Queenstown 1

The Remarkables, Lake Wakatipu, and Queenstown

Our trip to Queenstown was excellent.  It is a beautiful town on a large lake surrounded by incredible (some might even say remarkable) mountains.  The first thing we did was take the skyline Gondola above the town and did the luge.  The luge had awesome scenery as you can see, and was really easy to control, both speed and turns.  Unfortunately my head was far to large for the biggest helmet they had, which is why I look a little bit like the happy kid.

Johnny luging in front of the Remarkables

Sweet Helmets

The next morning we got up early to go paragliding.  Queenstown is the extreme sport capital of NZ and they literally have it all.  The paragliding was outside of Queenstown just in a valley.  There were small villages we could see, but it was basically just gorgeous mountains, emerald rivers, green grass and sheep.  A big wind came up just as we got up and they had to bring us down pretty quick which was disappointing, but we get to go again for free when we go back so it's not all that bad.

Mae flying with her Chilean guide

The small town of Arrowtown is about 15 km outside of Queenstown, visible from our flight actually, and was well worth the visit.  The river behind us in the picture was in Lord of the Rings when Arwen rescues Frodo and crosses the river into Rivendell, it actually looked just like the movie.  

 

Penguins!!

So last night we went out on Otago Peninsula (about 30 minutes from our house) and walked to boulder beach, were Bobby had heard that we would have a good chance of seeing penguins and sea lions.  It was a beautiful walk through the bush and a beautiful beach.  We did come across two sea lions catching the last of the sun.  As soon as it went behind the cliffs two penguins surfed up on the waves, stood up and waddled to their nests in the rocks.  It was one of the coolest things I've seen.  They looked pretty big so we thought they were probably yellow-eyed penguins, which my dad says are pretty rare.  We couldn't get very close (and Mae said one picture would be enough), but you can definitely tell what they are, it was so awesome.  Tomorrow Mae and I are going to Queenstown for a couple days (Natalie got sick so they are staying in Dunedin).  Maybe when we get back we'll have some bunjy pictures.  No matter what we do it will be nice to have a few days off together. 

Cheers, Johnny     

So guess what? We found JOBS! I know some of you doubted us (stef, marcy) but we have been working for two weeks.  Johnny is a waiter and I'm working at a cafe and a home decor shop.  We live in Dunedin and the four of us share an awesome house that has a view of the city and ocean(picture of Johnny and I is in our living room with the ocean behind us).  We are only a 15 minute walk from our jobs which are in the octagon(downtown).  It's the picture of the cathedral and clock tower.  Dunedin has several nice beaches but unfortunately the weather is still a bit chilly to be out on the beach in a swimsuit.  It is nice to be settled and we will be here for at least four months.  If anyone wants to visit we have a couple spare rooms!  

Kia Ora, 

Maegen

We've been traveling a lot since we left Rotorua.  After the mishap with Whakapapa Village (remember that the Maori pronounce "wh" as "f") we made it to Napier on Hawke's Bay.  Again work was not handed to us on a silver platter so we did a wine tour on a bicycle built for two instead.  We rode a total of about 25 km around the country side, it was a great way to do the tour.  The wine was great and the riding became more fun with every vineyard.  We even got to try wine from a barrel of merlot that will go on the shelves in about a year.  We then started to make our way to the South Island via Wellington.  We stayed there two nights, saw two movies, and then got on the ferry that Maegen kept saying was 30 minutes.  Four and a half hours later we got off on the South Island.  Driving to Kikoura that night through the wind and the rain we almost hit a seal, just like the one pictured, in the middle of the road!  The next night we stayed in Christchurch and didn't love it so we kept moving on.  The picture of the water with the city behind it is Dunedin, we did like how it looked and are now in the process of making it our home for the next several months.  The other picture of us is at the tip of the Otago Peninsula where you can see albatross, penguins, and the spotted shag, which is the last picture.  We'll let you know when we have jobs, don't hold your breath.  

Cheers, Johnny  

Narnia and Zorbing!

Hey Everybody!
We went to the beach where Prince Caspian was filmed. It was absolutely amazing! Johnny achieved his childhood dream of going to Narnia. The beach was so white, and the water was a deep emerald. We explored a few caves and walked around the beach enjoying the sun and beautiful morning. Johnny and I were champions of an ultimate frisbee game, afterwards Johnny and Bobby just had to jump in the ocean. It is still way too cold for any sane person to jump in. Next we drove to Rotorua where there are famous hot springs. We soaked in hot pools (some almost 110 degrees) that over looked a lake, it was very relaxing. The next morning we accomplished a Kiwi classic, Zorbing. You basically get in a very large inflated ball and roll down a hill. The inner ball has water in it, which makes it more like a water slide. That night we went to a Maori (the native people of NZ) lodge for dinner and a show. We saw them paddling their war canoe, doing the famous war dance, the haka, as well as other traditional songs and dances, and ate a traditional honga (feast). The food was awesome and the haka was scary. Now we are in Hawke’s Bay looking for jobs, we’ll keep you updated.
Kia Ora, Maegen

Job Talk:
This will be kind of like car talk, but since Jordan has straightened out, the new drama in our lives is finding a job. So far our search has been very half-hearted. We ask the owner of the hostel if there is work, they say no, and we concede. On our way to Napier, Hawke’s Bay, we were shopping around Taupo and a nice woman told us to try Whakapapa Village for some possible work at a ski resort as the season is unusually long this year. Literally without a second thought we changed our plans completed for this wild goose chase. They ski on a volcano at this particular resort, Mt. Doom actually, and it is the North Island’s biggest resort. We stopped at a visitor’s center and they have the nerve to not offer us a job. They didn’t say there were none, they just said we would need to go to the lodge and see. The lodge was closed and there were no vacancies within 40 km, so yet again we threw in the towel and backtracked the hour to Taupo and the next day, our original destination of Napier. It was by far our longest distance we have traveled yet to not really look for a job.
Cheers, Johnny

Trips Around Raglan

So we left Ahipara, our longest home so far, and made an eight-hour drive south to Raglan. Jordan did much better than we did with the drive as all the roads are beautiful but really curvy and washing out everywhere, we all felt sick 10 minutes into it. While still in Northland we drove through Waipou Forest, a rainforest that is home to the largest living Kauri tree, Tane Mahuta. It is pictured twice, once close-up with Mae, Natalie, and Bobby and once zoomed out (they are very small below the tree) so you can hopefully get an idea for how big it is. Kauri trees are very important to Maori culture, used for canoes, maraes (meeting houses), etc. Tane Mahuta is Maori for Lord of the Forest and started growing before Christ was born, making it over 2,000 years old. The base has a 45 ft. circumference and it is over 180 ft. tall. Pictures don’t do it justice, it was incredible. Raglan itself is a cool small surfing town on the west coast in the Waikato region, central North Island. It is rumored that Jack Johnson spends a week or so there each December he likes it so much. We tried surfing one day on the black sand beach you seen Mae and Natalie on but it was pretty rough and we didn’t do to well. The next morning we went on a short bushwalk to Bridal Veil Falls, the remaining pictures. It was around 180 ft. tall as well, and as you can see a straight drop. Bobby and I jumped in the pool below, which was the coldest water we’ve been in yet. We are now on the Coromandel Peninsula in a small town called Hahei. Tonight we will hopefully go to Hot Water Beach, where at low tide you can dig a hole in the sand and it will fill up with hot water, making it your own private spa. We are having a great trip and are now starting to look apprehensively forward to really finding work.
Cheers, Johnny

Endless Summer Lodge

We’ve been in Ahipara now for 7 days, cleaning for rent. The first full day we had we made a 100 km drive north to Cape Reinga. It is very nearly the northernmost point in New Zealand (the North Cape is a bit further north), and it is where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide. The picture of the lighthouse was taken there and it is the West Coast behind us, which is the Tasman Sea. On the way back down we stopped at Waitiki Landing, which is the picture of the sand dunes. They were really big and really steep so we rode down them in those little sleds and just got sand everywhere, it was quite fun! Like Mae said, Endless Summer Lodge is across the street from the beach, and a few minutes from a great surfing beach called Shipwreck Bay. Bobby has taken me out a couple times and tried to teach me. I can kind of start to feel it, but it is incredibly difficult, I’ll keep trying. We will leave Ahipara and start to make our way to the Central North Island on Friday.

Cheers, Johnny