Memories. And laughs.
That’s what you can expect when you’re not expecting the unexpected. It’s been
an exhilarating three weeks since I last blogged about my life in Australia. A
lot of the unexpected happened in those three weeks and it has been one
adventure after another here and the exciting part is that a lot of it was unexpected.
And yeah, having unexpected things happen is always interesting and can be
stressful, but looking back now, these are memories that will last me a life
time. My whole Spring Break adventure in New Zealand was about stepping outside
of my comfort zone and experiencing a lot of firsts. From exploring Milford
Sounds to facing my fears with canyoning and reaching new heights with
paragliding, spring break was the definition of the unexpected because almost
nothing went according to plan, but that’s the fun of it right.
So, about three weeks
ago, maybe it was two, I got on a plane in the late evening, having already
spent more money then I wanted to on checking in luggage that you’d think would
be considered carry-on, and was on my way to New Zealand, the land of Kiwis
(yes, I have a new-found obsession with Kiwis, those birds are adorable!).
To begin our adventure,
we ended up in New Zealand as Cyclone Gita made its way towards the island,
which of course caused the first few days to be cold and cloudy. It didn’t rain
a lot, I think we only had one day of rain, but the cold was bitter. I did not pack
enough warm clothes for the kind of weather we experienced but it’s okay because
I got a new sweatshirt out of it and yes, it has a Kiwi on it. Because our
planning didn’t go according to plan, our small group split up for a day. Five
people went ahead to Te Anau while three of us stayed in Christchurch. For the
three of us who stayed in Christchurch, we had a really relaxing day just
wondering around the botanical gardens and being in awe as we looked at National
Geographic’s 50 Best Photographs of all time. Those who made it to Te Anau found
themselves without a car and an Airbnb that was an hour and a half away.
Luckily, the hostel where some of the group was staying took everyone in for
the night.
Te Anau was a whole
other story when it comes to Spring Break. First off, just to get to Te Anau
from Christchurch, it’s like a 12-hour bus ride. Now, I can’t complain too much
because the bus seats were cozy and I had a row to myself, but 12 hours on a
bus is a bit much. When we finally made it to Te Anau, we were greeted by a gorgeous
sunset. Honestly, in that moment, everything was fine, it was better than fine.
But it was a fleeting moment and the sun disappeared behind the mountains. I
think it’s those moments that make you realize that the unexpected can be a
blessing. Everything in life is a fleeting moment, but what you make of those
fleeting moments will stay with you for the rest of your life. The memories and
laughs that each of us gained from New Zealand will be something we’ll be reminiscing
about and I for one, am glad that we were met by the unexpected. It goes to
show that we can overcome obstacles we didn’t think we could and end up with a
hilarious story from it.
So, again our group
split up for the night. J.J., Katelyn and I got into our car that J.J. had
jumped on a random bus all the way to Queenstown for and drove back so we could
have one to get to our Airbnb. The drive was long, especially since it was dark
out and we had never driven to this small town before. When we finally got to Tuatapere
it was literally in the middle of Nowhere, New Zealand. The Airbnb we stayed at
was also a quaint little place to put it nicely. The three of us slept in a
small room that had 2 bunk beds and no heating, so we froze to death all night.
But hey, we survived to tell the tale right.
The next day few days
we spent taking in nature’s beauty. From Milford Sounds to glowworm caves, we
were surrounded by breath-taking nature. We did a bus and boat cruise tour of Milford
Sounds and it is so worth going to see if you’re ever in New Zealand. The mountains
are so much different than the Smokies, so they have their own allure to them. Also,
do a bus tour because then you get to find out all about the Fiordlands and if
you book the right tour, you can even get a free piece of carrot cake once on
the boat cruise. I don’t know what all the big hype is about carrot cake in New
Zealand, but that was one of the best carrot cakes I’ve had, so guess there’s
something to it. I was also super happy because I got to go see glowworms. Now,
if you don’t know much about glowworms, the big thing to know is that they glow
from their butts. That’s all you need to know. (and unfortunately, I couldn’t
take pictures in the caves, so here’s the picture I bought as a souvenir.)
Now, because nothing
was as simply as it could have been during spring break, we couldn’t just
simply get on a bus to Queenstown. No, instead we all woke up early and made our
way to the only bus station in this small town, just to realize that our bus was
actually supposed to pick us up at the hostel we had left. So, J.J. being the
hero that he is, sprinted all the way across town to get to hostel to try and catch
the bus that was supposed to arrive in 5 minutes. Meanwhile, the rest of us grabbed
our stuff and J.J.’s bags and booked it to the hostel. J.J. missed the bus by a
minute. However, it did swing back around so we did get on and were on our way
to Queenstown.
Queenstown. That city
is one everyone should visit! If you love extreme sports, or hiking, or a
vibrant night-life, this is the town for you. The very moment we stepped foot
in Queenstown we were off adventuring! The first thing we did while in
Queenstown was ride the Shotover speed boat. If you don’t know what this is,
basically you get in a jet boat and race down this narrow canyon while the boat
does 360 degree turns. It gets your adrenaline rushing! This was a great way to
start our time in Queenstown. Next on the adventure list was canyoning.
Confession time! So, I have
an excruciating fear of heights that hold me back from doing a lot of things
that involve heights. You can ask my parents; heights and I just don’t get
along. But, like I said before, this whole trip was about getting over fears
and stepping out of my comfort zone and that’s exactly what this day brought. With
canyoning, I had to learn to control that fear of heights to zip line, repel
down rocky cliffs, jump into the cold waters of the river and step out of my comfort
zone in every way possible. And I did it! I’m so grateful for J.J., Liza, Eli
and Katelyn were there for this experience and that they supported me through
all of it! You guys are the best!! After braving the freezing waters it was
time for a nice relaxing break.
So, I stepped out onto
a ledge and then I leapt….
I technically didn’t
leap, but I did fly. We went paragliding later that afternoon and my fear of
heights may not be cured, but I definitely didn’t let it hold me back as we flew
through the sky. The sights from that height were amazing and I still can’t
believe I did it. I enjoyed the flight so much, minus the stomach churning roller-coaster
towards the end to land, but even that wasn’t too bad. I did what I thought I
would never be able to do while in New Zealand and I encourage everyone, face your
fears and step outside your comfort zone because you’ll learn so much about
yourself. This program has given me the chance to do things from my wildest
dreams and the memories that come with it are amazing.
Once spring break was over,
it was time to step back into reality and again I was met by the unexpected. We
are now in the second week of our internships and it’s been interesting to say
the least. I’m working with a local newspaper in Sydney called
The City Hub (Altmedia) and it’s been a
learning experience that I’ll definitely be taking a lot of new information
back home. I finally published my first article,
Cooks
River clean-up, with them this week and I’m currently working on two more. I
really like the fact that my internship is close to home. It’s a 10 minute walk
from Urbanest and I get to work together with Addie so its great! It wasn’t what
I was expecting, but each day brings something new and I’m learning about the
city in a new way.
Sorry this was such a
long post and if you’ve gotten this far, thanks for sticking it out! Stay tuned
for the next blog!
Cheers,
Gabi
After our adventures in Australia, we hopped on a plane to New
Zealand. I’m not going to lie, it was a little terrifying traveling around New
Zealand with my dad behind the wheel. Overall, he did a great job driving, but
at first, he kept inching over to the right side of the road and turning his windshield
wipers on instead of his turning signal. After my dad got used to driving on the other side of the road, we drove from Christchuch to
Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world. New Zealand looked like something
right out of a movie; the magnificent landscape did not even look real. We go
to experience the beauty of Lake Tekapo, Mt. Hutt, Mt. Cook, Lake Pukaki, Kawarau
Gorge, Glenorchy, and Milford Sounds. You might recognize some of the names of
the places as The Lord of the Rings
filming locations.
