Letters from New Zealand 5

I'm no longer in New Zealand,  but for those of you who didn't know, 
I made a trip there this past February.  Anyway, I have had several people 
ask me to retell some of my stories and eventualy I thought "Why don't I just 
put them on my blog?"  My next few posts are the actual emails that I sent back 
to my parents while I was over there.  I hope y'all enjoy!
 

Hey Y'all,

I know it's been a couple of days since I've actually written an email. 

The day before yesterday Dawn and Dugald left for a few days to go on a

trip to the Bay Islands so Sarah and I were left alone with the girls.

It was kind of an overcast and rainy day so the girls watched movies and 

I tried baking something...I say tried because it definitely didn't taste

 very good.The New Zealand butter has a very unique and somewhat unsavory taste.

I mean, it's not so strong that you can't enjoy it on toast, but if you try to make

 a graham cracker crust with it...Well, let's just say it doesn't taste quite 

the same as something from home.The girls were really sweet about it though.

(Photo courtesy of Sarah (www.xanga.com/leans_2_the_right)

They at least tried the dessert .I definitely feel for Dawn and her adventure 

in attempting to cook in a new country with different-tasting ingredients and an oven 

set on Celsius!

(Photo also from Sarah)

Yesterday was a lovely day.I traveled to my current location of Kaikoura, New 

Zealand.It's on the South Island between Christchurch and Picton.It titled 

this email "buses, trains, cars, and planes" because I used all of those modes of 

transportation to get here!Yesterday morning I took a taxi to the airport where I 

flew on a small Cessna plane to Picton.The plane was so small that there were 

barely 12 people on it and we were definitely crammed.Unfortunately for me, I was

 the last person to get on and the only seat left open was at the very front.  All 

of the passengers had to enter the plane from the back and the aisle was only about 

as big enough for one leg to walk in front of the other.This wouldn't have been too 

big of a deal except for the fact that I had my large camera backpack with me as 

well as a small duffel bag with all of my clothes.Even though I was being very 

careful, I managed to bump a couple of people with my bags.I was pretty embarrassed.

Thankfully, however, whenever we landed in Picton a man offered to carry one of my 

bags off for me.Seriously, the Kiwis are so kind here!

From the airport I took a shuttle (or bus) to the town of Picton.I walked over to 

the small railway station where I was greeted by an older lady sitting behind the 

desk.Once again (like everywhere I've been in NZ) I wasn't even asked for any i.d.

All she needed was my last name before she hand wrote me out my train ticket.Then

 she offered to keep my bags for me behind the counter while I walked around the town 

waiting for my train.

The town was nice and quaint.I mean, it's the main hub for 

the ferry that runs between the North and the South Island, so it still has a tourist

 influence. However, it's really not that commercialized (compared to what I normally think of).  I only saw maybe one 

street of little shops and restaurants.I tried getting some lunch while I was there.

Having heard that the seafood in New Zealand is fabulous, I got really excited when

 I saw a cafe that advertised scallops.I went in, paid a very expensive NZ price, 

and then was really disappointed to discover that they had deep fried the scallops! 

I could just feel my gallbladder getting revved up by just looking at them :(.

Therefore I ate the small salad on the side, tasted at least one of the scallops, 

and left the restaurant starving.I decided to walk back to the tiny train station 

to see if there was anything else nearby that I could eat.Whenever I got there, I 

conceded to eat at one of the most popular Kiwi joints...Subway.Yep, the Kiwis 

LOVE it.They have them EVERYWHERE and Picton was no exception.The menu is pretty

 much the same as in the States except for their current special of a lamb and mint 

sauce sub.I opted for turkey...

The train ride was lovely.

All of the cars were surrounded by large windows and I 

got to see several vineyards, salt ponds, and even seals.I sat across from a Maori

 woman and we quickly became friends over the two-hour ride.Apparently one of her 

daughters lived in Costa Rica for a year and is now fluent in Spanish!We definitely 

talked about that for a bit and then she discussed the US election with me.It's so

 funny to me that the Kiwis are so interested in the US presidential election.

The other day Sarah and I were walking around downtown Wellington and we saw a sign 

for a Kiwi group that supports Ron Paul... I'm ashamed to admit that up to two 

months ago I didn't even know the name of the current NZ prime minister :P.Anyway,

 my Maori friend asked if I thought that Hilary Clinton would win and I stated "I 

sure hope not."She laughed and said that she had just talked with some Texans that

 morning that had said the same thing.Ha!

When I finally arrived in Kaikoura, I looked at a map of the town in my book and 

decided that I would forgo taking a taxi and try to walk to my hotel.

Well, it was

 a bit further away than I had anticipated because I didn't get to my hotel until 45

 minutes later.At first I was kind of disappointed that the place I had booked 

turned out to be so far away from the main hub of the town.However, the hotel 

owner told me that there was a lovely walk right down the road from there and I 

decided to try it.It was great!I walked a ways past some beach houses and boats 

before I came to the old wharf.
There was an old farm house there that was built 

during the whaling times of Kaikoura.

Across from the house, on the beach, was an 

old, stone chimney standing all by itself.I read one of the historic markers next 

to it and apparently it was the sole remnant of the original customs house for the 

town.
I walked a little further and came across a roadside stand that was selling 

fresh seafood and was surrounded by picnic tables.

Kaikoura is known for its 

crayfish which is basically a lobster.  In fact, the name of the town stems from 

the Maori word for good food.  This particular roadside stand had the cheapest 

crayfish that I had seen in town and it looked WONDERFUL.

Therefore I made my 

order and sat myself right down at one of the picnic tables to enjoy my bounty.

I made friends with an Australian woman who was also traveling alone and we discussed 

our travels while I munched on my food and she sipped her wine.I then walked back 

to my hotel and made it there just in time before the sun went down.

Today has been another awesome day.I went and saw whales and dolphins this 

morning and took LOTS of pictures.

However, my internet time is running out

 and this email is already rather long.Therefore maybe I'll write about it 

whenever I get back to Wellington and once again have unlimited access.I hope 

that you are all doing well and I'll talk to you later!

-Ashley

Letters from My Trip to New Zealand 4

Hey guys,

Well, I have had quite a great adventure since even the last time that I

sent an email.Let's see...where do I start?Yesterday, after I 

left theinternet cafe, I walked to find the place where you could 

take a gondola up to the top of the mountain and look over the city of 

Queenstown. 

However, just before the center where you purchase your tickets for the 

gondola (AKA sky bucket) I saw a sign for a little nature center where they 

advertised native birds, etc.So I walked up and purchased a ticket to go in 

and the lady told me that they were about to feed the kiwis in 5 minutes (the 

birds, not the people ;).This is actually pretty exciting because they are 

endangered, nocturnal birds and it's really hard to get a glimpse of them.

The kiwis were actually living in a little "kiwi house" that the park had set up 

indoors.

They had it all dark in there because they wanted to fool the birds into 

thinking it was night time so that they would walk around. 

Normally they keep the light on at night to simulate daytime.

Anyway, they were much bigger than I thought that they would be.

I was imagining a little bird that could fit in the palms of your hands.

 However, they were about the size of two Texas grapefruits.

There were only two, a male and a female.Apparently the kiwis are 

Cantankerous little birds.The handler was telling us that he has to 

be really careful when he feeds them because they can be cranky and their 

sharp beaks can leave scars.You wouldn't know it just by looking at them.

They are so funny looking since they don't have wings and they come across as 

cute. Apparently they are endangered because back in the early 1900's (maybe

 earlier or later?) the New Zealanders introduced weasels to NZ in order to 

control the exploding rabbit population (strangely enough also introduced to 

NZ by the New Zealanders).However, the weasels found that the kiwis, who had

 no natural preditors, were much easier targets and therefore devastated their

population.Crazy eh?

After I finished at the nature center, I walked up to the gondola 

Ticket center and took a gondola on up to the top of the mountain.

Talk about a lovely view! 

The lake here in Queenstown has a turquiose 

hue to it and it was amazing to see it against all the fir and pine 

trees that blanket the mountainside. Whenever I got to the top I just 

walked around and tried taking pictures of the awesome view.I got to 

ride a "luge" ride that they had there.I basically sat on a little 

buggy that quickly rolled down a track that they built at the top of 

the mountain.After that, I just found a track that was cut through 

some trees and walked around before deciding that it was time to come 

back down for dinner.I just thought that I had never seen anything so 

gorgeous. However, that was until today...

This morning I woke up bright and early and boarded a coach bus that 

Would make a four hour drive to Milford Sound.

Milford Sound is the ending point to one of New Zealand's most famous and incredibly

beautiful tracks, the Milford Track.

Therefore, it is an insanely popular tourist destination. However, the Kiwis have managed to keep it 

at a seemingly "unpopulated level."  The drive was awesome.  At first

it started out with rolling hills dotted with sheep and deer farms and 

mountains in the background.

Then, as we reached closer to the Sound, 

it became more rocky and you could actually see parts of 

glaciers on the tops of the mountains.  Now,the whole way there the 

weather was overcast and raining.  You would think that this was very 

unfortunate for the trip.  However, it was actually quite a treat.

Apparently there are these things called "temporary waterfalls."

Their name describes them perfectly.Basically they are little waterfalls 

that occur because the rain is melting parts of the glacier.The 

mountainsides were covered with these and it was AMAZING!I really 

can't describe how incredible the views themselves were.There is just 

nothing else that I have seen to compare them to.However, I did

feel as though I was in a scene of Lord of the Rings if that gives you 

any idea.

I can definitely tell why Peter Jackson chose this area to film 

a good portion of the trilogy's scenes in this part of NZ.If that still 

doesn't give you a clue as to what it looked like, no worries I took LOTS and 

LOTS of pictures. Hopefully I will be able to post them soon whenever I get

back to Wellington.

I leave tomorrow afternoon to go back to Wellington.I'm excited because I

 find that I'm already missing those girls!When I got up to 

put on my makeup this morning there was nobody there to say "Oh, I want 

to have some of that too!" or "Can I pick out your outfit today Miss Ashley?"

Their parents are going out of town next week for a couple of 

days for a birthday trip for their mom so Sarah and I will be getting 

some good quality time with the girls as we look after them.In the 

meantime, I am looking at maybe planning a trip that Sarah and I can go 

on together whenever the parents come back.I'm thinking that maybe I 

want to visit one of the volcanic hot springs on the North Island.

We'll see...

Okay, well I love you all.  Family, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get

 a hold of you yesterday when I tried to call :(.Ingram, I understand 

what you mean when you see that you've got an unknown number.No 

worries, I shall try to call again sometime.Maybe tomorrow when I'm 

back in Wellington.I hope that you all are doing well and I appreciate my 

emails that I've been getting!As the Kiwis would say 

"Good on ya!"

Love, Ashley

Letters From My Trip to New Zealand 3

I'm no longer in New Zealand,  but for those of you who didn't know, I made a trip there this past February.  Anyway, I have had several people ask me to retell some of my stories and eventualy I thought "Why don't I just put them on my blog?"  My next few posts are the actual emails that I sent back to my parents while I was over there.  I hope y'all enjoy!

Hey everyone,

Sorry that I didn't get to send out my daily email yesterday.  

We didn't make it to the library yesterday because the Morrison's 

were actually getting their internet installed.  They now have a land line so you 

guys can maybe try to call me whenever I'm back in Wellington (Monday evening in Texas). 

 I also finally bought a calling card today so I may try to call you guys as well if it's not too late 

by the time I finish doing stuff in town today.  I'll need to get you their new phone number.  

I'd include it in this email right now but I left the piece of paper with the number on it at the hotel.  

I'll email it as soon as I can!

Today has been a great day so far.  This morning the Morrison's dropped me off at the airport on 

their way to church and I flew into Queenstown which is on the South Island.  

It was so weird to walk right on to a plane without even going through security!  

They let anybody walk right up to the gate and they don't even make you pass through a metal detector. 

 I admit, it was really nice.  The Kiwis (New Zealanders) only show up at the gate like 15 minutes before 

departure because it takes much less time. The flight itself was then wonderfully scenic.  I got to see a real 

glacier covering the tops of mountains.  I tried getting a picture of it with my point and shoot camera from the

 airplane window that I'll have to show y'all when I get back. 

 I also saw a lake that was a rich, turquoise blue.  Supposedly the color occurs due to minerals in the water.  

It was neat to get an aerial view of it :).

Once I landed at the Queenstown airport I took a bus into town and was suprised at how nice it is.  

The streets are well organized and close together so you can walk everywhere. 

 I walked along a pier at the lake and watched some local kids jump off of it into the blue-green water. 

  It's soooo gorgeous here and, not surprisingly, the highest concentration of Lord of the Rings scenes was 

filmed in this area.  I must admit, I was a bit surprised to walk off the plane and discover that it is warmer here 

than in Wellington.  It definitely feels like summer :).  I ate lunch at a little cafe that sells sandwiches and desserts 

as well as breakfast items including meat pies (a NZ staple) and quesadillas...  Yeah, I was a bit surprised to see

 that one on this side of the world, but I'm sure they're good.  I just got a roasted chicken sandwich that was sooo 

good.  The thick slices of bread really made it.  (Side note:  I have quickly learned that when it comes 

to bread, NZ is definitely Lacey's country.  There are bakeries everywhere and all of the bread that I have tried so

 far has been awesome.)

Okay, well I'm fixing to leave this internet cafe and go up a lift to the top of one of the mountains.  There 

are supposed to be some great views up there and that is where they have the luge 

that dad and I saw on Google Earth.  

Tomorrow I leave early in the morning to take a LONG day 

trip to Milford Sound.  I'll be on a 4 1/2 hour coach ride to Te Anau and then I'll take a 2 hour 

cruise through the sound before coming back to Queenstown tomorrow night.

I love you guys and hopefully I will talk to you soon!!

-Ashley

Letters From My Trip to New Zealand 2

Greetings from the future (it's already Thursday here!)

It's about two o'clock right now and Sarah and I just took the girls to
the park before we came here to the library to get our internet fix ;).
She's reading to them right now while giving me my turn first.

I had a great rest of the day yesterday.  It was Dawn's (Morrison)
birthday.  All day long the girls had been telling me about the presents
that they got for her.  It was really cute because they kept talking so
loudly about it and then saying "shhhh...you can't tell mom, it's a
secret!"  When evening came Mrs. Morrison made a dinner of guess what??
Lamb.  Yep, I'm sure dad would be surprised.  I ate the whole thing.  It
was actually pretty good and wasn't strong like the one that we had had at
Babba Bruno's.  Then, after dinner, we sat outside while Dawn opened her
presents and the girls each gave her the one that they had picked out
themselves.  We finished off the night by eating a popular New Zealand
icecream and then the adults had a glass of wine.  I managed to stay up
until bedtime and I slept the whole night!

Today has been nice so far, but not nearly as eventful.  Which is good
because I am still a bit tired.  I think that the girls have enjoyed
having another girl around.  They are so curious about everything I do.  I
have let them take turns each day picking out which outfit I'm going to
wear and they get so excited about then.  Then, while I was putting on my
makeup I had a couple of "groupies" who kept saying "Can I try that?" and
"Oh, this is a really pretty color!"  I just gave them some tiny dabs of
pink lip gloss and I pretended to brush some eyeshadow on their eyelids.
They seemed pretty pleased with that.

I think that this afternoon we might go to one of the bigger parks in the
city.  I'm not sure though.  Dawn is out shopping for her birthday with
some gift cards that she got last night and Sarah and I have been playing
with the girls and helping them with their homeschool work.

In other news, my visit with Dawn (porter) and Andrew in San Francisco was
a blast.  It was a GORGEOUS day and they were having a tulip festival down
by the pier.  We went down and walked through shops and watched the sea
lions in action.  Then we had lunch and Boudin Bakery (which was awesome).
I had such a great time hanging out with them.  It was perfect to be able
to spend the day with them and get a little bit of a break between
flights.  It took a few pictures and I even got a little video of some
break dancers that we saw performing.  I'll definitely have to show you
those whenever I get back.

Ok, well it was good to hear from you.

> Ashley,

Letters from my trip To New Zealand 1

I'm no longer in New Zealand,  but for those of you who didn't know, I made a trip there this past February.  Anyway, I have had several people ask me to retell some of my stories and eventualy I thought "Why don't I just put them on my blog?"  My next few posts are the actual emails that I sent back to my parents while I was over there.  I hope y'all enjoy!

Hey guys,

I just wanted to let y'all know that I finally made it here.  Whenever we
landed in Auckland it was only four in the morning so I was soooo tired.
I think that, no matter how "comfy" your seats are supposed to be, it's
just really hard to sleep in a plane.  No worries though.  I mean, I made
it safely and that's what matters ;).

Once I was in the airport it wasn't too bad.  I got through customs and
everything ok.  They are really strict here about bringing in foreign food
items.  They even had a dog that went around and sniffed everybody's bags
for fruit, etc. while we waited in line to go through customs.  I just
thought that that seemed kind of funny.

The people here seem REALLY nice so far.  After I finished going through
customs and everything I had to go to outside and find the bus station
because you have to take a bus from the international terminal to the
domestic terminal.  Well, when I got there there was an older lady who was
waiting on the bus too.  I stood there with my backpack, my purse, and my
carry-on bag.  Whenever the bus showed up she asked me if I needed any
help (she already had a backpack and purse herself). I insisted that, no,
I had it.  However, as soon as the bus doors opened, she grabbed my heavy
carry-on and placed it on the bus herself.  I couldn't believe it.  How
nice of her!

When I finally landed in Wellington Sarah, Dawn (the lady she is working
for), and all four of the little girls were there waiting on me.  They
picked me up and the girls were so excited to have another big girl at the
house.  They were asking me all kinds of questions such as "what's your
favorite subject in school?" and "What is your favorite kind of animal?"
Needless to say, they are not very shy and they are VERY smart.  I could
tell immediately when I started talking to them.

Dawn took us to a local coffee shop/bakery and she bought us all hot
rolls.  Her sister-in-law showed up to meet us and we all chatted for a
little while while the girls got treated to doughnuts.  Her sister-in-law
is a Kiwi, but she and her family have been living in Hong Kong for the
past 8 years.  They just moved back to New Zealand at the same time that
Dawn and Dugald did.

The rental house that we are staying in is sooo cute.  All of the houses
here are built in an old-fashioned style.  Meaning, they remind me of
something that could have been built maybe in the early nineteen hundreds.
Our house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.  There is a wooden porch
in the front and many of the windows have stained glass at the top.  The
front and back yard are just lovely as the previous tenants planted a
gorgeous garden all around.  I joked that I felt like I was in the secret
garden whenever we came through the fence.  There is even a small pond
(maybe 5 gallons?) in the back with two fish in it.  I'll definitely have
to take lots of pictures.  You guys would definitely love it :).

Unfortunately the family still does not have internet.  The guy came back
yesterday and said something about them not getting one until next week??
Meanwhile, Dawn walked with me to the library and paid for 30 minutes of
internet time so that I could contact you guys (REALLY nice of her :).
She also mentioned that they have a calling card that I could use that's
like $.05 a  minute, but they still don't have a land line either...
Therefore, contact might be sporadic, but I'll try to keep y'all posted.

I love y'all and hopefully y'all will hear again from me soon :)

Love, Ashley