Such Great Heights

So I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to blog about the last 18 days of my life without writing a novel and overwhelming myself, let alone you, and I’ve come up with this. I will warn you, there’s a lot to write about, but I figure if it’s in installments (Dicken’s style), you won’t be stuck at your computer for hours. Because let’s be honest, my life really isn’t as enthralling as you think and you all lead very busy lives, I’m sure.

So 2 and a half weeks ago, 5 of us (Daniel, Lauren, Emma, Anja, and myself) all boarded TT coaches to ride into Brisbane. Normally, this is a mundane, even comical 2 hour ride. Not so. They had gotten a new bus and the ride into Brisbane felt like a terrifying roller coaster, what with the driver trying to get as close as he could to the wide load truck in front of us and all. But we made it there alive and boarded the plane. I ended up sitting next to this cute older couple (Erin, you would’ve loved them) and tried to sleep for the 3 hour flight to Christchurch, NZ. By the time we got there, it was about 10 PM with the time difference and we didn’t have any place to stay. Unfortunately, everything in arrivals was closed for the night (I’m telling you, these airports are small) except the arcade and a vending machine. So our dinner consisted of cookies and we camped out with all of our luggage behind the Sega Strike Fighter Machine. I was able to get a few hours of sleep, using my towel as my blanket and waking up to the sounds of Need for Speed Underground (which some kid decided he needed to play at 4:30 AM.)

The next morning (Friday) we were able to get our rental car and get on the road to Mt. Cook. The car was quickly named Ellen and she was the greatest thing we had the entire trip. We spent the better part of the day driving but we stopped every hour or so just to get out and take pictures because it was so beautiful. I had no idea what to expect when going to NZ but it is honestly THE most beautiful place I’ve ever been. So much of it reminded me of Colorado with the mountains everywhere and I constantly felt like a hobbit was going to pop out from behind a tree. (Speaking of LOTR, you would not believe how many tours are available to see where they filmed, visit the jeweler who made the ring, etc. It’s ridiculous.) So anyways, one of our main stops on the way to Mt. Cook was Lake Tekapo and the St. John Observatory where Ellen chugged up this steep hill to see the lake from above. I honestly can’t even describe to you how gorgeous it was. I’ll put up pictures, but even those won’t do it justice. Also, I knew New Zealand was known for sheep, but they are EVERYWHERE. I mean, they aren’t running across the street or anything (except once) but there are tons of penned in cows, sheep, and deer which was weird considering deer are grossly overpopulated in the US.

Once we got to the hostel, we were starving, but of course, we didn’t have any food. So after practically selling an arm and leg to buy food from the hostel, we drove 45 minutes to the next town to go to a grocery store/ATM to get some much needed supplies. Like most mountain towns, Mt. Cook had nothing except for our hostel, a nice hotel and… well, that was about it. So we chilled in the hostel that night, wanting to be well rested for our hike the next day. Unfortunately, Lauren’s alarm was still set for Australian time so we ended up waking up at 11, not 8. But we still made a day hike up to Hooker Valley (which is part of Mt. Cook) and visited this huge glacier that was at the end, which was fun, but SUPER cold and windy. Again, all through this hike, I felt like I was in Lord of the Rings, which was kind of cool/kind of made me feel dorky. After eating our lunch in this cove by the glacier, we came back, warmed up with some Speights, ate some dinner and played Monopoly (NZ style with NZ money).

Wow. I cannot believe I’m only on the third day. Hope you all enjoy reading.