South Island Adventure

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Last week I was able to take a three days off work and go on an adventure with my friend Jenaka. Jenaka and I went to high school together. She is living in Sydney right now and was an au pair as well. It's really great to hang out with an old friend when we are both so far away from home.

Jenaka and I when we were in highschool. (I think we are 16)

On our road trip we went to Wanaka and did a neat hike up to a the Rob Roy Glacier. After the hike we drove up to Mt. Cook, which is the tallest mountain in New Zealand. We spent the night in a hostel at Mt. Cook and the next day we hiked around Mt. Cook then drove by Lake Tekapo on our way to Oamaru where we stayed at a hostel. The next day we explored Oamaru and then drove to the Moeriki Boulders. After the boulders we drove to Dunedin for lunch. Jenaka stayed in Dunedin for a couple more days I drove back to Queenstown. We were able to squeeze a lot into three days but it was a fair amount of driving. Here is a map of our travels.

Jenaka and I got up at 6am so we would have time for the hike we were planning and the drive to Mt. Cook. When we got to the trail head the Rob Roy Glacier around 8 we were so tired. We voted that a small cat nap would be best, it ended up being such a weird funny nap. We both fell asleep in the car right away but it was such a light sleep we could both hear each other snoring. Although we are both pretty sure that we don't snore. The hike to Rob Roy's Glacier was really nice. I have never seen ice that blue, it was amazing!

The pictures do NOT do it justice

Jenaka at the beginning of the hike

Swing bridge at the beginning of the hike

Bridge walking

River leading out of the valley

Nice little waterfall on the left and glacier on top

The next day we woke up to rain and clouds at Mount Cook. We did a short hike in the rain and then it cleared up a little bit during our second hike and we were able to see a the top of Mt. Cook for a couple minutes.

It's raining

Hard to see much with clouds like that

A little glimpse of Mt. Cook in the background

First swing bridge

Jenaka on the second swing bridge

We stopped at Lake Tekapo for a while to take pictures and enjoy the bright blue color of the lake.

Lake Tekapo

Just enjoying the road trippin

 The next day it was pouring rain so naturally we went to the beach to see the Moeraki Boulders.

Moeraki Boulders

Dinosaur egg

Jenaka enjoying the rain

Hi there...

Nice weather....adorable selfie

During the drive back from Dunedin it rained the whole way. There were a couple detours because the roads were flooded. However I made it home safe. Jenaka continued traveling and is Wellington now. She will come back to Queenstown in a couple days then fly back to Sydney.

I start my lifty position in a week! I'm ready for something new and excited to meet all my new friends!