Ferry, Sheep and Somes Island

Hello friends! Its only been a week since the last  post, so I'm pretty proud of myself right now if we are honest. Although I spent another weekend in my host city, we took a Saturday trip to Matiu/ Somes Island by ferry from the Wellington Harbor-side. Also, by we, I mean my abroad buddies -Ellie, Sammy and Chip whom woke up early on Saturday morning to venture to this conservational island. It has recently been opened to the public, and we had to go through biosecurity upon our exit from the twenty minute ferry ride. This basically means we had to check out bags, brush all the mud and crap out of our shoes and then sterilize them before going on a 40 minute loop around the island. Its actually kinda nice that Kiwis actually care about their environment so passionately, as we were told it was wildlife was the priority here. We were set free to roam about after a safety briefing to explore this ex- military quarentine station.

There were sheep all over the island to help keep the grass in check ( according to our park ranger ) and we were more than welcome to go into their pens and say hi. Unfortunately, the little guys didn't really like me and kept trying to run away - I got close but not close enough to take a shameless selfie with them. However, when we got to their grounds, we noticed  one in particular that looked like it had been injured. We soon realized it was a mama sheep and she had just given birth to the little guy next to her. It was adorable. We watched them for awhile, and then the mama took a rest and sat down. As we were leaving, we turned back around and wham there was a little yellow puff ball with a wagging tail! Surprise! A second kid! It was a magical moment. Here they are! 

I know a little gruesome but its the miracle of life! 

Looping around the island we saw a lighthouse and embraced the peacefulnessof being almost completely alone on a tiny island. The views were unbelievable and made the very cold and blustery day more bearable. I enjoyed seeing another sleeping seal and hanging out with some sheep! Rumor has it that there is also penguins on this island, but we were unlucky and were not graced with their appearance. I want to go back when its a little warmer ( I was really underdressed for the weather but Wellington is so unpredictable) and maybe see more of the wildlife Somes Island has to offer and perhaps bring a picnic with me. But in the meantime, here are some fun pictures of the lovely place which is also beautiful in the middle of winter! 

Thanks for reading! 

Wining in the Martinborough

Hello friends! I have made it to my new home university in Wellington and had fallen in love with this little cafe city. For starters, my single dorm room is twice the size of my previous one ( if you're reading this, hi Nicole! I miss having you sleeping on the other side of the room and the heating actually works here). After settling in and going book shopping and room shopping(  also fun facts: you can't rent textbooks here and the closest thing to a target is called the Warehouse) I decided to plan a weekend to Nelson on the South Island with some new friends. We booked flights and showed up with our travel packs ready to jump into the spa that our airbnb hostess heated up for us....to have our flight cancelled 30 minutes before takeoff and the next available flight a few hours before our flight home. Four sad students headed back to our dorms and grieved the loss of our weekend outside of the city. Luckily, 2 of our other friends were going wine tasting the next day ( Saturday) and invited us along to Martinborough with them! Martinborough is known for its vineyards, with a whooping 20 vineyards within the small town area. Although a true tourist would bike the whole trail and drink up with the $5 for 5 tastes offered by most vineyards, we opted to walk it after taking a train and a bus to get to the small town. We ate at the Village Cafe for some brunch, to prep for our wine time.

First pin on our map was Muirlea Rise which appeared to be a little family owned vineyard, with an amazing owner who made us laugh between sips. He was kind enough to waive our tasting fee and give us the down-low on grocery store wines and details on his special ones! He was definitely our favorite stop, as he was funny and seemed less like a worker and more passionate about his vineyard than making it seem like a posh wine.

Featuring the beautiful doggy Bella

Next stop was Martinborough vineyard, which was more than 5 tastings and very clean cut. We had a lot of fun here asking questions and talking to our server, as well as taking some photos! We had 7 tastings if I remember correctly. They have two locations of vineyards and a couple of prestigious awards under their belts, so they had a little more variety than our previous stop. 

 The last and final stop on our wine adventure was a cafe with a winery, but we skipped out on the tasting and went straight for the food. At this point we were all feeling the wine as the last tasting was borderline 1/2 glasses and we were hungry hippos. Our first vineyard owner had told us "eating is cheating" in New Zealand when it comes to wine tasting, so we went for a post meal instead. Let me tell you- it was glorious. 

This was a triple ice cream something-or-other. It was good, I would eat again. After this, ya girl slept on the train home, making it onto my friends snapchats as I slumped over on a train chair. It was a beautiful day out, and I am very happy to have met some new friends who knock on my door at 9 am and tell me I have 20 minutes to get ready for wine tasting (thanks Sammi and Ellie, you guys rock (also explains why my hair looks like crap but whatever)). Thanks for reading if you even made it this far! 

Queenstown, New Zealand

Hey there friends! I have made it to my study abroad destination of New Zealand, but with a slight detour from my host city of Wellington. My program held an orientation in Queentown for 4 days so we can meet some people going to different universities in NZ and have some fun! I arrived at 4 p.m. to a hostel, went to dinner and then pretty much fell asleep, but my first full day was beautiful. We got up at 6 am and took a bus to Milford Sound, a long 5 hour trip. Completely worth it though! We stopped a few times along the way for photos in Fiorlands National Park and a little cafe for a coffee. The mountains were beautiful and the boat ride was peaceful ( and included some seals and dolphins!).

Also, the water is so fresh you can drink it, so we all filled up our bottles from this stream

The next day was a day of information, including a Maori performance class where we learned a song ( apparently that is used by the All Blacks Rugby Team) and a game. I also went luging up the Queenstown mountains! We took a gondola up to a ski lift, and sat in these odd little black plastic boxes with bike handle bars. It was really cold yet really entertaining ( although I crashed on a turn at one point, oops). Here are so pictures from the top of the mountain, where we also ate dinner on our last night there.

The next day was a free day, so I chose to go bungy jumping. Queenstown is actually the place it originated, and we passed the first one on our way up the mountain. The ride from the town center to the place we were jumping was about 40 minutes which really heightened our nerves. A group of girls from my program and I went together and we were all newbies. To get to the jumping platform , you have to take a gondola across to a box suspended over a canyon. The gondola ride itself was terrifying and made us want to turn back. We waited for about 45 minutes in the hanging box, all suited up, nerves high, but due to the winds being too strong, we couldn't jump. We were sent back to the main base to wait some more as it was cold at the jumping station. I was pretty bummed out that I might miss the opportunity to bungy as it was our last full day. However, the staff ( who were the coolest, chillest people ever) informed us shortly after that the wind had died down and we could go leap. ....And I did it. The first 2 seconds were pure horror on the free fall, but after that it was the most amazing thing ever. You feel so alive even though your dangling by a cord strapped to your ankles. Oh also this was 143 meters of a jump, called the Nevis, which is the highest in NZ. Go big or go home, right? 

Later that night I met up with my roommates whom decided to go luging instead of jumping and we went to one of the ice bars of Queenstown. It was $36 for two cocktails, entrance and the ability to wear their parkas. However, you had 30 minutes to chuck down these frozen themed drinks served in ice cups, so that was interesting. It was a tiny room with some ice sculptures, a bar and some seats ( covered in fur so your butt doesn't get cold). It was one of those things where we could say been there done that sorta thing. It was okay- a lot of syrupy drinks and cold noses in my opinion.

That was our last night before heading out to Wellington, so we visited some local bars as well, but failed to get Fergburger like a true tourist would! I want to go back for a weekend hopefully and do some more of the extreme sports! Well, I know this is super long, so sorry, but hey! I finally posted something!