Leaving on a Jet Plane

The last few days have been great. Micah got back from his trip to the South Island and so me and him rented a car and headed north. We went up to Cape Reinga (the very most north part of New Zealand) and also visited the Bay of Islands. The weather cleared up and we were able to take a boat ride to see the infamous hole in the rock out in the Pacific Ocean, and also many of the beautiful islands in the bay. Cape Reinga was also interesting because you could see where the two oceans met out at sea.

I also managed to see the Kauri trees which apparently are 1000s of years old.... and I finally got my chance to drive in New Zealand, which very much to my surprise was not as hard as I had expected (considering they drive on the other side of the road.... and also they have some other interesting road rules that are different than the US).

Yesterday was very nice. I made reservations in Orbit which is the restaurant that revolves around the top of the Sky Tower... so my friends joined me for lunch up at the top. There was a wonderful view of Auckland from up there, and I also got to enjoy a very very delicious lamb shank meal... yum.

Today I went to the Sylvia Park and did a tiny bit of shopping....

My trip to New Zealand feels very complete, and I am very very happy that it feels that way, because tomorrow night I'll be boarding the airplane which will be headed back to the United States.

I am so lucky that I was able to come on this trip, and I feel like I've learned a lot about the world, and matured quite a bit since I left. It's been very hard to say good bye to all the friends I've made while I was here, but I am so happy that I was able to met some many awesome and interesting people... and I am sure I will be able to keep in touch with them.

So although I am quite sad about having to leave behind my friends, I am very happy to be coming home to see all of my family and friends whom I had to leave behind when I embarked on my journey overseas. It is going to be a very nice Christmas this year I think! :)

All that's left for me to do is finish up my packing and cleaning my room. I do plan to update this blog a bit when I do return home, so be looking forward to checking that out.

I'll see you tomorrow Mom and Dad!

Cheers,
Shawn

Happy Holidays!

I've been back in Auckland for a couple days, but my trip to the South Island was very very great. We were able to see and do so much while we were down there.


I am going to write a longer post about the trip down there in the future, but I only have about a week left in New Zealand, so I will probably wait until I get back to the states to do that.

A few of the highlights of the trip included though:

• Surfing in Raglan
• Seeing some of Wellington
• The Ferry Ride from Wellington to Picton
• Hitchhiking with a buddy we made on the bus from Hamilton to Wellington (he drove us all the way from Picton to the South of the South Island)
• Hiking for three days in Stewart Island
• Going to Queenstown
• Doing the Routeburn and Caples hikes (...my favorite part of the whole trip I think)

and just having tons and tons of fun.

Here are a few pictures from the trip:

Dan (the guy who drove all the way to Invercargil), Micah, and Matt

Kiwi Crossing

Start of the Hike on Stewart Island

Sunset on Stewart Island

Orange

A possum that tried to steal our food

Micah and Matt and all our stuff

Got my thumb out

Riding towards Queenstown

A guy let us stay in his shack one night

Queenstown had a Frisbee Golf course... so we played.

The start of the Routeburn

Beautiful Mountains
Setting up Camp

Amazing.
King of the Mountain

Part of the Alpine Region of the Hike

It was cold up there, but well worth it
The highest elevation we reached
(and let me tell you.... it was A LOT of going up)

a great view from the top

a big mountain

Where we camped on the 3rd day

Below the waterfall

It was a big waterfall

Christchurch Cathedral (....after the construction was finished)

The Wizard of New Zealand

The ferry ride to Stewart Island


Hiking on the Routeburn

The Christmas Tree in the Cathedral in Christchurch

Last night they had Christmas at the Park which is like a free event they put on, and New Zealand celebrities and bands play christmas songs. It was pretty fun. The best part was this huge fireworks show at the end, so that was pretty cool. It really got me in the holiday mood, which is funny because it has been like 60 degrees, and there is no snow.


Thinking I may go up to Cape Renga and the Bay of Islands in a day or two... but I'm not sure yet.

Hope everyone is doing well,
Cheers,
Shawn