overview

NZ was a blast! the time seemed to fly by, and yet it seemed to be forever. we did so much, that the days were full, and yet we did so much it seemed a long time. we did so much i can't remember all of it to write out, so i'll just overview.

on day one, we arrived at 6am, then drove for 2-3 hours to amy's house. it was a sunny day, one of the only, while we were there. we started out the trip with breakfast- a pie. not dessert pie, but food pie. danielle and i were both hesitant, so we shared a mince (ground beef) which neither of us liked too much. when we reached the house, we went out on the trampoline. we were out there basically all day. it was so much fun. i forgot to mention that tim, one of amy's friends, came to meet us and spend the day. i'll see if i can post pics later, when i get them from amy and danielle.

the next day, 2 of amy's girlfriends came over. chelsea and alicia. before they arrived, though, we went to claudia's (cousin) dance recital. she was awesome. we also met amy's brother and sister. that night, danielle and i went out on the trampoline until dark. we then watched a movie, and alicia and chelsea spent the night.

that night, it started to pour! i've never experienced so much rain. it was still going the next day, and danielle and i, being the freaks that we are, wanted to go out in it. so we went on the tramp, came back soaking. i believe there are pics below. that afternoon, the weather cleared up, and we took chelsea home. she has a large plot of land, and a stick shift. 5 girls piled into a four seater, and chelsea taught each of us how to drive. so much fun. her dog was moving obstacle. a dog running in front of a car, with student drivers, is very scary, and results in screams.

later in the week, amy had to go to the dentist, and her aunt dropped us off at the mall on the way back. it was so small! it was maybe one wing of any mall here, and yet that is all anybody ever can go to in one trip. that night we went to claudia's basketball game.

oh, when alicia spent the night, we were talking about the difference in the way we say certain words. we said chantal, and she said, "WHAT THE HECK IS A CHANTAL?!?" so funny.

sometime after that, we went to the hot-pools. they were right next to the beach, so after lunch, we went there. that night, we watched don't mess with the zohan. that was the dumbest movie i have ever seen. the kind of movie i would have left 1/2 way through if i had been by myself.

another day, we went to the luge. the only way i know to describe it, is like go-carts without an engine. you roll downhill. it sounds a little dull, but it is fun. i think it was that night that we went to a spa-pool. i don't like pools/swimming all that much, but we basically sat there and talked. pretty cool. oh, i believe that was the first time i had a pie that i really liked. chicken. it was very yummy. on the topic of food, the fish and chips were also very good. surprising, since i hate fish.

several times, we went shopping ,where we all bought the usual touristy things.

we went on a weekend trip to new plymouth on the other side of the island. we met up with the rest of amy's family. we stayed in "cabins" right off the beach. there were paths along the beach which we walked along. one day, we went to the shopping centre type thing where while the kids were playing on a huge indoor playground, amy, danielle, and i went with mike to a cafe. that was fun, but when we went back to the playground, we had even more fun! the three of us, plus mile and another adult cousin, tessa, totally went on the playground too. we had a full on ball fight, amazing.

the last day, we went to 2 caves. the first was no pics allowed, and was so incredible. we sat on a boat, and looked up at the ceiling, and saw hundreds of glow worms. you could completely feel God down there. the second cave was also amazing. all the stalactites and stalagmites were supposed to take 100 yrs for 1cm cubed. so the caves are super old. and that brought up a point my Bible teacher said. he said, that the earth wasn't necessarily made as a baby. God made adam and eve adults, the earth could have been made "grown up" too. an interesting thought.

overall the whole trip was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo fun!