I have just gotten back to my house here in Alexandra after an amazing 5 day trip around the south island of New Zealand. All the schools were on break for the rugby world cup, as well as for Labor Day. I was unable to blog while on the road so hopefully I can remember everything we did.
Day 1
After a much needed rest, myself and my three awesome roommates got up and began deciding what the plan was for the next few days. We ultimately decided that we didn't want to have any plans, so we just packed our bags for five days and jumped in the car. We knew that Christchurch would be one of our stops along the way, so we ended up staying in a city about an hour from it the first day. The ride during this day was amazing, the land changes after every turn. We started out on flat land, then the next thing you know we were high in the mountains. Although we spent almost the entire day in the car, it was an awesome experience. Seeing lakes that almost have a teal color to them, due to the glacier runoff, was one of the highlights of the day.
Day 2
After a good nights sleep we packed our bags and headed to Christchurch for the day. Upon our arrival we were blown away by the damage that was still present in the city, from the earthquakes earlier this year. A huge chunk of their downtown area was completely closed off to the public, we were able to walk around the outside of the fences and snap a few pictures, so people back home could see what this city still looks like. Finding a place to stay proved to be a little bit of a challenge because of the earthquake. One of the people working at a hostel said the city lost about 1500 beds for people to use. Once we found a hotel to stay at we dropped our stuff off and made an impromptu trip out to a adrenaline ropes course. It was an awesome way to spend 3 hours out of the day. Near the end of it everyone, myself especially included, began to have second thoughts on completing the hardest course they had. However, after we all completed the course, it was cool knowing we completed the same course that we saw people getting helped down from just a half hour earlier. It was quite the workout too, even though people tend to see me as a bearded Jean-Claude Vandam, I definately felt it the next morning. After the ropes course we stopped by the ocean on our way back to the hotel.
Day 3
We all woke up a little slower this morning. Our next destination was going to be Dunedin, which we would be spending a few nights there. We packed our bags, looked around the city a little bit and then headed out on the road. We once again managed to stop along the way to snap a few pictures. We got into Dunedin a little later, around 9. We found a backpackers, which is similar to a hostel, dropped our stuff off and met the guy we would be sharing the room with, Pedro. We then headed out to the "Octagon" which is their downtown area. After switching pubs, we randomly ran into Pedro, who joined us for the rest of the night.
Day 4
After we woke up this morning, we headed out to find lunch. Here we met up with another guy from Iowa State, who one of my roommates knew from Ames. He was kind enough to offer up a spare room in his flat for the night. On our way to his flat, we decided to drive up the world's steepest road, which I mean literally. After a few tense moments we made it to the top in our top notch minivan. We then headed to the flat where we met a bunch of people he lived with in his flat. These people were from the US, Europe, and New Zealand. We spent the afternoon hanging out in their yard tailgating for the rugby match that night. We then headed to a place called " The Baaaaar", which is sheep humor at its finest. We watched the game with the locals, and it was intense all the way to the end. New Zealand pulled out the win and the celebration followed. It was incredible to be in that environment, random strangers were hugging each other, which means I was going around hugging people I knew for a solid 3 seconds. We then joined the march of people to the downtown area. People were stopping cars, giving out high fives, FO FREE, yes and I know not everyone understands that reference.
After this night we woke up in the morning and packed the car for the trip home. A few surprising things about New Zealand that I learned during this trip. First, the kiwis love them some KFC. Second, apparently tennis shoes and jeans is a fashion don't, but I remembered that I play for keeps, not to mention by my own rules, so I wore them anyway. I am sure it is not the first or last fashion mistake I make. Also, Kmart is big down here. They have stores along the streets and even in malls.
I know this post has rambled on for far too long, but I wanted to describe the past few days. It was an incredible way to be introduced to the country. I am now getting everything ready for my first day of student teaching tomorrow. I am excited to meet the students and faculty, and also to experience my first "tea time". I will hopefully have more trips like this to write about in the future.
This is Alex Higginbotham saying "Im gonna steal your girl, like I stole your bike." - Courtesy of the great band LFO.
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