Day 18 in NZ

Today was an awesome day! We got up early and packed our bags for ice glacier climbing! We went to the office to check in for our day on the ice and got suited up with snow pants, a rain jacket, boots, crampons, hats and gloves. I was super excited to see what everything would look like and to do some hiking on solid mountains of ice.


We rode a bus to a rain forest and hiked for about 30 minutes to get to the base of the ice. All of the ISV people split up into 5 different group and our leader was Tobias. He was a ginger. We saw some really awesome waterfalls and steep cliffs on the sides of the mountains of the ice glaciers. When we got to the bottom of the ice we put crampons on our boots and trekked our way across the ice. It was so awesome!!!

We were able to climb up big ice clumps with ropes and also through a lot of caves and deep crevasses. I like the big cracks that we climbed through the most! The ice in them was really smooth and blue. It was amazing! A couple of times we had to shuffle our way through tight cracks and take off our back packs to fit through.


Our guide had to use an ice pick to make steps all throughout the ice because the ice is melting more and more each day. They told us that the ice moves down the mountain about 1-2 meters eery day and melts as it lowers in elevation. A lot of the big cracks and broken up pieces that we saw were newly formed in the past month or two. Our guide also showed us a huge cave that has been newly formed by water flowing through it the past 2-3 months.

There was a big part of the rock cliff that all broke off just 2 days ago and covered a lot of glaciers with rocks and dust. While we were hiking we heard a couple of big rock slides happening but never saw where it was happening. While hiking I got a big blister on the back of my heel from the boots that they gave me so I put some tape stuff on it at lunch and that helped but by the end of the day my skin came off and its kind of sore. It was totally worth the hike to see the glaciers!!

One of the group leaders fell on ice and split open her knee. She ended up having to be flown out by a helicopter so that was kind of crazy. One of the parts when I was hiking I stepped on a part that I thought was solid but it wasn't and I somewhat fell into an icy water hole. My foot and part of my leg got wet and it was freezing as you can imagine! It was quite the adventure. I was able to fill up my water bottle with glacier water and it tasted really good! :) Our guide told us that if the ice keeps melting at the rate that its going there won't be anything left of them in 30-40 years. Kinda crazy!

When we were on our way down we hiked through a brand new trail that was built over the past 2-3 weeks. Supposedly our group was the 2nd ever to go through it so that was cool. We were able to walk over a plank too!


When we got back to the town we checked all of our equipment back in and then headed to the got pools and afterwards went to dinner. The hot pools were awesome and really relaxing! I got to talk to Dallen today and he has moved into our house!! He said he put out a placemat for me at dinner :( I miss him! I can't wait to go home and to find out all the surprises that are coming my way. Living with Dallen is going to be AMAZING!!! I love him so much and was excited to talk to him today!

Day 17 in NZ

Today was a travel day. We got up early, had breakfast, and the left Queenstown at 8:00. We spent most of the day on the bus and made some random stops here and there to do some grocery and fruit shopping.


We also stopped at a really pretty waterfall and then the beach. I wish we could stay on the beach for like half a day or something to play in the waves and to run in the sand. We went on the West Coast beach and it had black sand and a couple cliffs leading to the water. It was super pretty!


On our drive to Franz Josef we went over so many one-lane bridges and actually crossed the world's largest one-lane bridge. We saw a lot of hawks on the way and sheep and cattle farms. They played a movie called "The Whale Rider" on the bus and that was pretty cool because it was based on the Maori traditions.

My room for the next 2 nights are with Rose, Lizzie, and Chrissy. Much better than the last ones.

We ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and I ordered mashed potatoes but they weren't that great. After dinner we went to the hot tub for a little while but didn't stay long because the water was only luke warm and there were a lot of people. We came back. wrote in our journals and are now going to bed. Not a lot happened today but I still had fun!

Day 16 in NZ

Today was a pretty relaxed day. I woke up and had some breakfast and then borrowed Chrissy's computer to type some of my journal to post on my blog. Its Sunday today and I wanted to try to not spend any money on activities or unnecessary things. I went to lunch with Chrissy and had a good roast beef sandwich that had gravy and lettuce on it. It was really good! After that we both went with Melanie to watch her do the bridge bungy jump. She was the only one signed up for today so she asked us if we would go so she wouldn't be alone. We took pictures and videos for her and afterwords went back to he hostile. I was able to talk to Dallen for a little while and I loved every minute of it! I cried for a little bit today missing him. I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life with him!

Later tonight we had a big meeting with everyone and then went to dinner that was provided. We had pizza but it was at a bar and I felt really awkward especially it being a Sunday. I've never been at a ber before and I didn't like it at all! The smells, the people, the lighting, the atmosphere, and just everything about it was uncomfortable to me. I'm not sure why but ISV bought some teapots for everyone to have. Basically its some mixed alcoholic drinks in a teapot and take shots from it. Until this trip I'd never been around alcohol much or been asked if I'd like some but that has definitely changed! I said no every time it was offered to me.

Anyways, after we got our pizza and ate I left with the first group, went and got an ice-cream for dessert and then came back to our rooms. I packed my bags because tomorrow we leave Queenstown to go to Franz Josef for our next few days. I'm really excited to be able to get new roommates and rooms so that I'm not stuck int he alcohol party room. This room I'm in right now definitely does not smell the best from spilt beer and is a disaster fro clothes thrown on the floor and such. I'm excited to go back home to a tidy room again that I can make homely and smelling good.

Day 15 in NZ

Today was an amazing day! We started by going on the shot over jet which was a fast speed boat that could go over water just 4'' deep. We had water proof coats they let us use and also a life jacket. Anyways, Chrissy and I were able to get the front seats int he boat so that was cool. We drove through some canyons and under some bridges and around sand bars. It was pretty crazy! The driver got seriously like 10'' away from some of the canyon walls and rocks. I was sitting on the seat closest to the side so when we went towards the walls I was right up close. Mu favorite part was the 360 turns. We got to see a pretty waterfall that was maybe 10ft. but it was cool and the water was so blue.

After wards we were able to see the pictures and video of the ride but they weren't worth buying. I did however, pay for the pictures and video of the amazing bungy jumping I did later on this afternoon. Chrissy and I signed up for the Kawarau Bridge jump which was one of the 3 options to choose from. Alana came along to take pictures and the Matt and Kyle came along at the same time to jump as well. We met at the bungy jumping shop first and then took a 20 min. bus ride to the bridge.

So much anticipation built up and I got really nervous! Just talking about it and watching videos and then people actually doing it was a rush in itself. We got all checked in at the front desk and then walked out to the bridge where we got our harnesses and everything situated and ready to go. A couple of the ISV girls went before us and Matt went as well. Each time we watched another person jump off Chrissy and I got more anxious and a little more nervous for our turn.
Staring down at the water seemed so far down and even crazier to think that we were going to jump off! The wind was blowing and to be honest it was freezing cold!!! We opted to go under the water and knowing that didn't make anything warmer! Anyways, we were tied by our feet by some big straps and then secured by our waist and the bungy cord. Walking out on the plank was a bit frightening but we inched our way to the edge, took a look down at the water, and the jumped out on the countdown!!


We screamed the entire way down and were dunked into the freezing cold blue river at the end stretch of our rope. We went down as far as our waists and then pulled back up by the elasticity of the cord. It was the coolest thing ever!


I had so much adrenaline running through my blood that I hardly noticed the coldness of the water until after we were unhooked and had walked back up to the top of the bridge.
Our free fall time was only 3 seconds, which seemed really short after skydiving a couple of months ago, but it was worth it! I love the stomach drop feeling and big adventure things so I had a blast! I did freeze by butt off but it was worth the rush. Chrissy and I decided to split the costs and we bought the pictures and video package. We got some really cool high definition shots and the video shows how far we jumped. It makes me want to do the 9 second free fall bungy jump now but its to expensive...bummer! If I had to choose between skydiving and bungy jumping though I would definitely choose the sky diving. It lasts much longer and you get to see your view on the way down.

After the big adventure of the bungy, we came back to our hostel, showered up and went out to eat at the Ferg Burger. In the meantime I was able to call Dallen and talk to him for about 30 minutes :) A short story for the side:... I called DAllen from the phone booth this morning before we went to jump and had forgotten and left my card with the phone. I didn't realize that I was missing it until I went to call again and couldn't find it anywhere. I thought that I remembered the calling code so I went to dial the numbers and the luckiest thing ever!... Someone had tried to use it to call but couldn't figure it out or something and had left it in the card slot! Super lucky to be able to find it after a full day of it being gone.)

Anyways, Ferg Burger was really good and the traditional burger I ordered was seriously the size of my face! They were huge! After dinner, a group of us sampled some kiwi fruit, hokey pokey, cookies and cream, and chocolate fudge at a candy store. After that I came back to my room and called it a night. It was quite the adventurous day!

Day 14 in NZ

A lot has happened today and a lot is still happening although its 10:30pm and most nights we've been in bed by 9:30 or 10. This morning we got up and packed our bags for Queenstown which is on the south island of NZ. We flew out of the Auckland airport around 11:30 and came to the very different Queenstown around 1:00.

(Saying goodbye at the airport)
There are 4 groups total of ISV participants who came to NZ on May 12 and we all met up today to start our adventure tour together. For the next 2 weeks our group will be with 36 people instead of 9 so that's a big change and we will be moving around from town to town every 2-3 days touring. The plane ride was very interesting because there were a lot of foreigners on the same plane, who I think were all family members with each other, and Robyn and I were in the middle of their big group. I'm not sure how the tickets worked out that way but we had old ladies (like grandmas) who were singing prayers or something behind us and the kids in front of us couldn't hold still so our trays were all over the place when we were using them. When we landed all of the foreigners started cheering and clapping which was kind of odd. It was just an interesting plane ride.



Anyways, we all met up with our tour guide and found our rooms in a hostel in Queenstown. For this first weekend we have assigned rooms and I'm not too excited about my roommates. We had a long orientation, grabbed a bite to eat, and then went to a bungy jumping store to reserve our times to jump!! I am super excited to try! I'm going tandem with Chrissy who has been on my team for the conservation project the past 2 weeks. We opted to go off the 43km drop. It is the traditional bungy jumping bridge where the first bungy jumper jumped from. It's going to be SOOOOO AWESOME!!! ...AND.... before that we get to go on a shot over jet (its like a speed boat) through some cool canyons. I am looking forward to it!

Tonight we ate dinner at some oriental place and I'm not even sure what I ordered but it turned out to be pretty good lol. After dinner we treated ourselves to some ice-cream and I got a white-chocolate strawberry kind. It was delicious!!


I came back with Chrissy and Kyle and our night ended about then but for the rest of everyone else it is just starting. I came back to my room and there was beer all over the place, people taking shots, mixing drinks, and getting ready to go party at the bars tonight. Its a first for me to be in the same room as all the alcohol and beer and other stuff they have and I don't like it at all. I came in and they were sitting all over my stuff drinking and laughing, playing music, and who knows what else so I got all of my things and put them on the top bunk that I have to sleep on. I went with Chrissy to her room and emailed Dallen for a while on her computer and watched Rachelle come back completely wasted. She threw up a whole bunch of times in the bathroom and then passed out on the floor. The people in my room will be out on the night much longer than Rachelle was so we'll see what happens. Hopefully I won't be listening to people throw up all night. I miss so badly Dallen and family right now and just being able to have the spirit in the room. I didn't like the feeling of it and I cried for a bit after everyone left. I'm excited for the adventures I have tomorrow! Its going to be out of my mind!