't have facebook or want me to email them to you just let me know!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Maths Class at Vic
It's the start of the fifth week of classes here at 'uni' (as the Kiwis say) and the workload has really begun to pick up. I just finished one paper and have another one due next week as well as a presentation for one of my 'maths' (NOT math) classes. The structure of the classes here are similar to those back home, but there are still enough differences to constantly leave me slightly confused. One of the first things I learned when I started at 'Vic' (Victoria University) was that when someone asks 'What are you studying?' they want to know what your major is, not a detailed description of all the classes you signed up for! If they do want to know what classes you're taking they will ask, 'What papers are you taking?' Papers = Classes. Another thing that quickly became apparent - and that is true about New Zealand in general, not just university - is that the atmosphere is more laid-back than at A&M. Take the following course requirements for one of my maths papers as an example:
Seriously? Okay, so those are just the requirements to pass the class, not necessarily to get an A, but still, a reasonable attempt to a majority of the assignments? I guess I can manage that.
Another thing that I've noticed is that there are very few maths majors at Vic. During the first couple of weeks I was here I met a lot of students in the dorm and at orientation and not one of them was even taking a maths paper. No kidding. The other night my friend Christina and I went to town to study in a coffee shop and a complete stranger came over and said he noticed I was studying maths and just wanted to wish me luck!
In addition to my maths papers (Mathematical Modelling and Coding and Cryptography) I'm also taking History of New Zealand and Introduction to Political Ideals. I'm really enjoying learning about the history of New Zealand. It's such a young country compared to America. It was officially established as a colony of Great Britain with the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, became a dominion of Great Britain in 1907, and fully independent in 1947. One of the most surprising things I've learned so far is that, while in America we celebrate the day we gained our independence from Britain, in New Zealand, they celebrate Waitangi Day, which is the day they became a colony of Britain. In fact, most Kiwis don't even know the day they became an independent nation (November 25, 1947). I've only been here a short time but it seems to me that that sort of apathy is the norm. For example, swine flu was sweeping through the dorm a couple of weeks ago, which resulted in the infected individuals being quarantined, and the following sign being posted:
There were quite a few cases. In fact, it got to the point where they stopped testing people who displayed the symptoms and just quarantined them straight away. This happened to one of the girls on my floor and I tried to convince my floormates that quarantining her without even testing her for swine flu was a violation of her rights and that we shouldn't stand for that, but nobody else really seemed to care!
Winter Break is in a week and half. My friends and I have planned a trip to the south island which includes backpackers hostels, bungy jumping, glacier hiking, and Milford Sound - the 8th wonder of the world - so get excited for some more pictures and crazy stories. For now I leave you with some scenes of campus:
Here is a shot of Kelburn Parade, the street to campus. Basically all of the buildings on campus are off of this road.
The Hunter Building:
The campus has a really cool mixture of modern and traditional architecture:
The Student Union building:
The library and the quad:
-Complete reasonable attempts to a majority of the weekly assignments.
-Participate in tutorial presentation group.
-Hand in a reasonable attempt at the project.
-Achieve a mark of at least 40% in the final examination.
Seriously? Okay, so those are just the requirements to pass the class, not necessarily to get an A, but still, a reasonable attempt to a majority of the assignments? I guess I can manage that.
Another thing that I've noticed is that there are very few maths majors at Vic. During the first couple of weeks I was here I met a lot of students in the dorm and at orientation and not one of them was even taking a maths paper. No kidding. The other night my friend Christina and I went to town to study in a coffee shop and a complete stranger came over and said he noticed I was studying maths and just wanted to wish me luck!
In addition to my maths papers (Mathematical Modelling and Coding and Cryptography) I'm also taking History of New Zealand and Introduction to Political Ideals. I'm really enjoying learning about the history of New Zealand. It's such a young country compared to America. It was officially established as a colony of Great Britain with the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, became a dominion of Great Britain in 1907, and fully independent in 1947. One of the most surprising things I've learned so far is that, while in America we celebrate the day we gained our independence from Britain, in New Zealand, they celebrate Waitangi Day, which is the day they became a colony of Britain. In fact, most Kiwis don't even know the day they became an independent nation (November 25, 1947). I've only been here a short time but it seems to me that that sort of apathy is the norm. For example, swine flu was sweeping through the dorm a couple of weeks ago, which resulted in the infected individuals being quarantined, and the following sign being posted:
There were quite a few cases. In fact, it got to the point where they stopped testing people who displayed the symptoms and just quarantined them straight away. This happened to one of the girls on my floor and I tried to convince my floormates that quarantining her without even testing her for swine flu was a violation of her rights and that we shouldn't stand for that, but nobody else really seemed to care!
Winter Break is in a week and half. My friends and I have planned a trip to the south island which includes backpackers hostels, bungy jumping, glacier hiking, and Milford Sound - the 8th wonder of the world - so get excited for some more pictures and crazy stories. For now I leave you with some scenes of campus:
Here is a shot of Kelburn Parade, the street to campus. Basically all of the buildings on campus are off of this road.
The Hunter Building:
The campus has a really cool mixture of modern and traditional architecture:
The Student Union building:
The library and the quad:
Monday, August 3, 2009
The 'Glutes-of-Steel' Workout Video
Greetings everyone! Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. This past weekend I just stayed in Wellington to catch up on some schoolwork. The weather was beautiful on Sunday (it has really started to warm up here!), so Christina and I decided to venture to town and videotape our trek back up 'The Hill'. (Note: see the post one for more information about The Hill). Enjoy!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
A Weekend Trip to Martinborough
You may have noticed that I use the term 'we' a lot in my posts. I am so thankful to have found a great group of friends to travel and experience New Zealand with; let me introduce you to them.
On the left is Kevin. He goes to school at Vanderbilt, knows all the best sights to see, and brings good music for the car rides. Ellen is the one in the white jacket. She grew up in Texas but now goes to school in Washington D.C. She is the planner of the group and keeps us all organized! Then there is Christina (a fellow Aggie, whoop!). She loves children, Martha Stewart, and baby seals and is the sweetest person you'll ever meet. And last but not least is Karalyn, who's from California but goes to school in Hawaii. She's tons of fun and up for anything. We may or may not jump off a bridge together in the near future. (Don't worry Mom, it's COMPLETELY safe).
This weekend we took a trip to the Martinborough area, which is a few hours from Wellington. After looking into transportation we discovered that the cheapest and easiest way to get there was by rental car. Being the only ones over 21, it was up to Christina and I to get everyone there and back safely in 'the silver bullet', our affectionately termed station wagon. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be too difficult, except that they drive on the LEFT side of the road over here. It is suprisingly easy to rent a car; the only requirements are that you be 21 or older and hold a valid drivers license. I thought it would be difficult driving on the other side of the road but it actually wasn't bad at all; plus there were tons of helpful signs like "Live | Die" and "Merge - like a zip!" to give us a friendly reminder of the rules of the road.
We headed out Saturday morning to our first stop - Cape Palliser - to see the seals and lighthouse. We stopped on the way to check out the black sand beaches.
Then we hopped back in the silver bullet and headed to Cape Palliser; see the lighthouse in the distance?
We had to climb 250 little wooden steps to get up to the lighthouse, but the view from the top was definitely worth it!
After the lighthouse we walked out to the rock formations by the beach to eat lunch and look at seals. Visiting the cape was one of my favorites parts of the weekend. I never thought I would be eating lunch on the beach in New Zealand, surrounded by seals!
After Cape Palliser we drove a short distance to the Aorangi National Park and did a little hiking by the Putangirua Pinnacles. If I have my facts straight, part of the scene below from Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was filmed in the Pinnacles.
After an action-packed day by the beach we headed to Martinborough where we stayed the night at a backpacker's homestay called Kate's Place. It was a really quaint, three bedroom home complete with a wood fireplace. Kate stays in one room and rents out the others to backpackers. The next morning we got up early and walked around downtown Martinborough as well as visited a local vineyard and winery.
Texas Street!
We headed back to Wellington Sunday afternoon to get ready for another week of school. We're into our third week of classes now and the workload has really begun to pick up. The phrase 'living for the weekend' comes to mind...
On the left is Kevin. He goes to school at Vanderbilt, knows all the best sights to see, and brings good music for the car rides. Ellen is the one in the white jacket. She grew up in Texas but now goes to school in Washington D.C. She is the planner of the group and keeps us all organized! Then there is Christina (a fellow Aggie, whoop!). She loves children, Martha Stewart, and baby seals and is the sweetest person you'll ever meet. And last but not least is Karalyn, who's from California but goes to school in Hawaii. She's tons of fun and up for anything. We may or may not jump off a bridge together in the near future. (Don't worry Mom, it's COMPLETELY safe).
This weekend we took a trip to the Martinborough area, which is a few hours from Wellington. After looking into transportation we discovered that the cheapest and easiest way to get there was by rental car. Being the only ones over 21, it was up to Christina and I to get everyone there and back safely in 'the silver bullet', our affectionately termed station wagon. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be too difficult, except that they drive on the LEFT side of the road over here. It is suprisingly easy to rent a car; the only requirements are that you be 21 or older and hold a valid drivers license. I thought it would be difficult driving on the other side of the road but it actually wasn't bad at all; plus there were tons of helpful signs like "Live | Die" and "Merge - like a zip!" to give us a friendly reminder of the rules of the road.
We headed out Saturday morning to our first stop - Cape Palliser - to see the seals and lighthouse. We stopped on the way to check out the black sand beaches.
Then we hopped back in the silver bullet and headed to Cape Palliser; see the lighthouse in the distance?
We had to climb 250 little wooden steps to get up to the lighthouse, but the view from the top was definitely worth it!
After the lighthouse we walked out to the rock formations by the beach to eat lunch and look at seals. Visiting the cape was one of my favorites parts of the weekend. I never thought I would be eating lunch on the beach in New Zealand, surrounded by seals!
After Cape Palliser we drove a short distance to the Aorangi National Park and did a little hiking by the Putangirua Pinnacles. If I have my facts straight, part of the scene below from Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was filmed in the Pinnacles.
After an action-packed day by the beach we headed to Martinborough where we stayed the night at a backpacker's homestay called Kate's Place. It was a really quaint, three bedroom home complete with a wood fireplace. Kate stays in one room and rents out the others to backpackers. The next morning we got up early and walked around downtown Martinborough as well as visited a local vineyard and winery.
Texas Street!
We headed back to Wellington Sunday afternoon to get ready for another week of school. We're into our third week of classes now and the workload has really begun to pick up. The phrase 'living for the weekend' comes to mind...
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