This was our last meal on our holiday! It was so great to go to Denny's!!! And we got REAL ketchup!!! Yum!!!
Flowers are amazing! I love the botanical gardens and am so grateful for the beauty of this earth.
Steps leading up to the Cathedral tower-very narrow, but worth it to see the view
Daddy I know you'll appreciate this one-it's organ pipes!!
Looking down on Christchurch square-and there is a Starbucks!
Though the earthquake that visited this city in September of last year didn't do much damage, it was the aftershocks that really damaged many buildings, including the cathedral and there were lots of parts being redone and one was the stained glass window over the doors. Work is in progress to complete it again.
This is the area of the Cathedral where the choir and priests sit when the service is in session and the sacrament is being presented. This Anglican church calls it communion I think
The first bishop of Christchurch-he's not actually buried here, but this is a memorial for him
Another organ on the side
Glass stained window of Moses, Christ, and Elisas
Honestly my favorite picture that I took in the botanical gardens. I love the drops of dew on the flower-and it's a pretty pink, so how could I not love it?
Brighton Beach-the waves were really small, but dangerous
Allie, Christine, Kara, Heidi, and Hannah just sitting and enjoying the beauty of the botanical gardens
Oh rose, how I adore you!
Take time to smell the roses
At the Christchurch Museum there was one exhibit where we were allowed to walk into a simulation of a house from a New Zealand couple that collected Paua shells. They literally had thousands that decorated their house and it was a tourist attraction for many while they were alive. Now it is all kept in the museum for more tourists to come and visit.
It was raining hard core at Milford Sound, so while we were on our way home the mountains' glaciers started to melt with the rain and lots of waterfalls started to appear down the mountain side. There were literally hundreds as we drove away from the Sound! It was so cool to see how powerful rain can be
Christchurch cathedral-it reminded me a lot of the cathedral I was imagining while reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet-so when I went inside I felt like I was still reading the book even though I finished a day before.
On Sunday James, Johnny, and the Jacob's took us on a tour of Christchurch after church and we all stopped at a little overlook to pose for a photo
Kara and I at Brighton Beach in Christchurch-it was too cold to swim, but I collected seashells and read a lot of Pillars of the Earth under the warm sun. I made the mistake of thinking my back wouldn't get burnt, so I got really sunburned and now my back has weird spots of sunburn and the pain is slowly fading away, thanks to Aloe!
Hydrangea at the botanical gardens
taking a break from our 5 hour walk around downtown Christchurch-it was fun but so long and we were ready for a wonderful dinner that night at...DENNY'S!!!
At Milford Sound the water on top is very dirty since some of the water comes from the ocean and another part of the water comes from the river, which is freshwater, and since freshwater is less dense than salt water, the freshwater sits on top and somehow dirt and junk make the fresh water dirty and fish that normally live many meters below the water in normal waters, come to Milford Sound and live in this not-so deep fiord so people like me can take a picture. It's pretty cool we can see sealife that we would normally have to scubadive way deep to view.
Gotta be honest, I was a little nervous about horseback riding since I have never done it before, but it was such a beautiful and easy ride, hardly any trotting, and Murphy (the horse) and I got used to each other and eventually he realized I wasn't as scared. When I was scared I honestly let him have his way and I didn't show who was the rider, but I eventually got some backbone. Now I just got to get backbone sooner before I am faced with lots of kids who have minds of their own and may not listen to me, ha ha.
More views of Glenorchy! Okay Lord of the Rings fans, was any of this used in this landscape used in the movie :)
Kara and I right before horseback riding
The forest we rode through-there was a tree that we actually went by where one of the guys from the first film sat down in front of and died, so that was really neat to think that we were riding right past a part of the forest where there was actual filming.
Dart River-and the mountains in the back were definitely in the Lord of the Rings sights-it was so great getting commentary on where parts of the movie were filmed such as with the river and where Isengard was. Of course, all the sights that were built were required to be torn down after the filming, but we did see where Isengard was made nad the surrounding areas, which was pretty cool!
Me and Murphy finally getting used to each other
This the the view of the river I would soon jump towards, but not be submerged in (they said the rope couldn't reach that far for some reason). I jumped 43 meters over the Karawke Bridge-the most awesome thrill of my life-I am so serious, I could bungy everyday it was just amazing! Next time, AJ Hackett 134 meters, here I come!
Eating the best burger in the world!!! Totally trumps In & Out-the one and only FERNBURGER!!!! I loved it and the large juicy goodness
Me on a luge! Getting ready to go down the advanced track-I went really slow, but I conquered another fear
Kara and I at the top of the skyline luge area-overlooking Queenstown
There was one room in Puzzling world where you can stand on opposite sides of each other in two different corners and one person looks tiny compared to the other person who looks TALL. This is actually the illusion they used in the Lord of the Rings for the actors who played hobbits versus the normal sized elves and people. Cool huh?
Puzzling World-my least favorite part of Queenstown-I got such a headache
In Puzzling World there was a room where everything was upside down, topsy-turvy, and I had to pull a matrix move :)
Signing my life away ;)
Skydiving!! (More pictures will come from me doing it) This happened on Tuesday morning and there were 8 of us who braved the jump-and it was such a thrill. I loved free-falling but I did get a little queasy when me and my jumper started gliding around as we got closer to the ground, but the view was incredible and I got to see the tallest peak of New Zealand-Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman
Small hobbits behind a bush
Our guide, James, took us all on a trip to Glenoarchy and we drove through the forest and several streams to end at this spot near Dart River, which was used in the Lord of the Rings. We saw so many sites, and James pointed them all out to us. Very cool!
That's a big cow!
A little view of Queenstown-look at the beautiful lake and towering mountains!
Arrowtown
During the gold rush in New Zealand, the Chinese workers used to live in huts such as these in Arrowtown-a part of Queenstown. This is actually one of the more spacious ones-it amazes me how some people can live with so little, when I enjoy so much wealth. I really need to be more grateful for all the blessings I have.
Right before riding the shotover jet with the girls and James and Jacobs-it was such a thrilling ride along the river! I was a little nervous, but totally loved it once we started going
A cemetery overlooking part of Queenstown-there are so many tourist attractions in such a small town.
Christine and Nancy walking ahead of the troop while 4 of us went on a mountain bike trail to explore a little bit of the woody side of Queenstown. We didn't get very far on the trail before we turned around because one of the bikers told us that we needed to be on the other trail-the hiking trail, not the mountain bike trail, ha ha. A few days later, Christine, Nancy, Anna, Whitney, Hannah, and I did go on that trail, and it was a lot more steep and strenuous, but absolutely gorgeous.
Welcome to Queenstown!
Here's the video of me bungy jumping!!! I actually just went right for it when he counted to 3 without even a thought-I totally shocked myself, I was sure I would freak out, but I didn't. It was the best feeling in the world falling and being pulled by that rope :)
Milford Sound Panorama
Love the bungee jump! That is so cool to watch! And your pictures are beautiful. I can see I'm going to have to make your dad take me to New Zealand some day. Love you!!!
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