Nevermind that I willingly added two days to my truancy record at uni and nevermind that I got to cross country #18 off of my list-to be reunited with a first familiar face in two months...to be reunited with my other half for the first time since December 17, 2009-these were reasons enough to get on a 6am flight for Dunedin, New Zealand on March 30th. The thrills and the beauty of the commencing seven days were just the cherries on top to the already perfect delight of being with Noonie again.
I cannot possibly contain the splendor of New Zealand's South Island in this blog entry; no more can I reach through the air waves to physically goad you toward the airline counter to purchase your own ticket right this moment. I only hope that through this post you will please take my fervent advice to visit the world's well-kept secrets that are patiently awaiting you in the south pacific. New Zealand is the yin to Australia's yang. Aussie's arid, brown, rugged landscape is beautiful in its own shocking, disruptive way. After two months in Melbourne' s metropolitan jungle, New Zealand's kelly green forests, soft hills, and sparkling turquoise waters sure alter your schema a little bit. As a country, she is so delicately beautiful-I truly spent my too short seven days challenging my eyes, my memory, to absorb every minutia of her magic.
Throughout our first four days together, we sated ourselves with all that her college town of Dunedin had to offer: a trip to the remarkable Tunnel Beach, attendance to a few of her classes at the University of Otago, the Cadbury Chocolate Factory Tour, Baldwin Street (truly, the world's steepest recorded street!), and much more. On Friday April 2nd, we commenced on our road trip, much to my parents' deep chagrin and apprehension (their feelings I understood-not many people would trust and encourage two twenty-something girls to manage their own car...in a foreign country...on the left side of the road...for four days...). We picked our car up from JACKIE'S (the irony was not lost on me!! If you are confused and would appreciate an explanation, please promptly YouTube 'Jackie and Debra') and, after responsibly agreeing to pay for the extra insurance plan, we headed for Queenstown at a cool 100 km/h pace. Our car was a hideous "bluebird" Nissan and our navigation system was directly named Bertha. Although we were often scolded by Bertha's ability to gauge the speed at which we were going against the true speed limit, her adept navigation abilities did bring us safely and soundly around the south island to Queenstown, Wanaka, and Milford Sound.
It would be truly tedious to recount all of the adventures, the laughs, the incredible sights that we experienced over our four days of driving. Don't shake your head at your screen and tell me that that is the point of a blog, to fully detail all events and all anomalies while abroad. This I know, but I'm lacking in both sleep and patience at the moment-and as I've noted above, I cannot sincerely share these memories and sights with you-you may only see these incredible things for yourselves. Let me just say this: if you ever do find yourself appropriately situated at Jackie's in Dunedin, ready to embark on your very own Kiwi road trip, do not miss walking around Lake Wanaka, visiting the Ice Bar and Sky Gondola in Queenstown, Fiordland National Park, a three hour hike up Key Summit, and The Chasm and a boat ride through the fjords of Milford Sound.
More and most importantly, only do said things with a best friend and enjoy the blessing and privilege of seeing such a special part of the world :)
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