for the second half of first term, i took a trip to new zealand!
it was wonderful......
to get there, we had to spend a month crossing the pacific on the Nathaniel B. Palmer
the Palmer is a big shiny research vessel that does research in Antarctica for most of the year. it also breaks ice up to 4 meters thick (!) so that other ships can deliver supplies in Antarctica.
it was pretty boring to be out on a boat for a month, so when we reached Lyttleton Harbor we were really excited!
the first thing i learned about new zealand is that it is absolutely beautiful!
breathtaking!
also there's really great ice cream in NZ...
...and funny signs
after a brief field trip to the west coast, janessa and i set out on an adventure of our own
we got to take trains!!!
i love new zealand!
i love new zealand!
i love new zealand!
the hairy lemon --a totally rockin hostel where the office and the bar are one and the same
after traveling north along the west coast, we spent three days in the wine country --touring vineyards, tasting wine, having a great time. the first day we hired a van and a driver for $30US apiece and went winetasting at 11 wineries!
the next day we decided to kick back a bit and bike it ourselves
we spent a day in greymouth going cave rafting to see glow worms (yes, they really do exist!) it was a long hike in, and when we got there we were totally ready to start scrambling around on rocks!
the excitement was too much for ryan
it was totally fun to climb around where there was water everywhere... there was even a natural waterslide!
alisa, my totally cool roomate from the boat took most of these pictures, thank you alisa!
ryan, janessa, and chris --kickin it in the cave
more scrambling
chris + stalactites = love
i love the stalactites too
yay! we're almost to the end!
the cave fun is ending, but we had to stop and pose for one last picture
thus concludes the big adventure.
more pictures can be seen on ryan's site, chris' site, and alisa's site