Wanaka, Queenstown and a Bundgy

    Last week I went to Wanaka with my host family. We stayed in a lovely apartment.

The view from our balcony.

While quite large it was a tad bit tight for the seven of us in terms of sleeping. The bonus of having such small sleeping quarters is that we had an enormous balcony with a hot tub and a very large comfy living room area.
   The first day in Wanaka we spent at the pool and play ground. The play ground had quite possibly the coolest slide I've ever seen.  It's a giant slide that looks like a stegosaurus. The tail is a ramp that you can walk up and you slide down it's neck. It was so much fun! A little narrow for people with hips though.  I may or may not have been one of the people with hips that gets wedged in it.
   The next day had crummy weather so we stayed inside and did crafts. In the morning we went for a short jaunt around the town and got coloring books and things for the kids. We also got me a pair of boots that I am in love with. They are magnificent (yes I realize I don't need any more shoes but...well...shoes!). I also got some cool post cards and a magnet for my collection.  They have Hobbit themed stamps here. I thought it was very cool but apparently the locals are immune to the coolness. Once it started raining we stayed in and did art and played games. It was a clam day which is a rarity for me.
  The next day we hiked up Mt. Iron. It is mountain that is about 200m (660 ft). The track is 4.5k (2.7 mi) long. One side of the mountain is very steep and the other side while it's a longer walk is more level. We walked up the steep side and down the long side. Taking four kids up the mountain was quite the event but all in all they did quite well.  The view from the top was absolutely wonderful. The top of the mountain was insanely windy. My host family took some pictures of me at the top but I haven't had a chance to get them yet. I will post one as soon as I download it (please don't hold your breath on this).

View from top of Mt. Iron

Walking up Mt. Iron

After hiking up Mt. Iron we went to Puzzle World (http://www.puzzlingworld.co.nz/attractions.html). It was very cool. I really liked the hall of following faces. There are all of these concave faces on the walls but when you are 9-12 feet away from the wall they look convex and appear to follow you as you move. I'm intrigued by it. I can't figure out how it works. They have a tilted room that made me very dizzy. The kids loved it though. They kept riding this chair that appears to be going up because of the slant but is intact going downhill. It was quite clever and fun to ride on. The great maze was quite confusing. My favorite thing about it was that the kids knew where we were suppose to go (there's a challenge to find certain things). We would be able to see where we wanted to go on the bridges and the kids walked directly towards it and would get annoyed with us when we suggested going the other way to get there via a round about way. Kid logic is so straight forward :)

    The next day we went to Queenstown. On the way to Queenstown we stopped at the Kawara Bridge Bungy Center (http://www.bungy.co.nz/kawarau-bungy-centre). I had not planned on doing a bundgy when I came to New Zealand but it was invented here and if there is any place to do it Queenstown is the place. Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand so it just seemed like a good thing to do. I have learned that I am not an adrenaline junkie.  When we got there I was already nervous and then I had to wait for 10 people to go. I was nervous but ok up until I was out on the platform and then I really didn't want to do it any more. The man who had set up my harness and stuff was very patient and persuasive. The most persuasive thing was the three year old I am caring for yelling "you can do it Kirten. I trust you". The other three kids chanted "Go, Kirsten, go!"I don't think that anyone could not jump with four kids cheering for them. I jumped but in my panic forgot that you are suppose to dive and I more or less hopped off the platform. This ended in me getting whipped around a little more than normal. The jump itself was actually pretty fun. It was dampened a little by my panic about jumping. After you have stopped bouncing a boat comes up under you and pulls you down and unhooks you. My legs were shaking when I got off the boat and continued to shake for another hour or so. I'm glad I did it but I don't think it's something that I will be doing again any time soon. The Kawara jump was definitely the right choice for me. It is only 43 meters. There is a 400 meter jump in Queenstown as well. I would have never jumped off that platform!
     After the bundgy we went into Queenstown. We had Fergburger for lunch. It was a very American style burger.  It reminded me of home. I did notice and have noticed since that all cheddar cheese here is white. After lunch we went on a jet boat ride (http://experiencequeenstown.com/kawarau-jet/). The kids really liked it. The driver did lots of fast turns and near misses to make it more exciting. He would also do these spins that splashed water all over the boat. By the end I was throughly soaked and happy I'd worn my rain jacket. I spent the better part of the ride watching how excited and thrilled the kids were to be riding a jet boat. The oldest one has wanted to ride it on past trips but wasn't able to. She had been talking about it since the day that we got to Wanaka. Every night before they go to bed I ask the oldest two what was one good thing that happened to them that day. The night of the jet boat ride I asked and she looked at me and said "Why are you asking when you know it was the jet boat." Her facial expression said 'obviously'.
   One our way back to Wanaka we stopped at the Cardrona Hotel for dinner (http://www.cardronahotel.co.nz). I had an excellent venison roast in a cherry gravy. They had lots of cool antique stuff including some old bicycles that were awesome. For desert you can buy a bag of marshmallows and roast them in the outdoor fire pit. It was very cool. I also successfully roasted marshmallows and didn't light anything on fire!
    The next day we hung out at the pool again and had a relaxing day. We went to an amazing gelato place! I had amareto gelato. It was delicious. On Sunday we got up early, drove to Queenstown and flew home.
   It was a lovely vacation, or holiday as they call it here.


 
 

Tour of Auckland

     During Orientation we went on a tour of Auckland. We started at the airport and went to Mt. Eden. Then we went to Mission Bay for dinner and drove to Davenport for another look off a dormant volcano. This is a map (sort of) of where we went. We started at the airport (A). Then we went up Mt. Eden (B). It is a dormant volcano near the city center. It has lots of running and biking trails and lovely views!
     After Mt. Eden we went to dinner at a place in Mission Bay (C). Mission Bay is a trendy area with lots of small shops and restaurants. Dinner was marvelous. I had a salmon risotto. It was delicious. Lastly we went to the youngest and tales dormant volcano within the city of Auckland(D). It was located in Davenoport. It is only about 800 years old. There is an old post from WWI or II; I can't remember there. It has a gun turret that they could sink down into the top of the mountain. It was quite cool. One of my favorite things was that there were bunkers under the ground and the venting system had been decorated to look like mushrooms.

Some fun facts and pictures about Auckland

There are 55 dormant volcanos in Auckland 

Rangitoro is a dormant volcano that is an island. You can see it from my window. They have found stones that they believe came from Rangitoro as far away as China. 

Rangitoro

This is one tree hill. It is an extinct volcano.
It used to have one tree on the top of the hill
 but it fell down. Some Aucklanders call it
 none tree hill. 

The Sky Tower seen in both these pictures is
Auckland's biggest tourist attraction.
You can budgie jump off it. 

View from Devonport.

The mushrooms on the top of the
Volcano in Devonport. They were used
when the under ground gun was in
use. These cover the vents for the barracks.

Auckland is often called the city of sails. This is the largest
marina in New Zealand and Australia.

They have beautiful sunsets here. 

Finally to New Zealand!

     Fiji was kind of a let down. I had read on their website that they have a secure shuttle to a portion of beach that you can take while waiting for flights. When I got there I found out that it was only for domestic flights and I was international so I was in a different terminal with only one set of windows. 

I was hoping to get some cool pictures of the sun rising over the water but due to the window situation this was all I was able to get.
They did have some men walking around sining in Fijian which was pretty cool.
They also take US Dollars as well as Fijian Dollars and the Australian Dollar but surpassingly not the New Zealand Dollar.
Also a side note; Fiji is so humid. It was like walking through a cloud! I've been places that I thought were humid but no where like that.

When I got to New Zealand I was surprised by how easy I got through customs. They have a very serious biosecurity screening. It took me longer to get through that then anything else. They checked my shoes for excessive soil that could contain harmful bugs or bacteria.
    When I got out of customs the kids and current au pair (J) were there. They had a sign. It was nice to finally meet them. They had fast food at the air port and then we got in the car and went to the mall to get me a pay per minute phone (woooo).  Then we got to the house and it got crazy. The kids were fighting for my attention and showing me everything from their favorite shoes to the best pillow to the favorite doll.
   After so much noise I was glad for the reprive of walking down to the beach. Not that the beach was quitter it was just different than the noise of the house. The beach was fun. I promptly stepped on something and cut my foot which made climbing back up somewhat difficult.  However the eight year old was very helpful and is quite good at first aide (she wanted to show me her skills).

Picture from my balcony. Not a great view of the
ocean due to the trees but you can hear the waves

    So far I really like everyone. T (the mom) is super fun. She laughs a lot and is very go with the flow. I haven't met the dad (R) yet. I really like J. She is telling me all of the tricks about the kids and what kid usually does what things and who likes what. She has also helped me figure out all sorts of unusual things, explained NZ slang and made me laugh.

Trying to Get There

     I don't end up on planes that often but when I do I always learn something new. Today I was asked if I was an unaccompanied minor. Good thing: I look young. Bad thing: apparently I look like a child. It was an odd experience.
       I also learned that there are a lot of people going to New Zealand. I met seven people on the flight from Portland that will end up in New Zealand in the next few days. I had no idea that so many people from the North West traveled to New Zealand.
        Another important travel tip wearing a brightly colored scarf helps people from one flight remember you on the next. I have yet to decide if this is good or bad.
     In LA I learned a number of things. First I really need to work on my Spanish. Second it's a good idea to get a map of a very large air port prior to landing. LAX is huge and confusing. I had to leave on terminal and get to another and my bags had to be picked up and rechecked. That was a surprise. I almost left my bags in LA. Also asking for directions is a mixed boat of very helpful and Spanish.
    I only have two legs and a bunch of hours left!

Getting Ready for New Zealand

     Getting ready to leave the country for 8 months has been a much larger ordeal than I had initially anticipated. Luckily I have two awesome parents and an amazing boyfriend that have worked their butts off to help me get ready. My parents took all of the gross cleaning jobs and Aaron got people to help move all of the furniture. I have no idea how I would have gotten everything down without them.
    I'm now officially out of my apartment and just working on the last little bits of things and trying to spend as much time with the people I love before leaving on Saturday.
   Last night Aaron and I went to a New Year's Eve party with five of our friends. It was a great way to say bye. We spent most of the night playing board games and laughing. I use the term play loosely as there was just as much talking as playing going on.