Bon Voyage!

Off to travel the South Island for the next three weeks! It is supposed to be absolutely breathtaking!
I will tell you all about it when I get back!

I'M ALIVEEEEE!!!

This is an email I sent to mom:

Mom,

I had an AMAZING weekend in Taupo.

I WENT BUNGY JUMPING!!!!! IT WAS SOOO MUCH FUN!!

Then I went to craters of the moon, huka falls, and a hot stream heated by geothermal activity. I got a free back massage from the hot waterfalls that led to the Waikato River. (Saturday)

Then I did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. It took 7 hours (I used my hiking boots!!) and I saw Ruapeha (where you go skiing on the north island) and Mt. Ngauruhoe (MT DOOM) I WENT TO MORDOR!!!!!

It was absolutely breathtaking. The mountains/volcanoes had snow, there was a red crater, and the emerald lakes were amazing, such great color!! (I went to the hot stream again to help my muscles.... its a dad kind of place)

Sunday I went on a catch, Fearless. Designed in 1946 but not made until the 80's. I saw Maori rock carvings on a large stone on the edge of Lake Taupo. I went swimming!! They dared me to and thought I wouldn't so I jumped in TWICE! it was 13 degrees Celsius.

SUCH AN AMAZING WEEKEND!

I cant  wait to show you photos!!!

LOVE YOU MISS YOU!!!

Cathedral Cove looks like a Church.....

November 5 and 6 I went on a tour of Coromandel. It is a peninsula 3 hours southeast of the city. Saturday, we went on a train ride on a tiny train in the middle of the woods. We took pictures from EYEFULL tower, what a clever name. We went to the Coromandel township and saw the entire town in 3 minutes. When we got to the hostel in Whaitangi, it was cold and cloudy. Some of the group webt bone carving, while the rest of the group was provided endless entertainment by four brave souls. It started when Lara and Corinne decided that they would brave the tough weather and go kayaking. They put their pants on, grabbed their bottles of wine, and set forth with their kayaks. What they didn't plan on was the 3 foot surf. We watched from the beach as the pair struggled to make it into the bay without becoming drenched with water. Soon, they were on their way and the laughs were over. Until Rachel and Emily decided they'd have a go. Priceless. That is the only word to describe their experience. They decided they would kayak together in a double kayak. It took them three minutes to figure out how to get in the kayak and only 10 seconds to tip over. I felt like mom as I walked out to them, held the kayak their kayak as they got in, and shoved them off. Instead of going straight through the waves, they decided to kayak parallel to the oncoming waves. They made it past with extreme difficulty. All seemed to be well and we settled back to reading our books when I looked at the perfect moment to see the double kayak flip over in calm waters. Luckily Corinne and Lara were able to help Rachel and Emily back in their kayaks without losing any Ray Bans. Rachel and Emily, and Corinne, and Lara decided that it was time to come in so we sat on the beach making bets to see who would tip over first. Naturally everyone bet on Emily and Rachel and were not disappointed. Lara immediately followed, and Corinne, even though she almost made it joined the other swimmers. We were all in hysterics, and not just the other kids from HWS but the rest of the 40 people on the beach.

That night I celebrated my first Guy Fawkes Day. Similar to the Fourth of July, everyone flocked to the beach for fireworks and were gone 30 seconds after the show was over. Whaitangi is a summer destination, their population in the winter is roughly 4,000 but during the summer it reaches 50,000.

Sunday I went to the Hot Spring Beach. At low tide, you can dig a hole in the sand and hot (sometimes scalding hot) water from below the beach will fill the hole. Heaven must be like laying on that beach.

Then we went sea kayaking to Cathedral Cove. Cathedral Cove is located in Mercury Bay. It's named Mercury Bay because James Cook went there on his first expedition, and with the help of an astrologist, they were able to locate New Zealand on a map using Mercury. Seeing the coves and the sea walls from the water was breathtaking.

"Can't you read the sign? We do not do Halloween."

How could I forget?? WE MISSED HALLOWEEN! Monday was Halloween, so like the true Amurricans we are, we put impromptu costumes together.

Guess what I was, you can't? Want another try??

AN ALIEN!!!

Two things, the All blacks won, and my blogging is consistently becoming more scarce. I am sending a good amount of post cards though!!

After winning the World Cup, we went to downtown Auckland to watch the victory parade. We saw the Captain Richie McCaw, and the coach Graham Henry, and other members of the team holding up the Webb Ellis Cup! The city was PACKED, and everyone was so excited. I tried to show my support by screaming but I shouted too loudly the night before....

After such an exciting weekend, it was good to get back into the swing of things, however, it was a hectic week in my year 3/4 classroom as we prepared for the Samoan Fale Opening. A Fale is a meeting house. The children were in many dances, song groups, and haka performances. The Fale was ladened with Pacific flowers. A hundred people; family, friends, and visirots showd up to support the school. Sonny Bill Williams, an All Black that went to the school, came to show his support and dedication to his school.


Saturday morning we convinced our host dad to take us to the group bus in his Ford MachII to show off. Sadly, we were ten minutes early and no one was at the bus yet. We waited 200 feet from the bus and watched the rest of the group arrive. We drove around the black and made a grand entrance, clearly winning our own competition. We got on the bus and headed off to Waitomo caves. We saw the glow worms and took a black water rafting (more like inner-tubing) tour through the cave.

We made our way to Rotorua, (aka RotoVegas or Potorua). It smells like rotten eggs. This is because of all of the sulfur due to the geothermal activity that takes place. Sunday we saw KIWIS!! BABY KIWIS and geysers. and we went to the Polynesian Spa with enough naked people to last me a lifetime. Luckily, I was able to ge this image out of my mind by going up the gondola and luging. Sadly, the joke of the day was "wow, youre such a luger," it was kind of pathetic. But luging was SO much fun! I went on all three tracks and was probably the fastest.

GO THE ALL BLACKSSS!!!

These past few weeks have been crazy! Papers, trips, homework, and rain, a lot of rain. After traveling to the Bay of Islands and seeing Cape Reigna and 90 mile beach, it was time to book more trips! What I love about Auckland is that you can go from city life to complete wildlife in a matter of minutes. I saw the black sands of Piha beach on the western coast of the city. The coastline and city are separated by the Waitakere Mountain Range. The remoteness reminded me of home.

Rangitoto is the very large symmetrical shield volcano in the harbor. They are very strict on what you bring to the island because they are trying to keep its natural habitat. After a long trek battling oncoming rain, we made it to the top of the volcano and were rewarded with a breathtaking 360 degree view. Rangitoto is such a prominent figure in Auckland, it was so cool to actually be on the volcano and see the city from its prospective.

I was able to go to another island this week. Only this time I was driven around while tasting wine!  The wine tour on Waiheke taught me one very important lesson, I will never be able to keep up with my mother. The island was gorgeous and the vineyard we went to were all so different. After the tour we had to take a 50 minute ferry back to Auckland. Because it is labour day weekend there were a lot of people on the ferry and the five of us ended up sitting in the front row facing the rest of toe passengers. I quickly fell asleep and when I awoke I found that the four other girls had also fallen asleep. As I made eye contact with one of the older members on the wine tour I immediately started laughing at the sight of us. While we were passed out he had been drinking steadily with his wife, we looked like such amateurs. I am glad we were able to give everyone a good laugh.

Tonight is a pivotal point in New Zealand's history. My host dad explained that the country in on the verge of either an economic boom or a severe economic recession. This will be determined by the outcome of tonight's Rugby World Cup finals where the All Blacks will be playing against France. Not only is it a huge deal that they are in the finals, but its even better that they are playing France. These two teams have history. In 2007 France kicked NZ out of the quarter finals with a call as controversial as no goal and wide right. France scored a try off of a forward pass to win the game. Not only do the two teams have history, the two countries do.  In 1985 the French sunk the Rainbow Warrior while it was docked in the Auckland Harbor, killing one man. NZ was protesting France's nuclear testing in the middle of the Pacific. With that said, GO THE ALL BLACKS!

Tonight will be an amazing night and I can't believe that I am here to witness it all! I am so lucky and I will be cheering loudly!!!

GO ALL BLACKSSSSS!!!

When in Rome?

So the past week and a half has been absolutely amazing. I rode a bike along Tamaki Drive, the eastern coast south of Auckland (if that isn't confusing). We rode along to Mission Bay. It is gorgeous, however, I found out that it is an artificial beach. The sand is taken from a beach further north and brought down so that the beach front owners and tourists can enjoy it. The beach where they take the sand from has had an increase in the amount of beached whales. This is believed to be due to the dredging and changes to the ocean floor that impact the whale's migration pattern.

 I returned to Devonport, this time I climbed North Head. It is the smaller of the two points there. I walked in tunnels built in World War II, they were very scary. Upon rounding every corner I found I was prepared to scream. When we reached the top I could see Rangitoto from a new viewpoint, and although it was hazy, it is still magnificent. Saturday races took place, so I was able to see approximately 90 keel boats sail by with their spinnaker up. We also 'found' a beach. It reminded of The Hatch in Oregon because there were so many kite boarders.

While enjoying all of this play, there was a paper looming that brought me back to reality. Although writing the paper wasn't quite as fun as romping around Auckland, the pouring rain made it easier to write. The research that I did for this essay was very valuable on the trip we went on this weekend. We went to Omaha Marae where we learned about war techniques, musical intruments, and traditional songs and games. I felt truly welcomed to this Marae and learned not only about the traditions of their culture but also about their current lives and passions. B's powerpoint on the deep sea oil drilling was truly eye-opening as it made me realize the importance of being aware. Sleeping in the Marae with my whole group and waking up at 6am to watch the sunrise put my life in perspective. I am so lucky to be here. As I watched the colors of the sky slowly change, I thought "this is the prettiest place on earth." Little did I know that the days ahead would supply me with enough gorgeous views, landscapes, and beaches to make it an impossible feat to pick just one.