Monday, April 16, 2012
US soil at last!!!
So we have finally arrived in the US after a 23 hour travel day! Sorry I didn't blog the last two weeks. They were quite boring weeks to be honest ... just trying to pass the time. Home finally.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Dunedin
We are in Dunedin which is on the southeast coast of the south island of NZ. We have been here 5 nights and to be honest are really just killing time until we head home. We have about 9 days left until we fly out of Christchurch. We have been everywhere we wanted to visit in NZ and don't really have much left to do. We are hanging out and relaxing now. There is significantly less to do in Dunedin than in Queenstown. However we have found some fun things to do with our time. We visited St. Claire Beach a couple times which was nice. Laying on the fine white sand as we read a book in the sun and listened to crashing waves was quite nice. We also ventured over to the local college and hung around their park and got $4 burger and fries. It truly tasted like a $4 burger and fries but it was good on our wallets. We are just enjoying being able to relax, read and not open our wallets so often. Tomorrow we are off to Oamaru which will be fun. We hope to see some penguins out in the wild and view the Moeraki Boulders. Only a few posts left until we will be back in person to explain all of our stories!
~ The Traveling Duo
~ The Traveling Duo
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| Beach Day |
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| Pillars |
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| I was a little obsessed with these pillars... |
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Photos from Queenstown and Milford Sounds!!!
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| Enjoying the park in Queenstown |
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| It's FALL!!! |
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| Disc Golf anyone? |
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| Look real close...yep that's my frisbee headed straight towards the tree |
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| Ben jumping...I missed his head because I was so excited to watch in real life :( |
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| Before the jump.... |
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| The Swing |
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| Swing up close |
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| Ride out to Ben's Bungy Jump |
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| Milford Sounds |
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| Seal at Milford Sounds |
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| Mitre Peak |
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| Mitre Peak Again |
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| Mirror Lake...how cool |
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| Beautiful reflection |
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| The Luge Course |
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| Safety First ha |
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| View from the top |
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| Queenstown Below |
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| Lake Wakatipu (Queenstown) |
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| Queenstown |
Friday, March 30, 2012
Queenstown
We have been in Queenstown for a week and have loved every minute of it. I don't really even know how to begin to describe our time in Queenstown. I know that is a standard thing to say but it is true. QT has been our favorite place in NZ...and not only because of the great nightlife and adrenaline rushes.This is a very young town/city with something to do every day and every night...especially if you have the money for it. Yikes it is expensive here. Our first full day here we decided to go Canyoning. I had never heard of Canyoning before NZ but it turned out to be the best thing I've done in a very long time and the best use of my money in all of NZ....Ben as well! Basically we did a 45 minute hike up a canyon/gorge and then we began the Canyoning part of it. We began by sliding backwards on our backs down a rock chute (all natural) into a small area of water. Brrrr the water was absolutely freezing but due to great wetsuits and boots it was only our hands that were completely frozen. Then we climbed up a 15 foot boulder and slid off of it into again a small pool of water. It almost looks like you won't actually make the pool of water below without going into the cliff nearby. Crazy stuff! I've never experienced anything quite like it. Videos will come later and then you will fully understand what it was like because words just don't do it. Also involved in Canyoning is abseiling (repelling) down cliffs, cliff jumping, sliding down chutes/boulders/waterfall/drop offs, hiking, swimming and ziplining. Great time and great, fun, young guides. We were completely beat after 8 hours of this sort of activity.
The next day we took it easy because we felt a bit of a cold coming on for both of us. We took a gondola ride and then did 5 luge rides of two different courses on top of a mountain. The view of QT was absolutely stunning. I've never seen such gorgeous blue oceans, lakes and seas in my life. We found a cute little park afterwards and read in the sun the rest of the day. We have each read at least 10 books here. Very nice to have time for pleasure reading.
The next day (Wednesday) we took a 10 hour return trip (600km) drive to Milford Sounds. As we boarded to cruise in Milford Sounds, Mitre Peak presented itself with an amazing view. Mitre Peak is 6,000 feet high and a great sight we knew we couldn't miss. We took a 2 hour ferry ride in which most of it we were speechless from the awe inspiring views before us. There were more waterfalls in 2 hours than I've ever seen in one place or in total in my life. Milford Sounds (actually a fjord) looked as though God stuck his hand down in the ocean and pulled out the most beautiful, perfect mountains. We saw many seals but no whales or dolphins :(
Thursday we took it pretty easy and just read and played disc golf. In Queenstown Gardens there is an 18 hole course that wraps around many trees and around much of the front part of the lake (Lake Wakatipu)! Amazing. I wish we had one in Chelan. Ben of course won but only by 3.
Today (Friday) we both bungy jumped. Ben did the Nevis Bungy Jump and Nevis Swing and I just did the Swing because I've bungy jumped before. It all happened so fast. Ben was geared up and ready to go and before he knew it he was heading straight down. The look on his face when it hit him that he would have to jump was priceless. I sort of captured it on my camera but it will forever be engraved in my mind. Wonderful. To get to the bungy jump we had to take a small cable car out to the middle of the canyon and get onto basically a hanging launch pad in the middle of the canyon at 140m up. Crazy stuff. Immediately after Ben jumped we both went over to the swing to jump tandem. We buckled right up and then strapped in. We were sitting about 120m off the ground in a harness just posing for photos when all the sudden we were released. I can't even begin to describe the feeling. We basically lost our stomachs and as I began rotating forwards Ben rotated backwards. After a 90m drop and then 300m arc we were finally done. Being pulled back to the launch pad was very scary as well. Overall great time but the bungy as well as our money went way too fast.
We have one more day in Queenstown, which will consist of disc golf and relaxing before we head 4.5 hours east to Dunedin. We have 2 weeks left in NZ and only have one more real place left to visit. We will have to find small little places to spend our time. New Zealand has been great. We both agree that we could go home after Queenstown and would be fine with it but we will enjoy our last two weeks. Hopefully we will be able to see a Rugby game in Dunedin.
Pictures and videos of our crazy adventurous times in Queenstown will come later. Unfortunately the computer at our hostel doesn't allow us to upload our photos. Stay tuned!
~ The Traveling Duo
The next day we took it easy because we felt a bit of a cold coming on for both of us. We took a gondola ride and then did 5 luge rides of two different courses on top of a mountain. The view of QT was absolutely stunning. I've never seen such gorgeous blue oceans, lakes and seas in my life. We found a cute little park afterwards and read in the sun the rest of the day. We have each read at least 10 books here. Very nice to have time for pleasure reading.
The next day (Wednesday) we took a 10 hour return trip (600km) drive to Milford Sounds. As we boarded to cruise in Milford Sounds, Mitre Peak presented itself with an amazing view. Mitre Peak is 6,000 feet high and a great sight we knew we couldn't miss. We took a 2 hour ferry ride in which most of it we were speechless from the awe inspiring views before us. There were more waterfalls in 2 hours than I've ever seen in one place or in total in my life. Milford Sounds (actually a fjord) looked as though God stuck his hand down in the ocean and pulled out the most beautiful, perfect mountains. We saw many seals but no whales or dolphins :(
Thursday we took it pretty easy and just read and played disc golf. In Queenstown Gardens there is an 18 hole course that wraps around many trees and around much of the front part of the lake (Lake Wakatipu)! Amazing. I wish we had one in Chelan. Ben of course won but only by 3.
Today (Friday) we both bungy jumped. Ben did the Nevis Bungy Jump and Nevis Swing and I just did the Swing because I've bungy jumped before. It all happened so fast. Ben was geared up and ready to go and before he knew it he was heading straight down. The look on his face when it hit him that he would have to jump was priceless. I sort of captured it on my camera but it will forever be engraved in my mind. Wonderful. To get to the bungy jump we had to take a small cable car out to the middle of the canyon and get onto basically a hanging launch pad in the middle of the canyon at 140m up. Crazy stuff. Immediately after Ben jumped we both went over to the swing to jump tandem. We buckled right up and then strapped in. We were sitting about 120m off the ground in a harness just posing for photos when all the sudden we were released. I can't even begin to describe the feeling. We basically lost our stomachs and as I began rotating forwards Ben rotated backwards. After a 90m drop and then 300m arc we were finally done. Being pulled back to the launch pad was very scary as well. Overall great time but the bungy as well as our money went way too fast.
We have one more day in Queenstown, which will consist of disc golf and relaxing before we head 4.5 hours east to Dunedin. We have 2 weeks left in NZ and only have one more real place left to visit. We will have to find small little places to spend our time. New Zealand has been great. We both agree that we could go home after Queenstown and would be fine with it but we will enjoy our last two weeks. Hopefully we will be able to see a Rugby game in Dunedin.
Pictures and videos of our crazy adventurous times in Queenstown will come later. Unfortunately the computer at our hostel doesn't allow us to upload our photos. Stay tuned!
~ The Traveling Duo
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The Leaves are Changing in Wanaka
We are now in Wanaka and it is absolutely beautiful. The cool weather we were complaining about previously as seemed to disappear. I am unsure the population of Wanaka but it feels an awful lot like home. Our hostel is about a football field away from a lake that is very similar to Lake Chelan. The water is crystal clear and you could almost drink it. A beautiful huge park is the only object between the hostel and the lake. The mornings are a bit brisk, the days are quite hot by 3pm and the nights are cool and comforting.
Our sunburns (little ones) are back. You can tell that it is officially fall in NZ because (1) the leaves are changing to beautiful colors of yellow and red and (2) we could never stay out in this much sun in the summer in NZ and not be fried to a crisp. We have really been enjoying the sun. Anything from a quick swim (and by swim we mean jumping in and out of the cold lake), tossing the frisbee to the point of arm cramps, enjoy local cider while reading, reading in the park and hiking around.
Our first full day the weather was a bit overcast so we walked about 3km to Puzzling World. This place is filled with many optical illusions, puzzles and a huge maze. Below are pictures. At one point I became very nauseous from one of the illusions where you are leaning forward but in reality you are walking straight. I thought Ben would be the one sick but it turned out to be me. It was incredibly hard to even stand let alone walk in this room because your mind is telling you to walk one direction but your body is pushing you with incredible force another direction. Although we appear to be smiling in the photos, it is not a place to stay for more than a few minutes. We also decided to take part in a maze which generally takes about 30-60 minutes. After finding the 4 designated locations in the maze after about 30 minutes we thought this maze was a piece of cake. However, after spending another 20 minutes just trying to find the exit (which was visible but impossible to get to) we took the emergency exit out.
The next day we rented incredibly cheap mopeds and scooted around all of Wanaka. We even scooted to a nearby town called Arthur Town where we found a nice river where we played a few games as the sun beat down on us and the sound of nothing but the flowing river filled our ears. We also hiked up to Mt. Iron which had great panoramic views of Wanaka.
These last few days have been filled with sun, reading and frisbee. I am trying to hurry through the book The Hunger Games so that Ben and I can go watch the movie tomorrow when it comes out. We found the most incredible theatre here. It seats about 30 people on a random collection of vintage couches and such. There is even an old car in this theatre that you can sit in for the duration of the movie. The theatre shows new releases as well as classics. There is also an intermission during every movie and at this point the air is filled with fresh baked cookies and the best carrot cake ever. If you can't tell, we have already gone to a movie here and are planing to go tomorrow.
Well that about sums up our time in Wanaka. We will be off to Queenstown on Saturday, where adrenaline rushes await us.
~ The Traveling Duo
Finally at the top of Mt. Iron
]
Our sunburns (little ones) are back. You can tell that it is officially fall in NZ because (1) the leaves are changing to beautiful colors of yellow and red and (2) we could never stay out in this much sun in the summer in NZ and not be fried to a crisp. We have really been enjoying the sun. Anything from a quick swim (and by swim we mean jumping in and out of the cold lake), tossing the frisbee to the point of arm cramps, enjoy local cider while reading, reading in the park and hiking around.
Our first full day the weather was a bit overcast so we walked about 3km to Puzzling World. This place is filled with many optical illusions, puzzles and a huge maze. Below are pictures. At one point I became very nauseous from one of the illusions where you are leaning forward but in reality you are walking straight. I thought Ben would be the one sick but it turned out to be me. It was incredibly hard to even stand let alone walk in this room because your mind is telling you to walk one direction but your body is pushing you with incredible force another direction. Although we appear to be smiling in the photos, it is not a place to stay for more than a few minutes. We also decided to take part in a maze which generally takes about 30-60 minutes. After finding the 4 designated locations in the maze after about 30 minutes we thought this maze was a piece of cake. However, after spending another 20 minutes just trying to find the exit (which was visible but impossible to get to) we took the emergency exit out.
The next day we rented incredibly cheap mopeds and scooted around all of Wanaka. We even scooted to a nearby town called Arthur Town where we found a nice river where we played a few games as the sun beat down on us and the sound of nothing but the flowing river filled our ears. We also hiked up to Mt. Iron which had great panoramic views of Wanaka.
These last few days have been filled with sun, reading and frisbee. I am trying to hurry through the book The Hunger Games so that Ben and I can go watch the movie tomorrow when it comes out. We found the most incredible theatre here. It seats about 30 people on a random collection of vintage couches and such. There is even an old car in this theatre that you can sit in for the duration of the movie. The theatre shows new releases as well as classics. There is also an intermission during every movie and at this point the air is filled with fresh baked cookies and the best carrot cake ever. If you can't tell, we have already gone to a movie here and are planing to go tomorrow.
Well that about sums up our time in Wanaka. We will be off to Queenstown on Saturday, where adrenaline rushes await us.
~ The Traveling Duo
Lake Wanaka
Finally at the top of Mt. Iron
look a bit like home?
The River...see the leaves changing
mopeding adventures led us here
Beginning of St. Pattys Day
Puzzling World
...and again
this looked way different in real life
1/4 of the maze
lost haha
seems normal...
umm what?
???
???
all smiles now but my stomaching is hurting
]interesting bathroom
enjoying the bathroom a bit much
...but not anymore ha
dinosaur park
this one is for you Amy E.
Wish you were enjoying it as much as we were ha
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