Oops.

Dear blog...
I am so sorry that I have completely neglected you the past ...month...of my life. Please forgive me?
Love Your faithful owner,
Bri

Okay this is no laughing matter.. SO many things have gone unsaid! Where to begin... Good thing I keep this helpful travel journal as my constant companion..aye? So when the internet can't be there for me.. this little red notebook is.

After Queenstown we went to the Milford Sound and camped next to Lake Gunn for two nights. We kind of just waited around for good weather because that part of New Zealand gets a lot of rain ALL the time. Woke up around 9 AM and drove to the main tourist area of the sound and waited around until 3 in the afternoon when the sun finally decided to come out. I got a lot of reading done, and basically finished the book What is the What by Dave Eggers. Really good book and I would recommend it even though that has nothing to do with travelling in New Zealand. It is a true account of a Sudanese boy (one of The Lost Boys) that escaped the civil war in Africa and his journey to America. Really really interesting. Okay, back to what I really came here to talk about. We went Sea Kayaking in the Milford Sound and it was I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E! It was only us, our guide, and these two other girls from Australia (who complained the whole time)... Not really sure why they thought they would enjoy sea kayaking honestly. We went in two person kayaks, Ruth in the front and I was in the back, and the back person has pedals by their feet to control where the kayak goes. I had NO idea! It was really cool and we got a great arm work out ;) we were on the ocean for 4 and a half hours and during that time we got to paddle under a waterfall....really scary...and we got a little bit wet. Then the wind picked up and the two girls that we were with decided that they couldn't do it anymore and got their kayak leased the guides (I'm pretty sure they normally only use that on little kids). Well, Ruth and I definitely stuck it out and braved the HUGE waves. Overall, the experience was incredible. Sitting in a small kayak surrounded by the gigantic mountains of the Milford Sound really lets you understand how small you are compared to the rest of the nature.

After that, on the 1st of December (see how far behind I am??) we left the Milford Sound and Te Anau and drove to Invercargill for a pitstop on our way to The Catlins. Went to see a movie there and that was about it... All of the cities have their christmas decorations up now and it is really awkward. The sun is shining, I'm wearing shots and a t-shirt and there's CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. The Holidays will definitely not feel very .....festive...this year.

Once we got to the Catlins we decided to spend a weekend there.. hoping for good weather and instead got a cold front from antarctica. I'm sure I don't have to describe to you what that felt like. Just imagine polar bears or something. we drove to the most southern part of the south island (i cant say that ive been to the most souther part of new zealand because of the islands..lame) and that was pretty....COLD. haha. just a sign pointing to the south pole and the equator basically. Aroud sunset we went to Curio Bay and got to see the Yellow Eyed Penguins coming on shore... That was really cool. I've never seen penguins in the wild before and these one are really anti-social and don't huddle in a group like you are used to seeing on national geographic and all of that.

After Dunedin we went to Christchurch and I really really like that city. It just has a really great feel to it and has an awesome center where its pedestrians only and theres a bunch of street performers everywhere and just a lot of stuff going on. While we were there we went to go see the musical production of the Rocky Horror Show and it was actually narrated by Richard O'Brien who wrote the original. It was SO funny and soo much fun. At the end everyone in the audience stood up and did the Time Warp dance. Hahhaa, I loved it sooooo much. I wish everyone could see it that way. And the performers all had such great voices. In Love with it. The next day we met up with my friend tom in town (who actually also goes to UMD) and went to the gardens and out to lunch with him. Then left christchurch later that day.

Next on our trip was Kaikoura where we went swimming with dolphins. And, this was not swimming with dolphins... like orlando type of stuff... this was like swimming with dolphins in the middle of the ocean. Wild Dusky Dolphins. The boat would find a pod of dolphins, (consistently around 100 dolphins in these pods) and we would jump off the boat in our snorkling gear and try to entertain them enough to swim with us. Hahaha, it was a funny sight to say the least. But such a great experience. They would seirously swim in circles with you...and just stare at you. haha, lots and lots of fun. Ruth and I had a good time.

In other news my parents finally booked their tickets to new zealand and I am SO excited I can barely take it. It will be a lot of fun to see my favorite places again and then get to show them around as well. CANT WAIT! :)

what else..
ooh yes. we also went to Abel Tasman National Park (insanely beautiful...wow!) and went for a 2 day hike on the coastal track. Ummm, yeah, i don't think we could have pushed our bodies any harder on that walk to be honest. We got a water taxit to take us 12 hours out on the boat and then we were going to walk back over the course of two days. Don't know what we were thinking when planning that one? I mean, compared to our Mount Pirongia hike it was easy peasy but ...I couldn't feel my feet for the next 3 days. Ouch.

Other than that... It's been raining for the past 5 days. Except two days ago there was an afternoon of sunshine which ruth and I celebrated by tanning on the beach. Unfortunately, I forgot to put sunscreen anywhere other than my face and fell asleep in the sun for 2 hours.

I have a really impressive sunburn to say the least.

When will I learn my lesson????

--BreezyDownUnder

Queenstown!

It is our second day in Queenstown and I am absolutely in love with it. I can't even really explain to you what it's like here...but I will try my best! There are mountains surrounding the town in 360 degrees, a big lake in the center, so many shops you cant even imagine, tons of outdoor activities (most of them adrenaline filled and crazy), so many people out and about and the sun is shining. Basically, it is the perfect day to be in Queenstown. The high today was a nice 77 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Ruth and I drove up to The Remarkables ski area to check it out -- obviously it is not open this time of year but there was some remaining snow-- and i had a snowball fight and made a snow angel in my shorts. There are pictures to prove it if you do not believe me. It was great! Sooo good to see snow this time of year.. even if it was just little patches at the top of mountains. It's almost december... it just eased my mind a little bit to see some. We actually made an adventure out of the ski area and climbed up one of the mountains and we got a vew of the whole mountain range, including the mountains that are in the Milford Sound so that was realllyyy spectacular. However, the drive up to the ski field was TERRIFYING and.. i dont honestly know how people drive there in winter when there is snow on the roads. It was a super narrow road and barely any of it had guard rails on the side and just gravel road. Oh my god. Ruth's driving about had me peeing my pants.  But we made it. I honestly have to say that going down was probably more scary. It looked like you could just fly right off the cliffs! Sooo nerve wrecking. The experience was really great though, we found some streams that were gushing water from the melting snow and drank some.. bet its the cleanest water in the world! Mmm! And there was a little lake hidden up at the top between two of the peaks which had gorgeous blue water.

We are staying here for another night at the same campground as last night which was really beautiful and by a lake so hopefully we'll get some time to go swimming tonight! Then tomorrow we might start to make our way towards the Milford Sound... cant wait for that. I really want to go kayaking there.. it is supposed to be one of the best places to go in New Zealand. The south island just has sooo much to see. It's really cool to experience. However, this sun is going to destroy me.. I think I got sunburned AGAIN today. Ever planning to travel to New Zealand?? Bring a shit ton of sun block. You were warned.

Peace, Love, & Sunblock,

--BreezyDownUnder

On the Move!

Today we are heading for Franz Joesph, which is on the west coast of the south island, just further south of where we are right now. Closer to Queenstown. One of my friends that I met while living in Hamilton is working there right now with her boyfriend at a restaurant so we are hopefully going to get a few days to hang out with them! As always, the situation with my student permit is up in the air again.. so I will probably have to get myself to a larger town some point soon so I can work on getting a visitors permit before school gets mad at me and kicks me out of the country. No, just kidding. That won't actually happen... but I do need to make some things happen in the next few weeks. Other than that, today is a not-so-beautiful day in the land of the long white cloud so I guess it's a good thing that we are going to be driving for most of the day. We should make it to the glaciers today which according to Ruth is absolutely incredible ( I think I will take her word for it, it sounds pretty spectacular...just the word glacier is pretty suave, aye?)

Anyway, just wanted to check in while I still have use of this free internet... yesss. Don't have time to get pictures up yet again today... (one day it will happen.. i promise) but there are a wholeeeee ton up on facebook if you are feeling extra curious :). Peanut butter & banana TOAST (hostels allow you to have that luxury) and English breakfast tea is the perfect start to this chilly morning in Greymouth, New Zealand.

Peace, Love & flannel tshirts,
(I bought a new flannel shirt yesterday..i forgot to mention that... but im pretty excited about it.)

--BreezyDownUnder

Hi From the Road!

Kia Ora!

I have just had my first experience with high speed internet for the first time in two weeks... it feels very odd. Our adventure that was Mahana Lodge is now over... we stayed for two weeks at a Luxury Accomodation lodge in the Marlborough Sounds working for the owners, Ann & John, cleaning the lodge and working on small projects. In return we received food and accommodation as a form of pay. It was such a great experience and really tough to say goodbye to them this morning. 

Now we are sitting in Nelson, it is on the west coast of the south island of New Zealand, at an internet cafe trying to get some things taken care of. We will be staying at a campground for the night with Ruth and then taking  Brittany to the airport in the morning so that she can begin her journey back to the states. Her grandfather passed away while we were working at Mahana Lodge so we have been trying to work out a way for her to get home on Ann & Johns dial-up internet connection for the past few days. It may have consumed a few (a lot) of hours of our days but at least we got it sorted. It is sad to see her go earlier than expected as we have been having such a great time travelling together for the past few weeks and on top of that we have been inseparable for the past month or so... it's going to be a little tough. However, I now have her friendship to return to once I get back to Duluth after I finish my travels so that's actually pretty neat.

My plan is now changing to spending the next month or so travelling the south island, most likely with Ruth. We have plans to go on a surfing adventure for awhile and just see where the waves take us so that should be a lot of fun. After that, I will head back North to meet up with my friend Katie in Hamilton and then go to Rhythm and Vines with her for 5 days during the New Year. After that, my parents should hopefully be nearly arriving in New Zealand (as long as they decide on some dates and book a trip!) around that time so I will show them around for a few weeks. Then, off to Australia? Who knows! Time is going by so quickly, its really crazy....

Well, I wish I had pictures to share today but unfortunately they are all on my computer and I am using a public computer to give you the 411 on my where abouts! So, they will have to wait. 

Also, I went bungy jumping. Yes, I'm dead serious. Brittany and I did it in Taupo and it was one of the most exciting things I've ever done. It was soooo much fun! Basically, I loved it so much that I need to do it again before I leave this country :)

Other things that have been accomplished, 

1) saw baby Orca whales. (thought they were dolphins at first so not really sure if that counts)

2) saw jellyfish

3) touched a jelly fish

4) saw dolphins multiple times (3 different kinds, 5 times)

(all in the wild, might I add because at this stage-- the zoo doesn't count!)

5) got my tan on / horrible sunburn for one day

6) got destroyed by sandflies

7) went fishing on the ocean (4 times!) and caught my own dinner (Kahawai)

8) got an insane tan line from my barbie bracelet (this one is for you Angela)

And now.. my sea legs are kicking in and the screen is starting to rock back and forth so.. I think I'm going to get off of this computer and find myself some food. oh dear lord...

Peace, Love & Relaxation

--BreezyDownUnder

Taupo

It’s officially SUMMER for us in beautiful New Zealand—well, the locals don’t consider it summer yet but by my standards it is definitely here. Plus, we are finished with school, so that’s automatically celebration for ringing in summer. It is the start of Brit & Bri’s Backpacking Adventure and we are enjoying our time so far. It is night number 2 in the beautiful town of Taupo on the North Island. We arrived here yesterday and it just so happens that Ruth was also in Taupo with her parents who are here visiting until the end of the week so we went out to dinner with them. They don’t speak very fluent English so it was an interesting experience but they were such wonderful people and full of great stories. Oh, ALSO—minor mishap with my cellular device—Ruth smashed it in the trunk of her van... whoops! My fault for setting in it the prime spot to be smashed I guess L So. Had to invest in a new cell phone today... boo. It’s a piece of crap but it was cheap so whatever.

Hm, you know.. I guess that’s about all the excitement that we’ve had today.. Other than that I bought new running shoes since my other ones have become a muddy mess from hiking Pirongia Forest Park. Oh, totally slipped my mind.... We went BUNGY JUMPING today. Haha, ok just kidding it didn’t actually slip my mind. It was incredible. Brit and I did a tandem jump where you go together, at the same time. We were hoping to get dunked in the water but didn’t make it..which is all right I guess. It was such an adrenaline rush and not as scary as I had anticipated. We are pretty sure that is because we were together though, so it was inevitable that we were going to go through the same thing. I bought a package of the pictures and video so that will be up at some point hopefully.

Tomorrow we head to Wellington at 10am and reach our destination at 4:45pm. Long day ahead on the bus! We are just staying up late tonight on purpose so maybe we can get in a few hours of sleep on our trip. Veryyy excited to see Wellington! Have heard a lot of great stuff about it and it’s our last stop on the North Island before taking the ferry to Picton! Yayyy!! It feels good to be on the road! We’ve just got our backpacks and a messenger bag each which holds our whole lives. Quite an odd feeling but really liberating at the same time, it felt pretty great to leave stuff behind. Said our goodbyes to Hamilton yesterday... It was fun to think back on all the memories I’ve had there and all the great people I’ve meet but I know that it is not goodbye. Honestly, I’m happy to be out of that town but so grateful for the amazing people I’ve become friends with there. A lot of my friends from uni (who are also international students) are headed to the South Island soon or are already there so it should just be one big party down there for the next month or so! Can’t wait!

Peace, Love & Adrenaline,

--BreezyDownUnder

UPDATE!

Well... fabulous news: I'm typing to you from MY computer! It decided to start working again... not entirely sure how that works.. but I don't ask questions. I'm just happy to see it turn on every day. Any-who, Dad assures me it will break down again so I gotta get myself to call the Dell guys at some point this week to come and fix it. Just another thing to add to my longgggg To-Do list for the week.

I had another run in with a cockroach the other day... YUCK! It was terrifying. They just love me! I don't know why... it's not cool. Well, either that or just the simple fact that New Zealand does not believe in putting screens on their windows.. So I occasionally get some stray bugs and miscellaneous objects floating into my bedroom. This cockroach was seriously menacing though. I was laying on my bed just typing away on my computer to see someone move out of the corner of my eye. ...What the?? Low and behold there is a nasty, nasty cockroach walking along my computer cord right up to my bed... AHHHHHH!!! Yeah, I ran for the hills. I can't even type about it. I have shivers going down my spine. Ew. From now on my windows are on a strict hour-open schedule and NEVER, EVER after dark. (I've rigged the system...see if any of these buggers get in to my abode ever again..hehe).

On a more interesting (sorry, someone's gotta hear about my bug adventures) and happy note: I just got back from a trip 'up north' (to the very tippy top of New Zealand) a few days ago. It was a lot of fun! I have previously traveled up there during spring break with Ruth so it was great to see some of my favorite places again (aka Piahia) and then we also ventured new terrain. Complete with a trip to the most northern part of New Zealand to Cape Reinga where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet! So, I think that trip about finished off my area of the Northland! I traveled with Brittany (my fellow UMDer and new roommate) and Keith (also a UMDer) and needless to say there were lots of good times, laughs, and beers that were consumed. I will now provide you with a visual representation of some of our journey:

All day excursion on the cape

Cape Reinga-- Tasman Sea

Cape Reinga-- waves to the left is where the oceans meet

Sunset in Mangonui Bay

We had a really great time! Also, in Mangonui (the picture directly above this) we went to a fish shop that was created on top of a dock (you could literally see the water below you, very cool) which is known to have amazing seafood because of how fresh it is soooo Brit and I tried mussels for the first time. I'm not talking about ohh, mussels in seafood chowder or ohh fried mussels (is that a real thing?) -- We had raw mussels that were marinated and holyyyy smokes! They were so so so delicious! I was pretty skeptical.. as I am with most cold seafood but Wow! Quite the experience. So, I've just realized that I am going completely backwards in travel time here but eh... oh well! I run this blog so I guess at the end of the day it's my choice, right? 

The weekend before this epic trip that we took up north was in fact my birthday weekend. Now, my birthday fell on a tuesday this year so obviously that gives me reason to celebrate for basically a whole week straight without anyone being able to argue about it. Therefore, after a week of working hard in school (it was our last week of classes) and having a final exam on that Friday... We decided to head to Auckland for a weekend of fun! I had Brit, Keith, and Katie in tow with me as we ventured the city. (4th largest in New Zealand) and we had a blast. Celebrated my birthday by going to Minus 5 bar on Friday night. It's an ice bar... where everything is exactly as it sounds--- ALL made out of ice. It was very, very cool and pretty classy might I add. We enjoyed our time there and the staff was really great. They all came out to the bars with us after they got off work to celebrate with us which was really sweet of them. Saturday night Katie and I went to a concert at The Powerhouse in Auckland -- we saw Kids of 88 and The Naked and Famous (both New Zealand bands) and it was a sold out crowed. I bought a t-shirt to add to my non-existent collection of suveniors. Gotta start somewhere right? ;) Here's some pictures from the Auckland trip!:

Ready to celebrate my 21st

@ The Ice Bar 

Auckland Waterfront

BEFORE all of this great, fantastic, incredible stuff happened, it was ACTUALLY my birthday. (This backwards thing is kinda funny.. it adds some mystery). My birthday consisted of... studying in the morning. AND THEN, I enjoyed a stroll to the Hamilton Gardens with my iPod (its not really an iPod but no one knows what I'm talking about if I say 'zune') and walked around enjoying all the flowers in bloom and taking some artsy fartsy pictures on a gorgeous New Zealand day. Also, spent some time sitting by a lake in the gardens writing in my journal. It was great to catch up on my writing --- which, now that i think about it, I am falling behind on AGAIN. Oops! After the gardens, Brit and I went shopping and I purchased the outfit I wore out in Auckland *above* and a new black dress with seagulls on it!! It's so awesome (and I'm pretty sure they're actually sparrows...but seagulls is the reason I tried it on.. so we're sticking with that). Then anyone that wasnt studying furiously for exams joined for dinner at Gengy's (my makeshift Benihana for the evening) which is a Mongolian BBQ. It was so delicious.. and everyone ate a lot. Plus, they have pancakes for dessert... what more could you ask for ;) It was a great time and Ruth made me a photo album of our journey so far which was so thoughtful. It definitely will be the thing that I look back on once I am back in Minnesota and makes me tear up haha.

Hamilton Gardens

Artsy on my walk home

Shopping extravaganza!

!!Gengy's Mongolian BBQ!!
(left to right: Ruth, Keith, Denise, Angelica, Brittany, me, Katie)

Seagull dress + Pancakes + birthday cocktail = excellence!!

WoW! I was pretty behind on my adventures! I wonder if anyone still reads this blog.. there's spider webs growing all over it! Now that it is summer I should have ample more time to update. However, no promises because I'm not sure what the internet situation will be over the summer slash if my computer will decide to crap out on me again. But! I'm feeling a weight off my shoulders and much more accomplished. Now, to study for my test on friday a little bit more, enjoy some Chai Tea (I'm obsessed now) and then hit the hay for another intense day of studying tomorrow! Oh! One last thing. I also got my hair done today at the beauty school in town. Brit and I went this morning and were models for two of the students there. We got body waves (aka: a really loose perm that puts some curl slash wave in your hair). Well, Britt's hair was already pretty wavy so hers looks incredible.. and I'm a little nervous for mine to be honest. I put it up in a ponytail so I can't see it at the moment... I think I'll wait until I'm allowed to shower tomorrow to decide whether I should start freaking out or not haha! It was free though.. so I can't be too angry either way. If it just helps my hair from looking like a wet dog after getting out of the ocean this summer then that will be enough to satisfy me!

Until next time,

Peace, Love & Seagulls!

--BreezyDownUnder

Disaster Strikes...

Hard drive cannot be detected.

Yeah, thank you computer for crapping out on me a week before finals start. Awesomeeeeeeeeeeee. I'm so pissed and it really sucks... and blah blah blah. whatever. nothing I can do about it. It's still under warranty so at least thats good.

Just wanted to update you guys on my current situation because it looks like I wont be update my blog as much for the time being. Sweet sweet sweet.

But oooooohhhhhhh do i have stories to tell :) I'll wait til I have more time to do so though-- instead of at 2am on Sunday morning when I have to catch a bus to Kerikeri at 8am. Ahh. So, looks like I'll have to hold out on you guys for awhile longer.

Peace, Love & techno beats (bumping outside the hostel)

--BreezyDownUnder

Beach Bums

Ohhh how I love days off school (aka every tuesday for me for this entire semester) I forgot to fill you in our the adventures we had last tuesday but...basically it consisted of Ruth decided to ditch school and me, her, and Brittany heading to Raglan for a day of surfing. Can't beat that, aye? So awesome. Ruth and I also went there on Sunday afternoon to nurse our hangovers by taking a nap in the sun on the beach. It didn't really work.. but hey, at least I kinda got a tan? Yessss. :) And because I'm feeling so lazy.. here's some pictures to aid in the adventure telling!

Inland Raglan @ High Tide

It's like Root Beer... But better!!

ahhhh, pictures say 1,000 words...thank god :) It's been a good time though. I'm having a lot of fun with photography here.. it's making me really contemplate saving up for a really nice camera once I get home. Plus, how can you not have fun with photography here? Everything is so picturesque. I'm hoping to spend much of this week wandering around Hamilton and seeing what I can get myself into in terms of photography. It's the last week of classes and there will be plenty of need for study breaks this week and I feel as though I haven't seen a whole lot of the city I live in. Also, as a minorrr side note. I turn 21 in exactly 2 minutes. Ain't that nifty!
Ugh. I feel boring today. More tomorrow.

Peace, Love & Photography

--BreezyDownUnder







SIDE NOTE:

Okay, I just need to write this here because I have no where else to do it and if I did what I wanted to do (scream) I would wake up all my flat mates.... looks like caps lock will have to do:

I'M TWENTY-ONE YEARS OLD!!! YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For some reason I did not think i would be that excited because nothing changes with me living in New Zealand... but hellll yeahhhhh I'M 21!!!! :) :) :) WOOO HOOOO!!!

Okay, maybe not for another 18 hours in the USofA where I was born but still. STILL! No more incidents with the po-po for Briiiii :) woohoo. Oh that feels good. Yes, yes, yes!!

And yes, in case it sounded like it but you were unsure of yourself... I AM dancing in my bed. Thank you very much. ahhhhh. Minnesota. I cannot wait to come home to you. :)

Thanks for letting me get that out. Now off to sleep so I can wake up and be 21 all over again :)

Pirongia Forest Park

Last weekend Ruth and I headed 50km south to Pirongia Forest Park in hopes of experiencing our first 'real' hike of New Zealand. Complete with my new backpack and all ;) They weighed about 20 lbs each! Saturday was the first day of our hike, setting off at around 10 am for Mount Pirongia Summit. Needless to say... the tramping trails here are apparently no joke. Honestly, half of it was basically rock climbing, the other half complete with swamps of mud up to our ankles. Of course, we were hiking in our running shoes so.. they got filled with mud.. it was really cute :) But we got pretty dirty and had a great time! The sun was out and shining the whole time. We reached the summit around 4:30 pm... that should explain how intense the hike was. It was another 30 minutes hiking to the back country hut that we stayed in and I can promise you that if it had been even a couple minutes farther.. I don't think I would have made it. My legs were jello by the time we got there! I have to say, though, I am so impressed with myself and us as a team for accomplishing that hike so well. It wasn't easy at times and we did a really great job.. and kept a steady pace that worked for both of us. I hope that we will get a chance to do another one before the school year is over.

Reached the top of our first peak!

Mount Pirongia Summit!

The next day, after a rather restless sleep on my part in the back country hut, we set off around the same time (10 am) for the second track of the loop we were doing. This one was supposed to be mildly easier than the day before and take an hour or so less than the first track. Well, to our surprise it ended up being much easier! Although it had some really awesome cliffs that we did some rock climbing on which was great! I think it's for the best that day 2 had an easier terrain... our muscles were shaking the whole way down. I think we worked them to the core the first day. It was pretty interesting.. and also a lot less muddy! I think I have thoroughly used my running shoes to their full potential though. I think I'm in need of a new purchase.. Whoops! It was well worth it though!

Day 2: Rock Climbing

Mount Pirongia :)

Well, TaDa. It was Super fun and I'm really excited that I got such a nice backpack. It was really comfortable to hike with and I definitely know that it will last through my travels after that experience. Let's just say I slipped and fell a few times on our hike... Ruth almost had a heart attack every time... haha! You think she'd be used to the fact that I'm rather clumsy sometimes by now. Ah, I just can't help it. My mind would start to wander... I mean its just us and the rain forest... There's not much else to do other than think about lots and lots of random things.

Anyways, now I am just over at Brittany's flat and we are having a sleepover tonight. We just watched Into the Wild because she has never seen it. For anyone that has not seen it -- Please do. I love that movie so much. It really makes you appreciate the beauty that is around you everywhere in the landscape and in people. It makes me all inspirational and stuff :)

"When you want something in life, you just gotta reach out and grab it." 



Peace, Love, & Beauty
--BreezyDownUnder

Running with the Wolves

Running with the wolves.
It's time for us to go.
Left all our clothes.
With the car left by the road.

And we were running.
For a reason.
For the burning, in our veins.
And we were running.
For a reason.
We just need to get away. 

Running with the wolves.
We're screaming at the stars.
Left all we own.
In a hole in our backyard.

And we were running.
For a reason.
Left our cubicles in little flaming piles.
And we were running. 
For a reason.

I need to feel something different for just a little while.

I'm not coming home.
I'm staying with the wolves.
They can burn all my mail.
And disconnect my phone.

Tell my mom I'm sorry, sorry for leaving.
But I'm staying. 

Now we're running to find meaning.
We're gone, and we're never coming back. 
----------------------------------------------------------------






Thank you Cloud Cult for this great song to fall asleep to..
Streaming The Current (89.3) from New Zealand was such a great idea.


Thanks Mom.. <3

What I've been up to....

Well, It's official. I will be done with school at Waikato University on October 29th!!
Can't wait! Working on some siiiickkkk travel plans at the moment ;)
Also, total line up for Rhythm & Vines was released today... yay!

Okay, you're right... that's really not why I came on here. I wanted to let you guys know what I've been doing over the last week errr so!

First and foremost...

Britt & I made STEAK DINNER

The meats different but what of it. It was DELICIOUS.

 

Katie, Nora, Ruth, Denise & Myself went to the SNOW for a weekend.

except that it was a blizzard so we couldn't really make it to the snow...
but here's us @ Lake Taupo :)

I got a picture with a GIANT wooden kiwi

While katie's car was broken down.... 

And we went to Huka Falls which is the start of the Waikato River

It has the most amazingly blue water

And now... I sit here in my room. Writing a paper. Oops.. I meant, taking a break from writing my paper. Also, taking a break from studying for my popular culture test to write this. Awaiting more great adventures to come.

It's cold out again... isn't it supposed to be getting warmer now? I've had enough of the cold. Bring on summer! :)

I'm having an internal conflict right now. Can't decide when I should head back home. I suppose I should give it some time and see how I like traveling before I start to worry about it. Thing is... I realized something about myself. I don't like not knowing. I wanna plan it, and know, and know that what I plan is the right thing to do. Hm...Always thought I was super spontaneous about these things... guess I was wrong. You learn something new every day. ;)

Peace, Love & Life Experience

--BreezyDownUnder

TurqouiseNails

Hello lovelys :)
I'm kind of glad that my travel journal is now down in the blog... just as boring for me to write as it probably was for you to read. But hey... at least now its documented in electronic history, aye? Hehe. Well, apparently we are supposed to be getting some 'biggest storm on the planet" in New Zealand this weekend. I'm rather skeptical of it because all it talks about is rain, snow, and a lot of wind. Sounds like a pretty average storm to me... Although the snow in most of the North Island would be really weird. I don't think people would know what to do if snow started to fall her. Me, on the other hand, would probably go make a snow angel :).

I suppose there is some good that will come out of this storm.. my unwillingness to leave the house will cause me to be very successful in studying for my test that I have tomorrow. But ohhh New Zealand.. will you please stop crying? It's almost summer! Put on a smile and let the sun come out!

We had a gorgeous day yesterday, which I also grudgingly spent studying.. but you know whenever there is a WHOLE day of sun around these parts that the next 4 are pretty much promised to be complete shit. And that is exactly what happened. Yayyy. I should be a meteorologist.

Well, new news in the world of my life includes Verena coming back to the north island! Hooray! She misses her boy in the mountains too much.. hehe. So she's coming back here for him and will be staying about 3 hours from where I live. Pretty exciting stuff. Also, I will hopefully get to see her this weekend because the group of girls that I hang out with have decided to take a trip 'to the snow' for the weekend. It's Nora's last weekend, she's going home on tuesday now :(, so we wanted to do something fun before she leaves. However, if its going to be such crappy weather, I kind of doubt that we will be able to go snowboarding. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Next week we are having our international potluck thinger with my friends. I'm gonna make Tator Tot Hot Dish. What up! I'm so excited! Even though it probably won't taste the same at all... but I can hope!

Still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my time in New Zealand. The end of the school year is rapidly approaching...my last final is on October 29th! Woohooo! Then I was thinking about maybe going to see Australia for a few weeks (possibly with Verena). Or else I could always go to the South Island but I kinda wanna wait to do that until my parents come and/or after the Rhythm&Vines Festival. Who knows! So much to do, so little time!

I've been using this as my procrastination method so that I could take a break from studies... but I think it's time for me to retire the blog for the day and hit the books again!

Peace, Love & Lots of Rain!

-BreezyDownUnder

Spring Break Chronicles: Surf, Taranaki, Surf

28-August-2010: Clear Skies

Ahh today was gorgeous! Woke up on the beach around 7:30 am (yes, we get up early here! It happens when you’re sleeping in a van and don’t dread a school day J) and went for ‘a run’. Ok, Ruth actually went and I just tried.. the sand wasn’t hard yet so it was really tough to run. Then we landed at a BackPackers to take a shower for 3 dollars which was really nice of them... we are so lucky that it is off-season. All of these people keep telling us that they don’t normally allow people to shower there haha. Talked to the older couple that was watching over the place for winter for awhile and then after that we left for Tairua for the Puketuni Valley to go on a gold mining tramp. It was a 3-hour track and we did it in two... crazyyyy! It was a really fun walk with mine tunnels (3 short ones) and climbed uphill forever on our way to the Collins Drive track. It was a 500 meter gold mine tunnel and not going to lie it was pretty creepy. Ruth got freaked out as soon as we hit pitch black so I had to be brave and continue on with our lantern, singing songs.

It was really awesome! After our tramp we were really gross so we thought it’d be a good idea to jump into the river that was by where we parked the van... Yeah.. FREEZING COLD. Let’s just compare it to jumping into Lake Superior in fall. Haha, oh dear it was funny...but really refreshing! And then it was my turn to drive the van... yes, I now know how to drive not only a cool minivan but also on the left side of the road. It actually wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be... the most complicated thing is mixing up the windshield wipers and blinkers because they are on the opposite side of the wheel. I think biking has helped me to get used to staying to the left though because not once did I start to go right. Good news, ay? It was great to drive though through the mountains and such. I miss driving.

First place I ventured to in the van was Hot Water Beach and wow! Is it cool! It’s a Geothermal area (go figure) and when it’s low tide you can go there, dig your own hole, and it becomes a hot pool! There was a lot of tourists there today.. the most we’ve seen anywhere on our trip. I couldn’t help but think how weird it would be to someone that isn’t familiar with the concept. You arrive at this beach to see a ton of people.. but rather than swimming in the ocean, they are all sitting in this one area of the beach in sand holes. Haha.. so great. Occasionally, our pool got a little TOO hot and i burned my tush but then you just dig in a cold spot and you can balance it out.

After that we went a little more North on the Coromandel Peninsula to Whitiangi and took the passenger ferry to ‘Scallop Fest!’ We were super excited to experience this popular occasion but apparently you needed tickets ahead of time and by the time we got there the festival was almost over anyway. However, we did go to Snapper Jack’s to eat and I got Seafood Chowder for the first time since I’ve been in New Zealand. Mmmm! It was really good and came with buttered bread.

We currently are at a new campground near Cathedral Cove hanging out in the lounge, eating chips, chocolate, lollies, and watching some rugby on a big screen tv. The lady that was working here thought we were crazy for being so excited about the TV and kitchen... What! We never watch Tv, ok?! It’s pretty exciting. Well, I still don’t really understand the rules of rugby.. It’s kinda like football but really continuous.. after a tackle they just keep passing the ball.

Cathedral Cove

30-August-2010: Losing track of the days..

We are in RAGLAN!  Yesterday we ended up in Tauranga and Mount Manganui. Ate at Zeithyn’s for dinner and it was so absolutely delicious. Kind of a Turkish, Indian style restaurant. Slept near the beach in some rando boat landing and woke up this morning to about 20 high school boys running past our van at 7:30 am...haha...awkwarddd. Not much going on in Tauranga right now, plus there was no surf and we are itching to try it so that’s how we ended up in Rags. Which I love so its all good. J

Rented wetsuits/surfboards from the Raglan Backpacker’s for 25 dollars today and went for about 3 and a half hours. So tiring but SO.MUCH.FUN! Starting to think I taught myself how to snowboard wrong... considering I longboard and now surf with my RIGHT foot forward and snowboarding with my LEFT forward. Weird as...But! I DID stand up today, which is awesome. Got it about 4 times really good. I’d say the board kind of owned me though... considering it’s about 8 ft. Talk and I’m a whopping 5’ 3” AND it was really windy, ha! It was a struggle to walk my board to the water... let’s just say that.

1-September-2010

Went surfing again yesterday for FOUR hours! It was a lot of fun and I was up for a whole wave a few times. It’s just a fun experience to learn. It’s understandable how snowboarding helps you to surf but then at the same time, it’s a much different experience. It’s fun to be in the water instead of cold snow too! Afterwards I was starving so we got Fish N’ Chips from Nannie’s in Raglan.. I looooveeeee that place.

Headed off to New Plymouth for the day because Raglan was rainy so surf wouldn’t be fun today. Think we went to sleep by 9pm because we were so burnt out from surfing. Went to the museum in New Plymouth this morning and that had lots of awesome Maori artefacts. Also, stopped by a second hand bookstore today where I got ‘Stuff on my cat’ (made me think of andrea.. don’t ask) and this book in the NZ’s favourite books called ‘Tully’ and so far its been really good!

Visited Mount Taranaki, some gardens and a children’s zoo...it was excellent ;). Then we stopped at  Mike’s Organic Brewery for some tasting on our way back north.
 

Spring Break Chronicles: Northland

And so the story continues...

Day 5: Piahia                                                                                    

View we woke up to

Yes, we are finally on the road! Got out around 6 p.m. last night and headed north. Too dark to see naything but full moon and awesome stars! James would be jealous of the stars visible around here..you can see the milky way like I've never seen! We decided to crash last night in the can at a spot in Piahia. Woke up in the morning to the Bay of Islands and blue skies! It is so beautiful! Washed up in a public beach restroom and then headed for Russel in hopes of meeting up with Nora at some point today. You take a ferry from Piahia to Russell maybe 6 mins. tops and then you are on the peninsula. We are surrounded by water, little islands, and trees. 

I'm writing this from the top of Flagstaff Hill and god, is it cool. :) Also, standing next to this flag pole that was a part of the Maoria revolt against the British settlers that arrived here in the 1800's. The flagpole was put up in 1840 by the British and chopped down FOUR times by Maori. It was rebuilt in 1858 as a peace offering and is still standing today. So awesome to learn about. Oh, and p.s. THE VAN IS AWESOME. Pretty damn comfortable to sleep in too! Finished this day off visiting with Nora's family and then ferried back to Piahia and started driving north again. 

Day 6: "Don't Honk the Horn with your Ass"

Well, Ruth just honked the horn to let everyone know that we've arrived at Bayly's Beach. To finish what we did yesterday we ended up in Karikari Peninsula, checked out Matai Beach at the end of it and Holy Smokes! It was incredible. Completely empty, not walked on, white sand beach out in the middle of nowhere. (Easily one of my favorite spots of the whole trip) We slept in the van there and had a bonfire on the beach which was really relaxing. I miss bonfires. We also apparently went to some waterfalls in the area as visible from the picture above.. however, I'm not entirely sure what falls these are... we came across a lot of them. But! Check out the rainbow that you can see in this picture. I think they were somewhere in the way north. Kaitaia?? 

Before swimming @ Matai Beach.. Brr!

Grabbed Fish n' Chips in Keikhoe today and started heading south down the west coast of the northland peninsula. Went to Ngwana Springs which are Hot (thermal) Pools on the outskirts of town. It was in the kind of run down place but turned out to be incredible. Ended up talking to the older man that was "working" (aka sitting in the hot pool with us) and he told us all about the area. They had about 15 different pools all different colors (from different minerals) and temperatures. It was kind of raining so we got to sit in a pretty hot one which was so relaxing. It was great & now we smell like sulfur, ha! But at least our skin is soft! Left the springs in hopes of camping by Kei Ewi Lakes tonight only to get there and find that the campsites are closed for logging :/ so now we are at Bayly's Beach in some cul-de-sac next to a house that we are hoping no one lives in, haha! Ohhh, the adventure never stops. I can hear the ocean though so that's a good sign!

Day 7: We Severely Need to Invest in A Flashlight

Woke up this morning in the cul-de-sac to find cows grazing next to our car haha! That was neat. Then we headed south to Dargaville in search of a backpackers to take a shower. Turns out the BPers here is closed in winter..ughhh. We ended up stumbling up to the door of McLean's B&B and this precious old man named John answers the door and we stand there awkwardly (probably smelled awful) and asked him if we could just use the showers. Turns out his wife had recently had a stroke so they hadn't been taking in many at their B&B but he said no problem took us upstairs to our own shower and room to get ready. They were such a sweet couple with many recommendations for travel and such a good spirit. John and I joked about buying beer before the liquor stores closed for the weekend and we had a few laughs. Adorable. Other than the fact that he called me a yankee =P We checked out the public gardens in Dargaville and they were really disappointing.. but they had a cool playground constructed like a pirate ship! 

So, after giving Dargaville a chance..and being not too impressed, we moved on to bigger and better things. Headed for Whangeri next and went to Whangeri Falls and for a hike. After that we went to Abbey Caves which were kinda cool but didn't want to climb too far into them without gear. Plus the fact that caves just kinda freak me out... as I've realized from this trip. There was also a 'Rock Forest' sign in the area which we checked out just far enough to find a grave from 1884 of a two-year-old boy complete with plastic toys all around it... CREEPY. So we hightailed it out of there as fast as possible. Grabbed some McD's soft-serve ice cream...(this quickly became a tadition) and headed for Bream Bay.  Waves are awesome, water is clear, cool cliffs to either side of us and islands off in the distance. Hot here earlier than most nights so we set up shop-- Tried out our gas burner that came with the van & made pasta with leek and spicy pepper sauce and had some beers while sitting on Lang's Beach. This is another favorite beach of mine from our trip.. Perfection. We live a rough life, aye? 

Lang's Beach @ night

practicing photography w/cool tree

First time cooking was a success!

Day 8: One week & Last day of the Northland

Today was full of driving. I think we drove for somewhere around 5 hours. Wen't to Manghwei Heads this morning after leaving Lang's Beach... I can say that I have been there..but I couldn't tell you what the hell the heads were. (This is a reoccuring theme in the trip...i think they try to hard to make everything a tourist spot sometimes). After that, we continued south toward Auckland (my favorite place...) got some groceries @ Pak N' Save (almost forgot the muffins!) and headed for Coromandel Peninsula. Somewhere along the way we went to this cafe called 'Dragon's Rest' and got AMAZING muffins. Honey & Oat and I got a Cappucino w/ cinnamon on top. Mmm! Decided to skip past the crappy town of Thames (pronounced Tims) and are now on the East Coast of the Coromandel in the quaint town of Tairua at Ocean's Beach. A million beaches right? I know.. we decided to follow the ocean during our travels. The beach is complete with high school kids driving in for a late night make out sesh every 20 mins. Most of them leave once they see our van though...who's the creepers now?! ha! I absolutely loved Tairua. We decided to climb to the top of Paku Hill and then headed back down to a picnic table to make our 2nd home cooked meal with our stove. The stars are out again tonight. <3

Below is an eclectic collection of the events that are either written about or captured on film from the day:
From the top!: First of all, L&P is by far my most favorite soft drink in the Southern Hemisphere. Lemon&Paeroa for those of you that are wondering...and what is Paeroa?? I'm not really sure yet. But it's delicious and it quickly became a staple to our day to day adventures in the van (still attempting to think of a name for the beast). 2nd picture is us hanging out our swimsuits to try only to forget about them and then drive to a beach 15 minutes away with a truck honking at us and us going WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?! Landing at the beach to find that..well, we aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree ;) Thennnn we just have some pictures of me hugging trees/the coast from paku hill/ me at the top of paku hill praying to the sun god for more sun and less clouds. 

makes the world go 'round

embarassingly left our swimsuits out to dry while we drove..