Kiwi Camping

When I found out camping in new Zealand didn't mean camp fires and s'mores I was pretty disappointed! What's the point of sleeping on the ground surrounded by bugs and with no showers if you can't sit around the fire and make s'mores at the end of the day?
They do it a little different than what I'm use to. We're staying at a camping "resort" that comes equipped with hot showers, toilets, blow dryers (an essential in my books), kitchen, BBQs and anything else you may need! Everyone has their own blow up mattress and there is even a laundry facility on site and of course a wi- fi station! Instead of sitting around a fire to stay warm you can set up a table to gather round! The other thing that I find comical are all the little cars! Back home camping, all I ever remember are SUVs and trucks at camp sites, none of this pee wee sedan kind of stuff! So not quite the same feel but it's always good to try something new! And with my family there's plenty of entertainment to go round so there hasn't been a dull moment yet! I'm glad I'm able to experience a typical "kiwi" summer vacation!

Merry Christmas! Ho!

Well so much for a white Christmas! This year I spent it soaking up the sun and eating heaps of seafood! Nothing like anything I've ever experienced! I was hesitant going into it but it turned out to be a great day! My sister and Oliver got engaged in the morning so we had lots to celebrate!! It was so fun to see our two families interact! We spent it at Olivers parents house and his mom had it decked out with Christmas decorations! It was perfect!

I'm not going to lie though, it was pretty upsetting going into Christmas this year. It never even feel like the holidays! Here in NZ, Christmas time is also summer break for everyone so I felt like there was no emphasis on Christmas. Normally, I'm sick and tired of all the Christmas music everyone is playing but I found myself searching for it this year! I might have heard a song every few days if I was lucky and I hardly saw any Christmas decorations. Now that I have officially experienced a summer Christmas I can say without a doubt I prefer a winter Christmas!

The Black Jetta Convoy Begins

So the Bartholomew adventure up New Zealand's north island has begun! We aimed to leave the house 10am on "boxing" day, the day after Christmas, however did not end up leaving until 12:30! Typical! But all is good, we barely hit any traffic and so far we have yet to forget anything!

The last time we did this drive was my second day in the country and I kept attempting to get in the drivers seat not realizing it wasnt the passengers seat! It's crazy that yesterday, I was the driver, of one of the cars that is! We are the black jetta convoy, so if you see us coming watch out!!! Yesterdays leg took us about 6 hours with a few stops in between! My poor mother has been forced to take pictures out of the window, there's just no time to stop!

Our first stop is Taupo where we are camping for 4 nights! I survived night 1, only 3 more to go! Today, we went on a "20 min" hike according to Oliver and Amanda who have "done it before!" 2.5 hours later we returned back to camp! It was well worth the hike though! Huka Falls is the most visited place in New Zealand and I can see why! My favorite part about the hike was spotting my first New Zealand fern. I've seen a million pictures of the beautiful ferns that grow and twirl and today I got to finally see it in person!

Bring on December

December has always been one of my favorite months. You've got Thanksgiving in November that prepares you for the festivities to come. For me, getting through Thanksgiving means it's officially okay to put up Christmas decorations and of course bring out the movie ELF!h It also means days are typically spent curled up inside watching movies by the fire and drinking hot chocolate. I feel that people become more friendly and really get into the Christmas spirit. One of my favorite parts is being home and getting to see all those friendly faces and catch up with old friends you don't get to see too often.

This year is already quite different. Wellington has been putting on a show with the gorgeous weather the last week or so, it's really starting to heat up. Instead of ordering hot coffees I find myself ordering ice cold lemonade or  beer while at home they're dealing with snow and power outages. I think I can get use to this. I haven't heard any holiday tunes yet which I am a bit disappointed about but I'm starting to see some Christmas decorations up so that is a plus. I am excited to experience my first Summer Christmas and eager to see if it will still feel like the Christmas I've always known. I guess when you think about holidays what really matters is being surrounded by family and friends and appreciating those that are in your lives. My parents will be arriving in less than two weeks and I couldn't be more ecstatic about it. This will be one Christmas to remember.

Earthquakeeeeee

I just felt my first earthquake in New Zealand and let me tell you it was not fun. I was home alone and the windows upstairs were wide open making a sound like they were going down. It started off as a subtle shake and I thought it was just the wind, windy Wellington right? Nope! It progressively got stronger to the point where I was thinking, "oh shit, this might be a big one." If you know where I live it might make a little more sense as well seeing as how I basically live on a cliff. Good thing for all the education we got on what to do in an earthquake, after just a few seconds I stood in the door frame just in case. Apparently it was a 5.7 on the richter scale and was felt the strongest in Wellington and Blenheim.

I honestly don't understand how people still live in Christchurch. From the looks of it, Christchurch seems like it would have been a great city to live in when you ignored all the rubble. I was only in CHCH for one night so I can't say much but in that time I was visiting there was a minor earthquake, luckily I slept thorugh it. In the last year this seems to be a pretty regular occurrence. I could only imagine how those who experienced the one in February feel anytime they feel a shake. I mean you never know if it's going to be the big one and I just don't know how they cope. Do they go running for safety immediately or are there one's who sit where they are trying to wait it out hoping it's not another big one? My thoughts and wishes go out to everyone there, they are a strong group of people.