New Zealand Lately

Well, it's about time that I wrote a blog post. In my defense, today is the first day in 2 weeks that we have free wifi, courtesy to the Fat Duck Cafe in Te Anau, and my wallet has not been able to afford internet for long periods of time up until now. Anyways, as of late, life has been beautifully simple. It's a strange feeling to wake up every day with no job, no responsibility, and nowhere to be. It was unsettling at first, but now I am taking full advantage of this time, seeing as when I return back to the states, the reality of my dwindling bank account will set in. 

The past two weeks have consisted of lots of hikes, many games of Phase 10 (favorite new card game), a  lot of reading and many nights camping with the boys. Our first stop on the trip was to Lake Tekapo, which was the most visually breathtaking body of water I have ever seen. Even after numerous local kiwis explained to me how the lake got it's color, I still do not understand how something can be so blue. Lake Tekapo is also the one of the best places in the world for star gazing. I have lived in many beautiful places in my life and I thought for a while nowhere could beat the stars up in Nobleboro, Maine or in Creede, Colorado but the stars at Lake Tekapo blew those skies away. I tried to take a picture with my own camera, but it didn't do it any justice so look below at a photo I stole from the Tekapo website. Even this does not compare to what it really looked like. 

Starry Night at Lake Tekapo

Day hike around Lake Tekapo

After Tekapo, we ventured to Mount Cook which is the tallest mountain in New Zealand at 12,316 ft. This doesn't seem that big compared to the fourteeners out in Colorado but considering we're at sea level here instead of a mile high, its all relative. And my god is that a beautiful mountain. Its right by Lake Pukaki which is another amazingly blue lake. This blue, reminded me of my favorite Gatorade flavor, Frost. And what still blows my mind about the water here is that for the most part, it's all safe to drink! Can't say that about most water in the states....especially in the Dirty Jerz.

Lake Pukaki, Mount Cook in the background

After Mount Cook we ventured down to Wanaka, a quaint little lake town we had heard so much about from our 4UR friends Erin and Laura who spent two months there last year. I now understand why they chose Wanaka out of all the towns in NZ to stay put for awhile. In Wanaka, we spent two nights at a fancy hostel called Base which was so flash it even had its own bar on one of the floors. The bar, Mint, is where we found the NZ equivalent to Natty Light, Export Gold. Never drinking that again. We did a nice long hike one day around Lake Wanaka and one day we spent the entire day on the beach reading and people watching, only getting up to get Subway at lunch time.  (Subway has been our saving grace in terms of cheap lunch options out here) Our last night in Wanaka, we camped by the lake and enjoyed incredible views, cheap pasta, and some fresh broccoli (big splurge for us). 

Hike around Lake Wanaka

Lazy day in Wanaka

After Wanaka we headed down to Queenstown, the Vegas of New Zealand. I'm quite confident that if you stay in Queenstown for longer than a weekend at a time, it will take a few years off your life. It is the adventure capital of the country and mecca for nightlife. The city truly does not sleep. Fortunately, we were able to meet up with the guys here and we were happy to have them around to experience the absurdity of this town. Queenstown robbed us of our money through beer and Ferg Burger, the famous burger joint which is known for the "Big Al", a burger of a 1/2 pound of beef, bacon, cheese, 2 eggs, beets, lettuce, tomato, red onion, relish, and a big wad of aioli. Essentially, if you are able to finish one, you either deserve a medal or should be embarrassed at how disgusting you are. (Sorry, Jesse) Les and I split one and I could barely get through a quarter of it. My memory is a bit hazy as this was late in the evening, but I believe Zach was able to finish the entire thing, with a few helpful bites from Drew. We didn't end up skydiving or bungee jumping in Queenstown, we were too upset about how much money we had already spent so we're thinking of venturing back there at the end of the trip when we have some extra money left over. We did, however, get to do a jet boat ride through the Shotover River canyons and that was pretty unbelievable. It's a miracle we are still alive after that. 

The Big Al

Les and Zach, struggling to finish the Big Al

Shotover Jet

Drive to Glenorchy campsite

Drew, Zach and I at the cowboy bar in Queenstown

10 bucks for those babies

 Just being obnoxious Americans...

And now, we are in Te Anau for the weekend enjoying free wifi and gearing up for Super Bowl Monday here tomorrow. Luckily, I found a kiwi bar called "The Ranch" that's showing the game tomorrow afternoon. The boys will joining us for that as well and hopefully we will all be celebrating a Giants victory tomorrow evening....

GO BIG BLUE!