A couple of photos from me

This is a picture of the students sitting on an old Maori Pa site in Hahei.  (look for them in the top left hand corner of the pic).

  This second picture is during our broken Hills walk in the Coromandel.

  This picture is all of us in the Whare Nui at the the Whakawerawera Marae being taught about Maori culture

  And a group shot of us in the Southern Alps

I've been home for two days, and already I wish I could go back.  At the beginning of the trip, I remember Dr. Swanson telling us that when we got home, it would seem like it were just a dream.  I believe him now.  It really does seem unreal to think that I spent the last month of my life in New Zealand.  Hence, this semi-reflective blog of reminiscence.

However amazing I thought this trip would be before we left, it was nothing compared to how amazing it actually was.  You could barely look anywhere without seeing something beautiful…it made it difficult to sleep on the bus knowing what amazing scenery was constantly passing by (though somehow, we all found a way).  Perhaps equally amazing is the sheer smoothness of the entire trip.  I had my doubts when setting out with thirty college students (many of whom have an invincibility complex).  I figured someone was bound to end up either in a hospital or a jail cell before the trip was over.  Nope…through some miracle we all made it out almost completely unscathed--which anyone would count as miraculous if they saw our hike up Broken Hills or our rafting through Waitomo caves.  Quite impressive from a bunch of wilderness amateurs if you ask me.

Something that also surprised me was--get this--I LEARNED things.  Quite a lot of things that I was much more interested in than I realized.  Of course you always learn so much about culture when you travel abroad, and since New Zealand is bicultural, we got a double dose of Kiwi folk and Maori.  I could rant for quite a while about how cool both are, but I'll refrain for the sake of not dominating the blog.  That aspect of the learning was just natural…you can't live in another country for a month without learning about the people.  The academic part (aka, the part that reminded us all that we were actually taking a class) was pretty amazing as well.  Getting to experience up close the plants and animals that are so wildly different from our own was just another reminder of the many wonders of evolution.  It's a shame humans had to go and mess up such a beautiful process.  There were so many other topics we covered--genetically altered food, thermophiles at the bottom of the ocean, the medicinal properties of manuka honey (which I plan to remember when I'm a doctor some day)--it was hard to keep track of it all!  In a good way, of course.

All in all, this was probably the most amazing and memorable month of my life.  I still can't believe all the things I got to do and see, and I can't wait to go back to do it all again.  And now I'll wrap up the sappiness with a kudos to J. D. for such a brilliantly planned trip…of course now I think I would expect nothing less from a kiwi.

Cheers!
Brandi

Wow. Just wow. There’s really no other way to describe our last week in New Zealand. Sitting at home now, I’m trying to convince myself that it really happened. You’d think 40 hours on a plane or in an airport would sink things in. Anyway, New Zealand didn’t disappoint in the last few days.  Skydiving, yes SKYDIVING, at 12,000 feet in Queenstown is definitely at the top of the amazing experiences list. It was the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen and such a rush! Traveling through the South Island, one of the things that was most unique to me was how there would be snow covered mountains in front of you and green ones behind. The Mirror Lakes were some of my favorite scenery. Beautiful, blue, and clear enough to cast perfect reflections of the mountains behind them.  But the Southern Alps and Mt. Cook took the cake for views.  It wouldn’t be the end of the trip without one last hike and it definitely tested all of us, but was so worth it in the end. I’m not sure anything will top this trip and, while I can’t speak for all of us, I know I’m looking at the rest of my summer wondering “What now?”

Lisa Snider

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

Climbing Mt. Cook
The South Island has been amazing!! The North Island was beautiful- the ocean and beaches...but nothing compared to the Southern Alps! Everywhere you look there are snow-capped mountains, HUGE snow-capped mountains. We’ve explored Queenstown, been cruising on two different fiords, and now climbed the tallest peak on the South Isle. This trip has been amazing!
We woke up Saturday morning nestled in our YHA-cabin, parked right at the base of Mt. Cook, snow blanketing the ground outside. We then had our morning cookies and took off trekking towards the TALL mountain, 3,754 meters tall. First crossing a small creek, then up the mountain we went. UP, UP and UP the mountain we went…UP and UP…STAIRS. The ENTIRE way, I’m talking like, straight up the mountain, and this was a “2 hour return” trip. And up those stairs is the only option and then straight back down, so you can just imagine how many stairs there were- quite the experience. But when we all finally reached the top, the view was worth it. We could see the small village we had stayed in down below, and the mountains around us didn’t seem to be quite as tall anymore. And the snow around us was breathtaking; literally, the air was much thinner up there! Yeah, the trek was definitely worth it, now I can say “I have climbed Mt. Cook in New Zealand!”
Stephanie

This week on the south island has been amazing, and my favorite part by far had to be the sounds (which are actually fjords). Our group had the opportunity to go on two nature cruises- one through Milford Sound and the other through Doubtful Sound. Milford Sound was really gorgeous and held a lot of history. Captain Cook originally didn’t even notice the fjord, because the mountains appear to overlap and form one land mass. Of course, eventually someone got close enough to realize that wasn’t the case at all, and thus Milford Sound was named so by the Europeans. The guide on the cruise explained to us the significance of several waterfalls, crevices, etc. to the Maori people, including one waterfall that was said to make one look younger in a day if he or she allowed the spray to hit his or her face. I did so. However, I did not wake up the next morning looking like a child. Doubtful Sound was actually my favorite of the two, and that cruise took place the following day. Getting there involved Brian (our bus driver) driving us 30 minutes to meet a fairy which took us across the water in an hour to meet another bus which drove another hour before arriving to Doubtful Sound. The fairy and bus ride were both rather scenic and set up the “nature-y” mood for the cruise. Throughout the duration of this lovely ride and I saw seals, penguins, and dolphins. The seals were lazily lounging on the water’s edge, sprawled across rocks. The penguins would only pop out of the water long enough for me to miss the picture, and the dolphins danced happily through the water, just far enough away so that a clear photo was impossible. Nonetheless, it was spectacular to watch these animals in their own, natural habitat. As the boat made its way back to meet the bus, the sun was setting. Although we couldn’t see the sun, the many colors of the sunset glistened off the snow-covered mountains for the perfect end of a wonderful day.
-Kayla Treece

Photos court. Jenny

The pics below are of: Waitomo Cave wandering, White Island Wandering, Our Farewell to Pete, our intrepid bus driver, Taupo Bungy, and Hot Water Beach