~~~III~~~

Titiro!

         translation: "look!" 

A blog update after only half a month- I think that's a new record :) won't be nearly as long, though (but maybe you're grateful for that? :D)

So- we had daylight savings here in NZ last night, "spring"ing forward because our seasons are reversed. The time difference is now technically an hour more, but in terms of intra-day time difference between here and the States, specifically between Wellington and Anchorage, the difference is 3 hours instead of 4. But get this: you guys will have your own daylight savings this Fall and 'fall' back- bringing the intra-day time difference down to only 2 hours! Technically, however, New Zealand will at that point be 22 hours ahead of Anchorage instead of the 20 hours it was when I first got here. 

Way to break my brain, daylight savings. 

Anyway, on to the fun stuff. Last weekend, the Wellington & Palmy IFSA crew headed east to Martinborough in the south Wairarapa, a region known for its many vineyards. We stopped by the Tirohana Estate for a spot of lunch and wine tasting, and after that it was over to 'Mission Martinborough' for some paintball. As it is not my idea of a fun afternoon to shot at people and get splattered/bruised while I run away from people shooting at me, I opted out of the actual paintballing and volunteered to be unofficial photographer :) With the gorgeous scenery, 'baaaing' of the sheep, and laughing at friends screaming as they were hit, I still had quite an enjoyable afternoon.

Martinborough. It's very pretty :)

fancy lunch. not sure why our table got the Canadian/French flags.

first course. yep, there were courses. they were delicious :D

vineyards in Martinborough

 

the weapon of choice

ammo 

 

the battlefield

a few practice rounds

felt a bit like watching a war movie. with a few more screaming girls than you generally see in those movies.

lone sheep on the hillside, watching as the battle unfolds

post-battle pic (me on the far right)

Rugby mania is ongoing as the World Cup progresses- the NZ All Blacks are favorites to win, and kiwis are very supportive of their team. The Cup lasts about 6 weeks in total- though I haven't been to a game yet, I saw the USA vs. Australia game down at the Fanzone by the Wellington Harbour. It was pretty funny, because the Eagles did pretty (read: very, very) badly, but about 90% of the crowd around me and in the stadium on screen were cheering for USA because all the kiwis don't want Australia to win! All in all, I'm thinking the US should probably stick to football. That said, while I would certainly be the first to admit I'm no fan of sports in general, rugby is actually pretty entertaining to watch, especially if the opposing teams are well-matched. Definitely a physical sport!

 

masses of people opposite me (the only one on my side of the crosswalk; felt pretty outnumbered) 

on their way to Wellington Stadium for NZ vs. Tonga, the first of several games Wellington will host

Civic Square, next to Town Hall in downtown Wellington

Eagle supporters heading down to watch the USA vs. Australia game

entertainment at the Fanzone

giant screen upon which to watch the Rugby :D Star Spangled banner being sung

and, quite non-rugby related, a pretty church I walked through in downtown Wellington the other day:

St. Mary of the Angels 

In other news, I also had my Australian visa approved today! Classes last about another month and are followed by a testing period, after which my study abroad program officially ends mid-November and Mom will fly down to meet me in NZ. I think the plan as of now is exploring the north island a bit, and then we will head over to Australia to do touristy things and visit an old friend of hers. We will be back in the states the first week of December.

well, I think that's all for now. time for some sleep so I can get up for my lecture tomorrow :)

hope your spring/fall is going well (depending on which hemisphere you are reading from)

~Anna

~~~II~~~

  He roa te wa kua kitea 

- as the Maori would say. As Anna would say: 'long time no see!' Lots has happened since I last posted, not the least of which was an amazing week-long tour of the South Island! But, I will try to go in chronological order. Not long after the last post, we headed over to Maitu/Somes, an island in the middle of Wellington Harbour, for a day of volunteer conservation work:

View from the top of Maitu, walking around avoiding pregnant sheep

 hard at work!

anti-aircraft gun emplacements built back in 1942 after Darwin, Australia was bombed in feb. of that year

old lighthouse on the island

awesome cave

 WHAT IS IN THERE??????

an oddly large number of names on these tombstones.... didn't know why until I did some research after we got back home and found out the island used to be used for HUMAN QUARENTINE

We definitely lucked out with the weather that day, as a storm rolled in quite literally as we stepped on the boat to head back to Wellington. it was a pretty rough ride back!
The following weekend it was whitewater rafting and quad biking (4-wheeling) on the Kapiti Coast, northwest of Wellington.  

aaaaaand we're off to the Kapiti Coast!

they don't call it 'land of the long white cloud' for nothing

seriously, is anywhere allowed to be this beautiful?!?!?

ready to raft!

 splash attack!

Massey Wellington & Palmy + Victoria Uni

I'd say the rafting trip lasted a good hour and a half, but man, does that feel longer when you can't feel your toes! The guides were great- stopped a few places to let us climb up and jump from really high rocks back into the water, taught us how to float down rapids, tossed us in the water when we weren't paying attention so the rest of the crew would learn how to pull people back into the boat (I got thrown in TWICE). We were pretty dang exhausted afterwards, so after some good kai (which you'll remember from the first post means 'food'!) and a few rounds of Mafia, we hit the hay. 

Next day, it was off again on another bus up to the quad biking (4-wheeling). Quad biking was AWESOME fun. dirty fun, yes, but isn't that the best kind?

I'm the first yellow jacket to the left of the green guys, there (4th bike from the left)

 

unstoppable!

After that, it was back to Wellington for us Massey Wellington & Victoria kids, and back to Palmerston North for the Massey Palmy kids. 

CARS in the RAVINE that have clearly fallen off the CLIFF about half a foot away from the narrowest road ever and which our bus was currently barreling down at the time.

pretty scenery on the drive back

The next two weeks were pretty mellow, mostly consisting of schoolwork and figuring out plans for our 2-week "spring" break (in August). The weather got a little crazy at one point when a 'polar blast' swept through the country, and it snowed pretty hard off and on in Wellington for a couple days. Though nothing stuck where I was, it did elsewhere in the city; the newspapers were saying that it was the biggest snowfall Wellington had had in 20 years. Auckland saw snow for the first time in nearly half a century. At one point, power flickered throughout most of the city as three of the main power supply lines went down due to ice and snow, and the last was struck by lightening. I think it's my northern aura wreaking havoc on the nation.

proof that it snowed

But, the 'polar blast' eventually moved on, and it was soon 'spring' break. Liz, Staci, and I began our journey the 27th of August, taking a ferry across Cook Strait from Wellington to Picton, a small town on the northern tip of the south island. 

on the Kaitaki! Wellington --> Picton on ferry

Our ship was the Kaitaki- a 10-level ferry that made me feel as though I was boarding the Titanic. Certainly the biggest boat I've ever been on!

 docking at the Picton Harbour

We took a bus from Picton to Christchurch the same day, arriving in Christchurch just as it was getting dark. As we were to leave on another bus for Queenstown the next morning, it meant that we wouldn't get to see much of the city, but that was okay as we came through Christchurch on our way back to Wellington a week later and had more time to explore then. We overnighted at a backpackers. The couple that ran the place were very welcoming. They also had 5 cats(!) :D 

typical northern South Island scenery

the vineyards are probably prettier in summer

beachcombing in Kaikoura

sunset in Christchurch

 at the backpackers pitching our borrowed tent. we were missing instructions and pieces. I improvised. with... grass, cardboard, and a stick.

 we woke to a visitor in the tent :)

Survived an earthquake in Christchurch in the early morning (don't worry- just a baby 3.9er) Then it was off to Queenstown on yet another bus!

my favorite bush in NZ- turns the hills gold :) 

transitioning from northern south island scenery to southern south island scenery

Church of the Good Shepard at Tekapo, first church built in the Mackenzie Basin

climbing over the pass into Queenstown

historic gold mines outside of Queenstown

 on the outskirts of Queenstown

My overall impression of Queenstown during our 5 days there: adventurer's paradise, gorgeous scenery, overpriced tourist trap. Also, not a big fan of the sun-going-behind-the-mountains-at-4 o'clock thing. makes the latter half of the day quite a bit chillier! We had an early first morning, up at 8 and off to ziptrek/zipline/'flying fox'. Because we're cheap students and don't want to pay more than we have to, we decided to forego the gondola and hike the long, steep, switchback-ridden trail up to the Skyline.

Lake Wakatipu from the Skyline trail

Ziptrek platform. Now THAT'S a treehouse!

Lake Wakatipu + Remarkables from the top of the Skyline

phew, made it!

getting prepped for the first jump!

 

 upside-down!
 

and a video!
pardon the bounciness and the poor quality. I was flying upside-down through a forest at the time.

and Liz jumps off a 400m cliff!

 Queenstown from the Skyline

Yep, looks like AK. right down to the mallards and the gulls.

Queenstown Gardens

roses blooming in the wintertime

the prettiest flowers are always the tiniest :)

Fergburger's- a rite of passage for every Queenstown adventurer

Goldpanning in Arrowtown. no luck, sadly :(

the Black Sheep backpackers- very nice, quiet place

Aside from the tramping and extreme adventure activities, my favorite part of the trip was definitely meeting so many different, interesting people at the backpackers. Before the trip, I'd always subconsciously regarded backpackers/hostels as potentially-unsafe accommodation for the unwary traveler. My post-first-experience judgement is that although it's probably best to travel in a group, they are most likely safer as a whole than I feared they might be :) as long as you're smart and use common sense, they're a wonderful option for those traveling on a budget!

roadblock!

my second favorite part of the trip would have to be all of the sheep :D 

Finally, it was time to leave Queenstown behind and slowly make our way back to Wellington. we took the bus back to Christchurch and then a plane from Christchurch to Welly. We had plenty of time to walk around the city and view some of the damaged buildings / reconstruction this time. Unfortunately, my camera had run out of battery at that point, so I don't have any pictures :( we also never spotted the infamous Wizard of Christchurch :( :(


The rest of break was spent hanging around Wellington showing Liz the sights and seeking out a few local LotR filming locations. The Rugby World Cup 2011 (held in NZ this year) has also started, with the NZ All Blacks crushing Tonga 41-10 in the opening game in Auckland yesterday. It was a good night to be an honorary New Zealander :D Wellington will host its first game tomorrow night- the streets are sure to get a bit crazy. there have been flashmob hakas the past few days that have stopped traffic, and NZ's public transportation is proving a bit underequipped to handle the masses of people making their way to and from the stadiums.


And speaking of festivities- though I missed the AK fair this year, I did attend the Petone Winter Carnival tonight. There weren't quite as many fair rides, but there was plenty of food, fire dancers, bonfires on the beach galore, and close to the biggest fireworks display I've ever seen.

my favorite fire act of the night- a giant wooden sculpture of a rugby player set aflame :D

so, this post may have proved a bit over-ambitious in its attempt to cover everything that's happened since the last post, but I think I got most of the highlights :) also, I am officially more than halfway through my time here in NZ! it is absurd how fast time flies and at the same time how it feels like I've been here forever. 

hope you all are doing well wherever you're reading from (if you made it this far through), 

until next time :)

~Anna