Highlights from New Zealand in pictures!

Before I begin, anyone who reads this needs to understand one thing first. I LOVE NEW ZEALAND! I dated a guy after my freshman year at BYU (7 years ago...man I'm gettin' old) who had just returned home from serving a mission in New Zealand and Kiribi (a small Pacific Island). He told me stories about the places and people he met and I fell in love with the country and have since then wanted to go and see for myself. I can't quite describe the excitement I felt when we started to fly over the east side of the South Island on our way to Christchurch on the west side. But I was like a kid in the toy store (wait...I'm still kinda like that now...) It was my dream coming true and I wanted to take in and experience every second of it! We were only there for 4 days and I'm already plotting for my next trip over there, because there NEEDS to be another one. :)

Ok so here we go...

I took these pics from the plane as we flew over the South Island. First you start with the majestic, snow covered mountains, that diminish into green farmland, and end in the Pacific Ocean.

Our first night there we went and learned about the Maori culture and watched a performance of traditional Maori dance...including the Haka (go Cougars!). We got to try the women's dance with the Poi balls...its a lot harder than it looks! I bought some Poi balls so I could get my groove on back here in the states. :)

Eve kept whackin' me with her poi balls.
After our Maori experience we went on a gondola ride up to a really fancy restuarant for dinner. This was on the way down...I was freezing!

The next morning Brooke and I went on a "running tour of Christchurch" as we tried to find a grocery store to buy some cereal and milk for breakfast. I'm sure we ran about 3 miles trying to find the store...but again, it was a great time!

This is a piece of the Twin Towers from 9-11. New Zealand was the first country to come to the aid of the US and President Bush thanked them by giving them these remains. That's pretty cool. Oh my gosh!!! Fruit Loops in New Zealand! I was one happy girl! :)

Later that day we went swimming with dolphins in the Pacific Ocean off the coast. The country side on the way to Akaroa was incredible! It was a little gloomy (and really cold) but it was still amazing!

Here we are in our wet suits! I loved that dang thing...If I could wear black neoprene everyday I would. :)

On the bus on our way to church. It was pretty cold so we had to bundle up under our church clothes. So ya know...just changin' on the bus on the way there. :)

We met a family in the ward that was from Oregon and they invited us over to dinner Sunday night. They invited us all back to visit sometime and I am definitely planning on taking them up on that offer!

So I started to feel sick Sunday night and had to stay home all day Monday with the flu. Wouldn't have been that big of a deal, except that the freakin' swine flu scare was in full effect in New Zealand and Australia. I missed out on the ATV adventure on the coast so I could stay home and sleep all day, trying to bring my fever down. I went down to the front desk and asked what a good fever reducer was that I could go buy at the store and the lady working started to freak out and told me to go to the quarentine office immediately. Are you kidding me? I just walked away shaking my head. The Sydney Airport had body temperature sensors in customs and if I had any sign of a fever, I would have been quarentined in Australia until they ran tests to determine if I had the swine flu or not. That was NOT going to happen since I was going to graduate on Friday! So...home I stayed. :(

Anyway, I LOVED my time in New Zealand and just got a taste of what that country has to offer and I can't wait to go back!

Here's a little highlight from my trip to Sydney, Australia...in pictures

DAY 1

Brooke and I on the gondola ride that took us to the top of the Taranga Zoo in Sydney. Behind us is the Sydney Harbor. What an incredible view! Anyways, Brooke is the whole reason I finally got to go to Australia in the first place. I talked her into doing her last physical therapy internship there so that I could come visit after. Worked like a charm : )
And PS...I LOVE the Zoo!!

Kangaroos like to roll over and scratch their bellies...just like me!
Wanna be a wallaby?
All of us girls and some chimps. Chelsea (Brooke's old roommate), Me, Brooke, Hannah (grew up with Brooke in Brawley, CA), and Eve (Hannah's roommate). We are quite the good lookin' bunch.
We took a little harbor cruise to get to the zoo and this was on the way back in front of the Sydney Opera House. Way cool!
We went to they Sydney Aquarium too!
This is a Dugong. Brooke likes them "big and chunky" HAHAHAHAHAHA!! And I like to randomly make dugong faces...
Me just bein' me :)
And I thought my mouth was big! (the boys don't seem to mind...hahaha. j/k)
DAY 2

So in true, Brooke-like fashion, she and I went on a literal "running tour of Sydney" and these are some of my favorite pics from that. And I have to admit...I love'd every second of it. It was a great way to see the city.

We started from our downtown hotel and ran across the harbor bridge. This pic must have been taken on the way back across...check out that sweat!

So that's the bridge we ran across and back, then we went around part of the harbor on our way to the Opera House. And of course, I had to work it with the pole ;)
It's a good thing I had been taking the stairs at my internship (all 24 flights) so I could rock the Sydney Opera House stairs!
And we ran through the Botannical Gardens. Beautiful.
Haha. Look what I found (Brooke did not appreciate this moment like I did...)
Takin' a break for a quick game of chess in Hyde Park
And the physiotherapy (that's what the rest of the world calls physical therapists) clinic that Brooke interned at.
So after our morning fun run of 4-5 miles through the city of Sydney, we went to the beach for a 2.5 mile hike along the coast. We went from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach and the view was absolutely incredible the entire way! Here is just a taste of what we saw

How cool is this!! I wanted to take that sign home sooo bad! But I'm sure they would have stopped me in customs...
Sydney seriously had some of the best signs in the world! Just tryin' to do my part...

Hooray! We made it to Bondi Beach!
We did a little shopping along the beach...

Then jumped in the water! It was sooo windy and cold! But we are hard core girls. No messin' around :) And unfortunately, we didn't get any snorkeling in this trip...but that didn't stop us from havin' fun!
Later that night we went to the Sydney temple and did 50 of Chelsea's family names. We were there the same time as a Samoan group of youth. There was this one girl who kept asking us to talk so that she could hear our "American Accents" and thought that we were the coolest things next to bread and butter (or bread and veggiemite in this case...). What a great experience!

DAY 3

We took a 2 hour train ride out to Katoomba and went and saw the Blue Mountains. The mountains are covered in Eucalyptus trees that give off a blue gas into the air and that's what gives the blue hue to the mountains and their name. I thought that was pretty interesting

This range is called the "Three Sisters". Apparently these sisters were a bit promiscuous and their dad turned them into rocks for their own good...
And another fabulous sign in Australia. If you can't read the sign it says."Please take your rubbish out with you". Brooke just tryin' to do her part...

We hurried home from the mountains and went and saw The Nutcracker at the Sydney Opera House. It was pretty amazing being in the Opera House. Me, being the band geek that I am, absolutely loved the music from the orchestra and the acoustics of the building. Incredible. I also was pretty spent by this time. 3 days of non-stop action was starting to take its toll on me and I was ready for bed! (Brooke, Chelsea, and I shared the king size bed...that was an experience all in itself...good times)
And that's pretty much the run down of our adventures in Sydney, Australia. I've always wanted to go to Australia and I'm so glad I took advantage of this opportunity to go. Even though a good number of my witty one-liners went unappreciated and I had to share a bed with 2 other girls...I had the time of my life! :)

Sydney Adventure: Departure

I did everything right. I had everything packed in a carry-on so there was no chance that my luggage would be lost. I got to the airport ridiculously early. I was ready to go. I was supposed to leave SLC at 8:48pm and had a little more than 30 min to get to my connecting flight at LAX to take me to Sydney, Australia. Then someone threw a snowball that just kept growing...
First, our flight was delayed. I didn't have much time for a flight delay. Heart rate starts to increase. I guess one of the flight crew had called in sick and we had to wait for another attendant to come in. there were 2 of us with connecting flights to Sydney and they let us know that we would have approximately 10 min to make it to our connecting flight. We would have to book it. LAX is huge! Ok, I can do that. I was undefeated in the 400m dash during the regular track season of my junior year of high school (10 years ago)--I can totally make it to this flight...
Then. Then I realized that my carry on luggage had to be checked at the door because we were flying in a small regional jet and it wouldn't fit in the overhead storage bins. This was a problem because I'd have to wait for my bag before running through LAX to catch my next flight. Shoot--Heart rate going even faster. I have no way to contact Brooke in Sydney if I miss my flight to Sydney. That's not good. So I ask the United Airlines attendant at the desk if there is any way we could fit my bag on the plane with us. nfortunately that wasn't going to work. Way to go carry-on luggage. But--the nice man who puts the door checked luggage on the plane told me he would put my bag on last so it would come off first and be ready at the door when I got off the plane in LA. Love this guy!! Then, the lady at the desk upgraded my ticket for my inconvienience. Love her too!! Heart rate starting to return back to normal. Too bad my long, 14 hour flight to Sydney couldn't get upgraded...
So things start to look up--except that I still only have 10 minutes to get on my next flight.
Since I had recently had a first class experience, I was excited and ready for another one. Endless snacks, real glasses, plenty of leg room, TV--WRONG! All I got was the "premium snack pack" (pretzels, nuts, and funny tasting cracker things), 1 cup of Sprite in a plastic cup with way too much ice (more like cup of ice with a hint of Sprite), and no movie or tv. I did have plenty of leg room as you can see. Yes, those are my legs fully stretched out. : )
After we boarded the plane and got settled, I met my friend, Brandon, who was about 7, lived in LA, and had been in SLC visiting his mom who is a member of the Salt Lake Roller Derby team. He liked to go surfing, has only been to Disneyland twice, and likes the Steelers football team (sorry Cardinals fans...Go Cards!) Brandon was having a tough time leaving his mom behind and a few tears had escaped from this brave little dude so I decided I would talk to him a little bit and try to help him take his mind off of it. I remember crying in Grandma's kitchen when I was a little, little girl as i would watch my daddy turn on the running lights to his blue, Ford truck and drive away after he dropped me off from our weekend visit. So I could relate to the little guy. This is Brandon after our little chat (I seem to have this affect on a lot of people...)
We finally land at LAX and the other guy, Dillan, and I take off running down the terminal to our next flight. You should have seen me!! I could have come straight out of a movie. My backpack kept coming unzipped as I was waddle-running through the airport pulling my little suitcase behind me. Not my most athletic performance. Good thing I decided to wear my running shoes and not my flip flops! Miraculously I made it onto the plane with 2 minutes to spare! I've never been on a plane that big before and was just in awe as I walked down the aisle to find my seat wondering how on earth something so big was going to get up in the air and carry me over 7500+ miles of ocean to Sydney...Ok. Now I'm ready to go. 14 hour flight and I'll be in Sydney--I made it. WRONG AGAIN! Our flight ended up being delayed 80 min due to some problem with the #3 engine. Great. Just what I need. An engine proplem when I'm flying over THE PACIFIC OCEAN FOR 14 HOURS! Just Fabulous. Take all the time you need...
So while I'm waiting for take off, still catching my breath from running from terminal to terminal to try to catch my flight on time, I overhear the conversation of the man and woman sitting behind me. Apparently they had just met and were discussing different "sexual talents" they have (I don't think these talents are what the Lord had in mind when giving the parable of the talents...), brothels around the world (this girl was apparently well traveled), and the fact that the girl was no longer wearing a bra...OH MY GOODNESS PEOPLE...WE ARE IN PUBLIC! ON AN AIRPLANE...YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!
Once we got into the air (finally) my flight itself was rather uneventful. I think I slept for a total of 10.5-11 hours with frequent changes in position. I was only mildly impressed with the functioning of the neck pillow I had purchaces for $12 back in SLC. I think I'll gift that to my sister when I get back--she has a shorter neck, might work better for her... My internal clock woke me up for each meal thank goodness. Flying makes me hungry. Dinner was pretty tastey. I must have been sitting next to Brooke when I ordered my meals because it was the "low fat" meal option complete with sugar free cookie. I never would have ordered a sugar free cookie on my own...EVERYBODY knows that! I missed out on French Toast for breakfast too...dang healthy omlete... I won't be making that mistake again anytime soon.
Brooke picket me up at the airport--so good to see her! As we were walking through the airport, I was stopped by 2 television reporters who wanted to interview an American about the "swine' flu and how it had affected my travel. It hadn't really affected my travel at all (although ironically it would on my way back to the States...but that's a story for another blog...). The first reporter really wasn't interested in what I had to say and walked away while the second one humored me and coninued the 2 minute interview. 10 minutes in Australia and I'm already a celebrity! Right on!
We took the train into the city (Sydney) and walked to the hotel. We didn't wait around long once we got to the hotel to get our day started. I took a quick shower and off we went!
To be continuted... *wink wink*