I wish I could go out and explore more

It has been a while since I last posted in my blog, which I realized when my mother emailed me asking to write some more.  Not much has happened since Mid-semester break, just a lot of studying.  I have had 3 tests over the last few weeks in Sensation and Perception, Music in Western Culture, and Neurophysiology.  Apart from studying I have done a little baking and movie nights with my friends. 

Last week was a bit rough however because of what was happening back home in Boston.  I have never experienced ‘home-sickness’ to that degree ever, I just wanted to be home and be there to support my community.  There are a few of us here from MA, so I was able to talk to them about it all.  My friend Cat and I decided we needed to lighten the mood so we made some chocolate chip banana muffins and watched ‘Despicable Me’. Here is the trailer for "Despicable Me 2",  I cannot wait.

  I found it incredibly hard to study for my music test I had that week, but I tried my best and I think it went fine.  Thursday night, a couple of friends and I went to the Science club’s trivia night and we did better than we usually do, four teams did worse than us! Yeah, we really are not that good at trivia. Friday night I had an Archery competition, which marked the end of the beginner lessons. I got a certificate and now I am able to shoot during specific times of the week that I cannot remember.  After archery I headed over to my friend Alexis’s flat to finally start the 3^rd LOTRs movie, and we barely got 1/2 way, we were all so tired. We decided to continue it during the day on Saturday.  Saturday morning I went to the Farmer’s Market with a few friends I bought some raspberries, strawberries, pears, and Apricot chili sauce.  Then after dropping my goodies off at my flat I headed over to my friend Sarah’s flat to bake some chocolate-chip cookies and to continue to watch LOTRs.  I did a little studying during the movie for my upcoming Neurophysiology test.  Then I studied most of Sunday and Monday and Tuesday since the test was at night – Tuesday Night.  I am not a fan of night exams – I was stressed all that day and had to suffer until 7:30pm to take it. 

So that is all the happened since Mid-Semester break, not all that exciting. I really want to go out and travel and hike more around NZ, but because school work is picking up I am having trouble finding the time.

Here is the new Hunger Games Trailer! I have watched it at least 5 times already.

Mid-Semester Break

Mid-semester break started with a bus ride up to Christchurch at 8am Thursday morning (28th of March) with my friend Nia.  Once in Christchurch we got some amazing Indian food for lunch and played some cards before meeting up with our friend Haylie who we were going to spend the night with.  Our friend Sarah also arrived from Dunedin later, so there were a lot of us that Haylie housed that night.  It was not a particularly eventful night, and it was early to bed for Nia and I for we had a bus leaving at 7am.  Since it was Good Friday and very early in the morning the city buses were not running and we had to get a cab to take up to the pick-up point.  The final destination for the day was Nelson, but we had many stops along the way.  One stop was in Kaikoura, an amazing beach town known for whale watching.  I would love to return there sometime this semester.  When we got to Nelson we knew we had to pick up a few more groceries before starting on our 5-day tramp the next day.  But of course it was Good Friday and hardly anything was open.  Thankfully, the market at a gas station was open and we were able to get the last few things we needed.  The hostel in Nelson was very nice.  It had a pool and sauna and they fed us dinner and breakfast all available with the cheap dorm room we got.

The Restart in Christchurch. They are still rebuilding after the Earthquake

Then it was off to the start of the Heaphy Track for 5 days and 4 nights of some hard tramping of about 78km.  We had a beautiful day to begin the track,  it was sunny and warm.  Almost too warm because the first day is uphill the entire way, all 17.5km.  But we made it to the hut a little bit before the darkness and rain.  Our 2nd day out was shorter, but it was raining and a but windy which made the two footbridges a bit difficult to cross. But what is like without a little adventure and risk? When we got to the hut we met the ranger in duty name Karen, she was in her 60s if you can believe it! She made us some Easter scones, which were absolutely delicious after tramping in the rain.  The 3rd day was not too far to go either, well at least compared to the 1st day.  We met some very interesting people at this hut. There was a camper from Washington taking a year off after graduation and traveling around as well as a guy from Scotland.  But most impressively there was a 71 year old walking the track with her son. They were all very fun to talk to before we fell asleep at about 8:30pm.  The next day, the 4th day of tramping, was going to be longer, longer than the first day at about 20km.  However, this part of the track is mostly downhill or flat, aside from a few bumps, so it seemed to be much easier and the weather on this day was fantastic.  The last hut we were going to stay at on the track was extremely nice and it was on the beach. So once we got there we jumped in the ocean, and then sandflies attacked us. To those reading back home sandflies are like misquotes, only worse.  I received many bites in only the 15min we were outside.  I got a pretty good nights sleep in this 'hut', which looked more like a vacation home so I was ready to start the next day. We were expecting rain, and on the 5th day of the track it was a downpour.  I know I told many people this story already, but it is just so great.  Because of the heavy rain throughout the day there was a bit of flooding.  This caused some river crossings that normally you wouldn't even get your feet wet, to become deep and  a strong current.  And yes, we crossed them, all 3 of them (or 4, I was mostly paying attention to surviving and not the number).  The last river was the strongest. I went first with Nia behind me and we used her hiking poles to connect to each other for more safety.  But I still lost my footing for a couple of seconds and moved a few inches down with the current.  I then lost my head and Nia had to take the lead.  So, we thought we hit the worst of it when we saw a sign that said we were only 20min to the end! We went a little further and I saw nothing but water in front of us, then I saw a path going around the corner thank goodness. But no,  a few seconds later the track was nothing but a flood plain. At that point we thought- we have come so far, we may as well, we are already soaked.  Thankfully this water did not have a current, it was just overflow from a nearby lake, but at some points the water got up to our waists.  After about 10 min in this water we thought that this could not possibly be the track, until we saw another sign saying 10 min to the shelter (aka. end of the track).  At this point Nia and I just started to laugh as we kept walking. Finally we reached the end of the water and the end of the track.  We ran into a group going out for a day walk to an outlook, we warned them about the water.  We waited at the shelter at the end of the track for a shuttle to take us to Karamea for a nice hot shower at the backpackers and some chips at a nearby restaurant. There was no cell service whatsoever so I had to wait until the next day when we caught a shuttle to Westport.  I called my mother at Westport and discovered that she emailed the hostel I was going to be staying at that night in Franz Josef to make sure I got there ok. WOW.

This is the hut we stayed in our 2nd night. The huts on the 1st an 4th nights were newer and nicer.

Land Snail!

I experienced so many beautiful sunsets

Koru! they symbolize growth and new  beginnings 

View from the hut on our last night.

Part 2 of break started in Franz Josef where Nia and I met up with Sarah and Alexis who just finished a tour of the glacier. I am extremely jealous of their pictures. After a night spent in Franz Joseph we caught buses down to Queenstown.  In Queenstownwe spent 2 nights.  While there we did a lot of souvenir shopping for our friends and family and on the first night we checked out the Ice Bar. There were many ice sculptures and the drink I got was really good.  Then the next day Alexis, Sarah and I went horseback riding. The scenery was amazing and we passed the Misty Mountains as seen in the Lord of the Rings.  Sarah even rose a horse that was used in the opening scene of Prince Caspian (Narnia movie)! After horseback riding Alexis went to go parasailing and Sarah and I went to see Nia bungy jump!  The next morning we caught our bus back home to Dunedin and I had a good nap before starting to study for my exam this Thursday.

The Franz Joseph Glacier in the sunrise

The misty mountains of LOTRs

It has been a couple of days since break and I have been busy with class and studying for my exam.  I am super nervous for my exam this Thursday, but lets hope for the best!