The Real Life Fantastic

Greetings from Wellington! I have finally made it to the most southern point of my New Zealand journey. (Wellington is basically the last stop on the north island before people take the ferry to the south island.) I will have to return one day in order to explore the south island since I don't have time to do it now. I've heard it's amazing! I think I'll be happier to visit when it's not quite so cold, though. (It's winter in New Zealand right now, and much colder on the south island than it is on the north island.)

Anyway, after my Taupo skydiving adventures I went to a little place called River Valley. It was stunningly beautiful there! And on the way we stopped and walked to a waterfall that was featured in the Lord of the Rings movies. "Gollum's waterfall" according to my bus driver. It was very pretty. I do love waterfalls. ♥

We stayed in this little cabin in the middle of a river valley - hence the name - and the views all around were just stunning! And little baby sheep prancing around made the picture complete. We had a really nice evening in the cabin. There was a chicken roast dinner, and a bar with a generous bartender. (I didn't pay for a single drink the entire night!)

We drove to Wellington the next day, but before we left I had a chance to have a little walk around the surrounding area. It was really so beautiful. I can't even describe it. Especially in the morning light.

It's been quite nice to stay in Wellington. It's a very hill-y city, with houses built on the numerous hillsides that tower over the water. Today I went to the Weta cave and saw some pretty cool miniatures and memorabilia from the Lord of the Rings movies, and also from the Tin Tin movie. There was also a DVD you could watch which showed a lot of the work that the Weta people put into making the CGI, puppets, props and all that stuff for the films that they've worked on.

The rest of my afternoon was spent at the Te Papa museum. It's the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand and full of interesting stuff! I liked the colossal squid the most. It's the only museum in the world that has a specimen on display!

Last night was quite fun as well. It was my first night in Wellington, and there was a trash bag party at the bar which is attached to the hostel. People could design and wear an outfit out of trash bags in order to get a free drink! I made a really awesome dress, but I did not win the contest. Boo.

Tomorrow I'm heading back north. I'm not sure where I will spend tomorrow night. Either Taupo or Matamata. In any case, my next tourist activity will be to visit Hobbiton! I'm really looking forward to it.


P.S. My second skydive was even better than my first. I jumped with the same guy again - Amos - and he let me do a backflip out of the plane, go in circles during the freefall, pull out the chute, steer the chute and go in horizontal circles... It was so awesome! And the view of Mt. Doom and Lake Taupo was even more beautiful in the sunset. ♥

I don't have a lot of time on this public computer so I'm just going to post what I posted on facebook:

"New Zealand is amazing. The nature is unbelievable! I never want to fall asleep on the bus because there's always some new gorgeous view around the next corner. I've been to a beach where you can dig a hole and hot water springs up, in caves with glow-worms that make the ceiling look like a starry night sky, and today I went to see a Maori cultural show! It's all been amazing. ♥"

I was one of the very few who went into the hot water pools that we dug up on the beach. The tide happened to be at night, so it was pitch black and freezing! But I held up the honour of my Viking heritage. It was nice and warm in the water, though.

The glow-worm cave in Waitomo was a dream come true for me. I've been wanting to see them since I saw David Attenborough talk about them in one of his documentaries. It was a surreal experience!

I just got back from the Maori cultural show here in Rotorua. They fed us a feast of traditional hangi after the show. (It's slowly cooked meat and veg, basically.) I'm so full! The show itself was very educational and fun. The Maori did their war dance (Haka) for us and sang traditional songs. We also had to choose a chief from our tour group to represent us, and he got to take part in the opening ceremony. The war dance was quite intimidating!

Tomorrow we leave Rotorua, a place which reminds me of Iceland since it is full of hot springs, and go to Taupo - the adventure capital of the northern island. I'll be sad to leave Rotorua though, the lake here is gorgeous. I walked out to it earlier today, and some black swans swam right up to where I was standing!

I hope you're all happy and healthy! ♥