zorbing, sledging, and swinging from canyons

Kia Ora everyone!!
That’s the traditional greeting in Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, where I just spent the last nearly three weeks. As I sat down to write this, I couldn’t seem to condense my trip into an email of a reasonable length and still do it justice. So be warned, this is the abridged version. First I took a road trip with a friend from Sydney down to Melbourne. Although it was one of those organized tour trips, there were only three people signed up (plus the guide), so the small group made the trip much more relaxed and flexible. We spent an afternoon in Canberra, capital of Australia, where we saw Parliament in session and heard Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speak- that was really interesting to see their legislature in action. One day we hiked at an alpine ski village and the next day hiked on the beach- it was amazing how fast the landscape changed!
After spending a couple days in Melbourne we met more friends on the south island of New Zealand. We spent the next week on a bus tour exploring. New Zealand is GORGEOUS. Two tectonic plates meet in the center of the island and created the Southern Alps, which are beautiful rocky snow-capped mountains surrounded by lakes with bright blue water. The scenery here always looks… epic, for lack of a better word. It’s also much greener than Australia, which I hadn’t realized I was missing until getting here. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE Australia. I don’t know which I liked better; they’re so different.
We pretty much did a whirlwind tour of the island. We spent a night on a boat in Milford Sound in the Fjordlands and kayaked with penguins! They were hilarious to watch jump around on the rocks. We hiked/climbed on Fox Glacier and were lucky enough to see an ice cave collapse (don’t worry- not where we were hiking). We spent a night on a sheep farm, watched how the dogs rounded up the sheep with basically no human help, and even got to catch/wrestle sheep, which was hilarious. Of course I was game, and it was a little harder than you would think. They can actually jump really high. We spent two action-packed days in Queenstown, which is pretty much the adrenaline capital of New Zealand. And considering that New Zealand is known for having unique/strange adrenaline-junkie things, that’s saying something. We went jetboating (NZ invention) which feels kind of like a giant jetski with 20 people. Its made to run in really shallow water (4 inches), and the drivers like to see how close they can get to the canyon walls without actually touching them. They also do 360 degree spins (again, in a canyon where you don’t think there’s enough room). It was so much fun! Another cool thing was horseback riding around to various sites movies were filmed in the area. We saw spots from Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Wolverine, and the Lovely Bones. Nothing of the actual set was left of course, but a lot of times you could still recognize it for what it was. Some of the horses we rode were actually used in the movies! But my favorite thing I did here was the canyon swing. It works like bungee jumping, except at the end instead of bouncing around you swing. You’re also strapped in at the waist instead of the feet so you have more interesting ways to jump off the platform. Basically you jump/are released off a platform and freefall for 66 meters. After that it turns into a giant 200 m swing. I LOVED it. Heights don’t bother me, so I had so much fun. The guys running it kept trying to freak me out, pushing me around on the platform, and made sure to thank me for testing the ropes since I was the first person of the day to do it. The first time, I jumped off backwards and the second time I was suspended upside down (so headfirst), and they released me. It was so much fun- such a rush! Don't worry, they talked me into buying the DVD, so you can all see the ridiculousness if you want to. ;)
After that, I said goodbye to my friends and flew up to the north island for some solo traveling. I signed up for a hop on, hop off bus trip, which basically means that I had a ride wherever I wanted to go, but had the freedom to stay there as long/short as I wanted and to do/stay/eat where I wanted. I went to some great beaches (including some really good surf spots- Jack Johnson has a house at one), went to a spa, saw kiwis (the birds), went caving, blackwater rafting, zorbing lugeing, sledging…. Whew those are the highlights. Do you notice how some or most of those things you may not have heard of? I wasn’t kidding when I said that New Zealanders like to invent random sports/crazy things to do. Blackwater rafting is essentially tubing inside a cave (there were eels involved). Zorbing was definitely a favorite- basically you are inside this giant hamster ball that zigzags down a hill. It has a little bit of water so you bounce around, and it is SO MUCH FUN. They opened a second one somewhere in Tennessee, I definitely recommend it and I’m planning on going back sometime in the near future. I also ran into some friends from Sydney there, which was really fun to hang with them for the day. The lugeing I did was different that the kind they do in the Olympics- this was more like go-karts but without motor or any real safety measures, other than a brake. You controlled how fast you went, so naturally there was much racing down the mountain/hill as fast as possible. :) Sledging is kind of like boogie-boarding except you do it down rapids in a river. Our bus stopped there for a couple hours and people had options of what to do- I was the only sledger, so it was just me and the two river guides. But that was perfect, because it was one of the most intense things I’ve ever done. Going through the rapids themselves are crazy and intense and you really have no control in the situation, but then as soon as you’re through (and hopefully still on top of the sledge instead of under it or something) you have to paddle really hard to one side or the other to get out of the current. I loved it, even though I was exhausted by the end. :)
Another fun thing was spending the night in a marae, which is a Maori cultural community center. We ate a traditional meal then the guys learned the haka and the girls learned the poi. The kids who taught us (they were between 12-16 years old) also performed a couple things for us, including the traditional welcome. It starts with two guys threatening the newcomers as a show of strength, then offering a peace token to us, which we accept. They told us not to smile going in, because if we did the two guys doing the ceremony would single us out and try to intimidate us. I thought (and so did most of our group) that the “intimidation” stuff would be cheesy, but they were intimidating- their facial expressions were scary. I have some photos , of course. :)
Now I’m back in Sydney, crashing on a friend’s couch before I fly home early next week! I cannot believe how fast this semester has gone. I’ve learned a lot- about life, people, traveling, myself. I’ve loved Australia and New Zealand, but I’m also really excited to see all of you lovely people. I can definitely see myself coming back for more traveling here. But that is another time. So, armed with some crazy stories, life lessons, and a ridiculous amount of photos (seriously, you don’t want to know how many), I’m wrapping up my semester abroad and heading back. Thank you so much for all of your letters, notes, prayers, and love you sent. They have been such an encouragement to me. I can’t wait to see you all. So for the last time,
Love from down under,
Emma