Whoa--the bullets in my last post, turned into weird Y's with dots on the top. Trippy... Well, they're supposed to be bullets. :)

Turns out--I'm going home!

So I’ve been in New Zealand for a few months. If you didn’t know that, you probably should have been reading my blog a little closer. In church the other day (I was still listening, I promise) I started making this list and was surprised to see how long it had become. Enjoy!

In New Zealand, I've learned:

Ÿ I love my family-- I missed them like crazy every day. Everything I saw and learned here reminded me of them and how amazing they are. The members of my family are my best friends and I would be nothing without their support and examples.
Ÿ I am blessed beyond explanation-- Well….it’s beyond explanation.
Ÿ I hate kayaking--Who knew? I always thought I’d love it. Why not? Turns out, I have never hated anything more. So what did I learn in NZ? What never to do again.
Ÿ I love nature but…-- I always thought that I loved nature so much that I could just live out in the woods. Not so much. I do love nature but I love the comforts of home too; too much to abandon them for more than three days at a time.
Ÿ I hate cold water-- Kayaking? Surfing? In this weather?!
Ÿ I hate rain and nothing will ever change my opinion-- I realize that rain is necessary for replenishing the earth, but I only enjoy the experience of rain if I am safely and warmly indoors.
Ÿ I have to know what I’m talking about before I share the gospel-- I have had plenty of missionary opportunities here and I’ve ruined most of them because I don’t know enough about what I believe--about how to explain it simply to someone on the outside. I have a lot to learn about that.
Ÿ I love curry, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mayo, 1000 island dressing…-- And a bazillion other things that I never would have eaten at home. Ok, maybe love is too strong of a word for most of those but, you get the idea.
Ÿ I despise writing papers-- I felt like I had to write a paper a week here even though I only wrote a total of about five. But, I didn‘t enjoy any of them. Man, no fun.
Ÿ I LOVE to read--I’ve always known this but through high school and college where time to read somehow disappears, I forgot that. New Zealand gave me time to read again and reminded me that I LOVE it.
Ÿ E-mails are great but there’s just nothing like a phone call-- I e-mail my parents almost daily and yet, I yearn for the days, about once a week, that I get to call them. It rejuvenates me like nothing else.
Ÿ I’m going to miss my bike-- I never had any strong feelings either way about bikes, but my bike here has represented my freedom and I’m going to miss having it--even if I have a car!
Ÿ I take my healthy body for granted-- I can do SO much because of my body. I realized after I hurt my feet and couldn’t run for so long that I take that simple ability to run for granted. I can run! I can jump! I can bike! I can do so many things that so many people can’t do. How incredible.
Ÿ This country is beautiful-- I’ve never seen anything like it. There is so much diversity in the landscape here.
Ÿ There is great power in simple testimonies-- As I sat in church last week, I marveled at the power that is found in the bearing of simple, humble testimony.
Ÿ I love BYU-- I already knew I loved that university but I have a new appreciation for it now after being at SIT for a few months. No one can smoke on campus, the campus isn’t tiny, it’s organized and… just great.
Ÿ I miss my straightener-- I really do. Turns out, I’m high maintenance.
Ÿ I’m spoiled rotten-- My time here has truly taught me this. We as Americans have an incredible amount of wealth. My parents spoil me (not that I’m unappreciative) and I am spoiled to live in such a great, free country. Just spoiled. Period.
Ÿ Never underestimate the power of your influence--Wow. In this small branch, I was just astounded to see how the members marvel at us, and are just so happy to have us in their midst. Weird.
Ÿ The prospect of being a missionary is scary-- I’ve always thought that I’d like to serve a mission--not that I will necessarily, but that I’d like it and be pretty good at it. Well, in my brief experiences sharing the gospel here, I am now afraid of being a missionary, preaching the gospel to people who will most likely reject me, and being so far away from my home and family for so long.
Ÿ Share your talents!-- I just rediscovered a quote from John Bytheway today that says, “Silent pianos don’t attract crowds.” That quote obviously has a little bit of a double meaning for me. :) I have played the piano in every sacrament meeting and choir practice since I’ve been in New Zealand. It is incredible how grateful the branch is for what is for me, a very simple and painless task. The lesson--don’t hesitate--share your talents!! Offer what you can; it will be appreciated.
Ÿ I’m not as tough as I thought-- I’ve always considered myself a tough girl, able to handle and do things that most other girls at least, might not be able to do. Well, turns out, I’M A PANSY! Really! I’m terrified of kayaking, I don’t like being dirty or wet, and there are some things (rocks, I mean…) that I just can’t climb. I might be tough, but there are plenty of people tougher than me, and plenty of things I’m not tough enough to do.
Ÿ I get homesick-- This really surprised me. I’ve never really been homesick--ok, maybe at camp in 5th grade, but never at college or anything. But I was homesick here to the point of just feeling empty inside when I thought of my far-away family. Luckily, that passed pretty quickly but it made me realize that I may love traveling but I miss home too much to make a habit of doing it too often--or at least without them. :)
Ÿ I’m proud to be an American-- Not surprisingly, we sometimes have a bad reputation as tourists, but I still love being American! There’s no doubt that even with all the problems our country might have, it is a great country. We are free and have so much. The land of opportunity--how true that is!
Ÿ Cadbury chocolate is good-- It just is. It’s dang good.
Ÿ I think I’m addicted to Solitaire-- I love playing solitaire on my computer. When I have a spare moment, or I’m trying to put off doing an assignment, I will sit and play solitaire on my laptop for…a long time. I’ll tell myself, “just one more game” a ton of times and end up losing multiple games before I finally make myself shut my computer. Good thing it doesn’t cost money. Or I’d be gambling. It’s still no good though, I get it.

This list is by no means all-inclusive. Some were just too personal to list on my blog. Others, I’ve simply forgotten. There are also definitely a lot of obvious things, like how to surf, tying knots and reading weather patterns that I purposely didn’t include. This list is more to remind me of the things that I really learned here. Things that I learned that might change my life. Things that I will always remember. As our wise instructors told us just last week, out in the elements, out in the rugged beauty of New Zealand’s nature, we are exposed for who we really are. I am grateful for that exposure, for it has helped me discover many things about myself and how I want to live my life that I might not otherwise have ever known. Thank you for sticking with me and sharing my experiences with me through this blog and through your e-mails. My time here has been unforgettable. As this chapter of my life closes however, I am filled with excitement for all that I have yet to encounter and accomplish. See you all soon!

The End of the 12-Passenger Vans: Can Life Go On???

These last couple of days, we have been on our final trip. Monday--in Te Anau, and Tuesday in Milford Sound. When we arrived in Te Anau on Monday morning, we all kind of split into different groups for the day. I chose to stay with a group that was going to drive about an hour away and hike part of the Routeburn track. About half of our group hiked Routeburn in the pouring rain about a month ago, and I thought it would be fun to experience at least part of such a famous track. The road to Routeburn was extremely windy and I think about half the van was carsick by the time we got there. The whole thing was worth it though for the three hour hike that we did. It was beautiful. I found it very refreshing to be on such a nice, organized, manicured track after our most recent experiences tramping through the bush. There were definitely some fantastic views. I took this picture becuase I thought it would give my viewers back home an idea of what tramping trails are often like in New Zealand. Most of them are usually just dirt trails through forests but when you get up on towards the top like this, or have to traverse through bog land, they put these wood tracks up. It's very NZ-esque. That's an incredible view isn't it? It's sort of sad that I'm starting to take that for granted as just being what New Zealand looks like. I still love it though!

This was the whole group that went to Routeburn on Monday. We had fun!

When we got back into town that night, we ate at one of the many pizza places in town. It was SO good. I have been craving pizza for a while now and I was very satisfied. :) After dinner, we just wandered around town and looked in souvenir shops. Te Anau is a really small town, and we are a really big group, so before long, we had all found each other and were just hanging out in town. Stefanie also found her parents! That was exciting. We met up with them and the whole group had a fun time getting to know the Tanners

The next morning, we left pretty early for Milford Sound. It was about a two hour drive from Te Anau but turned into three since we stopped at every single lookout on the way there. It was okay though--the views were amazing. Fiordland is gorgeous. We got to Milford just in time to board our cruise! We ate lunch on the boat and they just drove us through Milford Sound. We stopped at an underwater observatory and had a look around for a while, and then they drove us back to the port. The whole thing was absolutely breathtaking. A fjord is one of those things that really makes you feel insignificant--everything is so massive and beautiful. After unloading from the boat, we started the four hour drive home. All in all, it was a good trip!

This was taken from our cruise. Enjoy the beautiful views, but know that Stefanie took this picture--not me. I really like this one though. Thanks Stef! :)

Just one of the many random lookouts we stopped at. I must admit, at the end of this multi-month trip, I have started to lose my motivation to pull out my camera at every turn. So this last trip, I started letting other people take the pictures. Don't worry, I'll get them all eventually, but I just don't have them now. There was a point to this...oh yeah! We took a really great picture here that I don't have SO, just picture about ten people frolicking around in this giant field in front of those amazing mountains. It's great.

Most of our time here can be traced back to a trip in a 12-passenger van. It's kind of weird to think that our time in them is over. If you count up the amount of hours we've all spent together, traversing New Zealand in large, bumpy vans, I'm sure it'd be close to 100. So can life go on without these vans? A resounding--YES. :)

My Last Sunday

Remember how I have to bike to church? Hopefully you all got a chance to see the picture of Stefanie and I in our Sunday biking outfits; church shoes, gym shorts and a backpack. Every Sunday, we sit in our room and pack our backpacks full of the things we need for church; a pen, notebook, scriptures, Joseph Smith manual and the all-important skirt. Every week, I almost forget my skirt. As I run through my mental checklist, I realize that I don’t have it and hurry and put it in my bag. Just last week, Stefanie and I mused on the way to church what would happen if one of us actually forgot our skirt one week. We both decided that it would just be too bad, and we would just sit through church in gym shorts and church shoes. Little did I know, that just one week later, I would have the opportunity to put my resolution to the test. That’s right--I forgot my skirt. And I realized this within feet of the church building. I didn’t have time to go back and get it anyway. Stefanie and I had a good laugh about it, but then I just resolved to go through the awkward experience of being inappropriately dressed for sacrament meeting. However I forgot in my flustered state, that I AM THE PIANIST!! Not only did I have to sit through sacrament meeting in gym shorts, but I had to sit in front of the entire congregation and play the piano. It was quite the experience. At least I sort of matched. Most people told me they didn’t even notice until I said something. So, all in all, it wasn’t that terrible of an experience but it was inevitable I suppose--the last Sunday in Invercargill, I do what I’d threatened to do every Sunday since arriving here--I forget my skirt.

Also on Sunday, I said goodbye to my favorite pair of jeans. They have been so good to me but the crotch is ripping, and there is a hole in the pocket that is beyond repair and slowly spreading down the whole leg. I decided I didn't want to tow my delapidated jeans back home so...I ripped them up! There's a video too but here's a picture of the aftermath. Sad, right?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Mountain Biking

Last Saturday, I had my first mountain biking experience. It was so fun. I also found it difficult and terrifying (in fact, the scariest thing I've done in New Zealand--minus kayaking of course), but I’m excited to do it again. The best part of the whole experience was by far the crash I had. I went over a log, and the next thing I knew, I was stuck head first in a pile of sticks. I didn’t feel any pain, so I had my comrades take a picture before prying me out. The picture is a little blurry, but hopefully it gives you some idea of my predicament. :) Really, I just wanted to share with all of you my new and very inexperienced love for mountain biking. The end.

The tramp to end all tramps

If I talked you before leaving on our last tramping trip, then you know that I was anything but excited to go. For about two weeks prior to our trip, our instructors had been leading us around the deep bushland of New Zealand with maps and compasses with seemingly little purpose but to get us frustrated and lost in pokey bushes and trees. After some humbling experiences and discussions, I have realized that of course, there was a purpose to all of this. I just took me a long time to see it.



Monday morning we set off from SIT. The drive took a couple of hours and the whole way, I was relishing the time in the van. When we got to where we would begin our "journey" as they liked to call it, I did NOT want to get out of the car. I waited until the last possible moment, then jumped out and donned my pack. Our instructors gave us a little information about how the next three days would go and that it was a time for us to reflect on our lives and particularly our time in New Zealand. All of it sort of went in one ear and out the other for me as I was in a very terrible mood.



They gave us the coordinates of our destination, told us to work as a team and then sent us out into the bush. There was a trail, but we were banned from taking it. Luckily, the weather was really nice and we stayed dry and warm. Unfortunately, none of that helped my mood--even though it should have. After a lot of group discussions and wrong turns, we made it to our campsite. I was surprised at how quickly and effectively we made our bivvy that night. I was toasty warm and though I didn't sleep that great, I slept much better than I thought I would.



Because of my bad awful mood, I didn't really take any pictures the first day, or the whole trip really (these pictures are mostly supplied by Stefanie's ever-present camera), but this one is worth posting:




The man you see who looks naked other than his very large coat and red beanie is Tony, one of our instructors. If you look closely, you can Jason, another instrutor, in the background, effectively sporting what they insist is typical New Zealand tramping garb. The outfit is as follows: no cotton, just polyprop shirts and other fleece insulating layers as necessary, "stubbies" (aka--very short shorts), gaters and boots. They look ridiculous but insist that its the only way to tramp.

Call me a sherpa

Turns out the off and on rain from the night before was mostly on for all of Tuesday. It was pouring when we finally made ourselves get out from under our shelter and embark on our tramping for the day. It was more of the same, with our instructors telling us where we needed to end up and then letting us loose. It was easier today because we could see our destination pretty clearly--the top of a mountain. We struggled through the bush all day, soaking wet and walking uphill the whole time until finally we popped out of the trees, into sunlight, and stared at the large mountain looming in front of us.

Unfortuately, we had to sit, exposed in the wind for two hours and wait for group B (the other half of our class) to catch up with us. That got very cold. Eventually, we were on the move again and made the slow trek up and over the mountain. By the time I'd reached the peak and was headed back down the other side, the wind had picked up and the rain turned to hail. As it pelted my face, I stopped, looked down at myself and thought, I have got to get a picture of myself. Hopefully you can see in this picture why...


I looked like a sherpa. I was wearing big wooly gloves, using a stick to hike with, carrying a ginormous pack, and charging up the side of a mountain peak. I thought it was pretty funny. Hopefully some of you can find the humor as well.

I call this one: Huddling behind a giant rock.

Shock of all shockers, we had to wait, huddled behind a giant rock AGAIN for group B to catch up to us. This time was even colder than before. From there, our instructors had us all stick really close together so we wouldn't lose anyone considering the pretty intense weather. We completed the remainder of our hike to the campsite by about 7:30 that night. We set up our "bivvy" (or shelter) as quickly as possible, had some hot dinner, and then all climbed into our sleeping bags as close together as we could muster.

This is me unloading for the night. Unfortunately, that outfit is actually what I wore for three days straight--except replace the chacos with hiking boots. It's not about style, just comfort and warmth.


For some reason, we were all slightly hysterical that night and the bedtime conversation was hilarious. That probably explains why Stefanie and I took more crazy pictures of ourselves. I woke up about 1am absolutely famished!! I had no idea how I was going to make it 'til morning, especially considering how I also had to go to the bathroom and I couldn't feel my toes. At about 4am, I realized that half of our group was awake and we all started talking about how cold, hungry or thirsty we were. It was hilarious. That was probably one of the highlights of the trip for me. Thankfully, I had my iPod and a good book to read in my sleeping bag as I didn't do much sleeping that night.
Here is a shot of the inside of our bivvy. The piece of wood that you can see on the left side of the picture is the middle of our shelter--that stick was holding the whole thing up. That's where I slept. I found out the hard way that if I bumped it, it fell over and the roof sort of caved in. Oops... The guy you can see at the bottom of the picture is none other than John Kappa, our instructor. I know you can't tell, but he was basically laying right on top of me and my stuff. Whatever it takes to be warm I guess. Don't worry--he didn't sleep there. He was just there visiting.

The Frosty End

Wednesday morning. The final day. It dawned beautiful and...FREEZING!!! We woke up to find all of our belongings, including our fancy tarp serving as our shelter covered in a nice thick layer of frost. We all crammed around camping stoves attempting to regain some kind of feeling in either our toes or our fingers. When everyone was finally ready, we hit the road. It was only about an hour hike back to our vans and when they came into view, we all cheered. Because of the short hike, Wednesday was pretty bearable.

Cool picture, right? This is one of the advantages of being a sweeper--you can get some great pictures at the back of the group.

The whole thing came to a culmination when we got back to the vans. Our instructors had us all sit down in a circle and told us that this was the end of our program. We were through. That hit a couple of people pretty hard. But they just had us reflect on our time here and things we'd done and learned. It's incredible to look back on all the experiences we've had together. I mean, I kayaked--I can do anything!! Really though, as we sat there and talked, I realized that I have learned a ton from these guys and from being out in nature where we are all exposed for who we really are. It was really interesting to just sit there in the cool, beautiful air and think about...everything. The last few months of my life have just been one unforgettable experience after the other. I think I'll have to get back to you on my complete list of thoughts about this whole experience. But those are the things that I thought about this week. Meanwhile...some views that as usual, made it all worth it...

Looks like something out of a movie, doesn't it?

The Spaniards invade New Zealand!

As I wrap up my last tramping experience, I just had to pay a tribute to a lovely bush we found on the trail that is called a "spaniard".

This bush might not look very dangerous but it is deadly! Those leaves are sharp. As we were pulling ourselves up mountains in the wind and rain, these spaniards were a nice additional obstacle to our assent.

This picture is just a random view into New Zealand. There are something like 40 times more sheep than people in New Zealand. That's a lot of sheep! As we drove home yesterday, we had to take a small detour around the sheep lining the road. Just one more crazy thing that happens in this country...

Hangi!

For RMYL 301, we had to do a gigantic class project. As a class, we decided that we wanted to throw a hangi for the branch here and for our homestays. What's a hangi you may ask? Well, hangi is a Maori feast that involves burying a pig, chicken, a ton of veggies and stuffing in the ground, covering it with hot rocks and dirt and then letting it cook for four hours under ground.

On Saturday morning, we all gathered at the church building to prepare the food to be cooked. I was put in charge of making steamed pudding. We had a recipe and all the ingredients sitting on a table in front of us. The only problem was, none of us had any idea what steamed pudding was. But, we set to work following the recipe as closely as possible. Come to find out, steamed pudding is basically spice cake and--it tasted great! That was definitely a relief. That's a sure way to ruin a party--ruin the dessert.

The steamed pudding team! Way to not ruin it girls!

For awhile there, I was pretty sure that the entire hangi was going to flop. We had two dead pigs on the back lawn of the church, peeled and cut vegetables everywhere and fry bread being made by the box load in the kitchen. It was complete chaos for a couple of hours. Much to my surprise, the guests started arriving at about 4pm and the food followed soon after that. And it was a success! Everyone loved it! Hangi food has a very interesting flavor. It tastes like some combination of smoke and dirt. Anyway, most people like it, but I...had sort of a hard time stomaching it. I loved the meat and ate a lot of salads (ones NOT cooked in the ground) but I had a hard time eating the vegetables and the stuffing.

In the end of the day, we had over 100 people there, about three times the number of Polynesians than I've ever seen at church and a TON of food. I think the night was a success. Defnitely the biggest class project that I've ever participated in.

Tramping: An In-Depth View of New Zealand's Finest Bushes

Alright! Here it is--the long awaited details of my three days in New Zealand's wilderness. For those of you who don't know, Kiwis call hiking, 'tramping'. It's kind of strange, I'll admit, but that's just the way it is. Hopefully, as you read the details of our trip, you will realize the double meaning of my 'in-depth' view of the bushes. Read on, and enjoy.

Thursday, March 20

I was supposed to be ready to leave by 7am. Experience thus far has taught me that 7 am really means about 8. However, I was ready at 7 and just read good old Eldest. At 8:30, Jacapo came to the door. I threw my bag in the trailer and hopped into the van with my other eleven comrades; Cameron, Tyler, Jacapo, Ramsey, Taylor, Julia, Lisa, Katie, Megan, Janelle and Kathy. I couldn’t help but smile as I smelled incense and noticed Jacapo burning some in the front seat. Of course. The smell blended nicely with his 1920s smooth jazz CD playing in the van. Eventually, I used my iPod to drown that out.

The before picture: Look how clean and happy we all are!

We started our tramp at the Borland Lodge. For about three or four hours we ust walked up a gravel road. It was a nice, warm day and we sweated as we trudged along. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful river and about an hour later, Jacapo and Ramsey stopped the group, pointed up a mountain, and we started climbing. Yeah--straight up a mountain. It was fun mostly. By the time we reached the top, my legs were completely scratched up to my knees. For about two hours probably, we used strong grass and bushes to pull ourselves up the face of the mountain. Literally--the method was: stick both of your arms up, grab tufts of grass, find a good foothold and heave your body up and hope the grass you’re holding is stronger than it looks. When we got to the top, we had to inch along a ridge and up some more bushes and finally--we were at our camp. It was just some random, tall grass at the top of a mountain. We fond a decent spot for our tent and then cooked dinner.

Notice how you can't really see us. That's because, the bushes are so tall and there's no trail!



Our camp site. So...where do you camp? Exactly what I thought. But hey--it worked.


Taylor, Julia, Lisa and I all shared a three-man tent. I was plenty warm, thanks to a sleeping bag of Sue’s (thanks Sue!) but a large mound of grass in the middle of my sleeping area was preventing me from finding sleep. So… I didn’t really sleep. In the morning, we found out that none of us had slept. We should have all had a party. That would have been more fun--and a lot less frustrating.
Our lovely morning faces. We slept pretty poorly...

Day 2: Day of Frustration

The view in the morning. It was beautiful but...


...cold and windy.

Friday, March 21

In our food group of four (Lisa, Cam, Tyler and myself) we had oatmeal for two breakfasts. Well… we ate it all Friday morning. The wind howled all night, which also prevented me from sleeping, and it was no better in the morning. We struggled to take our tent down in it. Bundled up, we prepared to hike. Thinking the wind would be better if we weren’t on top of a mountain, I figured we’d be heading down as soon as possible. Not so. I followed Ramsey and Jacapo, our fearless leaders, up the mountain. The wind literally blew me over three times. Three!! Twice, it was just funny because the hill wasn’t that steep and come on--people falling over like bowling pins in a 40 lb pack is just funny. The third time however, wasn’t humorous at all because I was on a mountain peak! It was so windy. We marched up and over the highest peak of the mountain which was cool but frightening in that wind! Words can not even describe it. Cameron physically pulled Lisa and I down to the ground at one point, insisting that it was too dangerous for us to walk. So… we crawled up the mountain for a while.

Ok, if you look closely at the above picture, you can see us walking along the edge of the mountain. About where we're walking, is where we camped. See the tallest peak of the mountain in the picture? That's the one we decided to walk up and over.

Remember that peak? There it is.

Once we started down the other side of the peak, the wind died down a little bit. We also found that the best way to get down the mountain was to get on your backside, put your feet up and slide. Effective--and fun. When Green lake and the hut came into sight, Cameron, Tyler and I just wanted to be there so we started down the mountain. The rest of the group took a different--and smarter--way down. We picked our way through a creek all the way down to the bottom. As we tramped/slid, I expected the hut to appear closer. It didn’t happen. At one point, I was pretty convinced that it was a mirage. That and the lack of trail by that point had driven me to utter frustration. Cameron was leading our small group of three and I started yelling at him to stop going around the mountain and just go down the mountain at one point. I just wanted it to flatten out--and it wasn’t happening! Finally, it was flat but every other step through the waist high tufts of grass landed my foot in a mud hole. By that time, all three of us trudged along in frustrated silence, willing the hut to get closer. Finally, we made it. It was only about 2pm. We had lunch and then--played cards. All day. It was surprisingly fun. And SO great to just sit around in the warm hut. It also started pouring about 20 minutes after we got to the hut. What luck! It rained pretty much all night too. The hut kept getting more and more crowded as the night progressed. There were three people there before we arrived. The hut only sleeps twelve. When bedtime rolled around, there were over 30 people in the hut!! A few pitched tents and we stuffed nine of us on the top bunk. A few of the boys slept outside.

Day 3: Peanut Butter, Scroggin and Victory

Ramsey and Jacapo. Our fearless leaders.

Saturday, March 22

We woke up to a cool, clear morning. I slept like a baby in the hut. It was magnificent. We didn’t leave the hut until about 10. Every morning, we did something the Anasazi boys (Ramsey and Jacapo) called the “sacred circle”. We all stand in a circle, turn around, and say a prayer/have a moment with nature. Where we’re all done, we turn around and leave. I liked it.
Saturday was probably my favorite day. WE HAD A TRAIL!! Bushwhacking has its perks and adventures, but after a day and a half of blazing my own trails, I was more than ready for a trail. It was gorgeous! It led through this beautiful, green forest. Up and over logs, across rivers, under logs, through mud holes… It was great. Most of the day, I hung in the back of the pack with Lisa, Cameron, Tyler and Katie. It was nice. Usually, I hurry through hikes but I liked just being in the back, taking it all in, pushing each other along. We had fun--our little group. By the end of the day, we were talking about our favorite restaurants and desserts and we even had about 15 minutes of official complaining time. That was funny--and therapeutic.

One of the views that made the whole dang thing worth it.

Part of the trail that I loved oh so much.

I had an apple with peanut butter for breakfast that morning, since I’d downed my oatmeal the day before and we didn’t have lunch with us. So, I had a LOT of scroggin (aka--trail mix). And I mean-- a LOT. We didn’t get back to the van until about 5:30 where luckily, we had planned ahead and had peanut butter, jelly and bread waiting for us in the car.

It’s amazing to me after all the pain and difficulty associated with tramping that I can get home and say I had fun. Day two, was definitely my low light. I was so frustrated--with the lack of trail, with the wind, with the far away hut, with Cameron, with Ramsey and Jacapo for leading us there… Just angry. I finally made myself stop, look around, take some deep breaths and remind myself of what was really important. Every time over the trip when I felt that frustration or that “get-home-atis”, I would force myself to stop, or at least slow down and remind myself of where I was and what I was experiencing. I learned a lot from forcing myself to do that.

I also learned to love Egyptian Rat Screw! I hate that game. Or I did until Friday. We played for hours, until Jacapo told us to stop because the slapping was waking up people on the bottom bunk. And I actually started to like it.
Well, that about sums it up I think. I’m happy I went and I’m happy I’m home. The end. :)

You can thank Cameron for this lovely panoramic. I hope you can see it because--it's amazing!

Orienteering 101: Bushwhacking

Last Wednesday, the day before our tramping trip, our instructors sent us out into the wilderness with a compass, bearings and a map. Ben and I were partners and together, we set off into the wilderness. We went through a gigantic, very thick pine forest; up, over and through bushes, up and over sand dunes... we even sprinted across a golf course and landed ourselves in the middle of a clay pigeon shooting range. That was exciting! Ben and I were looking down at our feet thinking, 'what are those little pieces of clay disc-looking things?' and at the same moment, realization struck, we looked at each other and Ben yelled, "Run!!" Oh man. It was funny. Little did I know...it was just a small glimpse of what I would be doing for the next three days...

PRAWNS!

See the eyes, the legs and the whiskers?? Yuck!



Eating food that looks back at you has never been one of my strong points. Mags announced the other day that we would be having prauns for dinner. Prauns? In my ignorance of seafood, I didn't even know what those were. In case any of you might be in the same boat, they are basically giant shrimp. Seeing as how I don't even like shrimp, I wasn't too thrilled at the idea of eating GIANT shrimp. Nevertheless, I tried. I was even more disgusted as I sat down at the table and watched Mags give me a tutorial of ripping of the head, sucking the juice and taking off the shell. I couldn't help but sing to myself, "Pull off their heads and suck the juice and throw their skins away..." Sick. However, I tried them. And, once you get past the eyes, and the crunchy legs you have to rip off, they weren't half bad. Another fear conquered in New Zealand! Just don't ask me to get back into a kayak...


My trepidation...

...and my triumph!

Stay Tuned....

So, I'm back from backpacking!! I spent last night preparing a lovely blog post for you all. I saved it on my jump drive but alas, I saved it in the incorrect format. So, I can't open it on this computer. I'm sorry, you'll all have to wait a day or two to get the dl on my trip. I just wanted to write this to let you know that I didn't forget about my blog. I just hit a small roadblock. So, stay tuned for some good stuff in the next couple of days! Happy Easter! :)

Last Post of the Day

I'm really sorry that I post in these spurts. I just like to do it all at once. It's easier for me, but not as enjoyable for the reader. I apologize.

I got special permission from Stefanie to post these pictures, so I'm going to. :) I think you will all enjoy them. I hope so at least, because they crack me up! The important thing to know before viewing these pictures, is that we didn't plan them beforehand. Stefanie just stuck the camera in front of us, and we each just struck a pose. These kind of photo shoots are fun. I definitely reccommend them to anyone who hasn't yet tried. So, as my liast post for today, and for awhile probably, I hope you all enjoy these wonderful photos.

Take 1.

Take 2. My personal favorite.

Take 3; shaky style.

And take 4. The end. :)

Rockin' the Rocks!

Neat picture, huh? Too bad, I completely posed for that one! Stefanie was sitting at the top of the cliff snapping pictures of everyone. I was only allowed to move at her command and here, I think I was told to look really intensely up toward the camera but not AT the camera. I think I made a pretty good model...

Wanaka, NZ

This was the view from our campsite. Absolutely gorgeous. Everyday, on our 3-day rock climbing trip, we would wake up and hit the rocks by about 9am. This trip was my first ever experience with climbing real, outdoor rocks. And-- I LOVED IT!! It's such a great challenge, and so rewarding when you get to the top. Basically, there's not much to tell about the trip, other than we did a lot of rock climbing. The stars were beautiful at night, and we learned a bunch of southern hemisphere constellations which was fun. The second day, it was rainy and windy, which makes for an interesting climbing experience... The third and final day was by far the best. I got to climb Tombstone. I don't think you can tell from the picture, but it was hard, straight up, and really high! It was so fun though. Especially when I got to the top, after thinking I wasn't going to make it.

This is Tombstone. And that is me sitting on the top. SO FUN!

The first day while our instructors were setting up our climbs, a group of us went exploring. We waded through a creed and then tried to jump up onto these rocks by the side of the creek without getting wet. After pulling our shorts up as high as they would go, this still proved impossible. But we didn't give up! Through a lot of teamwork, some mud and a little bit of splashing, we all got up so we could take this fantastic picture. As for getting back into the creek? Yeah, it was a disaster. We all ended up...wet.

And PS- I was wearing those striped thermals under the those shorts. In that very position, I succeeded in taking them off while staying completely modest. I know, it's pretty dang incredible! My talents multiply every day... :)

No more surfing: The end of an era

So surfing ended. Yes, it's sad. But, it is autumn here now. Which means--I do NOT want to be getting in any oceans anymore. And, I did awesomely on our last day, which also happened to be the day we were tested! It was great. Here's just a litte tribut to the great sport of surfing. Of which I am now an expert, obviously...

This is Wayne, the surf master. He went surfing with us every time to show us the ropes. Basically, he's a hippie. This shirt he's wearing here is one of his tamer ones. He's just the greatest though. When we tried to thank him the first day for taking us out, he told us, "don't thank me, thank the universe!" And, that basically defines him. He's an artist and a beach bum, and a really good time.

I took this picture through a cave that we climbed up into at the beach. We saw this whole in the rock and obviously couldn't leave it unexplored so we climbed up and found the coolest little beach shack built on the side of the mountain. It was so cool! But, the best part was the view out the window--to the beautiful beach!

Being the beginner surfers that we are, some waves are a little over our heads still--literally! This picture is an example of this. These girls are contemplating how much they like being alive before they step out into the insane surf. Oh man, that was a funny day. I was in the second group, so I just stood on the beach and watched people try to get out to the waves for about 20 mintues and only get a few feet in the from the beach. These girls were wise to consider the consequences of getting in the water before they dove in.

Unfortunately, this picture doesn't do this beach justice. It was beautiful!! If you know anything about me, then you know how excited I was about the fact that the small island behind us is called Monkey Island. Yeah, for real. :) It was great.

So, farewell surfing. Thanks for a good time. I hope we meet again someday soon.

They don't make clouds like this in the states!

Welcome to one of the wonders of New Zealand--the clouds. It makes sense to think that clouds are one of those things that are the same everywhere. Not so! Notice these clouds:

Have any of you Americans every seen clouds like this?!? Well, if you have, I guess I need to come live near you. Anyway, I just wanted to share one of the wonders of this small island with you all.

Here's another thing about New Zealand. This one is definitely not as great as the cloud feature but it is still interesting. Kiwis LOVE their barbeques. I have been to... a lot since being here. Probably somewhere close to ten. Anyway, at Mormons Helping Hands day on Saturday, we had a nice barbeque for lunch. The first thing to know about Kiwi barbeques is that they never have buns. Never. Just slices of bread. We thought, ok, it must be because they don't have buns here. Not true!! They totally do. So, we think they are just cheap. :) Anyway, this barbeque on Saturday consisted of sausage, bacon and onion sandwiches. Hmm. If you are questioning the sanity of that combination, you are not alone. I decided to pass on the sausage, I'm not the hugest fan, but I went for the bacon (which is canadian bacon, actually) and the onion. Mostly against my will, the branch president also squirted a nice amount of tomato sauce (basically a less sweet form of ketchup) on my onion and bacon. To my surprise, it was not too bad. Not something I'd want to eat every day, but definitely something that could grow on me.