Weekend at Queen Charlotte Sound!

Hello all! If you haven't heard from me for a few days, its because this past weekend I went "off the grid" for a weekend at Queen Charlotte Sound! This was the activity weekend sponsored by Arcadia, where all of the Arcadia Wellington students got to get a glimpse of the South Island as well as sea kayaking!

Bright and early on Friday morning the group of 19 of us took a ferry across the Cook Straight to Picton, which took about 3 and a half hours. Once there, we took vans to part of the Charlotte Track, and then we were off! We walked for about three hours to Mistletoe Bay, which is an area with cabins and a campsite where we were staying. On the way, I got a look at some of the breathtaking views of the sound!

Mistletoe Bay is committed to sustainability and being environmentally conscious, which is AWESOME. Some of the ways they do this include having solar panels on the buildings, using runoff water which is then filtered with UV light for drinking, showering, etc; and having all of their toilets use grey water which is reused. Another awesome thing about Mistletoe Bay is that we were greeted by alpacas!!

Saturday we ventured into the world of sea kayaking! Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures because I wasn't willing to risk bringing my camera onto the water with me, even with the waterproof camera bags. Being out on the water for a few hours surrounded by mountains on all sides and clear blue-green water was so wonderful, even if my arms were significantly sore the next day from all of the paddling! Kayaking to a otherwise inaccessible beach to have lunch and lay in the sun with friends epitomized enjoying what nature has to offer.

After paddling back to where we were staying, a small group of us decided to forgo napping before dinner and instead go on a hike to watch the sunset above the mountains. Although a nap might have been nice, the view when we got to the top of our hike was definitely worth the extra effort.

On Sunday morning, it was time to hike more of the track so we could be picked up by a water taxi to go back to the ferry, and then Wellington. The views in the morning were once again beautiful, with layers of fog and clouds silhouetting the mountains around us.

The group resting for lunch

After getting back to Wellington and being exhausted, a group of us decided to forgo cooking dinner for ourselves and instead indulge in something American- burgers! To end the weekend, I enjoyed a great veggie burger from the American-inspired NZ version of a fast food chain, "Burger Fuel." My veggie burger was delicious, despite the fact that no where in the US would beets be customary on burgers and you would never be provided a cardboard holder to keep your hands from getting messy. All criticism aside, it was a great end to an amazing weekend!

Weta Cave, Seals, and Earthquakes, Oh My!

What an exciting weekend I had! Saturday was the first monthly trip with my study abroad program. We went to Weta Cave, which is the small museum/gift shop of Weta Digital. Weta Digital is the film company that made, among other movies, the Lord of the Rings series! We got to see a bunch of replicas of characters and objects from movies, as well as a short film about the digital process of creating the characters and scenery.

An Orc!

 

On Sunday, after  going to the farmers market by the water to get our fruits and vegetables for the week, a group of my friends and I took the bus out to Island Bay to do a walk by the water and get to what is known as "red rocks." This walk took us about four hours total to go out and back, although that included lots of stopping to take pictures of the beautiful landscape and the main attraction, seals!

Katie, Scott, Ian, and I

red rocks!

Seal Friends!

 

 

The walk was amazing and a great way to spend the day. There was a much bigger event happening than us just seeing seals though- there was a 6.5 magnitude earthquake! Somehow (miraculously) I didn't even feel it, but within the city it was pretty substantial. No one was hurt, thankfully, but classes were cancelled on Monday so that all of the buildings could be inspected for damage and we had lots of preparedness emails/meetings to ensure that everyone was ready in case a bigger one were to strike. Thankfully, the bigger aftershocks have stopped and we seem to be in the clear, at least for now! This was really my first taste of living in a city built on active fault lines.

Beautiful weather and Mount Victoria

Wellington didn't give me the nicest welcome weather-wise, as the first week was completely cold, rainy, and windy. Add not having central heating indoors to the combination, and I spent most of my first few days here wrapped in a blanket trying to stay warm! However, this week the weather has gotten MUCH better and I've been able to enjoy the beautiful outdoors! I feel like I'm constantly shocked by the breathtaking landscapes that I pass everyday just walking around the city.

View walking to class

Yesterday, my friend Katie and I decided to experience a classic Wellington landmark, Mt Victoria! Its about a 20 minute or so walk there, then a quick hike up to a beautiful view of the city all around. Some pictures from the hike:

Katie and I at the top! The stranger who took this struggled quite a bit with my camera

The last picture is appropriate because we had a 5.7 magnitude earthquake this morning! There wasn't any damage or injuries, but it was quite the event to happen while I was making breakfast this morning. I guess I have to get used to living on a city located on some fault lines!

Thanks for reading!
McKenzie

First Week, First Blog Post!

 Hi everyone! I've officially made it through 11 days in New Zealand, and its finally time to start blogging! I got to my new home, Wellington, last Wednesday, and since then everything has been a whirlwind. Its hard to prepare completely moving to a new city by yourself, and even harder when that city is almost as far away from home as possible. But, I think I'm finally settled and (starting) to really know my way around!


Before getting here last week, I had a three day orientation with the program I came with. After arriving in Auckland on Sunday morning after the craziest 30 hours or so of traveling, we walked around the city and had our first experiences of what things are really like in New Zealand! It was also the beginning of me taking excessive numbers of pictures everywhere we went.

Auckland Sky Tower

Crater formed from a collapsed volcano

The next day, we went to Matamata (also home of Hobbiton!) and Rotorua. In Rotorua, we went to the Agrodome, where we were able to play with lambs and goats before seeing a show which included seeing a sheep be sheered.

 That night, we went to Rainbow Springs where we were able to see lots of native New Zealand wildlife, including the Kiwi! NZ has a lot of species that are unique to here, so being able to see them is a really valuable experience.

The Tuatara

On Tuesday we went zorbing, which is essentially rolling down a hill in a giant plastic ball with water inside so that you stay sitting (mostly) upright. I don't have pictures yet but I recommend watching a video and doing it if you have a chance! It was a ton of fun.

We also got to see the Lady Knox geyser erupt, and visit a geothermal park to see all of the awesome features of the natural landscape. Definitely nothing like Vermont and New Hampshire!

Finally, our last activity of orientation was going to the Tamaki Maori Village, where we experienced a traditional Maori welcome and meal.

And that was our journey here! Getting settled in, finding everything and learning about how to live in Wellington has been a process, but I'm now feeling like I'm not totally out of place. Maybe the biggest adjustment has been getting used to not having heat in my apartment! The weather is finally getting nice though, meaning that its less chilly indoors and also fun to walk around the city and explore.




Also: many of you are probably wondering about the title of my blog. "Sweet as," or anything followed by "as" is a common Kiwi expression I love, and what better way to pick it up than to make it my blog title!

Well, thats it for now but I will keep updating here as soon as I have time!

-McKenzie