South Island!

I spent a week in the south island, and it is so pretty there I wish I could have stayed longer! The first weekend there, I went to Mt. Hutt with my friend Clare and her family. The Southern Alps go all along the middle of the South Island, and it looks like they go on forever!

After Mt. Hutt I went to Queenstown, and to get there I took nakedbus for 8 hours. Halfway through the bus ride we stopped at Lake Tekapo, which is in the photo. It was the most peaceful place I have ever seen, and I've decided that I will live there someday. The water looks bright turquoise, but it was perfectly clear, and there are mountains all around it. I really wanted to go swimming in the lake, but the stop was only 45 minutes and it was still winter anyway.

 First-Night-In-Queenstown-PRE-First-Ferg-Burger-Face

 First-Night-In-Queenstown-POST-First-Ferg-Burger-Face

Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world. Most people go there to bungy-jump, skydive, or go on crazy jetboat tours, but I went there and did none of those things. I stayed in a backpackers for the first time ever and discovered how awesome those places are. Everyone there was traveling just like me, and so excited to be there just like me. So I made a lot of friends and ate a lot of fergburgers, which is a must in Queenstown, saw Arrowtown, and took a boat tour on the lake, which was really nice.

This is a photo of my friend Jess and me in Arrowtown. Jess and I met when we were both counselors at summer camp. Funny story, she was supposed to hang out with me that night, but she got engaged instead! Bummer, right? Just kidding! Arrowtown is an old mining town, and one of the few places in New Zealand that has historical buildings in tact.

You can also still pan for gold in the river, and engaged couples will go there to pan for gold for a wedding ring, but it takes two weeks. So if you still want to get married after that it's probably a sign that your marriage will last. This is a Chinese house. By the river there is a whole group of them, and they're all the perfect size for me! I'd move right in, but I'm pretty sure they're even less insulated that the rest of the houses in New Zealand, most of which are really cold from what I've seen.

This is Queenstown from the boat that I took a tour of the lake on. I told the woman I was 14 and paid child's fare for the tour. I didn't even pay much less than the adult's fare, but I really just wanted to see if it would work. It did.

The lake is called Wakatipu and is really pretty. It's surrounded by mountains on all sides and is glacier-fed so the water is absolutely clear. In this photo you can see two tiny waterfalls int the center of the rock, and the water looks very blue. We filled our cups straight from the lake and could drink the water as it was. I didn't know that places like that existed anymore. There was nothing at all in the water, not like in American lakes where there will be stuff floating in it.

 Next I went to Christchurch for a couple of nights, but I just hung out in my pajamas with my friend Clare, so I don't have any pictures, but here is a photo of flying into Wellington! Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand, and this city's quite stylin'.

While I was there, there was a rugby match between Australia and New Zealand, and NZ won! I went to the pub with my camp friends Nick and Char, and every once in a while I'd look around and the place was packed to the brim and every eye in the room was intent on the game. The rivalry between Aussie and NZ is big so it was very exciting when NZ won, but the game was in Auckland so it would have been a good night to be in Auckland! I went to Auckland next, but just for one night to catch up with another camp friend, then home to Hamilton!