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Some more "winter"

"winter" evening

So a fair bit has happened since the last time I posted. Two of my best friends that I have made since being here have left to go back to Gemany, Jenny and Conny. On Conny's last weekend we went to the Coramandel for one last day trip. It was absolutely amazing! We went to Cathedral Cove which was a spot that I wanted to visit as soon as I arrived in NZ. It was the perfect "winters" day. Sunny and warm enough for shorts. It was an awesome day and a great last thing to do with Conny.
I've been getting to know a lot of the other girls here which makes it sad to know I will be leaving them shortly. I haven't been going out that much and I decided to take a one month break from alcohol and eating out in order to save up for my vacation, it was great and my wallet appreciated it :)

Conny and I, Cathedral Cove

I went up to Auckland with Jessica, Rebecca, Carina and Minnie came with us, we took her to the airport as she went back to England. We had an awesome weekend, that included a night out, the zoo and sky tower. it was really nice to not be in Hamilton for a while even if it was just for one night.

Rebecca, Minnie, Carina and I Mt, Eden, Auckland

I went to a music festival that was just kiwi and Australian music. It was 7 hours long with 9 acts it was really good. I really liked avalanche city and kids of 88. I was a little bit disappointed because Thirsty Merc couldnt play because of illness and they were definitely one of the main reasons that I wanted to go in the first place. All in all it was a great night and I had a lot of fun!

Edgestravaganza:, Feli, Alina, Sabrina, Anne, Carina, Kelcee, Myself, Rebecca, Ellie

Avalanche City(Kiwiband)- Ends In the Ocean
Avalanche City-Snow
Kidsof88(kiwiband)-downtown

 SOME MORE PHOTOS:

Cathedral Cove

Cathedral Cove

SringRay Bay

Cathedral Cove

Mount Eden, Auckland

Auckland

The crater on Mount Eden

View, Mount Eden

Jessica, Rebecca, Carina Sky tower

Winter in New Zealand

Beautiful view from the driveway :)

I definitely haven't been keeping in touch via blog as much as I would like. I would say that I've been busy but that would be a lie it's more so that I have been lazy. I guess mentally I have been busy though. Preparing for University more and more which is harder to think about than I would have imagined it to be. In a lot of ways I'm really looking forward to going to school, to go back to having a "normal" life. Putting myself on track, for the first time in my life I have a "five year plan", If often changes daily but at least I have one. In other ways it is scary to know that after two years I am going back to a classroom, instead of hopping on a train to explore another city I will be hopping on a bus to make it on time to class.

After hiking for 3 hours this is the view we got :(

It is weird to think but a lot of my friends have already graduated from their courses and are starting "real" jobs. Sometimes I wish that was where I was in life but in those moments I quickly remember the amazing two years that I have had while they have been sitting in class.
Not much is new here. I'm on a tight budget, trying to save up to pay the insurance bill for the car accident I was involved in in March. Its a hassle but stuff like that happens. Two weekends ago I did I hike in Pirongia Forest Park, unfortunately we didn't get to do the two day hike because of bad Winter weather but we did do a 5 hour hike in the rain to reach one of the lookouts which was fogged out so there was no view but at least we can say we did it.
Last weekend was also really sad four of my au pair friends left to go back to their home countries including Paige the other Canadian who I became really close with. Its sad to see those girls go but I have become quite used to saying goodbye to friends, that's what happens when you travel. It's weird to think but my best friends at the moment are scattered across 6 countries and 4 continents.

The first time Nicholas wanted to Smile for a picture

Things with my host family are different I would say that now I am more close with the kids and less with the parents which is opposite of what I felt for my first few months here. In the beginning I really struggled with bonding with the kids, especially Nicholas. Now I feel like Nicholas is one of the relationships I will cherish the most because its the one that we constantly have to work at. We often have arguments every day but there is always a good laugh in there somewhere and the good moments are finally starting to out number the bad. I get along really well with Caitlin I always have, she amazes me with her words, when she expresses herself and how she feels about something she uses a vocabulary and a grace that most adults are incapable of which makes my job very easy!

"winter day" in the backyard

I only have 55 days left in New Zealand which blows me away! Sometimes I feel like I just got here! I have once again made some amazing friends, fallen in love with scenery, with a culture and with a couple of crazy kiwi kids. But this time I feel ready to go home. When I had 55 days left in Germany I decided I wasn't ready to go home and that I was going to come here to New Zealand. That is not the case this time around and I am definitely ready! I'm excited to come home to see friends and family, to celebrate a wedding, my birthday, my parents 25th. Meet a few new family members and go to the lake.
A while ago a friend told me my travel style was different than most because I live in the places instead of just visit. She pointed out that it was probably hard because eventually I will be homesick for many homes. I guess that is true because there are many things that I miss.
In Saskatoon I obviously miss, my family and friends, my pets, the lake, being comfortable enough to be in my pj's all day long! my mom leaving me notes in the morning, bumping into people I know, and perogies!
In Germany I miss, the kids!!! The food, the active lifestyle, easy access to other places, and the pedestrian areas.
In New Zealand I will definitely miss the kids, the scenery, Sparky my favorite kiwi cat, having an attached bathroom!! and the fresh fruit and vegetables in my backyard.

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I also went to a Rugby Game to watch the Waikato Chiefs, unfortunately they lost

Having said that I do not miss Canada's extreme weather, the amount of smokers in Germany and I will not miss driving on the left hand side of the rode in NZ.
Some More Kiwi Slag :) (sometimes I feel like I'm learning a new language).
gumboots- rain boots
heaps- a lot
ice block- Popsicle
jandals- flip flops
jersey- sweater
fizzy drink- pop
l&p- a type of fizzy drink from NZ, meaning Lemon and Paeroa(a town in NZ) I like to think it's Laura Pulles
lemonade-Sprite
lollies-candy
nappy-diaper
petrol-gasoline
rubber- eraser
rubbish- trash

Till next time :)

Catching up.

It's been ages since I've written a blog entry, partially because the last time I was actually in the mood to write an entry blogspot had crashed so I couldn't do it. Life has been good out here on the other side of the world. I have officially been here for 4 months and I have 2.5 months left.
SO in the last little while I havent been up to much. Sam came to Hamilton for 5 days to visit which was great. We went to the hobbiton which is one of the film sets of the Lord of the Rings. Saw the Party tree, the mill, the tavern, middle earth you know? I didn't I have never seen any of the movies or read the books, and as interesting and as beautiful as it was I probably never will. Although I did watch 20 mins of the first one immediatly after to see the part that was filmed at the hobition.

This weekend I went down to Auckland to say goodbye to Sam she left to go back to the States, I'll see her in August for a week before coming home.
I dont have anything specifically planned for the next few weeks, its slightly depressing because the people that I have become the closest to here all go home in the next few weeks. Next weekend is the Queens weekend and so I have Monday off. We are planning on hiking Mount Pirongia which is the mountain that I see everytime I drive out of the driveway. Its a two day hike and you can see the East and West Coast from the top. It really depends on what the other girls are wanting to do and what we have time to do, and if the hut is available. So I'm not sure if we'll be going all the way to the top or just the 1st or 2nd view points.

Queenstown!!!!!!!!!!

Queenstown!

After driving back down to Auckland with the boys from Russell I met up with Paige and we went directly to our hostel to sleep and wake up early to catch our flight to Queenstown.
Queenstown was absolutely amazing! It was a very relaxed week we didnt make too many serious plans.  On Monday when we arrived we got situated with the town, booked our events for Tuesday, and then found the house we were couch surfing at. Out couchsurfing hosts were amazing! Jody and Mike graciously let us stay in their caravan for 4 nights. They were extremely nice and we had many great chats with them. For the rest of monday we just walked around, bought groceries, watched a few street preformers, we walked around the kiwi gardens, took in the amazing scenery and watched people playing disc golf. We went to bed very early that night to prepare for our early morning.

YAY!!!!!

The next worning we work up to go to Nzone and go......SKYDIVING!!! it was absolutely amazing, we were given info and caught a shuttle at their main office in town and then they drove us 20 mins to the jumping base. I decided to jump from 12,000 feet which was a 45 second free fall and Paige decided to do 9,000 feet which is a 20second free fall which meant we wouldnt be going up on the same plane. I got suited up first and harnessed in and then waited around talking to other jumpers and my camera man for a while. Then it started, I met my tandem jumper and we walked over to the plane. Jari my jumped from Finland and I were the last in which meant I would be the first person to jump out. After about a ten minute plane ride we had reached 12,000 feet the door went open and Jari said "so now you put your head back on my shoulder and wrap your feet around the outside of the plane"
I was too busy thinking to be scared, the next thing I knew I was in the air! It was the most incredible feeling and the best minute of my life! After the chute was pulled we glided around in the air for about 5 mins and then landed. It was absolutely incredible, I would do it again in a second and I would recommend it to anyone!

I didnt want to come down :)

Out on a walk :)

The rest of Tuesday we were extremely high from our jump and we just kind of floated around on cloud nine. We didnt do much for the rest or the day walked around, talked with our hosts and we also met Charlie an english guy who was couchsurfing at the same place as us. That night the 3 of us went out to the world bar for some teapots.

mmmm FergBurger by the water :)

Wednesday was kind of a rest day, Paige slept a LOT and I walked around and went exploring Queenstown. For lunch we went to FerhBurger which an extremely famous spot in Queenstown, we ate them down by the water and I definitely can see why they were so famous, they were soooo good! That night we had a quite night playing cards with Charlie and hanging out with Jody and Mike. We were preparing for another early morning the next day.

Paige inside FergBurger

At a rest stop on the way to Milford Sound

Te Anau :)

On Thursday we woke up extremely early to do a Milford Sound tour. Milford Sound is the part of New Zealand that made me want to come to this country, it was absolutely stunning! It was a five hour bus ride up there with several scenic stops along the way and then a 2 hour cruise around Milford Sound. After that straight back on the bus to drive home. The day was great, on the cruise we saw tons of Dolphins, seals and blue penguins. That night we went out again for our last night out in Queenstown.

Milford Sound!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dolphins!!!!

 

Friday was horrible, we woke up early to catch our plane which was continuously delayed and we ended up spending the entire day at the airport, which made up miss all the buses back to Hamilton. We ended up staying the night in Auckland which was kind of worth it because we had a great night out! The next day we lazed around our hostel and then headed home!

The Caravan :)

Easter Break: Russell.

Russell!

So on Thursday the 21st (Holy Thursday), I took a bus down to Auckland to stay for the night. I arrived at around 9pm and met with a friend for a late dinner. The next morning I hopped on a bus to meet Sam in Paihia. Once I arrived in Paihia my trip got off to a bad start, my bag was missing from the bottom of the bus :( After greeting Sam and dealing with the rudest bus driver ever I had to file a report at the Paihia Police Station. Eventually my bag was found and returned to me which was great but it definitely gave me quite the scare as I had a few essential things packed in there.

Sam and I, dinner at the Duke

I had a great weekend with Sam and Stella the 3 year old that she takes care of. We went to Waitangi which is where the country was founded and the treaty was signed. It is just across the bay from Russell. Sam and I had a great time catching us, although it hadn't been that long since the last time I saw her and we do skype regularly it was just nice to see her. Friday night we cooked an awesome dinner and then joined a few of her friends for a nice relaxing night. The next night we had dinner at the duke which was awesome, and then we went to a party. On Sunday I was supposed to take the bus back to Auckland to meet Paige but I ended up driving there with 3 of Sam's friends who were driving there anyway. Over all we had a great weekend and we had awesome weather!

at Waitangi

Some more Kiwi Slang.

I want a kiwi bird!!

I only have 4 more days before my Easter trip to Northland and Queenstown, I'll be back on the 29th possibly on the 30th. I'm really excited to go to Queenstown specifically to do a Milford sound tour. I'm sure I'll have a lot to post about after then.

Some more kiwi slang:
brekkie- breakfast
capsicum- green peppers
caravan- camper
cheers- thanks or goodbye
chocolate fish- very popular chocolate covered pink marshmallows  in the shape of fish- they are really gross!
crisps- chips
chips-fries
dairy- a corner store
fringe- bangs
flash- something that looks good or that is fancy ex: that car is so flash.
gurken- pickles (Also the German word fro cucumber haha)