Remarkable: (adjective) Attracting notice as being unusual or extraordinary

"Go to South Island," said Jane over our cheeseburgers at the Farmer's Home Tavern in dear old Hemlock, Michigan (voted best cheeseburgers in the county, don't ya know). Well, Jane, if you are indeed reading this, I followed your advice more than once. You were absolutely right!

My final trip to South Island was almost a whole month ago. I can't believe it's been that long already. On 1 July, Kendall, Amanda, Adam, Wes, and I boarded a morning plane to Dunedin. I sat next to a Maori woman who had an owl tattoo on her chin (the owl is the guardian to the Maori, or so I learned, just as women are the guardian of the

children). If you are curious to see what they look like, go ahead and use Google image and search for "moko kauae". Anyway, she had been in Wellington to learn how to teach Zumba (an aerobic, Latin-inspired dance) from a Canadian man.

The view out the window was incredible! I borrowed this picture from Kendall...although I did take it with her camera! ;)

The sun rose just as we were flying over the beginnings of the mountains of S. Island. Even if I don't particularly enjoy flying, I enjoyed seeing that view!

We arrived safely in Dunedin and grabbed a shuttle into town. As we had a bit of time on our hands before our Intercity bus left for Queenstown, we took the opportunity to explore the city a bit. The rest of the group's attention was caught by the Cadbury chocolate factory. Though I do enjoy chocolate, I opted to simply walk around the city instead. It felt like I was off on another one of my solo-European adventures, just wandering the city, seeing what there was to see, both the marvelous and the mundane.

There is a certain demeanor that every tourist has, a particular way of moving that sends out the signal "I don't really belong here like you do, but I am enjoying being here much more than you are." In any case, there was a moment of mutual acknowledgement between myself and another woman while out on this walk. As it turns out, she was an Australian who was in the country to help look after her grandchildren for a time. She explained to me her recent trek to see sculptures of giant molars, noting that their placement had been an item of controversy to the locals. We wished each other well on our travels, and I followed her directions to the "mouth of the bay".

I met back up with my travel companions at the bus station just in time to catch our double-decker bus. A bit of a side story, I volunteered to work at an orientation for the incoming international students earlier in the summer and met a student from Saudia Arabia who had previously studied in New Zealand. I asked him if I were to visit only one place where I should go, and he recommended Queenstown. During this trip, I followed his advice, for that is exactly where the bus was headed. It was a nice trip - the sun was shining the whole way as we rolled across hills and through mountains. Amanda introduced me to a game she had made up on a drive through Iowa called "my cows." The object of the game is to be the first to spot a herd of cattle, at which point you call out "MY COWS!" After a few miles, as you can imagine, you have accumulated quite the hoard of cows. However, the most important part of this game is to be the first to spot a cross, because you then win the came and kill all of the other person's cows. Entertaining.

When we arrived in to Queenstown, we were picked up by another of the American interns who was placed at an internship at a hotel there. He was generous enough to let us stay in his room while we were in Queenstown -- thanks again! Although all of us were absolutely exhausted, we agreed to spend a night out and about in Queenstown. The highlight of it all was most definitely the delicious Fergburger!! I got a "cockadoodle oink" sandwich (chicken and bacon) and it was fabulous (especially since I hadn't really eaten since brekkie and it was well past ten pm when we stopped for a Ferg). The rest of the gang signed up for a Pub Crawl -- I accompanied them, but stayed sober. Didn't stop me from dancing!

Just to pause and reflect on feelings about alcohol...I don't like that people feel that they have to be drunk to have fun. I have plenty of fun sober, believe me! There's the whole concept of joy that I feel people miss out on, which is unfortunate. And I would rather people not feel that they have to have a few drinks in to be an interesting person. Just loosen up! Be yourself without depending on a drink! That isn't to say that I don't drink on occasion, but it's in moderation and more for the enjoyment of a drink, much like one would enjoy a chocolate bar. Anyways...

Friday morning rolled around, and what a perfect day to be in Queenstown! For a cloudy little country, the skies were clear and perfectly blue! Amanda, Kendall, and Joe headed out to bungy jump, whereas Adam, Wes, and I stayed in town until it was time for our Lord of the Rings tour (yup...you read correctly).

Linda, one of the women I work with, recommended taking the gondola if the weather was fine, and so that's exactly what we did! What a view!

Behind me is Lake Wakatipu, which has a tide. According to Maori legend, the tide is the result of the beating heart of a giant that was killed there. The actual legend is much more interesting -- full of heroism and love -- but at the moment I can't recall it properly.

The following mountain range was dubbed "The Remarkables" when it was discovered that they run perfectly north and south. Plus...they're just...remarkable to look at, eh?

As New Zealand is the adventure capital of the world, we decided to do something adventurous. The result was a "luge" ride, which was fun!

We took the gondola back down the hill, went in to see if we could see a Kiwi bird (didn't end up doing that...wasn't worth fifty bucks...). But saw some Kiwi-tracks! ;)

As we continued on, I noticed a graveyard, and said to the guys "This might sound creepy...but I kind of like graveyards." So we walked around in there for a few minutes...

My interest in New Zealand began when I learned as a fanatical young teenager that Lord of the Rings was filmed there. As such, a trip to this country would not be complete without a tour. Adam picked it, Wes and I went! It was pretty nice!

Of Herbs, Stewed Rabbit, and Oliphants >>

The first half hour or so of the tour was on the awkward side of things. The guide was odd, and truthfully didn't know too much about Lord of the Rings at all (bummer). That being said, it was kind of hilarious when he popped the trunk and pulled out a sword, saying "Here's a sword if you want to take pictures," then standing off to the side with his hands in his pockets.

Odd guide or not, the views were incredible and we got to see some wonderful scenery!

Road trip, anyone?

Where Arwen won a round against the Black Riders.

A good day! :)

On Saturday, we got up nice and early to take a bus to Milford Sound.

Our driver was nice, gave us a lot of good information about New Zealand plants and Maori legends. One of my favorite announcements was when we crossed the 45th parallel. He said that only ten percent of the world's population has been south of that parallel (which is halfway between the equator and the south pole). Cool.

For the most part, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Around here is where Sir Edmund Hillary trained to climb Mt. Everest.

And voila! A non-tropical parrot! They're tricksey little buggers, too. I hear they like to steal things...

The Sound! Well...technically...fjord...but dubbed sound...

Adam and the loverly Kendall! :)

I don't know how to express the fact that I had a great time that weekend in any other way than to say that I had a great time. Those words sound so empty. It's what you tell everybody when you come home when they ask "Wow -- did you have fun?" And you just smile and say "Oh yeah, I had a great time!" But I really mean it! It was a great time.

Joe and I played pool for a few hours when we got back to Queenstown (the hotel he stays at had a table), and Amanda hung out w/ us as well. In the morning, we bussed back to Dunedin, playing hearts with a man and his son on the way. I had to chill in the airport because I was on a different flight from everybody else. Not much else to report.

It's odd to write this so late...but I'm glad that I am. The details are already starting to haze over.

Next travel update will be about a weekend trip to Rotorua!