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Published: March 21st 2009
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Lake Wanaka
We were lodged close to the water. Right now, I'm looking out my window at the gorgeous view from my hotel room. We arrived in Queenstown yesterday and from what I've seen, it looks to be a pretty cool place.
From Harihari, we drove to Wanaka. As a class, we didn't do much. There was a geology field class on yet another watershed project. These are basically public streams for runoff. Wanaka was the place where I celebrated St. Patrick's day, however. I even got a haircut so I'd look halfway decent. Most of the class gathered at Shooters Bar for pool, dancing, and drinking. Honestly, as small as the town is, I thought it would be busier. Nicole, one of the friends I've made on this trip, bought green food dye for our drinks.
The next day, early in the morning, we had that geology field trip. When we got back, we were surprised to find out we were also having a Biology lecture. I am not ashamed to say I ditched Mr. Bill's Biology. At this point in the trip, I feel like he's realized he hasn't done much teaching and is trying to catch up. I heard from the people that went, he sounded
Another Wicked Van
I love the statements on these vans. like he was babbling whatever was on the top of his head.
On to Te Anau then. The drives continue to be uneventful, if full of sheep and the occasional deer farm. Still, it's very beautiful country to be passing through. In Te Anau, we had our own rooms, similar to single dorm rooms on a college campus. The town proper was a 20 minute walk from our lodgings and since there wasn't much there anyway, I didn't bother after we got our first look around during the shopping trip the profs do whenever we arrive at a new place.
The day after our arrival, we traveled to Milford Sound. Over night, our departure time went from 8am to 7:30am. I was a little pissed when I realized I couldn't have a shower, eat breakfast, or make my lunch for the day. The only thing that got me out of this dark mood was when we had to stop at the 1.5 mile tunnel for 15 minutes, waiting for the light to change. Wild Keas (large, alpine parrots) came right up to our van and tried to hop in. They're the most awesome parrots in the world. I want
Me & Nicole
Green drinks on St. Patty's Day is a must! one. o,o
Anyway, we had to leave them when the light turned green and we drove through the down-graded tunnel. Yes, it wasn't a level tunnel. It was also one lane. Odd.
It wasn't long after that we were parking and walking to the ship. This place was AMAZING. We were booked on the largest ship docked, the Milford Mariner. Our Captain was both knowledgeable and witty. We were told straight off that the area is misnamed. It should be Milford fjord as it is dominantly freshwater. The boat was backed into waterfalls several times since the water is as deep as the mountains are tall. You just cannot get the sense of scale from the photographs. We were eventually brought out to the Tasman Sea where we could see that the swells can potentially grow as high as the masts on our ship. The whole voyage was a spectacular four hours.
When we were leaving Te Anau, we picked up two hitchhikers needing a lift to Queenstown. They were really nice girls; one from Holland, the other from Israel. We only had room for them in the vans because three of our group decided to hike through the
KEAS!
I friggin' love these parrots! mountains to a point near the city. So far I'm booked on the Shotover Jet (the world's most exciting jetboat ride through twisting canyons) and I may do bungie jumping off the world's first bungie jump. Can't decide on that last yet, my wallet is tightening.
Further news when I'm in Dunedin! =)
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Kathy E
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Those photos are beautiful - Your haircut looks great BTW! I would love to go there -