It's a Zoo out there

Third times the charm. We finally made it to the Taronga Zoo after multiple failed attempts, mostly because of weather and partly because of sheer laziness. It was definitely worth the wait. Once we hopped off the ferry we took a gondola up to the top of the hill that the zoo is built on. The veiw was amazing we were looking down at elephants and the Sydney skyline was visible in the distance. The highlights of the day were the seal show and the elephants, the zoo successfully bred two elephants earlier this year so there was an adorable little calf wandering around. And of course the koalas were unimaginably cute, they didn't do a whole hell of a lot but they were cute.

We were lucky enough to be in town just long enough to see Sydneys Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras that evening. The streets were packed with tons of people in costume and a huge parade with some really amazing floats was going on all night. Everywhere we went was a party, Hyde Park in particular was overtaken by droves of people having a good time. The crowds were exciting up until the point when we had to manuever our way to the train station with our massive packs to get to the airport. Our plane to Melbourne left at 6 am the next morning and all of the hostels in sydney seemed to be booked up for the Mardi celebrations. We decided sleeping in the airport again wouldn't be an issue, besides the fact that the port is closed from midnight to 4am so we ended up sleeping outside on benches. I only felt slightly homeless.

I'm on a Boat!

We met up with Robyn and Bruce and their friends Sue and Silvano for a wonderful day out on Port Hacking in their boat. The water was surrounded by the Sydney Royal National Park on one side and beautiful luxury homes on the opposite bank. We stopped at a little beach for an amazing picnic, homemade food was such a treat. After lunch we headed into the bush to see if we could find some aboriginal carvings that were on the rocks nearby. We finally found them after going on a bit of a "get lost tour" and encountering some of the biggest spiders I have ever seen. Needless to say Sabrina had a bit of a panic attack so I managed to stay calm for both of us, hardest thing I've ever had to do! The rest of the afternoon was spent cruising around and seeing the sights. The trip came to an end and Sue and Silvano wanted to show us Cronulla Beach so we stopped in at a seaside restraunt for some cappucinos and muffins. What a perfect end to a perfect day. I'm so glad we got the chance to do this it's definitely an experience that not everyone gets to have when they come to Australia.

Sydney

My first night in Sydney could be described as "uncomfortable". I flew in on Sunday night and just couldn't be bothered to find a hostel to stay in for the evening before Sabrina go in the next morning. Needless to say I slept in the airport! I wasn't the only one with the same idea, some even had their own sleeping bags for the campout. I looked on jealously while I tried to find a comfy way to sleep on my backpack, I wish I had a picture of it because I don't think I could ever get into that position again! But it was all worth it when I finally met Sabrina at the gate, it was like a part of Winnipeg was coming to see me.

Our first hostel was in Kings Cross ( the red light district of Sydney), and was a bit sketchy to say the least. We ended up sharing a top bunk and I almost wished I was back in the airport. After two nights of that we moved to a more central spot on George St. which is right across the street from Central station, handy.

We've been hanging out on the beaches all week and seeing the sights. We went to Coogee beach and Bondi beach last week, they both had the softest sand and brilliant blue water, unfortunately Grand can't compare sorry guys! On Tuesday we took the ferry out to Manly beach and met up with Genevieve, a friend of mine from ISV. The weather wasn't entirely pleasant so we ended up going shopping for most of the day and pigging out at the Ben n' Jerrys ice cream parlor that's on the boardwalk.

Yesterday we felt like true tourists as we walked around the harbour and the botanical gardens snapping photos and seeing the sights. Again the weather wasn't very nice but the Opera House still manages to shine under a gray sky. We checked out the Museum of Contemporary Art as well as the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It's awesome sharing this trip with someone with similar interests.

We're going to try and make it to the Toranga Zoo before we leave for Melbourne on Sunday. Robyn and Bruce Tolhurst, relatives on my dads side, are taking us out in their boat tomorrow to show us the "real Australia" haha. Can't wait to be showed around by a local!

Queenstown

My last week in New Zealand (for now at least) could not have been more perfect. Tara and I stayed behind after saying goodbye to the rest of the ISV group on Sunday. This past month has flown by and many tears ensued as we said goodbye to our whanau. But I was more than excited to explore beautiful Queenstown for seven days before leaving for OZ the next weekend.

Queenstown has something for everyone and everything within walking distance. Wandering the cobblestone streets exposes a new back alley or hidden shop that you wouldn't have seen without a second look. First thing on the list was to get a new camera seeing as mine had decided to commit suicide the evening prior. Luckily there where a couple shops in town an I got set up with a snazzy new Canon.With that taken care of we headed to the warf where the weekend markets were in full swing. Musicians and artists bring in crowds every Saturday and Sunday. The evening proved to be an early one which is hard to do seeing as Q-town is party central with almost 80 bars and pubs to choose from in the tiny town.

Aside from laying on the beach and sleeping until noon most days we scheduled a trail ride for Thursday morning. The three hour "Trilogy Loop" ( named after the Lord of the Rings trilogy), was quoted to be for expert riders only. Of course we had to sign up.We showed up bright and early and got handed our boots and helmets before meeting our horses. Trevor and I had so much in common from the beginning. He's a big clutz and not a morning horse at all, true love! The ride was amazing. In the shadows of the Misty Mountains our guide took us through rivers and feilds while telling us bits and peices about parts of the movies filmed in the area. Being able to canter on the back of a thouroughbread after almost 8 years not riding was incredible.

The evenings in Queenstown are unforgettable and the Worldbar with it's teapots became our favourite hangout. If you're ever in the are I recommend getting a Fergburger, or half of one, they are massive but absolutly devine! Adios Queenstown I'm off to Sydney I'm sure we'll meet again soon! <3

Adventure Week Two!

Monday morning was rough seeing as the majority of my roomies had to be up at 5am for skydiving before the rest of our activities. I decided to hold out on adrenaline rush until Queenstown. I choose to do a day long hike and kayak around the Abel Tasman national park in Nelson. I had never been out on the ocean in a kayak before and taking the waves was an adventure for sure. We checked out the coast and got to paddle over to an island where a fur seal colony was sunning themselves and playing in the surf. The hike was beautiful and took about 3 hours to complete.

Tuesday was another travel day, it was roughly 8 hours again down to Franz Joseph. We arrived to free soup and adorable cabin-like rooms which were both pleasant suprises. On Wednesday we had a full day of glacier hiking on the Franz Joseph glacier. It was a really warm day so we were hiking in tank tops most of the day other than stopping for lunch. The veiws were amazing and being a geo nerd I thoroughly enjoyed all the info about the technicalities of the glacier. I also had a flashback to the Columbia Icefields when we got the chance to stop and taste some of the freshflowing water. Delicious!

Thursday was our final day of travel as we headed down to Queenstown. With only nine thousand residents during the winter months its hard to believe that its the adventure capital of the world! But I soon found out why. Our first stop was the AJ Hackett bungy centre the world home of bungy and the second largest in the world. The Nevis highwire is a 134m drop with an 8s freefall! And it was amazing! That's right I actually made it happen.

Friday morning my stomach was in knots, an earlt morning helped me calm down...for a while. The group activity for the day was the Shotover jet. Its a super fast jetboat that took us up and down a river doing spins at almost 85km/h. After that it was off to the bungy! The forty minute bus ride out there was torture but I was starting to feel more excited than anything. We got harnessed up and headed out to the 'pod'. The bungy platform is suspended above a river on a cable and is roughly bigger than a large gondola. When my turn came to get strapped up (I didn't go first mom), my heart was beating so fast! Walking out on the plank was surreal and it took me 2 tries before I jumped, the mind over matter aspect of jumping is so hard because it's so far to fall. I can barely jump off the 10m at Pan Am! But once you let go it's the most exhilirating thing in the world! It went by so fast that I almost went a sencond time. I think I'm addicted which is too bad because there's nothing to jump off in Manitoba! I'll upload the video of the jump as soon as I can!

The group departs Sunday and I'm stayin in Queenstown an extra week before I head over to Sydney on Valentines day. Queenstown is gorgeous and reminds me a lot of Whistler!

Adventure Week One!

I'll try to give a summary to the past week, although there has been so much going on it's hard to make it quick. Hello Sulfur! We travelled from Waitomo to Rotorua on Tuesday, which is the geothermal hotspot of New Zealand. All of the underground activity gives the area the very distinct smell of rotten eggs, mmmm.

On the way to the hostel we had the opportunity to try out one of NZ's many unique activities, ZORBING! Which is basically rolling down a hill in a giant plastic ball. Two people are able to fit into it with a bucket of water thrown into the mix. By the time you make it to the bottom you are completely soaked and laughing your head off.  We also stopped at the Kiwi Encounter, which is a hatchery and nursery for the endangered birds. We got there in time to see a baby Kiwi attempting to break through its egg. The mother lays four a year and while she is pregnant the egg takes up the majority of her body. To give you an idea it's like a human birthing a 35 pound baby. Ouch!

Wednesday was Whitewater rafting. The trip was an hour long and included a 7 meter waterfall, which is the highest commercially rafted fall in the world. I only ended up in the water twice! To keep the adrenaline rush going we headed to Agroadventures in the afternoon.  Two of the other girls and I deicided we wanted to try this contraption called the Swoop. They strapped us into sleeping bags, hauled us 40m into the air and then dropped us.

Thursday we had a day at the spa. Hells Gate has mud baths and thermal hot pools that are apparently amazing for your skin. The smell again isn't very pleasant, but I did feel refreshed afterwards. In the evening we got to go to a Maori Hangi feast and performance. We got picked up by a driver who was able to explain Kia Ora to us and reiterated the greeting in over 50 other languages. From then on the entertainment was unreal. We saw demonstrations of war practices, as well as traditional song and dances, and walked around a recreated village. The food was amazing it felt like a thanksgiving feast. A Hangi meal is traditionally cooked underground ontop of embers with the food wrapped in cloth.

Friday was our longest travel day so far with 8 hours straight to Wellington. We visited the Te Papa museum on Saturday morning and then walked down to the beach in the afternoon. We laid out all day and I of course got sunburnt again. We had a delicious meal at a mexican/creole restaraunt called 'Sweet Mothers Kitchen" and checked out a Calypso-Funk band in the gorgeous botanical gardens.

Sunday we made it onto the ferry to the South Island, but not after  many setbacks first thing in the morning. A late bus caused the biggest issue. The ride was fairly bumpy which was unfortunate for all the ACDC fans that had been partying at the concert in Wellington the evening before. The barf bags where being dolled out generously. We ended the journey in Nelson, which has the most sunshine year round in all New Zealand.

Kia Ora

Over the course of our volunteer project we've been lucky enough to have a group leader who was born and raised in New Zealand. Maori is taught in schools here as a way of preserving the culture. Nikki has been teaching us some Maori words and phrases along they way:

Kia Ora- A greeting; Good Health
Puku- Tummy
Whanau- Family
Whakarango Mai- Listen to Me! (soon became our team name)
Ka Pai- That's Good
Ka Kite- Goodbye
Morena- Good Morning
Te Aroha Nui- The Big Love
Haere Ma- Come Here

The letter 'F' doesn't exist in the language, instead everything with a 'WH' makes that sound.