Quinn's Week 2 Summary - Paekakariki & Queenstown

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Friday, April 5th- We woke up later than usual, and headed over to Jim and Kelley's house to make crepes for brunch. I had been having some bad allergies in the morning and they weren't fun. We ate and made crepes for about an hour then decided to take a walk around the area of their house. At this point I couldn't breathe through my nose and I was pretty miserable, so I don't think enjoyed the walk as much as the others did. To make matters worse, after the walk we went to a nature reserve which was almost like a rainforest filled with tons of pollen and mold which happen to be two things that I am allergic to. The nature reserve was cool despite the fact that I felt sick. We watched an eel feeding and I got to learn how to "charm eels". After the nature preserve, I was so sick that I didn't go to dinner. Instead I stayed in the hotel room and watched rugby. Not one of my greatest days in New Zealand.

Saturday, April 6th -

This whole day was devoted to Kapiti island. Kapiti is an island that has been cleared of all non-native predators of New Zealand so that the birds can live naturally. We hiked up the mountains and saw so many cool birds and interesting plant life. At the top of the mountain, there was an amazing view of the ocean and the whole island. After going to Kapiti, we went to Paraparamu and had ice cream and went to the chocolate factory. To finish of the day we went to a Thai resturant.

Sunday, April 7th -

We woke up and packed our bags because it was our last day on the north island. We drove to Wellington and visited the Te Papa museum, which is a museum all about New Zealand. It has a level that talks all about New Zealand's natural history, and another level that talks about it's history, most of which is Maori history. They also had a giant squid that was preserved and on display. After the museum we walked around Wellington and poked around in gift shops. We ate dinner and then decided to go swimming at our hotel. Opal had never been swimming in a pool before, so it was new to her. The pool looked out across the street, so we could wave at the people below us that were walking by. We ended the night by saying goodbye to Jim and Kelly.

Monday, April 8th -

Monday was yet again another travel day. We were flying from Wellington airport to Queenstown. It was another pretty short flight and it amazed me how small the airports were. When we got into Queenstown we checked into our hotel, then went down to this thing in the hotel called QBook. It helps you plan and book activities for your stay. After we planned the rest of our trip, we headed into Queenstown on a shuttle since we didn't have a car. We ate Indian food and me and my dad ordered this thing called the "Bollywood Feast" and my mom and my sister ordered this thing called the "Bollywood Vegetarian Feast". What we didn't know was that we ordered food for two nights.

Tuesday, April 9th -

For Tuesday we started out with a fast paced jet boat ride. It stopped at our hotel and went up the river, then back down the river and dropped us off in Queenstown. The boat only need three inches of water to work so we could go up the rapids and do 360 turns. There were some points where I couldn't see because we were going so fast. When we got to Queenstown we ate lunch then got picked up by High Country Horses. They're a horse charter that takes you through the mountains around Glenorchy. This is the are where the lord of the rings were filmed so it felt a little bit like a story, riding horses through the mountain. My horse was named Little Red, but he wasn't little nor was he red. It was an awesome day especially since it was the first time that I had ridden horses that weren't in a six foot pen and didn't have someone leading them. After the tour, we got driven back to our hotel. For dinner we had..............................more Indian food

Wednesday, April 10th -

We got picked up by a bus that would drop us off at a boat that was taking us to another bus. Our final destination was Doubtful Sound. Doubtful sound is a fjord that you can take a nature cruise on. When we finally got to the boat, we hopped on and got to mess around for about an hour on the boat. Then they called and said that we could do water activities. My dad and I went kayaking and my sister and mom went on a "river craft" nature tour. The area was really amazing and made you feel so small. It was raining the whole time so when we came in we were soaking wet. We had a nice seafood dinner and I got my first taste of New Zealand lamb. We were pooped, so after that we went straight to bed.

Thursday, April 11th -

We woke up and came up to the deck for breakfast. After breakfast we got some tea and played board games. The morning was pretty uneventful and we made the long trip back to Queenstown. As our last activity, we went to the Kiwi Haka show in which some Maori people did traditional dances and ceremonies. We and another couple were the only people there so it was basically a private show. The other guy that was there lives in Montana and came to New Zealand to hunt a $14,000 deer. That was one of the craziest things that I have ever heard.

Friday, April 12th -

It was very sad having to leave. I was definitely not willing to come back to reality, but it had to happen sometime. We flew from Queenstown, to Auckland, to San Fransisco, to Denver, to Minneapolis. I experienced some crazy jet lag that I am still feeling today. It was an amazing trip and definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I wish that it never had to end.

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Photos

Eel Charming
Nga Manu Reserve

Dad sampling sea lettuce
Rather like a salty latex glove

Doubtful Sound
Taken from the Wilmot Pass

The Sound
From the Fiordland Navigator - Real Journeys