wild & wacky midsemester break - part I

Hello!! Man it feels like it has been so long since i've posted - probably because it has!  We just got back from traveling all over the place during our mid-semester break last week.  It was a really amazing trip and i'll tell you all about it over these next few posts.  But first a quick recap of the last couple of days.  We got back into Dunedin last Sunday night and it was so good to be back to home base and sleep in my bed again.  We had been driving for about 11 hours that day so i was shot.  But it was good to be bombarded by Paula and Asma right when i walked through the door and hear about some of their trip to FIJI (i know, insanity!).  It was hard to believe that classes were the next morning, but so goes life.  So the week didn't start off too bad, i was just having trouble being motivated (what else is new).  I don't know where Monday and Tuesday went but i found myself on Wednesday (yesterday) wondering how i still hadn't gotten anything done yet this week.  The day started off with me waking up at 8:53 am for my 9 o'clock class.  This is not the first time this has happened, by a long shot, but i just wasn't going to accept it this time, i needed to be at that lecture.  So i literally just put jeans on and brushed my teeth (to spare those who i'd sit next to) and ran the whole way and got there right at 9.  I won't recount the long list of everything that went wrong after that but it was the worst day i've had that i can recall; some highlights include figuring out that i have indeed lost my cell phone (the second i've had in NZ now), everything being erased from my ipod, the internet not working, and a $40 parking ticket to top it all off.  Fittingly, it poured cold rain all day long.  The ticket was the end of the line for me; i had held myself together up until that point.  Needless to say, i was glad that today was a new day.  But even with a fresh start i am still having trouble getting things accomplished for school and i feel like i've been wasting a lot of time.  I want to use my time here in NZ well and make the most of it, and that includes pursuing excellence in my schoolwork, friendships, and personal time.  It dawned on me this morning that i've not been focused in my relationship with the Lord and it suddenly became more clear: how can i expect to be more focused in certain areas of my life if i'm not focused in my core?  In neglecting to spend quality daily time with my Creator i am choosing to sacrifice that from which all else flows, i am cutting myself off from my supplier.  Now, i am certainly not saying that once i get back on track in my morning prayer and devotion all of my schoolwork, for example, will be instantly or easily accomplished.  But i am saying that i will once again gain the satisfaction of a day fulfilled, knowing that no matter how many material things i accomplish, i have set my sights upon what really matters.  Only then will things like facebook, email, and even sharing this blog be an encouraging supplement to my day, rather than a distraction.

the crew (L-R): Me, Suzi, Jen, Carolyn, Alex

So anyway.  Two Fridays ago we (myself, Alex, Suzi, Jen, and Carolyn) headed out from Dunedin, driving up the east coast.  We planned out our break (ok, so i did most of the planning) to include time in Nelson, Abel Tasman, and Wellington, then driving back down the west coast.  We left early in the morning and our first stop was at the Moeraki Boulders.  We had stopped here earlier in the semester but it was high tide so we didn't get to do much playing.  Well this time was splendid : )  If i didn't explain them last time, it's basically a beach with a whole bunch of big, really really round rocks.  Obviously, we had a blast taking photos.  Here are a few favorites:

yep, that's me : )

We then continued north and passed through Christchurch on our way...what a weird thing.  The city is still there and somewhat functioning but so many of the shops and buildings are closed.  We drove through whole streets that had just a few random things opened and the rest were locked and dark.  We could see into most shop windows and the memory shot i have from the one is just a dark office space with the filing cabinets toppled and random things all over the floor, left exactly as it was right after the earthquakes happened.  The reason for this is that inspectors haven't been around everywhere yet and people aren't allowed back into structures that haven't yet been inspected for safety.  It was a bit of an eerie drive.  Then as we passed though the last bit and out into open highway again this is the sight that we had to our left:

Such a good reminder of God's beauty and majesty, even in the midst of disaster and destruction in the world.

We then continued the drive up to a coastal town called Kaikoura and spent the night there.  We arrived at a good location to camp about 8 pm and it was already dark.  Oh, and we had planned to make tacos for dinner but the grocery stores were completely out of mince the night before, like none at all!  Reason: we shopped on thursday night and the next day was Good Friday...there is a law here that places are not allowed to be opened on Good Friday.  So we figured we could maybe find some sort of meat on the drive up on Friday but with nowhere but gas stations opened we were almost out of luck...until we found a dozen eggs at one of the stations.  We had breakfast burritos, so good!  Actually i'm pretty sure that it's just that everything tastes amazing when you're camping.  So we ate our feast and then set up camp: one tent and then hammocks for each Alex and I.  I had THE most amazing campsite EVER.  I snagged these two trees and put my hammock up about 6 feet from the edge of the cliff, overlooking the ocean.  We got to watch the moon rise over the ocean...and hah, we didn't know what it was at first and were pretty confused.  When the first bit of light showed (it was deep orange) it was a sort of optical illusion, appearing as if it was in the middle of the water, pretty close to us.  So we spent the first 5-10 minutes of the rising saying things like "what in the world IS that!?" and "it's gotta be some sort of boat, it's in the middle of the water!" and "aliens?? it could happen..".  When enough of the moon was showing, then, i figured it out.


The next morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise and some of the most spectacular sky coloration i've ever seen.  The coolest thing, though, was the pleasant surprise i got when i looked across the road and saw what we couldn't see in the dark the night before.  On one side of the road is the cliff and ocean and the other side has lots of farm fields (which we knew were there) and then sooooo many mountains in the distance and some ponds showing the reflections and it was sooooo cool!  In our picture frenzy i stumbled upon (fortunately not literally) a large seal chillin' on the beach.  He wasn't too happy that we were there in his space, which i think is the whole beach, but i got some good shots.  I've always thought of seals as friendly creatures, but my views have changed a bit...this guy was pretty mean in his growling and teeth-bearing.  But i would soon be reconciled with seals - stay tuned for that story.

mr. angry seal

my sweet hammock spot

That morning at our Kaikoura campsite was nice and relaxing and we had some time to just be alone and journal and listen to the crashing of waves below.  Then we made our way into the actual town of Kaikoura, where we went to a neato lookout point where we could see a crazy view, then we went to a farmers' market, then continued north up to Nelson, our next destination.  We arrived in Nelson around dinnertime on Saturday night.  Some background on this situation: Suzi the Scot has her grandmother back in Scotland who is good friends with a family called the Hilsons.  Some of the Hilsons moved to NZ a while back and now live in Nelson, so Suzi was invited to go and meet/stay with them anytime this semester.  Well, they were incredibly welcoming and hosted all 5 of us during the Easter holiday; it was so kind and generous of them.  I can't tell you how great it was to be with a family during Easter.  They fed us soooo much delicious food and we went to the Nelson Anglican Cathedral for Easter Sunday.  It was also really helpful to get some help in planning our tramping trip to Abel Tasman, a nearby national park.  I am just so thankful for such hospitality from this amazing family.

all of us with the Hilsons after church

Nelson Anglican Cathedral

Click the link to check out my from east to west album.  More to come soon!