Its tough to recap the last week and a half but I shall try my best. These pictures are in order from most recent to last week...and they are only a small portion. Buy me dinner when i get back and I'll show you the rest.This is me on the Buller swinging bridge. I'm usually really scared of heights, but this was kind of a joke since it was so safe and secure. So we made up games like, "No hands". It was a nice stop from driving though.
This is our trusty campervan. She IS a stick-shift and I have FINALLY learned to drive her, after 10 years of hoping to learn "someday". I kill her most of the time as I park, because I forget to hold the clutch in to stop. But my transitions are getting a little smoother! All except for that dang 3rd gear...I hate that gear.
This is a waterfall at Milford Sound. GORGEOUS! And we had this tour guide named Max that was the cutest old man and really funny. He reminded me a lot of my dad, and coincidently he LOVED to talk. Haha, miss you Daddy!
A little taste of Milford Sound. The water was more choppy than I thought it would be. And we saw seals sunning on the rocks too!
This was Hudson hitch-hiking our first day on the south island. Last Friday I think? This is also the problem with having only two people on the trip. A lot of my pictures are of him, a girl can only have so many shots with her arm held out. I'm hoping we'll share pictures the day I own a laptop...you know...should I ever decide to join this century and give up my ink and quill.
This was us hitch-hiking in the second car that picked us up with the Brazilians, Andrea and Gabrielle. They were fun, and we got there preeetty fast.
This was back on the North Island in Wellington. That's Darby next to me and her cousin/travel buddy next to her is Kedra. Did I mentioned they live in this super cool older house in the city, with tall ceilings and would floors and 5 other housemates. I miss living in a big noisy house, I need 5 of you to volunteer to live with Shast and I in Dallas in January. Any takers?? Did I mention how much I love Darby?? She is SO fun and full of energy all the time, and I have decided I must travel with her in the future.
You may pick yourself up off the floor from laughing now, I have saved the best for last. Why yes...those ARE prosthetic ears I am wearing on my LORD OF THE RINGS tour! Call me a nerd but i LOOOVE that stuff. I've also read all 7 Harry Potter Books. Now all I need is one more dungeons and dragons figurine and I can die happy. (Kidding on the last sentence).
The tour people had to cancel me on the first day due to a guide being sick...so that means I got a $90 tour for FREE the next day. And there was cake in the middle too! We went to several filming locations in Wellington and it was cool to see the stills and know we were standing in the same place as my husband Orlando Bloom. The guides also had all these secret stories from on the set that were entertaining and I have SUCH an appreciation for how much work goes into making a movie. Its ridiculous how much time and manpower goes into those. I kept my eyes out for Peter Jackson the whole time too...and alas...to no avail.
Too many stories and pictures so we'll just have to have a date soon. Deal?? We've been down to Queenstown (which was the coolest town yet), up the west coast, and tonight we are in Nelson. Tomorrow we are supposed to take a tour of the Marlborough Vineyards on a bicycle, tastings in 8-10 places so we'll see how my balance holds up whilst tipsy on a bike. We are working our way back down to Christchurch to fly out to Sydney, Sunday morning with lots of fun things along the way. I can't believe I'll be sleeping in Winnsboro, Texas in just about 2 weeks?...a LOT to happen between now and then. Its also probably time for a dip into my introspective pool as well, but I'll save that for later too and stop rambling.
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