two week recap

Ok! Sorry for the lack of postage.

Sooooo Last weekend, Kathleen, Alex (our friend from Cali), and I took the old Corona out to Hanmer Springs, which is about a two hour drive through the mountains (or very very very large hills). BEAUTIFUL DRIVE. and the old grandma car didn't give us any problems.

HOWEVER! While we were on the open highway, we began to here this faint Tinkerbell noise coming from the dashboard. We didn't know if it was a polite warning that the car was going to blow up, or some other quirk. The bell came on and off for about another 15 minutes, until we realized it was a warning that we were going 5 km/hr over the speed limit. so anytime we go 105 km/hr, which is like 65 mph/hr tops, we have to deal with the most annoying bell I have ever heard in my life.

The front doors also unlock when you close them. So! We have to close the front doors, lock the front from the back door, and then finally close the back doors. (I hope that makes sense).

Nevertheless, I love that car.

Anyway, we headed up to Hanmer Springs on Saturday and then went for a hike to a waterfall in the mountains. Kathleen, Hailey (a kiwi girl), and me tagged behind a bit, and we eventually got to a fork in the path where the two signs said "to waterfall: 5 minutes" and "Dangerous Pathway: Beware of unsafe ground and boulders." So, we continued straight assuming it was the right path. 45 minutes later, we were at the top of the stupid mountain with no waterfall!! I scuffed up my leg a bit when i fell of this edge, and the rest of the pathway was sooooooo unstable! Hailey said this was a good path compared to some other tracks in New Zealand....can't wait for that .

Here's the beautiful view at the unexpected top and the final destination of the water fall:

Later that same day, we headed off to the hot springs and sulphur pools, where I accidentally oxidized all my silver jewelry. :(

We were planning on sleeping in the car, but some of our friends from the dorm rented a cottage for the night, so all the Americans (all 13 of us), slept there.

The next day, we enjoyed a casual walk along the wetlands, and stopped at brewery on the way home. We had a little trouble finding the trail, and ended up driving up this mountain. Not even kidding: the road was smaller than an alley and had a complete drop off at the edge. very stressful driving to say the least.

This weekend was the wild food festivals on the west coast, which consist of eating really gross parts of really gross animals. So I decided to pass on the festival and explore around my university.

My window in my dorm faces the mountain range that separates Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. I decided to find the bottom by bike!

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride: low 70's and barely any wind. I found a couple cute cafes and only one dead hedge hog.

Here's me!

I also finally made it out to the downtown area on Saturday night! yippeee!

This next week coming up is going to stink. I have an organic farming debate. I'm representing the social bonds created by organics. Then, I have to present a poster board for landscape architecture, and finally finish my first lab for my GIS course.

The grading system is really goofy here. There's only 2-3 assignments the entire year, and the final count as 70% of the entire semester grade. No pressure.

Once I get through this week, I will be heading down to Dunedin where my friend kiwi, Hamish, lives. Our weekend goal is to find albatrosses, penguins, and run down the steepest street in the world. I'll have plenty of stories when I return, and I am so happy we have a personal kiwi guide :)