Monday, 1/30 – Thursday, 2/2
First of all, YES! I am indeed here, in New Zealand, safe and sound on the beginning to what is going to most definitely be a life changing experience. I am traveling with Joe Pekarna, Brenna Miland, Amanda Gay, and Kaylee Batcha, all of which are some of my fellow Bennie and Johnnie friends. We are currently in Queenstown, New Zealand, an extremely beautiful city tucked inside some of New Zealand’s most beautiful mountains. God’s creation is truly remarkable. I have already been left speechless many times in the short while I have been here in New Zealand.
Now on to the part you’ve all been waiting for…*cue drum roll please* stories of my travels!! Since I am finally starting to blog (I know, I know, you all want daily updates of my life) I am going to give brief updates from the first few days of the trip.
Monday, 1/30
Departure Day!
We left Minneapolis Monday afternoon and headed out for L.A. While we were flying over the Rockies, the pilot gets on the intercom to say, ““You’re probably wondering what is causing all of the turbulence…*awkward silence*….so are we.” Aren’t pilots supposed to provide ENCOURAGING words? Well besides the slight bit of turbulence, we landed in L.A. where we had to wait for our 7 hour layover. We feasted on some highly overpriced tasty treats from Burger King where I first began to realize we were not around the Minnesota nice anymore. After waiting 15 minutes for my sandwhcih, I politely asked the manager if I could get free fries for waiting; to which she rudely said no. That incident was the beginning of what would be known as “having to wait for Christine.” (We’re playing a game like HORSE, and I think I am now at the count of H-O-R. Oh boy.)
After we dined we had to wait another 5 hours before we could embark upon our 14 hour flight to Aukland, New Zealand. After saying a few last goodbyes to the family and enjoying my texting while it lasted we prepared for our red eye flight.
Tuesday, 1/31
While we were on our 14 hour flight we crossed over the International Date Line so we never really got to experience Tuesday, Jan. 31. Anyone want to comment on how it was?
Wednesday, 2/1
14 hours later and a zillion times zones away (19 hours ahead), we arrived in Aukland, New Zealand where we took a connecting flight to Queenstown, New Zealand. Which is where we are now!!!
We are staying in this really great hostel in downtown Queenstown called Nomads. Our room has a balcony and a great view of the mountains. It is pretty much the coolest place ever because there are just a bunch of college-aged kids walking around all the time and we even get free breakfast and supper.
Point of interest (further referred to as POIs), EVERYONE HERE IS SO FREAKING TAN. SERIOUSLY. When we walked into our hostel I wanted to crawl inside a box because I was a dirty, smelly, jet lagged, pasty-white mess.
We spent the afternoon and evening walking around Queenstown trying to hunt down some free wireless internet. Did you know that FREE wireless internet seriously does not exist in Queenstown?? Well, it doesn’t. We decided to head back for a short nap after dinner and then head out on the town to listen to some live music at a local place. Turns out, I woke up to discover that it is was 1 AM, and the jet lag had gotten the best of the group. I peeled my contacts off my eyes and curled up to enjoy some sleep where I was not sitting upright in a cramped airplane seat.
Thursday, 2/2
Today we woke up at 6 AM. Needless to say, we are still fighting jet lag, but we’re trying to make the most of this very long day in Queenstown. We began the day by caving and buying some wireless at the local Starbucks. However, turns out when you Skype with people, you’re 24 hour wireless pass expires in a matter of 1 hour. Needless to say, it took me $21 to figure that out. Yikes. However, if I got the chance to say hello, feel special. J
We went to the front desk to book some super awesome adventures for our remaining time in Queenstown. In the coming days you’ll get to hear about my experiences with canyoning, kayaking the lake, hiking a mountain and then luging down part of it. I know, be jelly. Some serious dough was spent today. But as everyone says, you only go here once.
We spent the afternoon buying some groceries and exploring Queenstown. Kaylee and I (probably mostly me) got super excited when we saw an elementary school. Their little uniforms and hats were so cute, not to mention their little New Zealand accents!! Such a beautiful experience, I cannot wait to see what a school is like in Freo.
After a dreary forecast this morning, the afternoon was quite sunny and pleasant. We hit up the beach and watched the funniest Swedish man try ever so desperately to pick up this Austrian girl. He was “trying” so hard to play Frisbee with her, but while she was a champ, he was more like a chimpanzee. He was horrible. We’re all a little sun-kissed now, and hopefully not too sun burned (we wore some sun screen, I promise.) But the sun is a lot stronger down here. We shall see what the night has to bring but so far I am very excited to see what adventures are yet to come.
We have taken our journey step by step and I don’t think I’d have it any other way.
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment