Janessa's Adventures Abroad: No Pants, No Problem! South Island Trip Part 1...

So we got up bright and early on Friday and started our 10 hour drive to Wellington. It went pretty smoothly. I was worried because James is a crazy driver so I thought I was going to get really sick. But as long as I am not in the very back, I’m fine. So we made it to Wellington and we were all so exhausted! We didn’t drive through the city at all. We just went straight to the house we were staying at. The family we stayed with made us a huge, delicious dinner. It was amazing! And then we just hung out, watched Harry Potter, and went to bed pretty early. The next day we got up early again to catch the ferry to the South Island. We drove through the city to get to the dock and I was so excited that we were going to come back and spend some time there. Wellington is a beautiful city. So we got on the ferry and it took 3 hours to get over to the South Island. It was gorgeous but I was ready to get off the boat. Then we jumped back into the car and drove another 6 hours to Christchurch. I feel like after this trip I’m never going to want to ride in a car again… Anyways, we went to the beach and walked on the pier and James showed us around the city. It was so crazy because there is still a ton of damage from the earthquake they had two years ago. Also, apparently a bunch of people just moved away after the earthquake so it feels kind of eerie, like a ghost town in some places. It was weird. The family we stayed with there was so nice and so much fun! They let us sleep in some of their rooms so I got to sleep in a bed instead of a tent and I was so happy! It was the comfiest bed I have every slept in and I slept so well that night. On Sunday we went to church and then James taught us about the growth of the church in New Zealand. It was awesome and so interesting! Then on Monday we drove out to Queenstown. I absolutely love it here! It is the cutest little British town and there is a Nando’s and a Starbucks (They have almond syrup here!!!! They discontinued that in the states and almond hot chocolate is my favorite!) so I’m in heaven… Hahaha, but seriously, it is so cute! That first day we just walked around and looked at some of the shops. We ate lunch at a place called Devil Burger and it was so good! Seriously, the best burger of my life. There’s another place called Hell Pizza that we eat at a lot and it has the best pizza ever! Apparently they are owned by the same people. I am going to miss them so much when I get back to the states. Later that night I met 4 people from Wisconsin! Super random! All of us were travelling separately, too! I seriously thought people didn’t normally leave Wisconsin except to vacation in Florida. Haha, anyways, on Tuesday we got up and drove out to Milford Sound and spent the day there. It was so beautiful! We took a boat trip around the sound and out to the Tazman Sea. I took so many pictures! And guess what? I met another girl from Wisconsin! Crazy, right?! Then yesterday we did the shotover jet in the morning. So you get in a jet boat and they drive you all around the Shotover River and it is so fun! They spin around and get really close to the rocks and stuff. It felt like being on a roller coaster. It was awesome! And the river is so beautiful! Then about half of the group went bungee jumping and did the world’s largest swing. No one could pay me enough to do that, let alone make me pay them to put my life in danger! So me and the other girls went white water rafting with Erika and Jeanette on the Shotover River. It was so fun! I was really scared though because I didn’t want to fall out of the raft but we made it through without anyone falling out! I think the bus ride to the river was the scariest part of the trip! We were driving on a tiny gravel road on the side of the mountain. It was only big enough for one car and there was no fence on the edge. When you looked out the window you could see all the way down the canyon. It was terrifying. I was sure we were going to die before we even got to go rafting. But we made it and I survived the rapids as well! We went through class 3, 4, and 5 rapids and when we finished, I totally felt super bad a. I was so proud of myself! I never thought I would do that in my life either! I’ve realized that this trip is going to involve a lot of “firsts” for me. When we got back, we ate Hell Pizza for dinner and hung out in our room. Then today we drove out to Glenorchy to see some of the Lord of the Rings filming sights. It was so beautiful! I’m also realizing that everything here is gorgeous! It was awesome. We just spent the rest of the day in the city. I love it! I wish we could stay in Queenstown longer.