I left Franz Josef early in the morning for a 10 hour bus ride down to Queenstown, but it really didn't feel that long. We stopped a bunch on the way down. Our first stop was at a mirror lake where I could see Mt. Cook (the tallest mountain in New Zealand) and Mount Tasman (second tallest) mirrored into the lake. Hence the mirror lake nickname. It was probably the most spiritual experience I've had in a long time. Traveling on my own has made me realize that I have a lot of insecurities and worry about what people will think when they see me on my own and it's been ridiculous. So that morning, it was a 20 minute walk out and a 20 minute walk back. I decided that I was not going to listen to my iPod, I was just going to listen to my own thoughts (which is usually a bad idea, but this time was really smart). I felt SO at peace by the time I got back, it was incredible. I am so lucky and so blessed to be on this trip.
We made another stop in Ross, a dinky little town that was booming during the gold rush, but now has a population of 300. Aww, poor little town. We made a stop for lunch, a stop for a bathroom break, and then straight on to Queenstown! We didn't get to stop at the bungee jumping bridge because we were running too late, but it looked ridiculously scary and I don't think I'll ever be able to do it. However, I'm thinking that when I get back to Madison (because it's just to flippin' cold here!), I'm going to skydive where Kayla, Jimmy, and Lynsey did. You guys keen to do it again with me?! Then when I come back to NZ, I'll be ready for a bigger challenge!
When I rolled into QT, I met up with Laura and her mom on the street to head to their incredibly gorgeous hotel room. It was so nice to kick my feet back and relax in a serene and relaxing atmosphere (nothing against backpackers...) I think my favorite part was getting ready with the lights on. I've left 2 things behind in the past 6 days because of getting ready in the dark. Boo. We just hung around and chilled until Chels got back from her day trip and then we went out for DELICIOUS Italian food. I've decided that I might ALMOST enjoy pumpkin just as much when it's savory as I do when it's sweet. And when I first got here, I hated savory pumpkin. Mmmmmmm. Then Chels, Laur, and I went for a few drinks and they were shocked to see that I could chug a beer. Thanks Adam and the Bone Haus for that. I didn't enjoy a second of it, but it's a nice entertainment/icebreaker to whip out with people that have been hanging out with me for so long without seeing that side of me!
Yesterday we woke up around 9 and had a late start to the day. That was nice since I've been up every morning around 7 to go do something (tomorrow morning is NO exception!) I read some of my book (Miriam, I finished it and it was really good. You just have to hang in there for the first 200/250 pages). Around 11, Chels, Laur, and I headed into town to get some breakfast. I was craving eggs, but when I saw the menu, of course I ordered muesli and yogurt, even though that's what I have EVERY morning for breakfast. Ah, well... it was still delectable. On our way to meet up with Laura's parents, we saw a store that had a really cute sweatshirt I wanted to buy. We walked in the store and found out that you could design your own shirts and before we knew it, we had a design for a hooded sweatshirt that we were all going to get. We couldn't commit right away, so we walked away for a bit and came back later.
We were meeting up with Laura's parents to go on a jetboat. Not just any jetboat... one that can ride in 10 cm of water and do 360 degree turns in the middle of a canyon. It was SWEET AS. We had so much fun and I laughed so much. What a blast! Laura's parents graciously took Chelsea and I along and I am still blown away by their generosity. What wonderful people! We got to see some BEAUTIFUL sights (we were in a river surrounded by canyons and then when we'd break from those, there'd be the Remarkables, a mountain range in the skyline of Queenstown. One of two mountain ranges in the world that runs directly north to south. Crazaayyyy!
When we were done jet-boating, we headed back into town, put in the order for our shirts, and meandered for some time. We went to a bar where you can get cocktails in a teapot (we went at like, 430 and it was pretty nasty in there. BUT, there was a pretty cool band playing!). Experience... not regretted! We headed back to the hotel and I got a LOT more reading done. Around 930 we headed down to Lone Star (a Texan restaurant) to get some munchies and we ordered some steak fajitas. I've always had this thing that I've never been pleased with the steak that I've ordered in a restaurant. I think I'm really picky about how it should be cooked. Well, anyway, after we got some appetizers and a random bowl of boiling water with lemons in it (still perplexed as to what that was for), Chels cut up some meat and put it on my fajita for me. I bit into it and just about threw up because the meat wasn't cooked at all. I swear to God when I bit it, it moooooed a cry of agony. YUCK. So we sent that cow back to get done up a little more. After dinner, we ordered some pavlova (a traditional Kiwi dessert) for Laura's parents to try. DELICIOUS!!! But I was still feeling a little queezy from the steak, so I was keen on just going home and reading until I fell asleep. We decided to go back and see if the hotel bar was open, but it wasn't, so we got some beer from the room to drink down in the lobby. We had some good conversation in front of the fire and cheered together when the clock struck midnight and it was the 4th (and I accidentally sang a phrase of the New Years Song...whoops!) I read for a good long while and then got to bed.
This morning, Chels, Laura, and her parents had to be gone by 9. After they left, I stayed back, did some reading, called the family, took a shower, packed up, and headed to my new hostel. I threw my stuff in a storage room and I was out the door with my flash drive in tow to scan in my passport for the school I'll be working at in Mexico. That was first on my list and then I went to finish my book at a cafe. I grabbed a panini to go on my way out and headed up the hill to take a ride on the gondola. The view was spectacular. Once I got to the top, I made my way to the zipline. It was SO much fun and the people that I went with were so cool. There were two cute little girls and I just wanted them for my very own! I headed back down afterwards and headed to the spa and got a ONE HOUR massage. Ahhhh. Experience... worth it! Then I had to decide what to do to fill my evening and thought that a movie was probably my best choice. I went to rent Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it's been taken off the shelves here because they're changing the rating on it or something from R-16 to R-18. So that was a bust.
I finally checked in to the hostel and went to grab my flash drive from my bag so that I could email my passport to the school in Mexico when I realized that it was GONE. Disappeared. Poof. And I'm still freaking out. I'm trying hard not to think about it too much, but I'm absolutely gutted because everything from this semester of student teaching is on there. I was able to keep track of this one for 3 years. I spent a good hour calling every place I had been today, but half the places were closed by the time I called. I tried to get my mind off of it and found out that Toy Story 3 was playing at the movie theater around the corner, so I HAD to go. I went and got some fudge and then laughed and cried and got moved all over again by Woody and Buzz!!
Tomorrow I'm going to Milford Sound where there are tons of fjords. It's a 5 hour bus trip one way. Ooooooh boy. So I need to get some rest so that I can read the next book in the series on the bus! ha :). Hopefully someone will have discovered my flash drive somewhere in Queenstown and will graciously get in contact with me somehow. Le sigh.
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