Week 1

Kia Ora from New Zealand. It’s hard to believe that it’s only been 7 days since I first arrived in New Zealand. With all the activities, travelling, and fun, I feel like I’ve been here for months. So far I’ve just been taking this trip one day at a time. Day 1 = survive the plane trip (CHECK). We arrived in Auckland and immediately hit the ground running. We went to a dormant volcano called Rangitoto and took in the sights from well above the city. Friday, the next day, we left Auckland and headed off on our adventure. We saw the Kauri Tree and learned about OPO the gay dolphin. We landed that night in a hostile in Pahia. Saturday we went through the Puketi Forest and took pictures at Cape Reinga. We saw the mauri’s native dance with the beautiful Pacific as the backdrop. Then we headed to Tauputapua Bay where we swam, laid in the sun, and I collected sand samples. We finished the day with a bang and went sand dune surfing. I hiked up the sand dune that was so steep I could barely stand. I was really nervous to go down because I was sure that I would be the one to wipe out and tumble all the way down. The guide told me to take a second and close my eyes then I could go but before I knew it he pushed me and I was flying down a huge mountain of sand. It was so much fun! We headed to 90 mile beach and then back to the hostile for the night. Sunday we went to the Bay of Islands and went on a dolphin cruise. We saw the hole in the rock but I still secretly think that one is fibreglass. We took a ferry to Russell which turned out to be my favourite place in the world. We walked around and took in the beauty that was Russell. I seriously did not want to leave. We arrived that night in Hamilton and could finally move into out dorm rooms. After lugging around my stuff from hostile to hostile, it was such a relief to be able to unpack. Monday started off with a bang when I was awoken by the fire alarm. False alarm thank god but I‘m pretty sure the RA coming out in her bright orange and yellow fire vest was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. We had our first day of lecture type classes and then explored Hamilton. Tuesday we boarded the bus to Waitomo and went Black Water Rafting. It was so cool and I can’t even describe how awesome floating through glow worm caves so far underground was. After that adventure, we went to see the bunny shearing which was truly shocking. I couldn’t help but laugh at this HUGE fluffy bunny strapped down on the table. Once I found out that it saves their life because they don’t overheat, I didn’t feel so guilty about laughing at what appeared to be animal cruelty. So far this trip has been amazing. I’ve experienced more in the last 7 days then I thought was humanly possible. I’m so excited to see where the rest of the trip will take me, how much I’ll learn, and what crazy adventures are next.