Autumn Break in April?!

Yikes!! Apologies for not writing for a month!! I didn't realize it's been that long. Plus my internet is awful so I never get around to the blog. Sorry.

Well here goes another long entry...sorry! But I promise to try to make it good!!

My Mid-Semester Break Adventures!!

So we get a week off in mid-April, which we kept referring to as "spring break" (this is not right, because well, it's not spring...oops!) So everyone split off into little travel groups and explored Oceania. My destination: New Zealand's North Island!! My plan: Road trip the North Island with my friend Lizzie. We booked our rental car and our hostels and just played it by ear from there.

Day 1: We landed in Auckland around 8:00. Because I was the only 21 year old only I could drive. So our first adventure began right away. 1) Figuring our NZ directions. 2) Driving on the wrong side of the road. My only requirements before we left were I didn't want to start off driving at night, in the rain, or have to immediately do round abouts. Within the first 5 min. I had done all 3...oops! We got lost a few times trying to find out hostel, but overall it was an uneventful day.

Day 2: Exploring Auckland on Easter. Oops! EVERYTHING is closed, except a few tourist places. We explored the Auckland Zoo (pretty amazing actually-got to see a baby orangoutang), Kelly Tarltons (the COOLEST PLACE EVER!! It's an underground aquarium. Tons of penguins, stingrays, sharks, etc. It completely amazed me. I recommend it to anyone!), and the sky tower (very touristy, and I was told that I couldn't not see it, but to be honest I wasn't that impressed. I think that may be because I've been in tall buildings in Chicago before, so seeing a small city from above wasn't soo exciting for me). We wandered around a little longer and got to know the bus drivers because we somehow ended up with the same ones over and over again. We attempted to go out at night, but the bars closed at midnight on Sunday and didn't open until after midnight on Monday. (they take catholic holidays VERY seriously here I guess). So it wasn't a super eventful day. Overall- Auckland=ok; nice small city, handful of tourist things to do, but nothing soo amazing (other thank Kelly Tarltons).

Day 3: Woke up semi-early and headed to Coromandel Peninsula. The adventure really began on this drive. The Thames Coastal Road to be exact. Aka the road from hell!! We drove along the coast of the peninsula for the majority of the drive. Sounds nice? WRONG! We were literally on the edge of the coast with no guard rails-Scary!! The lanes were barely wide enough for the cars, not to mention the RVs and trucks towing boats that came speeding toward us-Scarier!! And the extremely windy road with hair pin turns that didn't allow me to see what was coming around the bend made it all the more nerve-wrecking. It was the worst drive of my life. I grippe the steering wheel with sweaty hands and had tears in my eyes most of the time. After FINALLY getting to our hostel we found out the hot water beach we wanted to go to was another hour drive away. So after settling my nerves it was back on the road. This time instead of on the edge of the cliff, we were on the windy roads through the hills and cliffs of the inner peninsula. The hot water beach ended up being hilarious. There were so many people all standing around digging their holes in the sand trying to get the perfect spot. Lizzie and I picked a spot and started digging, it was cold water, so we tried again. We eventually settled into a luke warm pool and stayed for 20 minutes tops. Then drove back to Coromandel town and decided we deserved a nice dinner. Overall the day was huge adventure, and looking back it was really funny and a great time. We definitely have many stories from our drive.

We were also able to witness the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen in my entire life. The long curving coastal road, the huge ocean, and beautiful trees were the perfect setting for this sunset.

Day 4: Drive back down the same Thames Coastal Road. This time I knew it better and was on the inside so I kicked some ass and didn't stress out. I was getting to know the way New Zealand roads are better (aka very windy and narrow) and wasn't worried about the driving at all. Getting lost another time or two we finally made it to Taupo. This place is the most beautiful place. We explored Huka Falls (this amazing waterfall that is an amazing blue color) and the surrounding trail. I decided this is where I need to live, though I could never afford it, so Lizzie and I picked out the trees we would live in until we had more money. We then drove another 10 minutes and saw a place that had moon craters. It was this awesome field with extreme hot springs, mud pits, and huge craters. Very different from Huka Falls (just a 10 minute drive away!) but very cool. After taking a million pictures of the sites we wandered around Taupo looking for a place to eat (everything in NZ closes at 5 for some reason) and settled on making pasta in our hostel.

Day 5: This was the day all parents dread their children having. This was the scariest day of my life. It was also the most exciting day of my life. This was the day I jumped out of an airplane. AMAZING!!! We arrived at Taupo Tandem Skydive after trying our hardest to waste 2 hours in town, while just being anxious to get to the jump. We were somehow talked into diving from 15,000 feet with pictures and a dvd from getting no package and diving form 12,000ft. (Sooo worth the extra $$). So we got into our suits and all strapped up. Then I met my tandem master (thats what the guy strapped to my back attempting to keep me alive is called). His name was Alan, a Kiwi and was the cutest of all the tandem guys. Lizzie got Freddie, a crazy world record holding German. We were excited about our guys. First into the airplanes and watching us fly up up up for 25 minutes before the other 6 people jumped with their partners before us at 12,000ft. This is when it hit me. They closed the door, the plane WAY lighter without the others who were just thrown from the plane, and we headed up even higher. The time came when we reached 15,000ft. The door open and out went Lizzie. First one on, last one off, that was my story. Probably the hardest spot to be in. So I was told to sit on the floor then hang my legs over the edge of the plane (totally normal...NOT!). So I did as I was told, took my "exit photo" and felt Alan start shifting his weight on the floor behind me. Then all of a sudden he scooted forward leaving no part of me left in the plane, but him still sitting on the edge.  This is when your body goes "OHHH SHIT!!!" Then I heard "alright here we go" and then nothing but air was around me. I looked as I was thrown out of the plane. I was being hurled toward the ground. It was the biggest rush ever. After about 10 seconds your mind and body meet up and you can comprehend when you are feeling. It was amazing. I can't even describe it. So when you skydive the chute gets pulled at 5,000ft. So I freefell for 10,000ft, which lasts approximately a minute reaching about 200km/h. This is INSANE!! I watched the ground and the clouds and barely paid attention to the guy who jumped next to me taking my picture, but he sure did get some great pictures of my cheeks. I won't lie I did scream some, but I swear I laughed pretty much 99% of the time. I couldn't stop laughing, it's what happens when I have a lot of adrenaline. The chute was pulled and I couldn't believe how fast it all went. It was the fastest minute of my life, but definitely the coolest. We drifted down and did some crazy fast spirals down. Alan brought me into a cloud (a dream I've always had since I've seen clouds out an airplane window). It was amazing. We soon landed on the ground and I collapsed and continued laughing. It was insane. (I was then questioned if I was under the influence of a certain drug because of my constant giggling, but they soon realized i was "just high on life" as they put it.) We made friends with the works and then headed off on a long drive to Wellington. We completed our day with a great dinner at a sports bar while watching ESPN. It couldn't have been more perfect.

I just have to say- EVERYONE needs to skydive. I don't care what you are scared of, you will never experience anything like it. It is unbelievable. And I will go with you if you want!!

Day 6: This is what we called our intellectual day (and it will seem soo boring after you read day 5). We explored Wellington. We visited the Te Papa museum, which was really cool, and I learned a lot about New Zealand and Maori culture. Then we headed to Parliament and got a cool tour of it. Though I did find it odd that our tour guide of the NZ government was American. Oh well. We decided to have a nice dinner out that night. So we met up with a friend from Dunedin and got all dressed up and went to a cute little Italian place. We tried to go out to some bars after but no one was really out. So we enjoyed a few nice drinks at a nice bar, then explored more. We ended up finding this great little bar called Boogie Wonderland. It was a 70's disco theme bar, with light up floor, disco balls, the works. We made friends with the bartenders and ended up just hanging out til closing. It was so fun. A great ending for our trip. 

Day 7: I woke up, returned our amazing car (which was named Buster), and headed back to Dunedin. I traveled back alone because Lizzie was meeting up with her mom so it was nice to reflect on everything on my own. I had an amazing break. It was filled with lots of laughs, crazy adventures, and some great bonding talks. 

I decided that Autumn Break in April is actually amazing. Beautiful weather, changing trees, etc. It was the best break ever. I mean, I survived falling 15,000ft from an airplane, how could it not be?!