New Zealand, Part III

Our flight to Queenstown on New Zealand's south island was early, so Kelley and I drifted off during the plane ride.  When I woke up, I peeked out the window and saw that we were flying above some beautiful snow-capped mountains which we would soon come to know as "The Remarkables."  According to the locals, they are called The Remarkables because they are one of the only mountain chains in the world which run perfectly north to south.   Therefore, when the sun is setting at night, it casts a red glow on the snowy mountains and makes them look "remarkable". 

The Remarkables from above

The Remarkables and a glacial lake

Conveniently enough, the Queenstown airport has a shuttle that runs fr0m the airport to different hotels and shops in town.  We hopped on and headed toward our hotel.  After a while, I saw the name of the hotel and realized that were were passing it.  "That's okay," I thought "we'll just get off at the next stop."  As it would turn out, the next stop was much further away that I anticipated.  When we made it to the hotel, they were unable to find our reservation, and after a brief chat with the receptionist, we realized that we were at the wrong hotel.  Before you start judging us though, the name of the hotel we were supposed to be staying at was "The Copthorne Hotel and Apartments" and the one that we went to instead was "The Copthorne Resort."  I'm not entirely sure why they would have two hotels with practically the same name only a few hundred meters apart from one another, but whatever.  We eventually made it to our actual hotel where we promptly put down our bags and walked into town. 


Queenstown is a pretty small place, but it offers TONS of adventurous activities.  As we walked the streets, we saw shops advertising: skydiving, jet boating, paragliding, zip-lining, heli-skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, bungee jumping, and so much more.  Since we didn't have the time nor funds to be able to participate in all of the adventures (though we definitely wanted to) we decided to do the zip-lining and jet boating.  The Rugby World Cup was still going on and that night we went to a pub to grab some food and watch the game.  The waiter was really nice and highly recommended that we take the gondala up the mountain and stay up there for the sunset. 

One of many paragliders

The next day, we heeded his advice and went up to the top of the mountain.  It was gorgeous up there but it was also COLD.  Our zip-lining adventure was scheduled for midday, so we popped into a coffee shop to grab a muffin and warm up with some tasty hot chocolate.  After we had regained feeling in all of our limbs, we took a walk outside and explored the scenery until it was time to go zip-lining.  Luckily for us, the zip-lining company provided all participants with hats and gloves, which were a welcomed addition to our attire for the day.  We had a safety briefing and then we were all fitted into harnesses and helmets which would hopefully spare us from any injuries.

We had the special gondala in honor of the Rugby World Cup, go the All Blacks!

For your information

Neither Kelley nor I had ever been zip-lining before, so we let a few people go first so that we could get a good idea of what it would be like.  When we were finally up, Kelley went first and I took a few pictures of her happily zipping in the forest.  My turn was next and I was feeling a little nervous--heights aren't exactly my thing.  As soon as I was "clipped-in" I walked to the edge of the platform and looked down (I would soon come to regret this).  I inhaled deeply and stepped off the platform and began flying through the air, which was actually a really cool feeling! 

Kelley getting ready for zipline #1!

Kelley happily zipping through the forest

Me zipping through the forest

It's all about the []_[] (even when we're freezing!)

Look at that happy face!

After four more zip-lines of increasing slope and length, we finally hiked through the forest to meet our maker: the steepest zip-line in the world.  My mouth literally gaped open when I saw how steep it was--how was this even possible!?

This picture doesn't do it justice

When it was finally my turn, I walked over the the platform and took a good, hard look at the zip-line.  The second that I was told that I was ready, my feet left the platform--I figured that it wasn't in my best interest to continue to stare at the massive angle of the rope, so I just went for it!  Due to the angle, this zip-line was much faster, but it was also more fun!

After our zipping adventure, we watched the sunset and witnessed the mountains glowing red.  It had been a long (and cold!) day, so once we descended the mountain we stopped off at another pub to get some food and watch more rugby, and then we headed back to the hotel for the night to rest up for tomorrow's adventure--jet boating!

The Remarkables at sunset

New Zealand, Part II

The day began with our alarm going off at the unpleasant hour of 6:00 AM.  However, today was the day that we were going to go whale watching so we were both happy to be awake (well, at least I was happy to be awake).  After gathering all of the essentials (sweatshirts, cameras, and water bottles) we headed outside to catch the bus to the airport.  After waiting for only a few minutes, we saw the bus coming toward us, so we stood up in anticipation.  As it approached, it didn’t seem to be slowing down, so we both gave a gentle wave to the driver.  A few seconds later, the bus was still barreling down the freeway and we both began frantically waving our arms toward the driver.  No dice.  He completely ignored us and continued to drive down the road.  Disheartened, we went back into the nice heated hotel lobby to wait for another hour before the next bus came.

After it had been nearly an hour, we went outside to try to board the bus for a second time.  From the second we heard the bus, we began waving like lunatics so that our intention to board the bus would be crystal clear.  This time, it worked and we were dropped off at the the airport.  As we entered, we both realized that we weren't exactly sure of where the rental car company was located, so we roamed around for a few minutes until our eyes fell upon something amazing.  Our mouths gaped open upon seeing this magical thing, and we both slowly turned our heads toward each other and gave a small nod as to say "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?...Yeah."

What was the amazing site?  It was only one of the best American creations: Dunkin' Donuts.  But before indulging ourselves, we still really needed to find the rental car company.  As we were walking to the far end of the airport, I happened to look out the window and saw that the company was located right across the street.  We decided that while Kelley got everything settled with the car, I would be in charge of purchasing everything that Dunkin' Donuts had to offer--which was no small task!  The lady working seemed to be surprised with the sheer number of sweet, doughy creations that I was purchasing (and no, I will NOT disclose how many I bought...) but she was also happy because no one had probably ever spent the amount of money that I was about to spend.

Like a proud parent showing off a child, I walk toward the rental car smiling and showing off my white Dunkin' Donuts bag.  I didn't have to ask a passerby if he or she was jealous--I simply knew that they were all insanely envious of my investment.  I piled into the car with my prized possessions and we began to head north toward Paihia--a three hour drive.  Upon arrival, we walked around to check out the local scene which was pretty much non-existent.  For some strange reason (which may or may not be directly attributed to Dunkin' Donuts) we weren't hungry, so we both just grabbed a drink and headed to our boat for the tour.

As it would turn out, the boat was quite luxurious and offered plenty of room to stretch out and relax as it made its way toward deeper waters.  Kelley and I decided to venture outside after a few minutes and we ended up being some of the first people to see two Bryde's whales--a mother and calf.  The whales stuck around for a half hour or so, but right before they left a pod of Common Dolphins approached the boat.  

They were hunting fish which was a very cool site to see!  

Kelley wanted to be right in the middle of the action, and since she couldn't be in the water, she laid her body down on the on a platform at the bow so that her head and camera were hovering just above the water.  

Mom and calf!

After another half hour or so, the dolphins also left the boat and we once again continued along our path. 

We saw some incredibly gorgeous sites as the boat was passing near the coastline such as an old lighthouse and the world famous "Hole in the Rock." 

The boat received a call from a nearby boat telling us that a pod of Bottlenose dolphins had been spotted nearby, so we changed course and headed in the general direction of the dolphin sighting.  We passed along a beach with several people on it (despite that fact that it was only about 55 degrees Fahrenheit).  Much to our surprise, one man was standing on the beach completely nude! 

One of them is nude.

Everyone on the boat began laughing uncomfortably and when the man realized that everyone could see him, he promptly covered himself up with a towel.  

It began to get late and since there were no dolphins to be found, we headed back to port and called it a day.  

Two islands that look like dolphin and shark dorsal fins.

Unfortunately, we still had to drive three hours back to Auckland, but as we began approaching the city the sun was setting which made for a beautiful scene to end our long, but very exciting day.  When we got back to our room that night, we packed up all of our belongings and went to sleep--the next day we were headed to the South island to see the beautiful city of Queenstown.