June 6, 2010
The sun set for the last time on us in New Zealand today.  After tonight, we will be on our way to another hemisphere, the right side of the road, Dr. Pepper, heat, humidity, tips, not included tax, and our own beds and showers.  I can’t lie and say that I’m not ready to go home, but there are so many things that I can’t take with me from here.  Things like meat pies, banana milk, kiwis (the bird and fruit), fiords, indescribable scenery, and the absolutely draining, cursed hikes that would leave you with a sense of great accomplishment and a view that made you forget every burning muscle for a few moments.
Our final grand hike was definitely one for the books.  Yesterday, we awoke at the base of the Southern Alps with the sun beaming on New Zealand’s tallest mountain, Mnt. Cook, named after the great explorer who drew a surprisingly accurate map of New Zealand, Captain James Cook.  We were told by Brain, our bus driver, that it would take a person about five days to hike up that beast.  Well, guess what hike we did…not that one.  No, we got up and hiked the Red Tarn trail which should be renamed The Stair Master.  My legs have never burned so much except maybe when I had to run bleacher laps in high school.  We have concluded that if you combined Rangitoto (the volcano in Auckland) and the Broken Hills (in Hahei), you’d have a good idea of this hike.  Our legs, lungs, and calories were all burning by the time we finally got to the top, but once again, New Zealand didn’t let us down with the view.  Like a miniature set, we could see the tiny village in which we had slept being cradled by the giant white-crested mountains.  The top of our mountain itself was flattened with a small frozen pond surrounded by knee deep snow in some parts.  If we looked down from the top, we would look nearly straight down to the bottom.  We had basically climbed up a cliff.  We got some amazing pictures, caught our breath, and when our legs finally moved without shaking, we headed back down the mountain (which was definitely a much easier route).  In total, the trip took about two hours, and I was so happy that we did it.
-Amanda