Queenstown and Wanaka!

5/22/13

On Wednesday last week I set out for my first solo trip. I hopped aboard the Nakedbus early morning with much excitement. Little did I know about the great things God had in store for me!

Some of you may be curious about the bus.... So here's the deal-- with every new town we drove through, everyone had to take off a layer of clothing. Good thing there was a great heating system!

Lol.... Well, that's what I told my mom at least ;)

Nakedbus is one of the best bus companies around for young travelers and I met some great friends on it!

At lunch time we stopped at Lake Tekapo.

It was very cloudy but still absolutely beautiful.

Continuing our 8 hour journey, we made a final rest stop at Lake Wanaka which is two ours outside of Queenstown.

The beauty of this country, even on a cloudy day, is spectacular.

We arrived to Queenstown just before dark, my phone at 2%, and I had zero idea where my hostel was located. My Nakedbus itinerary failed to mention the name of which hostel I was staying at...

After wondering around and asking people where the closest hostel was, I found Base hostel and I was very fortunate to get a sweet girl at the front who helped me figure out my accommodations. Ended up that was the correct hostel. Phwew.

This being the first time ever staying at a hostel, I had no clue what to expect. Reaching my room, I opened it to a young couple about my age. Anita and her boyfriend were from Holland and like many young adults from that area, were traveling around New Zealand and Australia. The hostel room slept 8, with 4 bunk bed. Each room at their own shower and toilet.

When situated and after meeting a couple of my other roommates, I decided to go for a walk and explore the town a bit. About five minutes into my walk I ran into a girl I recognized from my bus, Ra. She is living in Queenstown and paints for a living. We were able to chat quite a while and she showed me to a fantastic Mexican restaurant where we talked over tacos and Sangria. You can visit her wonderful gallery at https://www.facebook.com/romeoalphagallery

After dinner, I went next door from my hostel to the Base bar, "Altitude." I had a Tui beer, another beer named after a New Zealand bird. Quite delicious!

I met up with one of my friends from the bus, Morgan, and he showed me around to the best local bars.

The World Bar was one of the artsiest bars I've ever been in. The walls and ceiling were covered with vintage items such as old dial phones, maps, and oldtime photos. I came to learn that about 2 hours after I left Queenstown, it burned to the ground :(

Morgan and his local friend from New York! It was a fun first night having Morgan and his friends showing me around. I look forward to visiting you on the slopes Morgan! -your natural blonde highlighted haired friend from Florida ;)

5/24/13

Thursday morning I went to one of the bakerys across from my hostel and got a pork and leek pie. This country is very into their pie and coffee and I have to say both are extremely tasty.

Was able to eat with this for my view...

After eating and thinking about all the possibly things I could do in Queenstown... I came to the conclusion what better than to go jump off a bridge into the bluest water I've ever seen?

So, I signed up to do the craziest thing I've ever done...Bungy jump.

All aboard!!

The Kawarau Bridge Bungy is the world's first bungy site; a 43m jump into the Kawarau River.

As I was being tied up, the man asked me if I'd like to go in the water at all and how far. I grinned ever so sweetly and replied "the whole shabang please :)"

Then....

By far the most incredible thing I've ever done!!

You can watch the bungy video HERE

After my bungy and meeting some great girls from Germany who also made the plunge, I watched the sun go down over Lake Wakatipu.

This duck is the locals favorite duck that never leaves this lake. The story Ra told me is that she lost her love and since ducks are mated for life, she wanders around heartbroken :(

Meet Nick! A Kiwi I met when feeding the duck! A very nice guy who introduced me to some yummy local wine and showed me around the town! Thanks Nick and can't wait for you to come to Florida! I spent my last night out with all of my hostel roommates and Nick, touring the town. Cheers Queenstown! It was a splendid time :)

5/24/13

Friday morning, I boarded the Nakedbus and met Jessi, another lovely kiwi! She sat with me on the bus and informed me on some must see destinations in New Zealand :) it was great meeting you Jessi! Hopefully see you some time soon.

Before I knew it, I was in Wanaka!

An absolutely GORGEOUS morning it was. 32 degrees F or 0 degrees C. Just a little chilly but the sun was all too good at warming up my Floridian body.

After drinking coffee at the lake front cafe, I grabbed some bread from the bakery and as mom told me to, went and made friends with some locals...

Fed them and everything mom!

Day 1 in Wanaka was one of the most relaxing... Took a long snooze on the warm beach, went for a short hike around the lake, and enjoyed the brightest sunset I've ever seen.

I then checked into my hostel and met Levi from Seattle who was working at Base. He informed me of a few popular hiking destinations as well as the local bar scene. Entering my room, I met Anna from France, Tamara from Germany, Alex, a kiwi, and Alice from Oxford. Amazing people! Alice and Alex invited me to the cinema across the way from our hostel. We watched a series of inspirational short films made by locals. Most were very well done and touching.

5/25/13

Saturday morning I was up early and ready to hit some of the hiking destinations Levi told me about. First was Mount Iron.

Supposedly one of the easiest hikes in the area and I had to take a break halfway up... Good thing I chose this one! Florida hikers....

Was blessed with beautiful weather and even better views :)

Wanaka from above

It took me about an hour up and 45 min down!

After Mount Iron, I grabbed some coffee at a local cafe and bread from a bakery and continued on to the next- Waterfall Creek which is around the left side of the lake.

I was a little more clothed compared to the locals...

Another amazing idea the Kiwis have! Get passerbys to water the plants :)

A New Zealand vineyard!! I saw a few on my walk. Very cool to see one up close :)

With the wind blowing full force, these trees made the most beautiful and relaxing humming noise.

A very cool looking plant!

On the way back, there was a man kite surfing!! Champ... 30 degrees and extremely windy in ice cold water... Mad props bro.

Sunset at Lake Wanaka to end an adventurous day!

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11:23-24

That night, my last in Wanaka, I met new hostel mates, Sunny from China, Wu from Korea, and a big group all from the states who are studying abroad here in New Zealand.

A few of us went over to the Base bar and played some pool. I met a lovely lad, Zac, from Georgia who works at the Base, who also introduced me to a bunch of guys from the states. Rowdy bunch they were. Looking forward to watching some rugby and surfing with Zac in the near future.

Some locals introduced me to some interesting ways to drink...

Evald, from Italy. One day I will have your cooking intelligence!

Alice, Alex, and Evald... I lost every game in pool. Sorry dad!

I had such a splendid time meeting all these wonderful people from all over the world. So happy to have met all of you and I look forward to following your travels and hopefully seeing you again some day! Come visit me in Florida :)

5/26/13

The next morning I was off again, getting my nakedness on... All too excited, I was like a 5 year old looking out the window, wanting to see everything. And that I did...

Just incredible how blue the water is here...

This is the same lake we stopped at on the way to Queenstown! Lake Tekapo :) Only the sun was shinning this day... And I thought it was pretty with overcast...

Zip lining in my flip flops :)

What a wonderful trip! So happy I was able to take it before the snow came! Looking forward to the rest of New Zealand :) thanks for reading.

Love you and miss you all!

Cheers!