Blogs from Nelson Region, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 39

I did a sky-dive!!! At this stage it should be old news coz I did it over a week ago but I hadn't told anyone about it and sent the DVD home as a surprise instead. It was amazing!!! We did it over Lake Taupo and jumped from 12,000 feet which involved 45 seconds of free falling before parachuting over the lake and down to planet earth!! Absolutely terrifying, ya wanna see the state of me in the plane on the way up, I was sooo scared but by then it was too late to chicken-out as my instructer Dano reminded us all with an evil laugh and a 'no backsies' as he pulled the plane door shut. It was soo worth it though, the feeling of just free-falling is incredible and the views from that ... read more

Hello one and all from NZ! We have finally gotten over the upside down feeling and can sit at a computer to lay down our travels over the past few weeks. It's not even been three weeks that we've been here but seems like alot longer, as usually happens when you come to a new place I guess. So far we've had a whirl wind tour of the North Island and are now in a place called Nelson in the North of the South Island. It's known as the sunniest place in NZ but since we arrived it's been pouring down.....perhaps a little of the Scottish weather sneeked into my suitcase!! So where do we start? Well, we met in a slow motion romantic embrace in Auckland international airport on 5th October. Actually it was a ... read more

Hey everybody!! Kia Ora!!! A little explanation before we get started with the recap. Back in Rotorua while we were lugeing, Ash and I were sitting on the chair lift and I said to Ash "Ashley, New Zealand is all about the natural booty!" Yes, yes....i cant talk, i know but it's now just a catch phrase for our trip in NZ, (especially the last couple days). So the last blog came from Taupo on the North Island and now weve moved down to the South Island! We left Taupo for Wellington-the capital city of NZ- as we drove we went through a big national park that had a desert as well as some active volcanos (one was Mt Doom from LOTR). We spent a few days just checking out this busy, cool city. Both Ash ... read more

After leaving Able Tasman we headed evern farther north to Golden Bay. Is a very small grouping of towns and very arts and craft esk. We drove up to Collingwood and stayed at a Backpackers (Hostel) which was the first one I have stayed at and I was the best one I have stayed at since. It was run by this older man who made us fresh bread in the morning and had a great view of the town and the bay. Once we got there it also started to rain too. The next morning we went north from Collingwood and went to Warariki Beach which is "the best beach on the south island" but it was raining and windy so sand was everywhere but I had to go see it since I wasn't going to ... read more

A few weeks ago I decided to pursue my long-term passion for teaching and contacted as many primary schools, including the Rudolf Steiner in Motueka, to try and establish a paid position. I started working at St. Joseph's School in Nelson and have had a brief insight into what it means to be a teacher, confirming in my mind that it is definately what I want to do and I'm eager to learn more about life in the classroom. The Catholic school has some quaint traditional values with a modern approach, and, by working as a teacher-aide, I am learning more than I could ever imagine. The teachers work together and recognise the importance of a strong support team, ending each week with a 'reviver' drink at the pub! It is so fantastic that I have ... read more