new zealand: round two...ding.

{Easter Holiday 2011}

=>Sunday, April 17th

• met an English couple from Christchurch on the plane...seed planted for Christ.
• did not know this, but on AirAsia, you must buy everything on there: blanket, pillow, food, drink
• met Sam at the airport and slept there right by the police desk
• sidenote: 5.3 earthquake aftershock the night before we landed, the airport was coooo.....old!, and there was a crazy music dance mix all night (joy joy)

=>Monday, April 18th

• caught up, talked, and giggled all night like at a junior high girl's sleepover.
• amazing shower in the airport and drying my hair under a hand dryer.
• tried to catch the bus to town square, but barricaded off because of the aftershock
• got coffee and played two-fingered exhausted slap-jack :)
• caught the naked bus from Christchurch to Queenstown
• 90 minute unplanned stop...fall leaf cruchin' time
• Lake Tekapo!!

• easily the most beautiful place I have ever seen or been...
• almost missed the bus running to the little church and lake to see it and take pictures...and pick a flower=WORTH IT!
• crazy Scottish driver and his uh...eclectic music taste.
• stop off and flower picking, tall grass dancing, and wish blowing
• wanaka lake...gorgeous with oating and houseboats, and mountains surrounding a beautiful lake. 2 thumbs WAY up!
• Stop off at organic farm stand with loads of free samples and fruit leather
• arrive at Queenstown after sunset..."Never in my life! Are we seriously here right now?"
• NACHOS with my new friends after checking into base hostel (first cheese since February) and bundling up to brave the cold
• walk around town and ship harbour
• *sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep

=>Tuesday, April 19th

• overslept: supposed to meet at 8:30 with the new friends, but uh woke up at 9:30. hmm
• information and then LICK for our belgium waffle breakfast
• today=maple banana and started our tradition
• hike around Queenstown beach: willow climb (gracefully....uh no), feet in the water, xplorin'
• caught bus to schipper's canyon for JETBOATING!!
• one of the only 3 uninsured roads in new zealand
• arrive at point in river from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring where Aerowin says "If you want him, come and claim him!" The river come to life...that spot.
• suited up in MASSIVE as raincoats, boarded the boat, and we're off!
• learned about gold miner's and saw the ruins
• 360 degree turns in a rocky two inch deep water gorge with cliff walls on both sides!

• could not stop giggling after the ride= so stoked!
• went up to schipper's canyon bungee (now retired) and walked across the bridge as it moved.
• walk around town, dinner at the hostel's bar called altitude for only $5!
• crazy night-teacher's gone wild! On playground and crazy teeter totter (backwards) and songs and games in pitch black, and a random fire-thrower twirler dude
• gelato in freezing cold sitting on the bay wall and reading crazy as poem inscribed on it.
• "salad day memories"
• walk around town xplorin' more and then serious warm up by the fire

=>Wednesday, April 20th

• LICK for our traditional breakfast=today is waffles with strawberry cheesecake gelato and cream
• bought sushi to share and got day pass for bus. Hiked around Queenstown lake
• devotions on a dock out in the lake [they use for water taxi drop-off/pick-up] and some sunbathing
• walk to Frankton to catch the bus to Arrow Town.
• got lost and sat at bus stop sidewalk eating sushi and sunbathing
• bus takes us all the way to Frankton and we're thirty-five minutes early for the bus to Arrow Town

• we sit in grassy intersection and take a little nap in the middle of the road
• bus to Arrow Town!
• GORGEOUS day in A-town with autumn leaves

• natural fireworks
• historic miner's village
• walk around shops (like a NZ brown county)
• trek by stream/river
• chinese gold miner's village [[dudley's cottage...oops]]
• COOOOOOOOOLD!!!
• warm up by the fire while watching rugby
• fat badger pizza!
• tried to go to Fernhill with our day bus pass= ultimate fail. we ride the entire bus there and back without getting off...fernhill was literally just a hill.
• night at Altitude making UK friends and watchin live music, with bar wars in the background.

=>Thursday, April 21st

• early morning brisk walk to Queenstown beach and gardens
• leaf picture fail on self-timer
• exploring gardens, HUGE pines and what tree we would each be. Sam would be a super tall and skinny pine and I'm a willow reaching out for the water that children are always playing in.
• reenacting teachers gone wild night on the playground
• breakfast at LICK= today is banana maple waffles again. num num!
• hike up part of Queenstown hill to catch the gondola and luge down the mountain!


• saw the "kiwi experience" on the way up (bird sanctuary)
• ah-mazing view!!
• ps: Fernhill is totally on the map up there
• freaked out about the view for a while
• went down to the lift for LUGE!
• on these little soap boxes with bike handlebars and raced down the side of the mountain=FUN!
• climbed up the mountain and laid in the grass while paragliders flew by...whoosh
• crazy sign with the miles and kilometers to all the major cities around the world
• farthest=london
• down the gondola and a walk to a local bakery for a yum lunch of spinach and feta roll with a white chocolate raspberry slice (you can tell I've been food deprived eh)
• last walk around Queenstown saying goodbye
• awesome fog {{God's mystery}}
• caught the bus to the airport after picking up our bags from the hostel
• MOST BEAUTIFUL airport of all times! for serious.
• from airport we load on movie star style with stairs going up into the airplane
• waved goodbye like Princess Di and blew a kiss to the South Island on our way up and in
• Richard Simmons flight safety video and quiz game show to keep us occupied on the flight
• saw mt. cook and I think a glacier from the sky
• Suzanne hugs at the airport...Love these :)
• catch up in car ride over disney tunes
• drop Sam at home with her UK house-guests
• go to Pita Pit with Suz and chat
• throw her keys out the window---> while driving!! to see if her automatic remote-controlled future car still runs

• drive pretty far and it SO STILL DOES GO! amazing.
• to the Bell's house after picking up movies for the night
• meet Cammy and Katherine at the house 
• first night is a girl's night!
• sleep-over with mattresses in the family room, a movie, girl talk (duh, that's a given), and chocolate pudding!
• so upset at the movie that we kept pausing it to yell at the television and discuss using some serious rhetoric.
• stayed up until 4am talking, laughing, and singing Lion King (pink pajamas penguins on the bottom) and Katherine jokes

**LOVED our reunion and it showed me that sisters in Christ are sisters forever!

=>Friday, April 22nd

• Cammy wanted to wake up early to "slog" on the beach...oops, woke up at 10am (not really an oops though, let's just be honest)
• girls eat breakfast together and get ready to go on an adventure!
• to the beach! one I have never been to on the west coast with a picnic lunch [[introduced them to peanut butter banana sandwiches and they introduced me to potato chip and peanut butter sandwiches. life will never be the same]]

• tic tac toe in the chilly sand
• pants rolled up
• climb on the rocks and able to break the rocks off= crumbly
• storm coming in...YES!!!
• hunt for pizza dough yeast on Good Friday and McDonald's snack
• "lindi's back!" party 
• make home-made pizzas...little gourmet wonders! with CHEESE! (oh how I missed it)
• catching up and chatting
• I-phone toilet paper unrolling tournament
• communist charades! uh...with the cat in the hat eating a peanut butter sandwich, putting on running socks, and slipping on hard wood floor...ya what?
• telephone pictionary. great great great!
• coldplay songs and sing-along 
• poop poop pow by Black eyed peas :)
• pulled up couches and started a movie with popcorn after midnight
• Great night back with hugs, high 5's, and pillow volleyball. 
• sleeeeeeeeep at 3am

=>Saturday, April 23rd

• woke up with Nikki and Suz in the garage painting a mural. help out for a while and paint a tree
• des makes french toast for breakie (experimental)
• girls come= Katherine and Sam, and we go grass sledding down mount victoria (volcano!)
• tumbled quite a few times, had our cardboard stolen, grass angels, box scavenger hunt, UK friends
• spiffedup and made lemon cheesecake slice with katherine

• borrowed her blue 40s dress that I met her in back in the day and loved her style yo.
• went to David and Kathryn's engagement party
• ate about 12 sweets
• saying animal names like the sounds the animal makes (Gooooooaaaat)
• huge group goes to Momo's for food and my favorite, sweet-scented osmantheus (fyi: a flower we saw in Queenstown) milk tea!
• played claps there and laughs
• home, bed for church

=>Sunday, April 24th

• Easter Sunday! 
• got to church with a group of friends
• get to talk to Mrs. Greybe! I love her so much!
• home-made pasta with the girls
• HUGE bowls filled with pasta and topped with mozzarella cheese while watching another movie with the couches pulled up
• again...discussions and pausing throughout
• church with dan
• farewell party 
• ice cream and a walk along the rocks and water at night with flashlights! that's what's up!
• did not make it without staring out over the waves and crying with sam
• night cap at the bells with goodbyes

=>Monday, April 25th

• wake up WICKED early for the dawn parade for ANZAC day (kind of like memorial day)
• meet the girls at 5am...I was not kidding
• RAIN gear! Poured the entire time and completely drenched with umbrellas everywhere [can we say umbrella etiquette?]
• breakfast by the museum of awesome waffles with Slammin'...tradish.
• walk around park in rain with puddle jumping
• drive through mount albert- my old stomping grounds!
• stop at bakery next to the Herringa's house for plane grub
• airport: talk and cry, pray together and say farewell

*Thanks be to my Lord Jesus Christ. The great story-writer!