Merry Christmas to you! I am a little sad not to be home for Christmas this year, however I think my adventures will make up for it. New Zealand is absolutely amazing!!! Kara, Jodi (her mother), and I flew into Christchurch on Tuesday. We arrived late and were completely exhausted from traveling so we went straight to bed. The next morning we work up bright and early to drive south to Milford Sound. I have heard this is an amazingly beautiful area that we absolutely must visit. It was quite a long drive (10 hours) but we decided it was likely worth it. The drive was incredible- mountains, lakes, flowers, rolling hills, beautiful skies, multiple rainbows, 10000’s of Sheep, and so much more. We stopped many times along the way to take pics and look at the beautiful scenery. We went to Lake Tekapo- which was indescribably gorgeous. Due to mineral deposits in the, it is the most turquoisey blue color I have ever seen. There is a stunning tiny church overlooking the lake which was also amazing. We continued on to Queenstown, stopping in some cute towns along the way.
We did not spend much time in Queenstown but it was very cute and reminded me of a mountainous village. We continued to Te Anau where we spent the night in a nice little motel lodge. In the morning, our tour bus picked us up and drove to Milford Sound. We decided to take a bus because the 2 hour drive is rather cliff and scary. We learned that it is one of the world most dangerous drives in the winter because of avalanches. The avalanches cause wind bursts over 300km/hour and the wind alone uproots enormous trees. The drive was pretty incredible. Unfortunately, it was a bit overcasty and foggy, but still stunning. It rains 7 meters/year in Milford Sound so one should expect a bit of rain. When we arrived, we went on a boat tour in the fiords, which are mountains that raise right up out of the water. The boat cruise was incredible- the mountains, 100’s of waterfalls, and seals. We were all freezing too! I never expected New Zealand to be so cold, but it was probably in the 40s down south. After the boat cruise we headed back, stopping many times along the way. We stopped and walked through a wooded rain forest area. There were incredible trees, tons of moss, giant ferns, and many other plants. At the end of the trail there was a huge waterfall! My other favorite stop was at Monkey River. This was a fresh spring water stream that our bus tour guide said is 99% pure. We drank right out of the stream and I even filled up a water bottle to drink later. It was the coldest, freshest water I have ever tasted!! When we returned to Te Anau, we left fairly soon after to start driving back. We drove for a few hours to a town called Wanaca where we found another cute little place to stay. Unfortunately, we could not stay long in the morning because we had to make it back to Christchurch by 3:00 to pick up Jon (Kara’s fiancé) from the airport. We made some more stops in little towns, shops, and beautiful scenes on the way. Although the drive was long, it was sooo incredible and enjoyable. I have never seen so much beauty in my life!!
On Christmas eve, we went to Christmas Mass, which was nice, but not the same as home. We then walked around town for a bit and went out for a delicious Asian dinner. I ate some seafood noodle soup- yum! After dinner, we were walking around town and heard some Christmas carols. We found an outdoor Christmas carol concert with 100’s of people singing and listening to the band. We all held candles and sang along. I was so happy to find this, because it made it feel a bit more like Christmas.
On Christmas, we went to Akora, which is a French town on the Bank’s Peninsula about 1 ½ hours away. We went on a harbor cruise and saw sooo many Hector Dolphins, which are the smallest and rarest in the world. They are also quite friendly and would come right up to the boat. The scenery was beautiful- mountains, rolling hills, cliffs, seals, penguins, birds, and fish. We were so lucky and Jesus must have been watching out for us on his birthday because when we arrived, we were completely out of gas, and NOTHING was open on Chirstmas. The boat driver took Kara and Jon to the Gas station and filled the car up where they get gas for the boats! In the afternoon, we went to the beach and walked along, watched the tide come in, and picked up seashells. It was soo much fun and a great Christmas away from home. I hope everyone at home has a wonderful and happy day!!!
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