I finally have internet and it is Sunday night 5/31/09 here in New Zealand, i'm really sorry everyone who has been waiting for photos and updates! it's only been a little while and i'm way behind and have tons of photos i had to cut back and pick my favorites to show you all! Tomorrow would be our first day of work but its a New Zealand holiday for the Queens Birthday!!!! So we have the day off to explore more of the city, and shop for a heavier coat! lol I'll try and start from the beginning, the plane was huge i went on and when i first arrived into New Zealand there was a gorgeous sunrise right in front of me, the perfect welcome. Shuttles and Australearn people picked us up and took us to our Hostel aka hotel, and we settled in before lunch.
Our orientation was in Wellington, the capitol here. I met all the other Australearn interns and everyone is so great, we all have different interests and come from different places in the states. The flights were so long, but they had so much planned for us we had to wake up. I got a tour of Wellington city the first night there and it was very pretty. Wellington outside of downtown is absolutely amazing as well because all the houses are along the mountains and very high up! The water is all around and stunning. It is very cold here but during the day i've already learned to love it! surprising i know!, but with the right clothes and sunshine it's perfect, then night and rain and clouds are a different story! It gets pretty brutal and i think my nose might freeze off if i'm in it too long! haha Right now it is 45 degrees i had to figure it out they use celcious here.
They also have so many different words, here's some of the Kiwi language...
when food is 'to go'... here it's 'take away'
when someone is joking with you in a friendly way they are 'taking the piss out of you' haha
no bathrooms or restrooms only the 'toilets'
when kids want to sound cool they add 'as' to the end of their word of choice...'cool as' ' sweet as'
and many more!
The driver is on the right! So weird!
Boats in Wellington
NZ money is so pretty
A piece of art in the city
Notice the whale fins on the bridge!
The next morning in Wellington we did the seal coast safari and it has been my favorite thing so far! The ride was bumpy and on a narrow road which by the way is so hard to get used to driving on the opposite side! anyways we went up the tallest mountains and then back down to the coast and saw the most majestic views, so breathtaking. I wish you all could have seen it! We took a walk to where the seal's hang out and they were so adorable! Big and lazy too but it was amazing to see and be so close.
My safari group! We had so much fun together!
From the top of a mountain!
Myself and other Australearn intern girls!
Stunning Views...
We actually took this road!, two cars have to fit on these!? so scary! and no railings!
Very exciting though!
Almost to the coast!
ME! :o)
Lara and I in paradise!
A seal!!!!
a little sleepy from all his hard work!
Me hanging with some NZ seals lol
Some of the girls and I near the coast <3
The view from driving back up!After the seal safari they took our 32 ish person group of students to the Wellington 6 story museum and we learned a lot about the environment and culture. They have a display case with a GIANT squid that was found and one of the scientists who worked on it is my internship advisor! I can't wait to meet him and learn a lot from him, he was even on the discovery channel and has done a lot of research with these type of things. Dr. Steve O'Shea is his name!
My first legal ordered drink ever, as it was for most of us at our dinner!
The next morning everyone said goodbye and split into their seperate ways to different cities, luckily i'm in a group of 9 and even more may come this week! and 5 of us are together in the marine biology internship, myself, Lara, Hannah, Nigeen, and Moriah! we have so much in common and can't wait to work together and i can't wait to take my first dive here and see everything! We all met up at our appartments in Auckland in the same building and i requested to live with my friend Lara from FGCU as well and we are!
This is our first night out at a local pub with a live band it was so fun!
I haven't seen changing leaves falling in so long i love it!
Me with the Skytower!
We walked down to explore the harbour!
Auckland <3
We decided to take a spontanious boat tour while we were there!Very freezing on the top deck though!
Some of the Harbour tours views for you to see...
Auckland is called "The City of Sails"
The Youngest and largest volcanic mountain! 600 ft. high!
My first time on a volcanic island!
me standing on volcanic rock!
on the boat having hot drinks and a snack :o)
Myself and the city of Auckland my summer home!
People here bungie off of everything! no joke!
Auckland bridge!
I love how they use sustainable bags to shop places!
I found a dolphin blanket and put my photos up to make it more cozy!
So far this experience has been amazing, we have all been so busy because there is so much to do in all of New Zealand! We have 9 weekends and all planned together where to go and what to do for every single one! The whole trip is already filled with things to look forward too! and this is all besides the actual awesome work i'll hopefully be experiencing during my 4 day week at AUT! Once the day is over and everything slows down it is really hard not to get upset that i'm missing everyone, i miss them nonstop but without the distractions it can get tough. I love you babe! and mommy and daddy and Jenny and Gina i love the notes you wrote me ...loser lol I hope you're all staying warm enough for me in the heat up there! Hopefully next time the post won't be as long, it's impossible to tell and show everything because it's just so much but i will do my best!
Tomorrow we are going on a different cruise from the Auckland harbour if the weather stays nice and i'm so excited! This trip is all about doing as much as we can and enjoying every minute of it and so far it's been great. I'm surrounded by great people and have already made some great friends. I can't believe i'm actually here after waiting for it for so long! Until next time!
