Rhonderosion

I am alive! I just realized that it's been 17 days since my last post. I'm sorry...time flies when you're having fun! :) A lot has happened in those 17 days so please prepare yourself....On the 19th of August, Caitlin, Fin, and I headed up north to Timaru for Caitlin's birthday weekend with her family. It was actually a pretty cute little town(still 45,000 people so not that little.) We explored Timaru on Saturday and then had a party with everyone on Saturday night. We got to meet a lot of the fam and of course Rosie and Oscar, the dog and cat. We came home on Sunday night and that's when I realized I had a big test coming up on Thursday. The days between Sunday and Thursday night blended together as I studied and studied and then studied a little more. I guess I forget sometimes that studying is what I'm meant to be doing here ;) Finally, the test was over and Friday was another adventure. At noon on Friday, Fin, Molly, Thomas, and I got on a 6 hour bus ride to Christchurch. From Christchurch, we went to the airport only to learn that our 9pm flight to Auckland was cancelled. Jetstar gave us free accommodation and food as they couldn't get us on another flight until 9am on Saturday. We woke up feeling fresh and headed to Auckland to find our camper van. Back to driving on the left side of the road! We drove up north of Auckland to Manakana, stopped at Goat island, a couple of beaches, and ended up in a little holiday park. We decide to make some food in the kitchen and this is where I almost cut off the tip of my thumb while chopping onions. Oops. We figured out how to set up our beds and crashed. On Sunday morning, we headed back through Auckland and then around the Coromandel Peninsula. It was such an amazing view the entire way. We stopped multiple times on the side of the road and had lunch on one of the beaches. We made it to our destination-Cathedral Cove- just as the sun was setting. It was a stunning sight to see. However, the best part of the night was the stars. Imagine this: you walk out onto a wooden deck that looks over the Pacific ocean filled with little tiny islands dotted around the water. You aren't even sure where the water ends and the sky begins. The moon is nowhere to be found but the stars are so clear and vivid that it still doesn't feel dark. There's only a tiny breeze that you can feel tickle across your toes since you're wearing flip flops. The only thing you can hear are the waves sweeping across the shore below and the birds off in the distance. You know that your friends are out there with you, too, but none of you say a word in this mesmerized state. You only open your mouth to point out that you can see Mars and Saturn with your naked eye. That's how my Sunday night was. On Monday, we woke up early to walk to Cathedral Cove. It was raining pretty hard but I needed a shower by this point anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and the cove was still stunning. We started the day off driving in the rain. We stopped to get coffee and the best eggs benedict I've ever had in a cafe on Waihi Beach. That's where we discovered our water pump didn't work to do dishes. We made due for the week with our college brain skills. We kept driving to Taraunga where we walked through an art gallery, explored the city centre, and found a place to stay for the night. The next day was much nicer as we hiked up Mount Maunganui. The views(as well as some of the hike) were breathtaking. After the volcano hike, we headed down to the beach to make some lunch. This is where Thomas cut his thumb on a tuna can. He got to join the club. We wandered the beach for shells, then headed to the beachfront stores in search of some ice cream. We decided we wanted to stay another night in Taraunga and found a new places that overlooked the bay. We got to see an incredible sunset and showers! What a life. On Wednesday morning, we stopped by Rotorua lake, and then to geothermal activity comparable to Yellowstone. We drove down to Kerosene creek which is a hot sulphur river. Wednesday night, we stayed on the waterfront of Lake Taupo. Thursday morning was really warm as we drove up to Huka Falls and walked along the river and down a trail into a forest. We stopped by to see Dam open up to let the water flow down the rocks. The next stop was a huge bee/honey shop because honey is actually a really popular thing in New Zealand. Who woulda thought? We found a cute cafe to eat lunch and then headed south towards Wellington. We stayed in the middle of nowhere and did not feel any part of the earthquake that took place a couple hundred miles north of where we were. Friday morning was rainy again as we made the last leg of our trip to Wellington. We dropped off Rhonda (the name of our camper van....it's a long story) and explored Wellington for the remainder of the day. We saw art, water fountains, cafes, waterfronts, walked the plank, and embraced the wind and rain. We ended with a Friday night market that was in the centre of town, ate Chinese crepes, and listened to a pantam(the newest acoustic instrument that resembles a steel drum). All was well until we got a message saying our 6:50 flight from Wellington to Christchurch was cancelled. We couldn't get ahold of Air New Zealand all night. I woke up at 6 and called to explain the situation. I ended up talking them into letting us fly directly to Dunedin instead of having to take the 6 hour bus ride after getting to Christchurch. We made it back home at about 3 in the afternoon. Now I've just been catching up with everyone since getting back. Back to schoolwork for awhile :( but only 18 days left of classes for this one! Crazy how fast this time is flying...before you know it, I'll be back in ND. Not sure if I'm ready for that yet! Haha! I hope everyone is enjoying getting back to school at home. :D Have a great week! Also-I'm uploading my pictures to Facebook, the blog isn't letting me.