New Zealand

I went on a hike on Franz Josef glacier when I was in the South...

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 02:25:00 -0400

Two of the Danish girls: Sarah & Malene

Me and Julie in a crack in the glacier

Me in the glacier

Cracks in the glacier

View looking up from inside a crack

Me and Julie inside the helicopter

Getting out of the helicopter

I went on a hike on Franz Josef glacier when I was in the South Island but unfortunately did not have my camera that day. Some girls I did the hike with fortunately had theirs so I just stole their pictures to share them with you guys. We took a helicopter to the top of the glacier, hiked up there for two hours, and then took the helicopter back down. It was my first time in a helicopter and it was awesome. And even better — it was free. The group of girls I went with signed up for the heli-hike. One ended up getting food poisoning and had to back out and get a refund. Since there was an open seat in the helicopter and no one to fill it, I was offered the open spot for free! Very lucky, and an amazing experience!

Sorry I have not been on to update anything lately; things have been so busy but should be calming...

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:43:01 -0400

Sorry I have not been on to update anything lately; things have been so busy but should be calming down shortly. One by one people are starting to leave, but a few of us were fortunate enough to be able to scrounge up the money to stop by Fiji on the way home. Since it is a layover it is significantly cheaper. The pictures and videos I posted last were a large mantage from Spring Break down to the South Island. I have not done too much travelling since then but I hope to get to a few more small NZ towns on the North Island before I leave. The time here has been amazing and I hope to make it back here again soon.

Grammy pointed out that she did not know that some of the things I posted were videos until Steve showed her. So in case anyone else didn’t realize, thank Grammy for pointing it out. Anything with a light white arrow inside a circle is actually a video and if you click the arrow it will begin to play.

I don’t have much time to write on here since I’ve got a final in two days, but I wanted to say hello to anyone following this and give a quick update. Love you all!

A bungy jump.

Mon, 31 May 2010 07:36:29 -0400

A bungy jump.

Photo

Sun, 02 May 2010 02:47:48 -0400

Nevis Bungy; 2nd tallest in the world

Nevis Bungy; 2nd tallest in the world

Nevis Bungy; 2nd tallest in the world

Nevis Bungy; out of a cable car

Forgot the name of this lake.

All Black, Leon McDonald

Photo

Sun, 02 May 2010 02:13:40 -0400

Punakaiki Pancake Rocks

Punakaiki Pancake Rocks

Punakaiki Pancake Rocks

Reflecting Lake

Franz Josef Glacier

bottom of glacier; hostel & palm trees!

Franz Josef

Touch Rugby in Wanaka

near the bridge bungy in Queenstown

bridge bungy, Queenstown (not me)

We got so close to these seals and I got a quick video.

Sun, 02 May 2010 00:30:09 -0400

We got so close to these seals and I got a quick video.

Photo

Sat, 01 May 2010 23:34:00 -0400

Dolphins in Kaikora

Seal pup in Kaikora

Vineyards on the drive to Nelson

Geographic center of NZ, Nelson

Lake Rotoiti

Horseback riding in Westport

Walk on the way to Franz Josef

on the way to Franz Josef

On the way to Franz Josef

On the way to Franz Josef

Hello everyone! I just recently got back from Fall Break in the...

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:54:00 -0400

Hello everyone! I just recently got back from Fall Break in the South Island. These pictures aren’t from there — these are from Valentine’s Day when we went white water rafting in Rotorua. The pictures are mostly of the 7meter drop we went down. The pictures from break will be up in a little while. I’ve got a really busy week at school this week but will try to get them up by the weekend!

Okay, so the past two weeks have been two of the best yet! Last...

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:48:00 -0400

skydiving in taupo

skydiving in taupo

Mermaid Pools, Matapouri

Mermaid Pools, Matapouri

Matapouri Hike

Matapouri Hike

Matapouri Hike

Okay, so the past two weeks have been two of the best yet! Last weekend, against my mom’s wishes, I went skydiving with a friend. We bussed down to Taupo which is supposed to be some of the best skydiving here, because of the view and the height. It’s one of the highest tandems you can do supposedly; 15,000 feet. It’s 65 seconds of freefall and then they pull the parachute at 5,000 feet. I put two pictures up but they are only pictures from the ground. I bought the DVD and am still trying to figure out how to put the video up and how to take still shots from the video and post them as pictures. Hopefully I figure that all out soon.

I just got back from going to a Maori family reunion in Matapouri (Northland) for Easter weekend. I’ve made good friends with someone here who is half Maori and he invited my friend and I to come along with him to their Hangi (where they cook food in the ground with hot rocks). It was on his aunt’s camping grounds and we all pitched our tents. He grew up there and knew the area and took us to some of the most beautiful places. We had to cling to the edges of rocks to find some of these places and they called them Mermaid Pools. Essentially they are like natural Infinity Pools (where you sit in the pool and it looks like it’s connected to the ocean). We didn’t get to swim in them because the tide was too high and rough, but maybe another time. Then we went on a hike with him, his dad, and his sister (who is also our age). His sister brought her horse with her, and they took us up a big hill. They own all the land so it’s private property, which means not everyone gets to do this. The trails were all overgrown so we just trudged through tall grass. At the top of the hill we came to one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen since I’ve been here. The pictures are up but they don’t do it any justice.

Grandma and Grandpa- I just got my birthday card and present in the mail. Thank you so much.. it will help me out a lot over here!

I’ll do my best to get the video and better skydiving pictures up as soon as I can, but I leave to tour the South Island tomorrow for 14 days. So it might be a while until the next update, but hopefully it will be a good one!

Because my classes are all finished by mid-day on Wednesdays, my...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:47:00 -0400

Long Bay Beach, Coromandel Peninsula

Backpacking through Coromandel Peninsula

Lion's Den Hostel, Coromandel

Lion's Den Hostel -- Teepee

Trifecta Sailboat we chartered

Sailing Trifecta Sailboat

Whitianga, Coromandel Peninsula

Wedding on Whitianga Beach

Hibiscus flower, Whitianga

42 kg Blue Marlin, Whitianga

Because my classes are all finished by mid-day on Wednesdays, my friend Ashley (from Clemson) and I went on a camping trip from Thursday until Sunday over this past weekend. We wanted to see Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel Peninsula, but never quite got there. However, we stayed in Coromandel Town, camping one night and in a hostel (Lion’s Den) the second night. Lion’s Den hostel was the best hostel I’ve stayed at yet. It was very homey and the owner put tons of thought into the decorations. It was a cross between African safari and gypsey. There was a teepee in the back yard that she actually rented out as a room! While staying in Coromandel Town we decided to charter a sailboat, which was relatively cheap especially when you figure in the conversion to US dollars. The boat was huge and the skipper had actually built it himself 5 years prior. He used to be a dairy farmer until he sold his farm and put everything he had into building his boat. We left Coromandel town for our third night and went to the opposite side of the peninsula to a place called Whitianga. We camped there for one night, and it’s where that picture of the Marlin fish was taken. We also saw a wedding during our stay at Whitianga; the picture above shows it. There was a man in the back who was wearing a dress. It seemed too silly to be serious. Ashley and I concluded that he must have lost a bet.

I’d love to hear any questions or thoughts anyone is having so feel free to email me at trippkl@email.sc.edu if you feel like it! Hope everyone is well!

Hi everyone! School started this past week and luckily I have a...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:08:14 -0500

our house at Ruakaka Beach

storm rolling in to Ruakaka

Everyone sleeping under the tarp house

Mission Bay, Auckland

Herne Bay, Auckland

Herne Bay, Auckland

Herne Bay, Auckland

Kitchen

Living Room

Bedroom

Hi everyone! School started this past week and luckily I have a schedule that allows me to travel since I’ve only got classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. They are long days but at least it leaves me time to explore the rest of the country. Last week a group of us went to Ruakaka, a town up North. It’s the place with the oil refinery. We didn’t have enough tents at the time so we set up tarps against a staircase and slept under that for two nights! That’s the only real trip we’ve made lately — other than that we’ve been going to beaches around the Auckland area. Mission Bay is a common one where lots of travellers go. My friend Ashley and I managed to find a small local beach called Herne Bay that is a $1.70 bus ride away! I’ve just found out that a girl I know from Tockwogh named Ole is living in Auckland and may be meeting up with her. The weather has been beautiful here and we’re continuing to meet more and more locals. My goal is to get to the South Island as soon as possible before it starts getting cold, but I may be saving that until Spring Break. That’s all the updating I have for now and hope everyone is doing well over there!

Hello Family. This is just going to be a collection of the...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:43:54 -0500

Auckland Airport

Maori statue, thermal activity, Rotorua

community service in rain, Rotorua

full name of thermal village

thermal pond, Rotorua

before caving and glow worms

21st birthday

sunset, Waiheke Island

Oliver and Finn, Waiheke

beach on Waiheke Island

Hello Family.

This is just going to be a collection of the pictures I think you should see. They are either of highlights of the trip or just pictures of pretty places. My camera doesn’t do any of the scenery justice but you can at least get an idea.

The first week here we spent in the Kiwi Paka hostel in Rotorua. Rotorua is central in the North Island and has tons of thermal activity. It exploits the Maori culture a little bit but it’s good for tourists. We went spelunking through caves to see glow worms, white water rafting in Waitomo, and learned about the Maori culture and how to do the Haka (look up All Blacks Haka on youtube.com if you want to see a good one). The people in my program are awesome and as it turns out, I’m becoming best friends with a girl from Clemson, which is South Carolina’s rival.

We got to Auckland about a week ago and the apartments are very nice. Auckland has been very fun and has a good night life. Drinks are about $7.50 each though so we are trying to watch our wallets. I’ve been camping twice. Once was to Waiheke beach which is a 40-minute ferry ride from Auckland. Today I got back from camping at Ruakaka Beach. You probably can’t find much about Ruakaka online — all it has is NZ’s only oil refinery. We hopped on the cheapest bus out of Auckland and that’s what we got. But it actually was one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen here yet. Not many people, soft white sand, and clear blue water. I haven’t gotten around to posting those pictures yet but they should be up within the next week. Uncle Dan — I know you asked for pictures and I assume others will want to see so hopefully this is good. Hopefully everyone is doing well in the States and I’ll keep updating this blog!