I'M BACK!!!

These past 2 weeks have been simply amazing! It was so awesome touring the south island with other exchange students - 40 in total, and every day was stuffed with new and exciting activities. Sadly I wasn't able to upload photos and videos on this blog site, so here are the links to the ones on Facebook:

First Photo Album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2100310&id=1231310045&l=065b3df46a

Second Photo Album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2100345&id=1231310045&l=f017eceb69

Videos can only be seen by those who are my friends on FaceBook.

Bungy Video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1656628015507&subj=1231310045

Baby Seal Video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1656639695799&saved

On the first day I got up early and headed to the airport, flying to Christchurch to meet all the other exchange students going on the trip. Finally after a long and pretty boring day in Christchurch airport, we were all picked up and taken to the accommodation for a great reunion with old friends, and even a bit of sightseeing before it was time to turn out the lights and get some sleep.

Next day was much more amazing: we travelled by coach to Dunedin with a stop at the Moeraki Boulders, big round boulders right at the edge of the Pacific. When we arrived in Dunedin, we first went to the steepest street in the world, Baldwin Street. We had a race to the top, and guess who won? I did! After that I was pretty much gasping for breath for the next 10 minutes before going back down - I came first again. Shortly after we went to the Cadbury Chocolate factory, where we got to see how chocolate bars are made, and got heaps of samples and little treats - it was a fun afternoon. The evening was pretty relaxed - just chilling at the accommodation with friends.

The third day was really one to look forward to: an overnight cruise on the Milford Sound (it's actually a fjord, not a sound - the difference is that a fjord is made by glaciers). We left Dunedin early in the morning and drove through absolutely scenic landscape, taken straight out of Middle Earth (LotR), to the stunningly beautiful Milford Sound, a landscape full of mountains, jungle, plains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and of course a fjord. On the boat we got a commented tour through the Sound, and saw sleeping seals, roaring waterfalls, and even a few penguins. In the afternoon we went kayaking around a small bay, and went for an icy cold swim in the 7 degrees water, freshly melted from the surrounding glaciers. The evening was spent with board games and chatting, and finally getting some sleep in tiny bunk rooms. Ahh I love life on a boat!

The next morning we cruised on out to the open sea, for an awe inspiring view of the southern South Island's west coast - steep mountain sides, peaked with snow and painted with waterfalls. Some people thought it was a bit rough out there, and even got a bit sick, but it was nothing for a hardy sailor like myself. As we sailed back through the Sound, the we enjoyed the last of the beautiful scenery before setting sails towards my personal highlight of the tour: Queenstown! It was a long drive, and as a funny side note, I saw heaps of family along the way: there were heaps and heaps of reindeer farms! Get it? Coz' my last name is Rudolph it's like family! Anyways, when we arrived in Queenstown, the first thing we did was head to the Kawarau Bridge Bungy - the worlds first bungy! It was a nice 43m jump from a bridge into a river and back up. I jumped tandem with a german exchange student - we decided to be really cool and loose our shirts as well, just for the heck of it. It was a good jump with a nice water touch. In the afternoon we went up the gondolas, and guess what they had up there? The Ledge, a run'n'jump* bungy placed 400m above Queenstown, with a beautiful view and over 40m drop *(run'n'jump means that rather than being attached to the bungy cord at your feet you are attached by a harness, allowing you to move you legs freely). Of course I had to do that bungy, and i ran off the edge (or the Ledge) at high speed, pulling off a nice gainer (a trick where I do a backflip while moving forward). That night we had a free evening, which I spent in town with some friends, eating out and doing a bit of shopping. For dinner we ate at a small burger café, which some say has the best burgers in all of New Zealand - it was by far the best I had ever had, comparable to a small piece of heaven.

The next day was spent in Queenstown doing activities of our own choice. I started out by going to "The Canyon Swing", a huge swing off a 109m cliff, 60m free fall, and a 200m swing arc going at over 100kph. For my first jump I did "The Chair", which is basically going off the edge while... well, sitting in a chair! I fell backwards off, did a few flips, and swung off at high speed. All in all, insane. Of course I had to do a second jump - they were only 39$, and I asked for something special, which ended in me doing a handstand on the edge of a 109m cliff, before plummeting head first towards the ground. The whole experience was so much different from bungy, mainly because of the staff, who talked about being lucky when a jumper got back up safely, and actually almost pushing me off the edge more than once - it is definitely one of the coolest things I have done. Later that day came the meanest bungy I have ever done: The Nevis! This is Australasia's biggest bungy, with an astounding 134m drop, 5 seconds of free fall, and even a few seconds at top velocity! I jumped like an arrow, keeping my body stiff and streamlined, facing straight downwards for the whole fall. When I came back up, the jump master told me that my jump was the best he had seen for a long time, and my friends told me that the staff had been cheering and applauding while I was falling - that was something to lift my mood even higher than it already was. That evening we had a traditionally cooked "hangi", a meal cooked underground, traditionally made my maoris, the indigenous people of New Zealand.

After Queenstown we headed towards Wanaka, and on the way we had some fun at the Shotover River, where we went jetboating - sailing through extremely shallow water at insanely high speed, doing sharp turns, getting a bit too close to rocks, and doing heaps of 360 spins - a very fun ride! When we went into Wanaka I of course had to do more extreme things: this time, I decided I wanted to jump out of a plane! Skydiving was simply indescribable - the surreal feeling of falling through the air at 200kph, but being too far from the ground to really notice it getting closer was the most amazing feeling you can imagine - the roar of the wind in your ears, the force of it pressing toward your body, the beautiful scenery seen from over 3km above it - I can't hope to describe how it felt, but I can say that I am already looking forward to doing it again, and highly recommend it to anyone who get this chance. Compared to that the rest of the tour was pretty laid back, but I will still give you the description. That evening in Wanaka we went to an old cinema, which was actually really charming - a pretty small room (for a cinema, mind you), which had couches and chairs, and even an old car instead of ordinary cinema seats. It also had a break halfway through, where they served free beverages (water), and sold cookies, before continuing the movie. The movie wasn't too great (Salt with Angelina Jolie), but the whole cinema experience was really cool - and the popcorn were excellent!

We then headed to Franz Joseph where we walked up to Fox Glacier, and part of the group went on a helicopter flight to Franz Joseph Glacier - I didn't because I had spent all my money on jumping off high places. The glacier I did get to see was really cool tho - it was located on the side of a mountain, coming down to a huge barren plain full of rocks and dust, as well as a few rivers from the melting glacier. It was a really cool landscape, bordered by steep mountain sides, and dotted with small rivers and deep blue lakes. The glacier itself was pretty cool too - the largest slab of ice I have ever seen, and horribly dirty at the base, with small streams of water coming out of cracks. However, we were told that it is on of the only growing glaciers in the world, because it snows more on the top if the glacier than it melts at the bottom. That evening we went to some hot pools which were really nice - that is the best way I can think of to relax.

Now was time for a loooooooooong drive from Franz Joseph to Motueka: 8 hours spent on the coach. We started out early, and had stops at a greenstone factory, where they showed us how to cut greenstone and told us about jade. We also stopped at Pancake Rocks, called so because of their strange layered shape. It was a really cool place, right on the west coast with the waves crashing towards the shore in big stone cauldrons and blowholes - you have to see the photos to appreciate the beauty of that place. When we got to Motueka we just chilled out at the accommodation - they had a pool that was used a lot, as well as a jumping pillow - I made a record of 5 backflips in a row.

The next day was also in Motueka, or more specifically Abel Tasman National Park, a stunningly beautiful part of New Zealand, that looks like it's been ripped right out of Pirates of the Caribean. Deep blue water, golden/white sand beaches, jungle - this place had it all! First we went on a 2 hour walk through the jungle and ended at a beach where we had to go for a swim, and almost everyone went in, even tho several had to be literally thrown in (something me and a lot of the boys were happy to assist with). After that we went kayaking back - me and Laurin were in the same kayak, and we set a good pace and got a great view of both the sea and the coast - and set sail once we got properly into the wind, which gave some very relaxed sailing back to the starting beach. That evening was pretty special. We had a "Drag Night" where all the guys had to dressed up as girls and have a sort of talent competition. Most guys hated it, but still managed to have fun. I didn't get a placement in the competition, but honestly I don't think I looked too horrible as a girl either.

Saying goodbye to Motueka, we moved onto our last full day (sad face) on the south island, in Kaikoura, where those that could afford it went either whale watching or swimming with dolphins. Me, I couldn't afford that stuff, so instead I went into town for some lunch with my friends, and spent most of the day sunbathing and chilling in the pool - a nice change to all the extreme stuff I had done earlier on the holidays (not that I liked it better mind you, but it's always nice with a bit of relaxation. I would still skydive any time I could). That evening we had prices and buddy gifts. I got the tour price for being the most extreme guy on tour, and was given a t-shirt for that. My buddy gave me a certificate for 'Being brave enough to do a lot of crazy stuff and being a good mate', as well as a Hei Tiki fridge magnet (Hei Tiki is a carving symbolizing a new born baby). That night most people stayed up late and gave each other goodbye notes and such - it was really nice, if a bit sad.

The next morning we started early and headed straight to Christchurch Airport, where the farewell was filled with tears. Personally, I ended up in tears like most of my other friends. I really miss them and the tour, but I am also glad to be back home in familiar surroundings. That was pretty much a start to finish full coverage of my holidays so far - I still have 4 days to go.

I realize how long this blog entry was, and i can honestly say good job to anyone who finished it all. I hope you enjoyed reading it just a fragment of how much I enjoyed doing it. Now I'm off to bed, as it is 1 in the morning here - good night, and don't forget to look at photos and videos, as well as comment on the blog!

Cheers from here,

Daniel Rudolph