Merry Christmas? In Summer?

Christmas in New Zealand is a strange time.  It's definitely different from the US typical Christmas...I see the consumerism (definitely not as extreme) but the Christmas spirit is a bit, ehh. Andrew swears Christmas music was playing in stores...I never heard it. And the town is nicely lit up at night, but no ones houses have lights. Tree's are downplayed. No caroling. No ice skating. No hot chocolate with peppermints (though Andrew tried very hard to get that for me...mean lady closed the grocery store right as he was trying to get in and turned him away). No Christmas movies. A horrible selection of decor and wrapping paper. It isn't a bad thing...it was just, differently focused. They focus more on the family getting together then anything else.

The Christmas celebrations started on Sunday the 23rd with a lunch with Andrews family at his Nanny's (grandmothers).   I met quite a lot of people...I had already met his nanny a few times now but I also got to meet her partner and then Andrew's two Aunts and their families (one with 2 kids and the other with a whopping 6!) and Amanda's daughter Amber and her boyfriend. It was a lot of fun, but definitely made me miss home. I miss big Christmas celebrations with all the family :(

Christmas Eve was definitely different. Andrew's family actually invited some friends over to play chukka's.  So I worked a bit and then went out to watch everyone play in the afternoon.  It was a bit boring in comparison to usual...I was on one side of the field and they spent most of their time on the opposite. I ended up taking lots of sheep pictures ;) They're pretty cute. Andrew did look slick in his gear though. He was riding on "Coke" in this picture. The lovely horse with a heart on her head. She's pretty awesome at the polo thing...Andrew was excited to get to ride her rather than one of the 'green' new horses.  At the end of the day there were no Christmas movies or songs...just normal tv.  We did end up watching "Mrs. Brown's Boys" Christmas episode. We had already seen it, but timing was appropriate.  That show is FANTASTIC and hilarious! I know my family and friends back at home would die...so funny.

On Christmas Day we had celebrations at Andrew's dad's house.  It was a ridiculously hot day, but beautiful outside! Andrew's Nanny and her partner came again and then Amanda's son came with his fiance and 3 adorable kids (that came to polo with us a bit back).  Having the kids there was a lot of fun.  It really made it seem like Christmas.  Even though we didn't watch a single Christmas movie or listen to any Christmas music... grr...Oh well.  Food was absolutely delicious and filling...definitely thought I was going to explode. I thought we would do a few things outside, because that's what they normally do (Nanny was playing twister with the kids last year apparently) butttt everyone said it was too hot.  They haven't seen Raleigh hot! haha
 The surprise of the day was Ashley's present to her dad and Amanda...a kitten!! They named her Slippers :) Totally adorable and entertaining. The rest of the day was spent mostly watching a darts tournament on tv...which seems to take up a lot of spare time here haha...and laying around with a fullllllll belly!

The next day was Boxing Day...a big holiday here in NZ.  It's called that because you 'box away' all of the Christmas stuff. But everyone just goes to horse races and drinks a lot instead haha. It was a horrible day for it. Quite cold and the sky was covered in dark clouds.  We decided to dress up anyways but I forgot to take a picture of my great dress :( I spent most of the day in a blanket though.  Earlier in the morning Andrew and his sister went to set up the tent we would sit at.  Around noon we all left to head to the races.  It was pretty fun considering the crap weather! It was my very first horse race...and my very first time betting! Andrew and I bet each time...sometimes losing (normally losing) but other times we won! We actually ended the day making a bit of a profit! About 15 bucks but hey...on top!

After the races we went out for the evening to celebrate, as New Zealanders do.  There was a pub near to the race track so everyone went there.  We stayed out till about 10 and then Andrew and I (being the old people we are) got hungry and wanted to leave.  So we picked up a pizza from Pizza Hut and headed home just in time to watch the second half of Contagion the movie.

Not a bad holiday time at all :) Different...very different...but it was fun. Definitely missed everyone at home a whole lot.  All of my family and our fun Christmas traditions. But hey, I've got next year! Now that we've survived the end of the world and all ;)

Next trip is New Years in the north part of the NZ South Island, Motueka, and then a drive back down the West Coast past Pancake Rocks and Greymouth. Then through Arthurs Pass and Castle Hill to get back home to Ashburton. Super excited!

Rain Makes Lovely Waterfalls

Friday morning (the day the world was supposed to end...apparently) we woke up bright and early at 6am to head to breakfast and catch the bus in to town.  We were supposed to meet at the stop at 7:05 am...so first I ran to Starbucks to grab a coffee and call mom and dad (to tell them the world hadn't ended) and Andrew ran to the store to grab some sandwiches for lunch.  We boarded the bus and headed off towards Fiorland on a beautiful journey through hills and flowers and natural trees and brush.  We stopped halfway at a town called Te Anau...very adorable and on a lake :) We got to get off the bus to have a look around and as we did we did some shopping :) Andrew found a beenie (he's been searching for ages) that was reversible and made of wool, possum, and silk.  No nylon. Which was the goal.  I also stopped at a store selling Jade...the stone of NZ that the Maori people came looking for...the shop had one of the largest Jade stones in the world inside it!  Got a few things there and then we were on our way again.

Once we entered in to Fiordland National Park you could see the difference in scenery.  Our bus driver was very educational, telling us that they get 8 meters of rain per year (about 24 feet)...insane.  He said it rains about 200 days out of the year.  That's even more crazy considering they close down the entrance to Milford Sound when it rains. Meaning no one in and no one out because of problems with rock fall and avalanches.  We got really lucky, because as we were driving, the entrance tunnel was closed...but the weather cleared just in time and it opened for us around noon so that we could enter in to Milford Sound.  The day before the tour group actually had to go home without seeing it...crazy!

Anywho...We entered Fiordland National Park and stopped a few places along the way for some photos.  The first was at a lovely river with lupins and mountains with waterfalls all around.  Andrew made me smile as we were driving along as he said my quote of the day "I think I may be a bit of a tree hugger...".  Who'd a thunk it. ;) At the second stop I snapped a picture of a local bird, the Tui, as we were walking around the Mirror Lakes.  The Mirror lakes were pretty awesome...when the weather is right you can see the reflection of the mountains in the water.  The sign is even upside down so you can see it's reflection ;) Cheeky.

After Mirror Lakes we hit "the great divide" where everything goes from close up rainforest and distant views of mountains to cliff mountains shooting straight in to the road with waterfalls and snow all around.  It was amazing.  It felt as if I was driving in to a fairytale world.  The bus was great because the windows were huge and they even had a skylight window at the top of the bus so you could see in all angles.

As we drove through we did a few stops where it was permitted.  A lot of places you can't pull over because of frequent rock fall and avalanches as I mentioned before.  Andrew made me smile again when we stopped and one of the guys on the bus was smoking at a stop and flicked his cigarette before getting in the bus...Andrew goes "Hey! Pick that up!" And he did :) My littler tree hugging litter police (don't kill me Andrew I'm just kidding haha).

Anyways...the drive continued on, curving through the mountains and through the tunnel that led us to the other side of Milford Sound.  On the other side of the tunnel there was similar steep rocky mountains and waterfalls and then it opened up at the end at Milford Sound.  Which actually isn't a 'sound' at all...its a fiord (thank you helpful bus driver) :) Once off the boat we wandered around waiting for the cruise to load up.  It was a decent sized boat...but the deck areas were a bit strange.  We started to notice the completely different climate now...our driver mentioned that the weather can be a mystery...changing completely from Queenstown to Te Anau to Fiordland National Park and in to Milford Sound.  Each place was actually different. Crazy! It was beautiful out in Queenstown...a bit cloudy in Te Anau...cloundy again in Fiordland National Park...super cloudy once we got further...and then all clouds once we got in to the Sound.  Man was it cold and windy.  So I snuggled up in my leather jacket, rain coat, and a warm hat and we got on the boat.

Once on the boat we tried standing on the deck but it was just so windy and cold.  I was dying.  It was horrible! The clouds covered most of everything and it was just feeling awful.  Couldn't believe we had come all this way and it was like this...We got to the Tasman Sea and then turned around...and just as I was feeling as though the boat was a bit of a waste, the weather took an amazing turn for the better! The wind was completely different now that we were in a different direction...and the clouds started to open and saw blue skys and sun! It was BEAUTIFUL! I couldn't believe it! So perfect...So back though the sound we went, passing gorgeous waterfalls and little sleeping seals on rocks. It was perfect.

We arrived back and got straight on the bus home.  The bus home was a quick one...we made only one potty break stop and just went straight back to Queenstown.  Once in Queenstown it was about 7:30pm...so our journey that day was a full 12 hours :) Crazy crazy...

Andrew and I decided that since we survived the end of the world, we would try the "bar crawl"...man was that interesting...We started at 8pm a bar called Altitude Bar...definitely a singles bar.  The decor was...artistic. Graffiti all over the walls...making me feel like I needed to have a few piercings haha. We had no idea what the details were of the 'crawl'.  All we knew was the starting point and that you got a drink at each stop, totaling 6 bars, and there was free food (my reason for going hahaha).  Turns out it started at 9pm, so we were an hour early. People slowly started showing up and then the whole thing started.  We learned that we go as a big group of everyone on the 'crawl' and we stop at each bar for 45 minutes.  So we were staying at the current bar for yet another hour...wish we had known there was a starting time haha.

After the first bar we went off to the next...we quickly realized that everyone on the crawl was a 'single' and we were the only couple.  That made things difficult. No one wanted to talk to us! Haha. The only time we got people to have a conversation was when Andrew left to go to the restroom and a guy came to hit on me. Once Andrew returned...he would try to strike up a conversation, but I guess that was awkward and not what they were there for, so they quickly left haha.  After a short while, we figured out this wasn't our thing at all...so we went to the next bar waiting for the free food...once we got the food we decided to high tail it out of there and head home for the night...I think thats the last crawl we'll do haha.

The next day we woke up early so that I could do a work meeting.  After my meeting we decided to head home...

After its all said and done I would have to say that Queenstown is a must see.  It's definitely expensive...and we have some holes in our pockets after that one...but it was well worth it.  Fiordland National Park was also a must see.  I'm not sure how the flights are in and out of Milford Sound...but I would recommend trying to at least bus one way.  The drive there was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life.  It's going to be quite hard to top ;) So for those planning to go to NZ some day...you MUST go to Queenstown, Milford Sound, and Fiordland National Park...oh and one of the lakes...Tekapo or Pukaki ;)

My next post will likely be after Christmas.  We're currently planning a trip to the top of the South Island for New Years...but hopefully I can get a post in before that...I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Adventure Capital of the World

We arrived in Queenstown late afternoon on Wednesday the 19th.  After checking in to our hotel (which was a bit rinky dink but who cares...it was cheap) we decided we were going to walk around Wanaka Lake to town.  The view from the hotel was lovely...sadly a tree blocked my view haha. But it was easy to get out and around it, with a picnic table outside for sitting and taking in the views.  Right below our hotel were bus stops (quite convenient for the rest of the trip) and a little lake path.  Once we got down to the path we noticed a dock.  Andrew was set on jumping in the lake at some point on our trip. I told him he was crazy. He then decided he was going to stick his feet in to the water...that's when he decided he was crazy as well. It was freezing...of course. So after staring at the water and the mountains, watching all the ducks bob up and down...we decided to keep on going in to town.

The walk was a lot longer then we though...4km long...which is about 2.5 miles. But hey, it was beautiful out and we needed to walk after such a long drive! We walked through the Queenstown Botanical Gardens, in to town under a big arch that Rotary had made as a memorial for something...I think a war...anyways...there were lots of people sitting out on the beach area near the water. Listening to music, slacklining between trees...it was a site to see :) 

We went in to the downtown area to have a look around.  First we did a bit of shopping. It's quite hard figuring out what to bring back people...but even harder, to figure out what to get people for Christmas! Andrew and I were under the impression that we did a draw name gift exchange for Christmas here and that that was it...so we each bought for the person we drew and thought nothing else of it...come to find out...you still buy for everyone for Christmas day...the draw names was just for a family lunch. Oops.  So about half our time in Queenstown felt like we were looking for gifts haha.  

After going in a few shops we noticed the movie theater! So we decided to buy tickets for the 7:30 showing of The Hobbit :) Movies sure are expensive here...I think it was $15 or $16 per person? Ridiculous. So we bought the tickets then went and had some dinner at a bar/restaurant right next to the theater.  I was oddly craving pasta.  I think it was because of going past all the wineries that made me think of Italy...

Then we went and saw the movie...I won't spoil anything, but it was fantastic :) So cool to see the scenes shot in places that now looked so familiar :) After the movie we got a cab back to the hotel...most expensive cab ever...$17 for about 2.5 miles of driving.  Stupid. So we decided to learn the bus route for the next day haha.

The next morning (Thursday) we woke up early around 8 to go get some breakfast at the hotel.  They had a rinky dink buffet...but hey...it was included so we ate it. Thursday was the day for the gondola and luge :) So we figured out the buses and headed in to town.  Once in town, we walked over to where the Skyline Gondola starts off.  We headed up the gondola over the tall trees to the top of the mountain.  It was so breathtaking from up there.  There is a restaurant situated on the top of the mountain that has a cafe, restaurant and a gift shop.  On the way up we also passed the bungee jumping.  We decided to give that pass...sketch! 

We went in to the Skyline building to take a look at the views off the mountain side.  It was stunning (as you could imagine from the photos).  We wandered around, snapping photos and then decided to go for the ride on the luge.  The ride to the luge started with a helmet and a chair lift. The helmets sucked. We went up the lift to the top and learned how to operate the little luge thingys. Pretty easy.  Then we went off on our first ride down of 5.  Soooo much fun! It was a bit hard to go fast though...people kept getting in our way and not pullling off to the side. A bit of a pain. But it was still a blast :) 

After the luge it was bout 11am or so.  We decided to go have a custard square in the cafe and then go back down the gondola in to town.  We weren't sure what to do because it was still early and we hadn't really planned anything else...so we decided, lets go see if the Shotover Jet has anything available.  It was a beautiful day...and Saturday, the day we planned to go, was 'supposed to rain' (just like every day is supposed to rain here) so we figured, hey, why not.  

So we found a place that sold tickets to the jet, went in and talked with them...and it turned out they had an open trip just minutes away! So we booked our tickets and off we went to meet the bus and go to the Shotover River :)  Once at the river we suited up in our lifevests and got on the speedboat.  Man that thing had some umph! It can hydroplane in water as low as 5 mm! Insane...and the 360 spins?!?!$@#! I about pee'ed my pants. It was SO MUCH FUN! Basically...you get on this little speedboat with a bunch of people, and this guy takes you up and down this cliffy river...super fast...and makes you think your going to hit all the cliffs.  Then, once your in the open a bit, he takes the boat and does a ninja fast 360 degree spin! You get quite wet.  So awesome and so worth the $130 bucks haha.

So after the boat ride we went and grabbed our free photo (check it out over there) and went back in to town to shop some more for Christmas presents.  We shopped for what felt like ages...got super tired...and decided to take our tired selves back to the hotel for a nap.  

When we woke up we decided to go back in to town to visit the Minus 5 Ice Bar. Probably the coolest bar in the world. Literally ;) Bahaha. Anywho...they supplied us with big furry coats, ugly ugg boots, and gloves and shuffled us in to the big cooler of a bar.  The bar was surrounded by ice...ice block walls, ice sculptures, ice shevling for the drinks...SO COOL! Our entry came with a 'free drink' so I got the peachy something and other and Andrew got a 'Yummy Yeti".  Heehee.

After cooling off, taking lots of pictures, and not being able to feel my fingers anymore, we decided to head on out.  The guy at the counter gave us a little coupon for a buy one get one at the bar next store called the Boiler Room (or something similar) so we went over there to have a drink.  After that, we decided it was getting a bit late, and we had to get up SUPER early the next morning for our Milford Sound trip, so we headed back to the hotel and in to bed. 

Amazing day...and couldn't WAIT for tomorrow :P