How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard? -Winnie the Pooh

When I decided to study abroad this semester I knew it would be a slightly risky situation (I mean who leaves UNC when we have that good of a basketball team??). I also took a somewhat different approach when planning. I didn’t have a list of things that I wanted to do or places to go. I just knew that I was going somewhere that was close to the water and other seemingly beautiful outdoors. But, I know now that anything I could have planned would never have lived up to everything I have seen and done while being here. I have been so many places where the beauty has taken my breath away and have sat for hours just looking at everything there is to see. And, I have heard so many stories. I have heard stories from professors, gold miners, hostel owners, friends’ parents, farmers, and students. And the greatest thing is that all of these stories have been from the most wonderful people.

It’s hard to say goodbye to a place that is so beautiful and people that just seem to match. I have learned a lot about what makes me happy and have been able to share that happiness with others. I’ve learned that sunrises are always worth the early morning and that the day that follows is often times even better; that if you ask people about themselves, they will share their story; that the climb to the peak is always worth it- even if there’s lots of sheep poop along the way; that animals can lead you to the most beautiful places; and that so many people love and appreciate the wonderful things nature has to offer us. These and so many others are things that I will not only remember, but hold close to my heart.

And, finally, just some of the aspects of life I will miss about my time here and the people I’ve met:

A night sky without airplanes

Hannah’s boots

Picking the direction you go down trails based on which is most beautiful and then suddenly realizing you can’t chose one because they are both so stunning

Dandolf the white’s many faces and surfing skills

Anna’s affinity for coconut rough

Waking up above the clouds

Rob Roy’s ice cream

Being able to reach the most beautiful places with a short drive

Sonia’s dancing

Jan’s accent

Camping in only slightly illogical places with Megan

Monkey bar (yea, just a little bit)

David’s “Boom”
Alyx's carrots

The black hole where Craig’s heart should be

Sav Jap rice balls

Charlie’s sticky notes

Tramping in the native bush

Jackie’s hilarious side comments

Morning runs along the Otago harbour

Whittaker’s dark chocolate

Shannon’s love for obscure plants and animals

Lindsey’s bejeweled laptop

Penguins

Coffee with Racheal

Lucy’s baked goods

Mountains with snow

Beautiful Places

I'm taking a quick break from exams to give an update on some of the recent things I've been up to! I was lucky enough to have exams on my last three days here (which isn't so hot for studying, but wonderful for a four week exam period so that I could travel a bit). I was so incredibly fortunate to make it to Niue with a friend for an entire week- which, is how long you have to go if you want to as there's only one flight in and out per week! The island is a raised coral atoll and one of the most stunning places I've ever been. With a population of less than 1600 on the small island and a somewhat paler appearance (being nice to myself on that one), it isn't too surprising that the people at the isite know my name by the end of the week. But, perhaps that's giving too much credit to my physical appearance and not enough to the wonderful people there. They were so incredible and laid back. For example, the grocery store was open 'late nights' twice a week...which meant 6pm. I also got to see some amazing coral, caves, and coral pinnacles. We ate coconuts, climbed in caves, snorkeled with spinner dolphins, and biked and walked throughout most of the island. On the trip we also got to stay with friends in Christchurch and Auckland. In Auckland we went to a beautiful island and an underwater world so that I could see more penguins....

And, while I've been back in Dunedin (before and after the trip) I've done amazing things. I went with some friends to Shag Point, Long Beach, St. Kilda, and Mt. Cargill. I'm constantly reminded of how wonderful the place that I am living is. And I have now made it to the Cadbury factory for a tour and the Butterfly and Discovery exhibit at the Otago Museum (New Zealand's hottest exhibit!-see what they did there??). I'm back to studying now, but look forward to the typical end-of-semester-what-I've-learned-who-I-have-become-reflective-study-abroad-student-blog-post!

Mt. Cook and Tasman Glacier

This weekend I went out to Mt. Cook (Aoraki) with some friends on a delightful trip full of classic road trip sing-a-longs and life stories. We ended up getting to the small town in the afternoon, so the woman at the Department of Conservation suggested we stay in a hostel instead of attempt to hike up in the partial darkness-which we would find out the next day was a more than necessary precaution. With our extra time, we drove about five minutes to go on a short hike to Tasman glacier and lake. We got to see icebergs, crazy cool water, and a wonderful sunset. 

The next morning we went on a day hike up to the Mueller hut and realized that hiking this in the dark would have been positively terrifying, but hiking in the day was quite fun. We got to find our way through snow and rocks all the way up to a view of the valley, mountains, and glaciers....Let me tell you, though, it was a bit windy. And when I say a bit I actually mean a lot (yes, I do know that I could just backspace and fix that, but now it's going to feel like I'm actually talking to you). We actually got knocked over a couple of times by the wind, but, hey, what fun is climbing a mountain if the elements don't screw with you a bit? 

Also, the way back down was just wonderful. Because at those steep snowy parts, we slid down on our butts-just as much fun as sledding and only slightly painful when you went over a rock garden (butt bruises are totally worth it). And then we got to hop down all of those stairs that we went on the way up and realized that our slight exhaustion at the top was totally validated. Then, we headed back to Dunedin to rest our legs and eat some warm food. 

I've included a video that I've made with the help of Grayson's GoPro that he left for me to borrow (yes, nice little brothers do exist)...hopefully it's not too small and shows some of the wonderful things I've been up to these past couple of weeks!

Arrowtown, Queenstown, Wanaka, & the Kepler Track

The weekend of May 28^th, I had the great pleasure of heading up to Queenstown for the weekend with my complex-mates (as in people who live in my complex, not the intricate people in my life). We stayed in quaint Arrowtown with Lucy’s parents and got proper B&B service with poached eggs, toast, grilled veggies, and even shortbread cookies. Then, my friends and I jumped off an illogically high bridge with some cords attached to our feet and we headed out to Wanaka for the day. We hiked up Mt. Roy for some incredible views of the town and lake. The next morning, I woke up for a fresh blueberry muffin and a coffee-which was complemented by a fantastic rainbow over Lake Wakatipu. We then headed up to Lake Alta in the Remarkables…ate some Remarkable snow and drank some Remarkable water and then grabbed some Fergburger on the way out of town.

This past weekend was equally eventful as Megan and I headed out to Te Anau for the Kepler Track. We were welcomed by snowy mountains (as we conveniently talking about Santa), the most beautiful sunrise I’ve seen atop the clouds, kea in the wild, wonderfully cold weather,  crazy cool fog, Fiords, a porta-potty that looked as if it spilled its contents to those less fortunate down the mountain, the large moon, plenty of card games, and so many other incredible things. The weather was absolutely perfect-hiking in shorts and a t-shirt while seeing snow isn’t too shabby at all. We were so lucky to have an amazing ‘off-season’ experience that provided us with some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen.

Recent Happenings

 As I mentioned at the beginning of the semester, I am not always great with keeping up with things and writing isn’t always my thing. But, hey, good news…I’m still alive! And on a completely unrelated note, I have a lab report due this week, so now feels like a perfect time to update the blog.

Since I’ve been slack it might be a bit much to type out what I’ve been up to for both my fingers and for anyone daring to read this. So, I will add fun little snip-its of my extremely eventful past few weeks.

The weekend of March 31^st

-Hitch-hiked out and back with a friend to Queenstown and met some incredibly interesting      people (the good kind of interesting, no worries) and thoroughly enjoyed hearing their stories

-Canyon swing…tandem, and then upside-down. Yes, this is terrifying. And awesome.

-Hiking the Ben Lomond track that had incredible views

-Horse trekking through Glenorchy

The past two weeks I was lucky enough to have my family visit and we did so much, so here’s just a few things:

-Glow Worms

-Tunnel Beach and Long Beach

-The Catlins and Fiordland National Parks

-Botanical Gardens

-Coffee, Hot Chocolate, and wonderful pastries

-Hikes anywhere and everywhere

-Penguins, sea lions, and fur seals

-And of course many, many games of hearts

Oh yea, also Grayson broke his arm while mountain biking, which is much cooler than that time I broke my arm falling off a stool…or when I broke two bones from running into a pole. I always had a feeling he would be the cool one. 

Dunedin

For the past two weekends I’ve had a wonderful time in Dunedin. The weekend before last, I took a sailing course through the gym. We had a short theory part on Friday and then on Saturday and Sunday we got a chance to go out into the Otago Harbour and test our skills. It was a great weekend with sun and about 18 knots of wind- which was perfect for learning (and also capsizing a couple of times). I feel as if I learned so much in a short period of time and was lucky for such an experience.

This past weekend, I stayed in town and went to Hyde Street (which is like Franklin Street Halloween- but much more intense, and yes, with more people). I also biked out to St. Clair beach and went to the Farmer’s Market for some wonderfully fresh fruit. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was hiking up to the Summit of Flagstaff on the Pineapple track (named for the canned pineapples grocer’s used to give to hikers) that looked out on the entire city and Peninsula. We were literally on top of the clouds and could see so much of the beautiful place that we live in.

Pineapple Track

On top of the clouds

Otago Harbour (view of Dunedin)

Fiordland National Park

This past weekend I went on a trip with some wonderful people to Fiordland National Park. Inspired by Hannah’s creative endeavors I have attempted to create a short video about our time there, but will provide some written highlights of the weekend for those of you who aren’t visual learners:

-driving through a tunnel through a mountain

-sleeping outside and waking up to a sunrise over the mountains

-hiking to key summit right before the clouds and rain came in

-Evan and Phil climbing into a hollow log

-kayaking in Milford sound

-dolphins jump completely out of the water

- young New Zealand fur seals and having them swim under and around our kayak

-hiking to Lake Marian and the sun coming out just as we got to the most beautiful part

-some of the highest waterfalls in the world that only exist when it’s been raining