Rewind to April: Term Break part one

So I have been failing miserably at updating this blog, I'm terribly sorry. I haven't had a chance to write about all my adventures during the month of April yet, it's been a pretty hectic month. Bear with me, this is going to be a long post with lots of pictures. So, rewinding back to Sunday, April 8...

Zoe and I were planning to go on a trip with some of the other people from Zoe's program, because one of them had bought a van on her arrival to NZ and was taking it around the South Island for a little road trip. We started that afternoon and drove through Arthur's Pass and Hokitika and camped for the night at beautiful Lake Ianthe.

Beach stop in Hokitika

Hokitika

Lake Ianthe

From there we drove down the West Coast to go see the Glaciers. We stopped at Fanz Josef and did a short little hike to see the Glacier. Unfortunately, there is a certain point where you have to stop unless you are on a guided tour for safety reasons. The glacier was so cool and I really enjoyed that part of the trip. We stayed the night in the little town of Haast, where we had a little cabin to ourselves. It was quite rainy out, and we decided we'd be more comfortable not in tents.

Glacier!

Franz Josef Glacier

On Tuesday we continued down the coast through Haast Pass which was a beautiful drive of greenery and waterfalls. We stopped in Wanaka, had a delicious lunch, and walked around the lake before continuing on to Queenstown for the night. Queenstown is especially known for its nightlife, so we had no problem finding things to do on a Tuesday night. Wanaka and Queenstown are two of my favorite places so far in New Zealand; they remind me of home a little bit, but they are also so completely different. We left bright and early the next morning to head on to Milford Sound.

Playground in Wanaka

Sunset in Queenstown

Milford Sound is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Ever. We got there around 3 in the afternoon and it was a perfectly clear day. We walked around a bit and I even went for a nice 45 minute jog around the area. It was so awe-inspiring. That night we went star-gazing by the river, and the number of stars we saw was incredible. We could see the whole milky way and we saw shooting stars. It was so amazing. If you ever get the chance to go to New Zealand, go to Milford Sound. Do it. It is awesome.

Milford Sound

Part of our travel group; Tori, Ryan, Ashley, Me, Zoe

Awesome waterfall

The next day, we headed back to Te Anau where Zoe, Ashley, and I all stayed for the night while the others continued on their adventures. Zoe and Ashley went to see the Glowworm Caves, but I passed on that because I was going to be doing that with my parents a couple of weeks later. We went out for pizza that night and had some truly outstanding pizza.

Whole group; Alex, Caitlin, David, Ryan, Tori, Ashley, Zoe

Sunset in Te Anau where I was reading by the lake

Friday was a long day of travel by bus-- Te Anau to Queenstown, Queenstown to Christchurch. I had an assignment I needed to do that night and I needed to unpack, wash clothes, and repack before meeting up with my parents on Saturday. It was a week of lots of fun. I met some really interesting new people who gave me some new perspectives on everything, and had a lot of time to think about some of the things that are most important to me. We had several nights where we all cooked together and made stir fry or quinoa. I had a wonderful trip!