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!
Saturday, 26 November 2011
I'M ALIVEEEEE!!!
This is an email I sent to mom:
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!!!
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
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.
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!!!
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.
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.
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