::7.3.11:: NewZealand.

These next two pictures were taken within two hours of each other....just goes to show how drastically the scenery changes around here. You almost feel as though you are driving through different countries.

The pictures of New Zealand don't even begin to do it justice....we pulled over on our drive to snap this picture, and it felt like we were driving through a Hidden Valley Ranch commercial! We've also decided that if someone actually wanted to go cow tipping, this would be the place to do it.....today we passed many cows grazing on the sides of cliffs, and some lining mountains.....we think all it would take would be a little nudge....or perhaps a strong breeze. Just an FYI to anyone that's interested...

Yes, it's July. (I have to keep reminding myself...) July 3rd actually.....Happy Anniversary to us! :) LoVe.

Here Andy is crossing the bridge to get to our jump point yesterday. Our jump was not a true bungy, in that we didn't dive head first, it was swing style, so we started off with a free fall...pretty much face first, and then moved into a swinging motion that seemed to be barreling us at the mountain range in front of us. Quite the rush...pics to come, we purchased all photos and the video from our jump company. One of my favorite moments....a split second before we were released the lady asked if we were ready...I replied,

"Yes", and Andy replied, "No"....and then we were free falling.
LOVED IT!!! :)


Tomorrow we are back to Christchurch to catch our flight up to Auckland. We will spend one night in Auckland before heading back home. On the way here it was bizarre, we never had a Saturday due to the time change, but on the way home, we leave Tuesday evening Auckland time and arrive home Tuesday evening Minneapolis time, despite the 20 hours of plane trips.... So I guess it all evens out.

Another random thing that we learned about New Zealand...motels are not the same as at home. I am currently sitting at the computer next to a super nice flat screen TV, our kitchen has heated floor tiles, bathroom is amazing, the couch is comfortable, and Andy is resting on the King Sized bed....in the morning, we will probably have coffee on the balcony...oh wait, it's winter....scratch that. You get the picture...no complaints here! :)

Love from New Zealand

J&A

Stories from NZ....

Well, if we came to New Zealand looking for adventure, we were successful!

The following pictures/stories will include: blinkers, sheep, driving, scarves, Milford Sound, gas stations, and high anxiety moments!

Holy sh!t, look at all the sheep!! :) They were lining the mountainsides and roads everywhere...

On our drive to Milford Sound, these clouds were lingering in all of the valleys.




YES....

1)I am driving...

2) On the right hand side of the car...

3)On the left side of the road...

4) With a winter hat & scarf on...

(After the first few roundabouts, and windshieldwashers instead of blinkers, I was feeling pretty comfortable.....with the driving, not the cold!)






I'm ducking down because these rocks are in a riverbed just below a one lane bridge in the mountains near Milford Sound. Nothing scarier than turning the corner and preparing to cross the bridge hoping another car doesn't come barreling around from the other direction!

The drive there was full of anxiety due to the road conditions and gas tank issues.....but the views at Milford Sound were worth the drive. It was like an area of serenity surrounded by the chaos of the rugged mountain terrain.

Andy took this shot on his own...Sunset at Milford Sound.

I'd say I'm doing pretty well with all the nature stuff for a city girl...I know I know, most people probably wouldn't hike around carrying their purse....but hey, I was out there hiking right??! Someone needs to be the "mule" and carry all of our crap around....Maps (check) Sunglasses x2 (check) Passports when needed (check) Camera/iPhone (check) Kleenex (check) Credit Card/local currency (check) granola bars...water bottle (check) rental car key (check)......so actually, now that I think about it, let's not call it my purse....let's just call it our lives.....so yes, I carried our lives around while we were hiking! :)


Now, if you ever travel to NZ and plan to rent a car...here's a little rule of thumb.

LITERALLY, fill the gas tank whenever you see a gas station. No joke. Because there will probably not be another one on the road for a few hours....and if there is....it may not be attended/in working condition/accept cash/your credit cards...

You know there's a story behind this....I'll give you the short version because I need to get some sleep.

We left at 6:45 am to make the drive to Milford Sound. We had 1/4 tank of gas, so we stopped in town at the gas station, but it wasn't open and "pay at the pump" didn't exist, so we started our journey and decided we would get gas in the next town. It was dark out still, so navigating through the winding roads was stressful enough. There were no towns in sight...... We approached the big mountain pass and our drive became even more difficult...our little rental car didn't go up the mountain roads too quickly....anyhow as we were making our way through the mountain, I glanced over at the gas gauge when Andy was driving and out of the corner of my eye, noticed that it was near E....my heart was racing, but I didn't say anything, because really, what is saying anything going to do in that situation?? Make a BP Station appear? I think not. You could have cut the tension in the car with a knife!

Andy asked me to look and see how far the next town was from the mountain pass. I looked and found "Terras" listed on our map, but really being listed doesn't mean anything, because the town we stayed that night in was HUGE on the map and it only had 216 residents....I told him it seemed like it would be 30km after the pass to Terras. (Sidenote: I failed a few "map tests" in geography in middle school....) So we kept on chugging along.....my heart was racing....in fact, if we could have hooked my heart up to the car, we would have had no problem flying up all of the mountain roads!!

Andy and I both felt better after clearing the mountains, but we decided we better start looking for a good place to stop and ask for help because we knew we were going to run out of gas any second. At the sight of any farm, you could see us both process if we should stop the car there...we decided to keep going and eventually saw the sign for Terras!! Woohoo civilization....maybe. We found one gas station.....

Andy and I were both so excited to see this ghetto old gas pump and credit card machine next to it!!! Woooohooo! HOWEVER....of course, our cards did not work....and the shop that this gas tank was located outside of....didn't open for three more hours....

and this was what our gas gauge looked like....literally on E.

Amazingly, within five minutes a car pulled up a young girl about our age rushing to work. I told her I had $20 cash and asked if she would use her card to get us some gas. Because she is the nicest person ever, like all the Kiwis are (NZ residents...) she said NO WORRIES. Thank God!!!

The $20 in gas got us to the next town (about 35 km away) where there was a real gas station and we paid about $65 more to fill up the rest of the tank....

Oh yes, just another adventure on this crazy New Zealand holiday....

By the way, tonight we are back at the little one room cabin in the middle of nowhere. We loved it so much, we came back!

xoxo more stories to come...

J&A

Update from the top of the mountains....we survived!

We survived the Nevis Swing! :) LOVED it!

Just wanted to let you know so you weren't worried!


XoXo
J&A

Are you scared of heights? I sure hope not.....

I promised my Mom I wouldn't tell her if we were going bungy jumping in NZ until after we went. Well, we are sitting at the tour place waiting to go, and because I know she is up north for the 4th, and she won't read this until afterwards, I just wanted everyone else to know what we are about to do! We will be doing what is called the Nevis Swing, from the highest bungy point in New Zealand!! We're in it together, tandem style. Wooohooo! 160meters above the river.....

Wish us luck!!

Love from Queenstown, NZ.....Nevis Swing :)

xoxo jen and andy