I almost did one big post to sum up the last six months, but have decided to "back-blog" them instead. Basically there's just no way to squeeze these particular six months into one post. Also, I don't really care what rules there may or may not be about that. I figure if it works for me and the four people who read this blog then that's what's happening...so here we go.
Right after our trip home in late July we flew back to Singapore for about one week before our long awaited trip to NZ. We have packing down to a science, but this was exciting because not only were we packing for two weeks of backpacking in winter weather, but also for one week of summer back in America directly afterwards. Of course we flew America-Singapore-New Zealand-America-Singapore in one month's time. Totally normal. Luggage zipped up we headed to our home away from home: Changi Airport!
I have to mention this because I was beyond excited about this: I GOT TO TURN LEFT ON THE AIRPLANE!!! Cody surprised me with Business Class tickets for the long flight to Christchurch and I just couldn't even contain my excitement. (I also broke a glass and spilled my water bottle....the seats recline REALLY far) Needless to say I totally fit in and was in absolute heaven!
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| An even fancier lounge than we usually go to |
When we arrived in Christchurch we proceeded to pick up our rental car and just kept telling ourselves that, "we could do it!" Remember, NZ drives on the "wrong side of the road" with the steering wheel on the, "wrong side of the car". It was actually easier than we thought, but the passenger always felt a little close to the shoulder! We drove about 5 hours to Mt. Cook where we stayed the night at the
Aoraki Court Motel, but not before stopping for some beautiful pictures at
Lake Tekekapo and grabbing some groceries for the trip!
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| The essentials |
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| Church of the Good Shepard |
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| Lake Tekekapo |
We woke up early the next morning for a hike around Mount Cook and tried out our new GoPro. We were able to see some large glaciers before driving 3.5 hours to Oamaru where we stayed at
Chillawhile Backpackers.
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| Side of the road-Lake Tekekapo |
We woke up early since we had about a five hour drive to Te Anau via Dunedin. On the way there we stopped at the
Moeraki Boulders and had our morning quiet time. They were a pretty interesting thing to see! Huge, round rocks just smack dab in the middle of the surf.
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| Otago Peninsula |
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| Incredible Reminder of God's Promise |
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| Beautiful Sunset- almost to Te Anau |
We spent the next two nights at the
YHA Te Anau hostel. Highly recommended! Our first full day there we had booked a kayaking trip at Milford Sound so we had an early morning pick up and were all too ready for bed when we got back. The next morning we were up early again for the drive into Queenstown. Majestic is the word for Milford Sound. Absolutely Majestic. We kayaked for about 4 hours all around in a group of 3 and loved every minute! God's creation is wondrous to behold.
The drive to Queenstown was about 2 hours from Te Anau and we stayed at the
YHA Queenstown for the next two nights. The highlight of our time there was the
Nevis Bungy jump. 134m high and 100% adrenaline!!! We were also able to visit
Freedom Church on Sunday evening and really enjoyed connecting with fellow believers in this corner of the world.
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| Bigger people had to go first... |
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| Cody screamed, but loved it |
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| I had to wait a long time for my turn: Nervous |
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| Didn't make a peep, but Isaiah 26:3 was going through my head at the end! |
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| We did it!!! |
We left Queenstown after lunch because we decided to squeeze in a morning snowboard run at
The Remarkables before making the 8 hour drive to Hokitika (On the West side of the South Island). We arrived after almost running out of gas to sleep at
Birdsong Backpackers. This place was amazing! Our room had heated blankets and we could hear the ocean nearby; it was a much needed restful night of sleep. The next morning we started our journey North towards Westport via Greymouth with a stop at the
Punakaiki Rock Formations. They're also known as the pankcake rocks and were really cool to see. New Zealand has some incredible geography. When we arrived in Westport we were able to visit the local brewery for some tastings and hung out with some locals before staying the night at the
TrippInn Hostel- this really cool Victorian era house that had been outfitted to several rooms with a huge kitchen and was the perfect place for us to spend the night.
Our next two nights were spent in Nelson at the
Warwick House bed and breakfast. Our cozy room was the perfect accommodation after a week + of backpacking hostels. We had a wine tour set up in advance and really enjoyed getting to visit several local wineries and taste some of New Zealand's best! We even brought some home with us.
We rounded out our vacation back in Christchurch where we stayed in an actual
Jailhouse for one night...Don't think I ever want to go to prison for real. Christchurch was still very much affected by the 2011 Earthquake and most of the buildings downtown seemed abandoned. We still had a lovely time there finding a great place for dinner and were in a good location for our departing flight.
New Zealand was truly the trip of a lifetime! We saw the wonders of God's creation right in front of us; specifically with the sheep. Did I mention NZ has sheep everywhere? We couldn't help but see why the Bible's use of sheep as an example for believers was so perfect. We really do need our Shepard. We loved our time together and have been thankful for the ways in which God has been faithful in our lives. Thanks for checking up on us!
Love,
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