New Zealand
We flew into Christchurch and drove to Queenstown. We ski’d on July 4th, rode bikes along a river, did Shootover Jet Canyon Boat ride, Bungy Jumped off the Kawarau Suspension Bridge and even met a Rugby Player!
July 5: Around the World in 42 Days- Queenstown, New Zealand
Today,we were ones with the nature...We woke up late, around 9, as for we had nothing planned. We got up, went to breakfast at the buffet place again, got chocolate chip pancakes, and they messed up my order, adding bacon on the side of my pancakes, and when I told them I’m vegetarian they just took it off the plate, leaving its greasy residue on my plate. So I had to transfer my untouched pancakes to another plate. Anyway, at breakfast, we discussed what our plan would be for the day, and eventually decided to go on a scenic bike ride. We rented bikes, and were given a great trail to follow. Therefore, we got ready in athletic wear for a 11:00 departure. At 11:00 we drove off to our bike rental shop, yet stopped in town to return our rental snow gear, on the way, yet after we left and were 20 minutes away from town, Aleisha realized she hadn’t taken the 200 dollars, my dad gave her just in case when we parted ways skiing, out of the ski coat pocket. Therefore, we had to turn around, and go back to the ski rental shop.Eventually, though, we made our way out to the bike shop. Watching tons of paragliders flying through the air, on our drive over. At the shop, we played with this sweet black lab,Harley.He was a cute little one. We also picked our bikes, test riding a few, were given a map and explained the route, then we headed off. Well, we headed off 2 seconds before stopping at a cafe, to eat lunch. The only things completely vegetarian, in the cafe, were cookies, sweets, or this veggie calzone thing. So I got the veggie calzone. It was ok.Anyway, next we got back on our bikes again, and headed down a trail. Riding alongside a river, and surrounded by trees. We were going, uphill, downhill, left, right. It was truly a beautiful trail. Plus the weather was incredible. As we were passing a wider area of the river, we discovered a rope swing, so yours truly jumped off her bike and begged to ride it. I could ride it as long as I promised to not purposefully fall in. It was awesome, I grabbed the onto the rope, tucked my feet around it, then flew across the river, then as I came back Aleisha would stop me, before I stranded myself in the middle.At first, I didn’t come to common sense as too when they grabbed it I was expected to jump off, so I just remained on causing Lida to almost slip and fall in the river and Ans to have to help Lida grab me, while my dad took photos. I went probably 6 times, yet all 4 of us went at least once. It was a success, no one fell in the river. We went over bridges, alongside cliffs( with no barriers preventing us from plummeting off the side the cliff), next to rivers.We went on some cool bridges, yet I couldn’t ride across on them, I had to walk my bike because the bridges would rock and shake, and they weren’t that stable. There were some unique designs.We eventually got to my favorite part, an old country road. Along that road, we stopped to go and look at a sheep and goat. The goat walked over to us, and let us pet it and touch its horns, and the sheep just came close, but not within reach, and posed. As if he knew Aleisha was obsessed with his curly horns, and snapping away, taking thousands of photos.Meanwhile, the cute goat was receiving all my attention, I loved that goat. Then we biked on a bit further, where we saw chickens, and I begged Aleisha to catch me one, which we failed. We were diving trying to grab a chicken on the side the road, we even chased one across the road. Why did the chicken cross the road...To escape the crazy children, that happened to be us, who were chasing it. The chickens had an advantage, the side the road was covered by these thorn bush things, so they were a lot faster speeding under those than we were threw them, as well as they all eventually went back through holes in the fence, into a fenced in area. So won't they made it through the hole in the fence, we couldn't grab them, plus when we grabbed at them they should flapped their wings and managed to escape our grasp.It was so funny, we spent like 10 minutes trying to catch a chicken to hold. It was a lot of fun! We then biked on after exiting the country road, we rode alongside this cliff for what felt like forever.We rode past and on the bridge we bungee jumped off of. We watched a few people go, the bridge seemed way higher than I remembered. Which you would think for most it would be shorter than they remembered, but legit it looked way higher than I thought it was. We at one point, saw bunnies everywhere, huge, fluffy bunnies. It was awesome!At one point, Aleisha and I to headed straight while we were supposed to have turned right, my dad who was a good 200 meters behind us with Ans, later hollered to us from the other side this ranch(where we were supposed to be) that we went the wrong way.We turned around, found a short cut, cutting through the middle the ranch. We then rode another 2 km before the trail led us through grape vines, where we ended our ride at a winery/cheesery. In all we biked about 10 miles. Where Ans and I tasted cheese and ate chocolate, and my dad and Lida enjoyed the winery. They even had a cheese named the Monte Cristo(it takes the name of the worst book in the world, The Count Of Monte Cristo, or as I refer to it as the Count of Blah Blah Blah).Anyway, after our rewarding treat, we were picked up by the owner of the bike rental place, and he brought his dog Harley! We rode back to the shop, Harley legit riding like a human in the front, and later back at the shop the guy showed us a bunch of tricks Harley can do. It was awesome, that is one smart dog. We then headed to town, where my dad parked and Lida, Ans, and I all went to Starbucks while we waited for our reservation at Bella Cucina at 6.I got a vanilla frap. We were taking photos of one another and pairing weird captions, it was funny.Then, at 6 we headed to Bella Cucina, where I got gnocchi.It was was not as good as I expected it to be. Then we got this weird mix between jello and ice cream, that was amazing, for dessert. Back at the hotel, I tried to go into Aleisha and Ans’s room after sprinting down the hall and sliding in the slamming door, but Aleisha picked me up, carried me into the hallway, and threw me down onto the floor.Ouch! She dropped me from like 3 feet,on my stomach, against a wall.That knocked the air out of me.Anyway, my dad came and I went into our room, a safe room I don’t have to worry about being hurled out of.I packed because we're leaving for Bora Bora tomorrow, and I showered, got ready for bed and wrote this blog. Goodnight! Gotta say I’m living the Dream!
July 4:Around the World in 42 Days-Queenstown, New Zealand
So today is the 4th of July, happy independence day America;)Anyway we went skiing today!We woke up at 8, played on our phones until 8:20.At 8:20 we went down to eat at the buffet we've ate at for the last few days.I got Chocolate Chip Pancakes.Then I geared up for skiing today.I couldn't find my hat,so I ended up going without it, then after we had left our room, I noticed I left my ski coat in the room, so I had to go back and grab that.Then we all got in our car and drove 20 minutes to Remarkables, where we were stopped at the bottom of the mountain and told if we wanted to go up the mountain we needed chains for our wheels.So we figured we would jump on a shuttle up to the top, so we got shuttle tickets,yet after finding out the shuttles only come once every 30 minutes and they have limited seats available, the first one that came only had 2 seats available.We then decided to rent chains, and drive up the mountain.The roads were steep and narrow, and along one side of them was a cliff, with a steep, you’re dead drop, not to mention the fact barriers preventing cars from going off the edge, weren't installed. Also driving up while another car was going down was terrifying, with the roads so narrow and having nothing to prevent your car from falling off the cliff on one side of you .We made it so close! Only like 100 meters away from the top, we were forced to put on our chains.Aleisha, going to school in North Dakota and all, has done car chains multiple times.My dad, meanwhile, has never done chains in his life, therefore Aleisha attempted to apply the chains to our car, yet was confused after the chains appeared different than the chains she's used. So we had a worker show us how to do one, then Lida did the other one(only the front 2 wheels need chains).Finally, at the top, we parked went in, signed in,bought gloves and goggles, and rented ski shoes, a helmet, and skis+poles.After putting all our gear on, we hit the slopes.We took the main lift up, 1 the times the workers had to stop the lift because Ans went out right away while the rest of us had planned on waiting, so we had skied out just as the lift was going to knock into us, so the person paused the lift, let us get to the red “stand here” line then started it again.For the first 1 hour and a half we spent on blues and greens, not my say, but I was told I needed to let everyone warm up before we can go on more difficult runs.We went through this terrain park a few times, that was fun, attempting to do the jumps then almost falling, terrain parks aren't where my skiing skill lies, but it's fun to try.We also went from the main lift to a side lift that took us up the mountain with a bunch of blues and greens.(blue=intermediate Green=beginner) The runs were icy and fake man made snow, and it felt like small pieces of hail were hitting me. Aleisha and I flew down these runs, offend going on unmaintained runs with rocks, sticks, shrubs and ice.We both decided to go to the experts side, yet decided to get lunch before doing so, so we went with Ansley and my dad to eat at the main building.I got some vegetable roll thing with chips, a cookie, and a water.The food was decent.After lunch, Lida and I headed for the advanced terrain.We took the lift up, and Lida made me take this same black 3 times before I could take this double black I wanted to take. It started with a steep slope drop, then went onto a narrow path with a cliff on one side going downhill, that lasted a while then we dropped into another short wide, steep drop, then another narrow path, another short drop, long narrow path, drop, until the final stretch was a long narrow path.I forgot to mention, this side the mountain was incredible, fresh powdered snow, great view, we were basically the only ones on the runs, not crowded at all.It was awesome!After Lida said I was ready, we went and did the double black, it began with a long narrow pathway which lead to a unmaintained steep slope with rocks and bushes everywhere. It looked crazy icy too.The second we went to go onto it this 2 foot drop caught Lida by surprise and she almost fell, luckily I was behind her so I knew what was coming.We were a bit cautious our first time through, at that point the wind was crazy and our goggles accumulated a lot of icy snowflakes, making it hard to see.At the bottom the hill, if you don't just fly as fast as you can up along the left slide onto this pathway, you would be pulling the whole way up this steep incline.Lida learned this the hard way, as she had to pull herself up the hill.Then you had another shorter, yet still steep and unmaintained hill, then we just were thrown into the ending of our original black trail. The second time we did it we saw another fellow skier, so Aleisha told me to go as fast as I could to catch up with him.I did and that was the best run yet, we flew down the double black like we would a blue.We then went to go do some easy runs we could effortlessly fly down, on the other side the mountain.We went over near the main building so Lida could give my dad, who he and Ans were done her helmet to return, it had been bothering her.We did some blues and greens for about an hour, speeding down the runs, eventually we went back to the advanced runs, and when we were heading up the lift, we got a message from my dad that the road conditions, he heard, were bad, and we should probably head out, so for our final run we split up,Lisa did her favorite the black we did in the beginning, while I did the double black I love.We planned to meet where my double black ended, yet Lida ended up coming out one hill below the meeting spot, so it took me a few seconds of confusion to realize Lida was yelling my name.Though while I was heading to Lida, I was looking at her instead of what was in front of me, and I completely fell on this steep, high drop that came out of nowhere, it was funny.We skied down to the bottom together.Then we returned our gear, and got in the car my dad had pulled up to pick us up.We drove down, Aleisha and my dad eventually taking their chains off after watching several cars stop and take them off after the road turned from ice to normal.We returned the chains at the bottom and headed back to our hotel.Back at the hotel I showered, then went out to the courtyard, staying out there for 5 seconds before deciding it was too cold.Then I just went to Lida and Ansley’s room where I hung out before I went back to my room.My dad and I researched Bora Bora up until we left for dinner.We planned to go to the Thai restaurant, yet failed to find it after going outside in the cold for nothing, thanks dad!It was in the building the whole time!Sadly it was closed today, apparently, it's closed on Tuesdays, seriously!We then tried to go to this grill in the hotel, it was booked until 9! It was 6!We went back to our room to grab jackets after deciding to go into town to eat.In the hallway, we saw 2 rugby players for the British and Irish Lions, who are here for the huge game equivalent to the super bowl for rugby. I got photos with one of them after screaming “are you a player for the Lions?”after he said yes, I ran to get a photo.He, #6, Sam something, apparently is the captain of the Lions.Anyway, we drove out to downtown, where the place we were to go to add a 1-hour 45-minute wait, next place full, next full, next, you guessed it fully booked.We eventually, after going all over, found a Mexican restaurant to eat at.We almost couldn't go here, but a waiter came over and told our host there was a seat upstairs open.Yay! I got beans, cheese, rice, and tortillas , so I could make a burrito, the food was not the best food I've ever had, but food is food.It was a funny dinner, we were laughing the whole time.Then we went straight back to the car because my dad thought our car would be towed, for he thought it was a parking space for no longer than 15 minutes before your car went bye, bye. It turned out the sign my dad saw meant it was parking lot number 15.Back at the hotel, I worked on my blog and went straight to bed.Happy Fourth of July!Gotta say I'm living the Dream:)
July 3: Around the World in 42 Days- Queenstown, New Zealand
So today, Dia de insanity, lived up to its name. First we woke up at 8, where we went straight down to breakfast, at the buffet. I had well food, pretty much the same food as yesterday. We then went back to our hotel, and got ready for our crazy day. My dad and I were first to the car after my dad had valet drop it off for us. The girls showed up 15 minutes later. We drove out to our first stop, Shotover Canyon, having difficulty finding it, but in the long run, we eventually found it. We signed in, I looked around the facility, eventually, we headed down the stairs, right out to the docks where we took some photos, then after waiting for the group in front of us to be picked up, we were given a locker, raincoat, life vest, and clear glasses. After waiting a while for our driver to pull up and prepare the boat, we finally boarded the boat, us being the first ones in line, claimed the back seats of the boat(Craziest seats). My dad and I both claimed the edges, while Aleisha and Ansley called the middle. This boat had 12 people aboard and was completely open. We went over safety first and were given an overview of our ride today, and OMG was that ride insane!The second we started we were zooming through narrow canyons, doing 360 turns, and flying inches away from jagged rocks. We flew down the river, nobody remained dry, we were getting soaked! Screaming and laughing for 45 minutes of insane boat driving. There were some parts where I was confident we were going to crash into rocks we were inching at, yet our driver turned just in time. It was terrifying, but epic. We would be zooming down the river and all of a sudden we would break into a 360. It was insane, I was sad when it was over. Next we returned our raincoats, glasses, and life vests, as well as went to the gift shop to take a look at our photos and video. We ended up buying our photos and video, on a USB, and it was greatness. This insane boat ride was only a fraction of our insane day. From there, we had 5 hours to kill before the most terrifying moment of my entire life. We went straight from crazy boating to Starbucks, where I got mini cupcakes and caramel frappuccino, yet they messed up my frap and made it a mocha, and then said they would remake it, yet after 20 minutes of waiting, we had to remind them again, then I finally got my drink.By the time I got my drink, the rest the gang had already finished by the time I got my drink. We all talked and played on our phone, and Ansley hacked my Instagram multiple times. Then we went to Pita Pit, it's kinda like Subway, but better and more fresh. I got a falafel with tons of veggies, we got our food to go and ate back at the hotel. Ansley and Aleisha locked themselves out of their room, so they ate in our room, then went back to the lobby to get another key. I then went outside to the courtyard to facetime my mom, they had this mega chess set outdoor game thing so my mom and I played chess over facetime, regardless of the 1000 miles between us.I also gave my mom a virtual tour of the property around the hotel and filled her in on New Zealand. It was nice to speak to my mom, I miss her so much! After talking to her, I went back up to our hotel room, and read my summer read, as well as uploaded all my photos from my phone onto my computer. Then that time came, where I had to get ready for the best and most frightening thing I’ve ever done in my life. I threw on yoga pants and a sweatshirt, and met Aleisha and Ansley in the lobby. Finally, we got in the car and drove 20 minutes or so, down a beautiful scenic road, over to AJ Hackett thrill center. The whole time my head was a swirl of fearful thoughts, we were going bungee jumping. At the place, we first ran out to the viewing platform and watched 2 people bungee jump before I couldn't take it any longer. I wanted to just get out on that bridge, not look down until after I jumped, watching people just showed me how high I was falling from. Luckily this place not only the place that started bungee jumping, yet also was rated extremely well and supposedly completely safety oriented. Ansley, who was on top the world thinking she couldn't do it because she didn’t weigh enough, (she weighed herself at the ski shop after removing her shoes and great big coat, she was .4 off or something like that) was weighed here wearing her shoes and her coat, she exceeded the limit by .5 kilograms.She looked like someone just went up and smacked her, her excuse was no longer valid. Still shocked and contemplating doing it, she was finally convinced after Aleisha volunteered to go with her tandem bungee jumping, and she discovered she could hug onto Aleisha the whole time. The guy who weighed her and checked us in though was the main factor as to why she did it,he was awesome. So comical and lighthearted, the faith he displayed in the program made us all confident. Anyway, we put our stuff off in our lockers and walked out onto the bridge. Ansley and Aleisha were first, for Aleisha didn’t want to give Ans a lot of time to back out. They got them in harnesses, then harnessed me. My dad was videoing and asked me what I wanted to say to the camera and I blurted out”If I die, mommy I love you!” then the people told me to be more enthusiastic, so I said”I’m living the dream”. As they were wrapping my feet with harnesses and these towel like things, Ans and Lida were getting ready to jump. The people were awesome, they were creating small talk, and distracting us from the fact we were about to jump off a bridge.”Where are you from?” “Are you all sisters?” that kind of stuff. I watched Ans and Lida inch towards the platform, Ans looking truly terrified. All I remember was Ansley was crying and screaming for them to allow her to breath and that she didn’t want to do it.Then the guy asked Aleisha” are you guys not gonna do it” “Aleisha instantly blurted”yeah we're doing it” , Aleisha grabbed her face looked at her, told her it would be ok, counted down”3 2” Ans jumped at Lida hanging onto her, sobbing, and Lida just threw them both off the platform. I couldn't really see them, for I was sitting in this little box like thing, getting bungee cords attached to me. I only saw them go off the platform, nothing other. Then it was my turn, they added my final bungee cords, then I stumbled out to the end of the platform, my legs attached, the guy kept making me go farther and farther forward until I could go no farther, at that second I was trying to look in front of me, thinking not to look down, for I was going by myself, I could not cling to anyone. They told me to wave to the cameras, I did, then I turned my head and smiled at my terrified father, who did not enjoy the idea of sending his daughter over a bridge, alone.Then I heard the countdown “3 2 1” I knew if I didn’t jump then I never would, so I threw myself off the platform, the guy helping me, by pushing me as I was half jumping/ half tripped. Then I felt myself falling, head first, from 150 feet up. I remember everything blurred as I looked around as I was falling. In those four seconds, I remember as the river kept growing closer, and I felt like i was flying at the same time as hoping the cord didn’t snap. Then bam, the road fully extended, catching me and I was so relieved, beaming I yelled”Wahoo” as the cord jerked me up and down, then I was dangling in mid-air, which really hurt my head. Finally won’t I stopped going up and down, people in the raft down in the river below me, reached a pole in the air that I struggle to grab at first,but eventually got it. I was so excited when they unhooked me and I was in the boat.I flew up the stairs ecstatic.I just jumped off the Kawarau Bridge, the place that created bungee jumping. Running all the way to the top, I went out to the viewing platform to watch a few people go, and then my dad, whose jump was flawless. It was like a swan dive. He instantly jumped the second he was all harnessed in and the countdown began. After we all had jumped, we watched our videos, bought photos and videos, were given free shirts, which my dad let me get a picture of me jumping printed onto the back. That was the coolest thing I’ve ever done! Next we went to downtown Queensland, where we took some photos of the view, and went to dinner at a place called Finz. I got a house salad and mashed potatoes. Then we went to cookie time, where I got a cookies and cream shot and a fudge and caramel cookie. YUM! It was so good. Then we went back to our hotel, I started on my blog, yet later went off to the pool with Aleisha and Ans, where we spent the whole time in the spa talking to some people from the UK. It was fun, apparently there is a rugby equivalent of the Superbowl this weekend they're in town for. After that, I finished my blog and went to bed. That was Dia de insanity for ya!Gotta say I’m living the dream:)
July 2: Around the World in 42 Days- Queenstown, New Zealand
So today was today. Basic intro I know. So we woke up pretty late, around 8. I played on my phone a bit, went to look at our window lake view, then wore a jersey acting like I was signing a document to join a New Zealand, just so my dad could post a joking photo online. Go like that photo up, by the way, fellow Facebook users. Then I tried to call Ansley to wake them up, for Aleisha said I can wake her up anytime she sleeps late. Ans didn’t answer, so we texted them we were off to breakfast. They replied to this, saying they would meet us down.We went to a buffet, I love buffets, I got pancakes, pastries, fruit, hash browns, etc… Ansley and Aleisha met us down, so we all ate and brainstormed the game plan for the week. I won't tell you tomorrow's plan, but OMG if you were to read any of my blogs, I would suggest reading tomorrow's!So then we went back to our hotel room, getting lost in the hallways at first, but eventually getting there. So for about an hour we booked activities, researched activities, and discussed our game plan.After that, I played outside near the pond for a while, walking around, taking photos, watching the ducks. Then I got ready, and my dad and I headed down to get the car, and soon, at exactly 1:00 Aleisha and Ansley came down. We drove into downtown Queensland, where we paid for parking, and Ans got lucky after randomly pressing a button and printing a ticket for an hour while my dad was inserting money, luckily an hour was the longest increment of time you could get a ticket for. We first went to two different ski rental places looking to rent warm jacket and pants, for not only skiing, but also we packed no winter clothes in our suitcases because this is a 6 week trip and we didn’t have room for a bunch of warm stuff when most places we went on this trip are warm.We went from 108 in Dubai to freezing in New Zealand. Then on our way to put our warm gear in the car, we went by the the grocery store and got a few things.Anyway, next we went to a pub for lunch, where Ansley and I shared vegetarian nachos and Mac and Cheese croquettes.At lunch, my dad bet Aleisha 50 dollars if she touched one the wild mountain goat, we spotted on our way up here. Aleisha strategized and on our way back to the hotel, we pulled over and all got out, getting our cameras ready after we spotted a herd of goats. Though the second we got near, they ran. We followed them onto off trail terrain. Aleisha in front, then me, then my dad and Ansley,Ansley wanting nothing but to go back to the car. We kept seeing goats, but as soon as Aleisha got close, they ran. Surprised they never rammed her. At one point, Aleisha had went up this hill like thing, and saw a baby goat left behind by the herd,going the opposite direction as the herd. So Aleisha did her good deed of the day, by coming up behind it and chasing it in the direction of the rest the herd, who headed up the mountain. Apparently it appeared no more than a month old. Then we continued climbing, looking for a goat Aleisha could touch, yet they kept fleeing every time we were near.After we gave up because all the goats had fled to the top the mountain, we headed back down the to the road.At one point, we were at the top of like a 2 foot rock structure thing, and Ans was in front of me looking down thinking if she should jump down,so I gave her a push of encouragement, more like pushing her and forcing her to be brave and jump.On the way down, I chose a more difficult route than the rest the gang, and I still beat them all down. I waited for Aleisha, and we both jumped down the final steep, dirt, cliff thing. More like Aleisha failed to run down it and instead slid on her side down it, then she helped me down.Back at the hotel, my dad and I went down to the pool. We both ended up in the spa talking to some locals, I occasionally jumped in the pool now and then. For an hour, we stayed at the pool, and after returning back, I got ready for dinner, worked on my blog, then we all went to an Italian restaurant. I got the vegetarian pasta. Our waiter was nice, she was from Canada and at one point my dad was calling our waiter by the complete wrong name, he believed to have been on her name tag.It was funny. We were also talking in accents during dinner and it was funny. We got a brownie for dessert because the ice cream store was closed that we wanted to go to.After dinner, my dad went to get a drink, and as we were about to get in the elevator, Aleisha told me she would give me 5 dollars if I could fit in the trash can. I tried, and I got up to my waist in the trash can, but it was too small to get my whole body in. Bye, Bye 5 dollars. I went back into Aleisha and Ansley’s room, where Aleisha squirting me with a water bottle triggered a prank war.After squirting me I squirted her back, then her and Ansley said they were showing me a magic trick, they showed me this coin won't fit in the water bottle, then covered it and moved it around and told me to look straight on at the coin.Well I later, found it was a face trick, and they splashed the water up at me and poured it down my shirt.I got back by slashing them with conditioner, squirting it in my hand and smashed it on Aleisha's shirt. Aleisha then smashed me with shampoo in the face. Then ran up behind me, and poured water down my shirt and drenched my hair. Then I whacked her with a toothbrush covered in toothpaste, and she wiped it off my shirt and hit me in the face with it. Then as I walked out of the bathroom, wiping toothpaste off my face, she poured a whole bottle of water on my head.So I chased her around the room and threw sugar at her.Then I thought the war was over, so I was searching for my phone and I looked under the bed to see if I dropped it during the chaos, while I did this Ansley poured a whole thing of water on me.So I went back to my room, grabbed a jug of water, knocked on their door saying I left my room key in there, as soon as Ans opened the door I got payback, pouring the water all over her dry hair and clothes.She was on Aleisha's team the whole time, yet was more in the background, not really a target until she poured water on while I looked under the bed.Aleisha, not wanting to lose, said”good job Riley, nice!” and held out her hand for a high five, I walked back down the hall(bad choice) and as I put my hand out, she poured water all over me.Yikes.Then the war was officially over, I changed into clean, dry clothes only to find the girls were headed down to the pool, so I put on a swimsuit, went down to the pool, and the whole time was a diving lesson for me.I got better, but I'm pretty much a lost cause at diving, I can't do it.After belly flopping, falling and failed dives, I finally got a somewhat, imperfect dive.It was ok I guess.They taught me all the way until we were kicked out because the pool was closing. I then went back to my room, got ready for bed, and fell asleep immediately after I finished this blog. Gotta say I'm living the dream:)
July 1: Around the World in 42 Days-Queenstown, New Zealand
So today was a travel day.We woke up at 5 AM, and still half asleep I threw on clothes, did a final check, then went down to the lobby to wait for UBER. When we arrived at the airport it was same old, same old, check bags, security checks, find the gate. After finding our gate, we surveyed the area for a good place to eat, finally choosing a cafe place where I got Aleisha and my famous breakfast(so did she) toast, avocado, tomatoes, egg, and a hint of basil. We ate our delicious food, then as everyone else headed to the bathrooms, I explored the stores. I looked at the stuff animals and was later joined by my dad, who looked all around just for the fun of it. Aleisha and Ansley started calling and texting as soon as our plane started boarding, we had time, but we knew if we didn’t get back the 2 girls would probably have a heart attack. We boarded the plane, and my dad had got upgraded to business class upstairs of the plane, while the rest of us were in the normal part of the plane, not given special attention. I really liked the airlines, they gave us these kids blanket stuffed animal things, and we had these huge tv’s in front of us, and they were very attentive and always bringing drinks or snacks.It was nice. Rather than my normal floor sleeping routine, I decided to watch a movie, a Disney movie called The Ballerina. It was good, basically about an orphan who always dreamed of dancing, and she ran away with her best friend to Paris, where she worked super hard to try and dance in the Opera. Then for the rest the time, I just watched the show the Middle, episodes I’ve already seen. After we touched down in New Zealand, we passed through immigration, then customs is where the problem began. We told them about the black licorice I got my mom( don’t freak out, I didn’t give away a gift, it was a request of hers) which is allowed, yet we failed to remember the honey Ansley was given as a gift in India when she was sick, by our hotel butler.She had it in her bag, and as we went through Ansley remembered and said out in front of one the guards”I hope we don’t get caught with the honey in my bag.”Well luckily the guard didn’t hear, yet the scanner picked it up. They pulled aside the bag, asked us what was in it, we told them honey and they made us stand on the side for what felt like an eternity. Not declaring something to customs is a 400 dollar fine. Finally, a guy came over and went through Ansley’s bag took the box of honey and sent it off to be destroyed. The guy was nice, and because it was in Ansley’s bag and you can’t fine a child, he just gave us a warning. Relieved we went to find our rental car shop, yet soon learned it was off the property, so we had to hop on in a van that picked us up, to get there. After checking in, we finally got our car and got on the road beginning our six hour drive to Queenstown, the bad thing was this drive was supposed to be very scenic, and we were supposed to clearly see Mount Cook and a few famous lakes, though those being near the end of our drive, the darkness near the end did not make their true beauty visible.We got into New Zealand at 1:00, yet due to the hassle of getting from the airport and to the car rental place it was 3:00 before we started driving.My dad had to drive on the left side because he was driving the rental car, and that’s the side the road they drive here.it was weird. New Zealand is quite rural, there was farm land everywhere with roaming sheep, for the most part, cows here and there.Even the towns they did have were extremely small, so finding a lunch place was hard. We ended up going to a cafe, where I got hot chocolate and vegetable quiche.It was good, then we took a picture with a huge salmon sculpture, outside because we found it quite entertaining. Then next, we stopped at a convenience store 20 minutes down the road and got snacks for the trip. Over the 6-hour car ride, I slept, looked out the window, or talked to my dad and Aleisha the whole time. As we got to higher elevation it began to snow and then we were caught in the midst of a snow storm, snow was everywhere. Then we saw a bunch of people pull over and put chains on their wheels, as well as weather hazard signs, not to mention how abandoned the roads truly were. My dad was pretty nervous, he was even thinking of getting us a hotel for the night, yet we kept enduring. Halfway through the trip, we went to a gas station to get gas and have a bathroom break, yet Aleisha and I made snowballs and started throwing them at Ansley as soon as she walked out the store, my dad tried to stop her, but she didn’t understand his warning signals. We nailed her, it was so funny!So yeah, we drove through the snow for a while, it was crazy. Who knew I would see snow on my summer break. About halfway through the drive, it got dark, so it was hard to see the beauty of the country. For dinner we went to Subway, at last, I got a subway chocolate chip cookie again. I have been craving them forever. I got a complete vegetable sub, with a bunch of jalapenos. After driving 6 hours, we finally made it to our hotel!We checked in, brought our stuff to our room, got ready for bed, then fell asleep quick, for it was late. Gotta say I’m living the dream:)