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Life on the Farm

Classes are over now and finals season has begun! Finding a spot to study during finals is not easy. With over 20,000 students, every single seat in the library and study centers gets snatched up early in the morning.  I have a final in Maori Society tomorrow, Environmental Politics on Saturday, and then I’ll have 3 weeks until my last final in Plant Ecology. I find it strange how spread out their finals schedule is, there is almost a full month for finals. I’m not really sure what the reasoning is, but it certainly is less stressful than our usual one week of finals. I’m hoping to find some trips to tag along on during my large gap in finals, I’ll just have to wait and see what comes up.

In other news, I got to visit a sheep farm! It was so much fun! My friend Vic’s family owns a farm in Cromwell and she offered to take Betsy and I up there to experience life on the farm for a couple days. We left at 6am in order to get to the farm at 8am (Vic’s dad said he would start the rounds late if we could get there by 8am). So we all hopped in the truck, caked with mud inside and out, dog and cages on the back and began the rounds of the sheep paddocks. The back of the truck had a little pen with hay for the lost lambs that get picked up, a larger cage for mama sheep that need to get picked up, as well as a spot for Pete, the dog.

Betsy and I ready for action on the farm

Betsy and I ready for action on the farm

Most of the lambing was already done by the time we were there, only a few of the first time mama sheep hadn’t given birth yet. They do ultrasounds on all of the sheep and split them up into paddocks of sheep that are going to have one lamb and sheep with twins, the first time moms are also separate as they usually give birth a little later. We cruised through all of the hilly paddocks searching for lost lambs and in some paddocks for sheep in labor.

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Lambs acquire a scent from drinking their mother’s milk, which is how a sheep knows which lamb is her own. If a lamb gets separated from it’s mother before it is able to acquire a scent it will die, so lost lambs need to get picked up. If they can tell which one it’s mother is (I could never tell) then they pick up the mother as well and put them both in a pen together for a while so that the lamb can acquire the scent from the milk. Lost lambs without a mother are paired up with sheep that have lost a lamb. The sheep is put in a headlock in a pen so that the lamb can drink without being pushed away or the sheep’s original lamb is skinned and the fur is worn as a jacket on the new lamb so that it has the scent of the original lamb. Who knew sheep have such a strong sense of smell?

Finding sheep ready to give birth was really exciting. When they spotted a sheep in labor, the chase would begin. Sheep are shockingly fast, I never would have guessed. They speed around in the truck, bouncing up and down the hills in the paddock, chasing the sheep trying to cut off it’s path. Once there is only one sheep around they yell “go Pete!” and pete jumps off the back of the truck and chases down the sheep. He grabs the sheep by the ear and slows it down until someone can jump out of the car and tackle the sheep. One of the sheep we chased was so fast the dog took a while to catch it, we cut off it’s path and it rammed right into the side of the truck. That slowed it down enough for Pete to grab it’s ear and for Vic to jump out of the truck and grab it. The person that grabs the sheep flips it over and holds it on it’s back while the other pulls out the lamb by it’s front legs. The second time we got a sheep Vic looked up at me and said “pull it out now Julia!” and there was no time to think, so I got in there and pulled out the warm, slimy little lamb! Once birthed, the mama and baby are put in a small pen together for a day to give the baby a chance to learn how to feed and acquire it’s scent.

Vic wrangles the pregnant sheep as her dad and Pete the dog follow behind. To the left of Vic and the sheep you can see the small pen that the mother and new born are kept in for a day or so after birth,

Vic wrangling the pregnant sheep as her dad and Pete the dog follow behind. To the left of Vic and the sheep you can see the small pen that the mother and new born are kept in for a day or so after birth.

We got to bottle feed the lost lambs that hadn’t been paired up with new mothers yet. They are super friendly, they like to snuggle up on people;s laps and trot around happily.

Lunch times for little lambies!

Lunch times for little lambies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vic keeps one lamb as a pet each year, and this year it’s Mini Me! She’s a super cute little lamb. She follows Vic everywhere like a little puppy, sits happily on her lap, and comes when called.

Mini walking along with me and Vic

Mini walking along with me and Vic

 

Mini Me posing for the camera

Mini Me posing for the camera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also got to herd sheep from one paddock to another, which was actually managed with just the truck and one of the motor bikes. Herding the deer was really different, they’re smarter so you can’t just chase them like the sheep. They would set up one truck ahead of the deer, the person in that truck would do this funny deer call and slowly drive away and then most of the deer kind of just follow along behind.

The deer running towards us over the hill after hearing the call

The deer running towards us over the hill after hearing the call

The other truck is hidden out of sight behind the deer with Diesel, the deer herding dog (they have at least 8 incredibly well trained dogs on the farm each with a very specific job). The truck with the dog tries to scare and chase the deer that get left behind towards the other deer. It was amazing to watch the whole process, they are such a talented family! They know all their animals so well and have it down to a science exactly how to move these huge groups of unwilling animals from one place to anther. The deer were herded to a shed where their antlers were chopped to the appropriate length and then they were loaded onto a two level truck headed to “the works” to be made into venison.

Scaring the deer into the shed

Scaring the deer into the shed

The sheep farm is one of my favorite places I have had the joy of visiting during my time abroad. Vic’s family was incredible. I am in awe of the amount of work they put into their farm and all of the knowledge they have of their work. They don’t even say anything to each other and all of a sudden they’re all jumping out of the car at the same time and flapping things or grabbing sheep.

Thinking about the farm and all the little lambies is getting me through my studying this week!

And a happy Julia

and a happy Julia

 

A happy lamb

A happy lamb

 

Abel Tasman

I’ve been wanting to make it up to Abel Tasman National Park, located at the North end of the South Island, for a long time now. A few weeks ago we realized we didn’t have much time left to make it there. So Wednesday morning we piled into our little car and started making our way out of Dunedin. We didn’t get very far through the hills before the car began overheating and smoking. We got a tow back into town and ended up having to sell it for parts.

RIP
RIP

We used what little money we got from the car to pay for a rental car for the week, so Wednesday afternoon we began our six hour drive to Kaikoura. We had originally planned to have some time to see Kaikoura and kayak with dolphins, but because of our little delay we got there just in time to go to sleep. The other car rolled a couple hours behind us, we were surprised they made it at all! It was a very last minute decision for them to come with us.

We left early in the morning to finish the drive up and took a quick detour down to Split Apple Rock while we were waiting for the other car to catch up. We reserved campsites and a boat ride back to the start of the track for 3 days later.

Split Apple Rock
Split Apple Rock

We split up our tents and group food into all of our packs and minimized our clothing as much as possible, but our packs were still stuffed to the brim and weighed a ton. We were told there was water at the start of the track we could fill up our water bottles with so we waited to fill them up until then. I turned the faucet on and let the water run into my bottle and found just one little problem. It was brown and clearly needed to be boiled or filtered before drinking. I dumped it out, but later we got so thirsty while we were hiking that we filled up our water bottles in a cold stream. It tasted delicious. And no viruses or diseases were contracted.

Splitting up the goods
Splitting up the goods

We set out on our hike mid-afternoon on Thursday happy and energetic. We had 25.7 miles to cover in 3 days. The first day we hiked in about 4 hours to an amazing campsite on a beautiful sandy beach in a calm bay. We were all ridiculously unprepared for camping in the wilderness, but somehow we managed. We all sat around a campfire that night telling stories. It was such a fun group to hang out with, full of laughter.

Hiking out from our first campsite
Hiking out from our first campsite

The second day was much longer, we were on trail for 8 very long hours. The trail was incredible, we walked along cliffs, through the rainforest, past waterfalls and streams, and descended onto countless beautiful sandy beaches. It was coming back up from the beaches that was the problem…

Ready for day 2!
Ready for day 2!

One of the climbs up from the beach to get back onto the cliffs was never ending. At every turn I thought “this one has to be the end” but it just never was. That was the only truly miserable one, but having a huge pack on your back sure makes everything a little more difficult.

The whole crew on trail
The whole crew on trail

We decided to take the low tide track through one bay even though it wasn’t quite low tide yet and ended up having to wade through some pools to get across. It was nice to have such a big group so we could switch up who we were walking with and talk with everyone. We all collapsed when we finally made it to the campsite that night only to get attacked by more sandflies. We went to bed early that night since fires weren’t allowed and we had to get up so early the next morning.

Short cut
Short cut

For our last day on trail we had to be up at 5am to cross the tidal flat at low tide. Luckily our campsite was right on the edge of the flat so we woke up, packed everything up in the dark and headed out as fast as we could with our blisters throbbing in cold, wet boots. The sun began to rise as we ran through the leftover pools of freezing cold water.

Sunrise crossing
Sunrise crossing

We hiked a little further to the next beach and then stopped for breakfast.IMG_6132

Sunrise breakfast
Sunrise breakfast

 

Family photo
Family photo

It looked so tropical with the blue green waters, sandy beaches, and palm trees. You could almost trick yourself into thinking you were on a tropical island until you touched the ice cold water. IMG_6101

We hiked a couple more hours to the pick up point for the boat and arrived about 4 hours early. We hung out in a shelter by the beach to hide from the sandflies and played games and ate our leftover food until the boat arrived. We stuffed our huge group onto the little tiny boat and shoved off.

The little boat we squeezed 20 people and packs into

The little boat we squeezed 20 people and packs into

We immediately spotted a seal swimming in the waves and then a minute later we stopped to watch a feeding pod of dolphins. They cruised in and out of the waves with their babies all around while birds dove into the water to fighting for the fish. It was an incredible site. We also saw a penguin bobbing in the waves all alone.

We jumped in our car and drove as fast as we could back to Kaikoura on the curvy highway. We were showered, fed, and asleep in the hostel by 9pm that night.

With the semester wrapping up, I’m so glad we found the time to take such an amazing trip. I feel so lucky to be in New Zealand this semester and to have such amazing opportunities at my fingertips. Now that we don’t have a car it’s a little more tricky to plan trips, but I’ve had so many amazing adventures already and there really isn’t that much time left. So, we’ll just have to wait and see where the rest of the semester takes me!

Life Updates

I’ve been in New Zealand for almost 3 months now. I have less than a month of classes left and then almost a full month of finals. I have just over 2 months left in New Zealand. It’s hard to believe the semester is so close to coming to a close, but at the same time I feel like I’ve been here for a really long time. I feel incredibly close to my friends here. I think I got really lucky in finding people I like so much so quickly. I don’t know what I would do without them!

It’s been really nice to have a semester of something different, to be able to relax and just have fun with it. I was in need of some time away from campus after a stressful year of Organic Chemistry! I’ve learned a lot about New Zealand history as well as New Zealand today through all three of my classes. I’ve learned a lot about the environmental history of New Zealand including how the country was physically formed and the effects of humans on the native ecosystems. Māori Society has taught me a lot about the cultural history of New Zealand. I’m impressed at how well Māori culture is incorporated in New Zealand today. The Māori people seem to have a much larger presence here than Native Americans do in most parts of the US. I’ve also learned a lot about the political history of New Zealand through my environmental politics class. There is a big election going on right now so I’m working on figuring out their political structures, processes, and all 10 of their political parties.

No one ever really seems stressed out here. Of course most the study abroad students are taking it easy this semester, but the kiwi students never seem stressed either. I’m not sure if it’s just this University or if it’s the same all around New Zealand, but everyone always seems very relaxed. I love Whitman, but I do get pretty stressed out from my classes sometimes! Also, on a completely unrelated note, all the kiwi students go through TONS of bottled water. Looking around the library right now, almost half of the students I can see have bottled water on their desks. I used to think of New Zealand as being pretty environmentally conscious, but there have been quite a few things I’ve been surprised about in that regard.

This weekend I’m going on a wine appreciation tour sponsored by the school. It’s almost the same group as went on the ski trip I did through the school. We’re going to a bunch of wineries near Queenstown on Saturday, spending the night in Queenstown, and then hanging out in Queenstown for a few hours on Sunday and visiting a few more wineries on our way back to Dunedin. I’m looking forward to it, I think it’ll be a fun trip.

I’m also thinking of skipping a couple days of classes next week to make the long trip up to Abel Tasman National Park at the North end of the South Island. We’re planning on doing a 3 day trek along the coast. I’ve been wanting to make it there for a long time, so I’m really excited. We’ll have to cross our fingers for good weather!

Mt. Cook

This weekend I had the joy of visiting Mt. Cook National Park. Standing at 3,754m (or 12,316ft), Mt. Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand. And it is incredible. When we first arrived on Saturday we couldn’t see any mountains through the clouds and sprinkling rain, but we could still hear the glaciers cracking off and rumbling down the mountains far above us.

We drove out into Hooker Valley and found the campground and trailhead. We walked about an hour and half on the Hooker Valley track to a glacial lake. Slowly, as we walked, different bits of mountains were exposed through the clouds until we realized we were completely surrounded by incredibly huge, majestic mountains that we could only see the snow covered bases of.

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Huge icebergs were floating in the lake and the glacier rested at the far end beneath Mt. Cook. The clouds made the views more dramatic, but I wished I could have seen the whole mountain. When we were walking back, the sun started to come out for a bit and I turned around and saw one of the lower ridges of Mt. Cook peeking out.

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After our hike we decided to check out the nearby village. We stopped in the visitors center, which was along the only road in the whole village, only to find that it had closed at 4. One of the signs said the nearest ATM was in Twizel, and some of the group needed cash, so we decided we’d go check out Twizel and get food there figuring it couldn’t have been that far back. Well, it really was pretty far back, but by the time we realized that it wasn’t worth turning back around. It was about a 40 minute drive, but we found a really fun little cafe called the Razza to hang out in.

One strange thing about restaurants in New Zealand is that they almost all have a full Chinese food menu no matter what type of food is advertised. This cafe was not an exception, with the classic burgers, fish and chips, and Chinese food. It was a raffle night and it was definitely the place to be in Twizel on a Saturday night! It seemed like the whole town was in there watching the Rugby games and competing in the raffle. Kristin won a caramel chocolate bar with her one and only raffle ticket. We ended up staying there for almost two and a half hours, all the while dreading the cold of camping.

We headed back to the campsite in the Park after dark. We had begun to set up our tent earlier in the day only to see a sign warning that the birds will destroy/attack unattended tents. So, we set up our tent in the dark, keeping an eye out for the sinister birds the whole time. There were a few camper vans at the campground, but we were the only ones in a tent. And for good reason. It was freezing. We woke up to a tent and car covered in a thick layer of frost. But we also woke up to clear blue skies and the sun shine sliding down the mountain tops high above the valley floor.

We did a short hike called the Tasman Glacier Walk up to a look out point on a glacial lake and glacier on the other side of Mt. Cook. We hung out up there enjoying the full views of the mountains and the sunshine on our faces for a while before heading back down to the car.

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We stopped at Lake Tekapo on the way back to the East coast and went to the hot springs to fully unthaw ourselves from the night before. It was very relaxing and great to warm up after such a cold night with such a view of the lake and mountains. Then just 45 minutes outside of Dunedin we made a brief stop at the Moeraki Boulders.

Me standing on a boulder

 

Frisbee with the Kiwis

This past weekend I went to my first ultimate frisbee tournament since D1 Nationals last May with the Whitman Sweets. I’ve been missing the Sweets a lot lately as school is getting started at home and they’re welcoming in all the new freshman. It’s very strange not being there with them. It makes being here seem real in a way it didn’t before.

I’ve been playing pick-up games here once or twice a week. It’s very relaxed, a lot of the kids play barefoot, but it’s usually a lot of fun. It’s always co-ed, though not that many girls show up. As it starts getting warmer out I am much more inclined to go, so hopefully others will be too.

We went to a three day tournament with 7 guys and 4 girls, 6 of which were American and the rest were from here. I crammed into a van with most of the team and we drove up to Christchurch on Thursday afternoon. The tournament is called Uni Games, which is basically their version of a national college level tournament. There were 8 teams in total from around the nation, though it really wasn’t that far to travel for anyone since New Zealand is so small.

We were a pretty rag-tag group. We lost most of our games, and had a blast doing it. Our team was so much fun. I’m really happy with the group of people that ended up going. I didn’t know any of them that well before this weekend, but I feel like I made 10 amazing new friends.

We arrived in Christchurch Thursday night with nowhere to sleep. We had brought a couple tents up with us so we ended up camping in the trees next to the fields. We got up at 6:30am so as not to get caught, but all the other teams ended up finding out anyways because they thought it was funny. Our story spread amongst the other teams enough for a Christchurch player to offer up a room to a group of us. We crammed seven of us in on the floor of that teeny tiny room for the next two nights.

Since our accommodations (and everything else) were so open ended, I wasn’t really ever able to charge my phone so unfortunately I don’t have any pictures to share from the weekend. But I will share a couple pictures that I didn’t share before, just to spice up this post a bit.

This koala ready for her close up

This koala ready for her close up

 

This mama with her lil' baby

Mama koala with her lil’ baby

 

This crazy scary giant bird

This crazy scary giant bird

 

Sunset on Sydney Harbour

Sunset on Sydney Harbour

 

A nicely timed rainbow

And a nicely timed rainbow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’d also like to wish my Dad a very happy birthday today, as well as a happy late kiwi Father’s Day (it’s in September here!). And a very happy 17th birthday to my little sister Lizzy in a couple days! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you guys!

Oz

Well, my trip to Sydney, Australia went great! I am now back in Dunedin, enjoying the spring time warmth.

We arrived in Sydney in the morning after only a few hours of sleep. We wandered the city for most of the day, exploring Newtown and the area around our hostel. We ate dinner at a cute little cafe outdoors under the heat lamps and then found out there were fireworks in Darling Harbor that we shouldn’t miss. We made our way through Chinatown and happened upon N2 Extreme Gelato, a famous Sydney ice cream establishment that uses liquid Nitrogen to make their creations. Most delicious, smoothest ice cream I have ever eaten. We were so into our ice cream we barely made it to the fireworks, but we saw most of them.

Best ice cream I've ever tasted

Best ice cream I’ve ever tasted

The next day, after a much better night’s sleep, we climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. we donned our jumpsuits and made our way up to the top. It was a beautifully sunny and warm day with great views of all of Sydney. Afterwards we walked through a market in the The Rocks and ate fancy pancakes at Pancakes on the Rocks

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On another beautifully sunny day we took the bus out to Bondi Beach. We did a long beach walk from there to Coogee beach where we ate a picnic lunch. The waves were full of surfers and the beaches full of tourists. Our day at the beach felt like summer, which was a welcome change. That night we had dessert at at a Belgian Chocolate bar, before exploring the city at night a little bit.

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We took a train and a bus to get to Featherdale Wildlife Park where we got to feed at pet kangaroos and koalas. You could buy an ice cream cone filled with some sort of grass for a dollar. Then you would go crouch down and wait for the kangaroos to hop up to you and eat it out of your hand. They could just hop around as they pleased, and were not shy at all, especially when you were holding food for them! The koalas sat curled up in their fake trees and happily munched on leaves as we took pictures with them and felt their oddly woolen fur.

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We got back to our hostel to find that someone had gone through our things and had taken a charger and a converter. The people working at the hostel were really rude and creepy so we decided to leave even though they refused to refund us for the nights we wouldn’t be staying there. In the end we were all so much happier to stay in a hostel we felt safe and comfortable so it all worked out.

Betsy and I went to the aquarium for a couple hours that evening where we found Nemo!

42 Wallaby Way, Sydney

42 Wallaby Way, Sydney

The  next day we took at two hour train ride out to the Blue Mountains. When we arrived, the little town of Katoomba was blanketed in a thick fog. We were shocked to be able to see our breath as we got off the train and quickly found a cafe where we could sip some hot chocolate. Afterwards we stopped in a tour agency to find out about where to go and the woman was utterly unhelpful. She told us we wouldn’t be able to see Three Sisters through the fog, the main attraction, and that there were no waterfalls to see. Well, we walked out to the trail and happened upon multiple gorgeous waterfalls and panoramic views that were at times fully obscured by the fog, but were mostly only made more dramatic by the fog. We made it out to Three Sisters just before the rain started and the fog settled down even thicker.

Three Sisters

Three Sisters

The rest of our time in Sydney was spent wandering the city, eating delicious food, shopping around in Market City, walking through neighborhoods full of fancy boutiques and cafes, a boat tour of the harbor, meandering through the Royal Botanic Gardens, and searching for little bits of wifi.

Now I’m back at school with only 6 weeks left of the semester and spring sunshine beginning to shine through the trees.

Mountains and Miracles

With one 10 page research paper done and one written submission to go, I am off to Australia for mid-semester break! In about an hour we are going to drive to Christchurch, stay the night, and then catch a flight out to Sydney early tomorrow morning. Unfortunately I’ll have a little bit of work to get done while I’m there, but I am looking forward to an exciting and relaxing week away from Dunedin.

In other news, I went on a ski trip to Mt. Hutt last weekend, about 4 and a half hours north of Dunedin. It was a trip through the University so we didn’t have to worry about accommodations, food, directions, which was really nice! The group on the trip ended up just being a group of my friends. I was kind of looking forward to meeting new people, but it was fun having a different travel group and already being comfortable with everyone. We stayed in a hostel in the town, which was about 45 minutes from the slopes.IMG_5154

Saturday morning we loaded up all our gear, bundled up and then made our way up the mountain. Since there is only snow at top of the range, you have to drive up the mountain far above the tree line to get to the slopes. We had great weather, great fun, and only a couple minor bumps and bruises. Plus some great views of the mountain ranges!IMG_5098

 

It is now 5am. I’m writing from the Christchurch airport after a dramatic night and about an hour of sleep. My travel companions are fast asleep on the couches next to me. We kept pushing back our departure time from Dunedin since we all had so much to get done before leaving so we ended up getting in the car to leave at 6:45pm. We got gas and then stopped at the library to print out a list of things Meg wanted to see and do while in Sydney. When we tried to leave the library, the car wouldn’t start. The engine wouldn’t even turn. We frantically researched buses and other car options to get us to Christchurch, but it soon became apparent that we were much too late and there was no possible way to make our flight. We called a tow-truck, all hope lost, and low and behold a miracle happened! He fixed something and we were back on track in total shock. We made it to the Christchurch airport at around midnight. Who knows what surprises will await us with our car when we get back, but by some miracle we made it to the airport in plenty of time for our flights.

We ran into a couple other international students who directed us to a $5 lounge we could hang out in for a couple hours until checking in. We sat/laid on the hard floor in the cold, bright, loud room for about 3 hours and now here we are. We’re about to board a flight we thought was impossible just a few hours ago. Australia, here we come!

First Trip to Queenstown

I went bungee jumping! It was the most terrifying, exhilarating, and incredible thing I have ever done.

We drove three and a half hours west in our little purple car from Dunedin to right outside Queenstown. We started seeing signs for the Kawarau Bungy and the nerves set in for all four of us. We drove up and saw the bridge reaching across a narrow canyon with the water far below. I was really excited, but couldn’t believe we were actually going to jump off that bridge with just a rope around our ankles.

Kawarau Bridge

Kawarau Bridge

It was really windy, but they said the only time they don’t jump is when there’s thunder. We were kind of hoping for an excuse to come back and do it later, but there was no chance of that! We paid, signed a waiver, got weighed, and we were out on the bridge. It was sprinkling a little, but they said we were still good to go. We decided it was best to go without hesitation right when they counted down so we wouldn’t psych ourselves out.

And that is exactly what all four of us did! I sat on the bridge and the worker wrapped a towel around my ankles and then tied a rope in a fancy knot around that and that was it. I scooted up to the edge, smiled for the cameras, and jumped. I still can’t believe I actually jumped. The fall was long enough for me to think “oh my god why did I do this I am falling to my death this was the dumbest thing I have ever done” and then before I knew it I was bouncing back up. They pulled me into a little yellow boat at the bottom, brought me back to shore and it was over!

It was incredible.

Just before the jump

Just before the jump

 

and just after!

and just after!

 

There I go!

There I go!

We had hoped to do a longer day hike on Saturday, but it was rainy and cold so we decided to stick around Queenstown instead. I love Queenstown. It is a cute little ski town surrounded by jagged mountains and incredibly blue water. We had a delicious breakfast at Joe’s Garage and then spent the rest of the morning shopping and wandering around town.  In the afternoon we went on our first wine tasting at Gibbston Valley Winery to escape the rain.

The crew enjoying some fancy wine

The crew enjoying some warmth and some fancy wine

We ate the biggest burgers of our lives at the famous Fergburger that night and got super lucky with the weather on Sunday. It was sunny and beautiful. We hiked up Queenstown Hill, and had the most amazing view looking out over the town, the bay, and the mountains.

A view from part way up the Queenstown Hill

A view of the mountains from part way up Queenstown Hill

Before we left to head back to Dunedin we hopped on the gondola for lunch and another great view of Queenstown.

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Queenstown is my favorite place I have been in New Zealand so far. I hope to go back many times and take advantage of all of the hikes and ski slopes, but for now its back to Dunedin. Who knows what next week will bring!

 

 

 

The Catlins!

I got a car last week with three other girls, all from the states. We’ve been learning how to drive on the left side of the road, which isn’t actually as hard as I thought it would be. We did a test drive to the nearby St. Clair beach last week. It was quite windy and cold, but still beautiful and still full of surfers even in the middle of the winter.

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We took our first road trip this weekend and it went great! On Saturday morning we drove about an hour south of Dunedin to the Catlins, saw as many sites as we could see, spent the night in a cabin at a Christian camp, completed a 5 hour hike, and made it home before sunset on Sunday.

Our first stop was the incredible Nugget Bay. That was my favorite stop. On the way out to the point there was a beach where penguins live, but unfortunately we weren’t there at the right time to see them. In the winter, the penguins spend most of the day out fishing and don’t return to the beach until after 3pm. We stopped to look at the beach and ran into some kiwis coming back from the point that told us it was too foggy and you couldn’t see anything. They said it was hardly worth going up there, but we were determined. So we drove up to the next parking lot and walked out to the point. Kiwis must just be spoiled, because we thought it was a great view! There was a light house at the end and huge rocks extending way out into the water. The ocean is a surprisingly light blue color that looks almost tropical.

This is the view from the point, beyond the lighthouse
The view beyond the lighthouse on the point

We got back in our little purple car and made our way very slowly on curvy gravel roads cut into the hills to Cannibal and Surat Bays. They were huge soft sandy beaches with the occasional sea lion enjoying the sunshine.

Surat Bay
Surat Bay

We walked from Cannibal Bay to Surat Bay and almost walked right on top of two wrestling sea lions as we attempted to enter the Surat Bay. We stood up on a ledge and watched them for a while. They are huge and fascinating animals.

Crazy sea lions
Crazy sea lions

We ran into another group of international students and went to Jack’s Blowhole and Purakanui Falls. Then we had a ridiculously expensive dinner in the tiny tiny little town of Owaka on our own and then had a relaxing wine night in our little Christian cabin.

This morning, we got up early and went on a five hour hike. The trail followed a river through the hills near Owaka in the Catlins. The trail was full of wire/cable bridges that were a little shocking at first, but seemed to work fine.

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There are sheep EVERYWHERE.

Particularly picturesque sheep

Particularly picturesque sheep on the way to Jack’s Blowhole

And now it’s time to finish my weekend with a little homework and some studying for a plant ecology lab test tomorrow. Cheers!

Chocolate and Trampin’

Well, I’m settling into New Zealand life! 

The other day, everyone was out and about doing things so I decided to go for a walk. I happened upon some trails going up the hills into the woods and decided why not? I ended on top of a hill behind the botanic gardens with a pretty good view of the city just before sunset. It was exhilarating to finally do a little hiking (though unintentional) and breathe some fresh air. The track I happened to pick was incredibly steep and parts were quite muddy, so coming back down was a little more difficult. I slipped down a small fairly steep part and my hand landed in a bush. As I continued walking, my hand started getting itchy and got red and bumpy. I was a little concerned, but it slowly returned to normal after I rinsed it off back home, so no harm done.

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The next day I had plans to hike up Signal Hill with a group of international students. Signal Hill is THE hike to do in Dunedin, and it is right by my flat!  I found that the hill I had hiked up the day before was a smaller hill right next to Signal Hill, so I knew the terrain well. It took us about an hour to get to the top. We chose a beautifully warm and sunny day. From the top, we could look down on all of the city and the bay. My solo adventure was good fun, but I enjoyed sharing the view at the top of Signal Hill with all my friends.

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The view of Dunedin from the top of Signal Hill

This weekend is the end of the Cadbury Chocolate Carnival. Friday is the Jaffa Race where giant chocolates are raced down the steepest residential street in the world. I’m pretty excited for that.

Classes are in full swing. Plant lab was not nearly as exciting this week as it was last week. Learning about the botanic gardens last week was really interesting, but this week we spent the full 3 hour lab drawing parts of ferns. My friend Kristin and I realized just before lab that we had not yet purchased the required incredibly expensive lab coats, so we ran all over campus trying to find them and arrived in lab a couple minutes late. The professor promptly informed us we were late and demanded that we sit down immediately. Yikes. He’s a little bit scary. I passed him on the street the other day and he stared me down, but didn’t show any recognition. Not really looking forward to lab next week!