Sydney Adventures

Our departure from New Zealand now seems like ages ago. Our last night in Queenstown was spent on a stroll through the lively center of town, as restaurants and shops started filling with a crowd. In Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world, aka
'I'm going to throw myself off a plane/cliff/bridge town', I had been pondering jumping off a cliff (attached to a hangglider). After great consideration of cost-benefit anaysis, I decided to do a hike up Queenstown hill, allowing me to get the same views for free.
The hike took me up through the expensive villas on the hills above town, winding up steep forest switchbacks, and finally tramping through the treeless rocky peak. At the summit I had 360 degree views of the lake, city, and snowy hills below me and beyond.

After saying goodbye to the coffee shops and bakeries then next morning, we started our 6 hour drive back to Christchurch. Turning in the rental car was somewhat of a relief, but it also felt as the we were handing over some of our independence.
That night we stayed at a large motel room near the airport, complete with kitchen, living room and deck. On one of the free maps it showed the University of Cantebury was nearby, so to recovery from the drive I set out to run to check out the school, as they have a large geography department.
Once I reached the campus, I was somewhat surprised to see such a quiet and empty campus, even for a Friday around 6pm. It only occurred to me on my run back that this in fact was not so odd... the students weekend had started and knowing these New Zealanders, they were all down at the pub or headed
off for a weekend away.
The Opera House with stage set up for the Australian Idol finale.
The next morning we got up at 4:30 am to catch our flight to Sydney. Once in the city, we lugged around our luggage for half the day, trying to see so sights, eating in cafes and taking a harbor cruise to pass the time until we could head over and pick up keys to the McPaul's place where we are staying. Their condo is in East Balmain, just a short ferry ride from downtown, but possibly in another world. Trees and old houses with detailed ironwork lined the main street from the harbor. Further down the road, shops and restaurants were filled with people overflowing into the streets, but the neighborhood community could still be felt.

Our second day in Sydney proved to be the hottest, as record breaking temperatures reached 42 degrees celsius(105F). I spent most of the morning wandering through the Royal Botanical Gardens, shops and markets of downtown and chinatown, and finally made my way to Darling Harbor once my feet and internal body temperate had had enough.
We spent most of the afternoon beating the heat inside and relaxing with Evan and Angie who had arrived from Melbourne.
Today is suppose to be much cooler, and the weather is already more pleasant. While it is our last day here, I'm debating a day of adventures in the city, or relaxing on the back porch or sitting by the pool, with maybe a run and trip to find internet later. I think today I will take a break from traveling, and maybe for the first time in a while, be on vacation.

Here is Amy a few minutes ago reading on the balcony!

Best Yet

Some things are just too amazing to describe. Here are some of the best photos I've taken so far!

From the train to Christchurch.


View from the other side of the train.



The road to Milford Sound.

Waterfall in Milford Sound

Same waterfall at a distance

Flower and snow

That waterfall again.

Near Lake Manapouri

View from my hike from the top of Queenstown Hill

Running New Zealand

I've been a bad girl and haven't updated much on my trip to New Zealand yet. I've had a lot of fun adventures so far, but it has been hard to find time to stop and write about them. Rather than go back over a week and a half of fun sights and cities, I figure I should write about something a bit more mundane.

While it may seem a bit off topic, Alex, a friend of mine, signed up to run a half marathon in March, and I decided to train with him and run it as well. Back home, the weather started cooling and it was getting dark quite early, so it was a wonderful treat to be able to keep up running in New Zealand in the early summer weather.

Running is a great way to see a new place. While I can still only do just over a 3 mile run, I've come to realize that there are so many amazing things to see in just that short amount of area.

Here are some of the runs I've done so far.

Wellington: This was one of my favorite cities. It reminds me a lot of San Francisco, with a great waterfront, hills, culture and coffee shops. My run took me from the hip nightlife area near our hotel, out along the quiet (Yet Windy!) path along the bay and then back towards the downtown waterfront.

Queenstown: This lakeside resort/adventure town again was quiet windy. The cold weather was soon forgotten as I warmed up, and the trail along the lake took me past green trees and fancy wooded villas. On my return towards town the clouds and rain over the lake broke and the sun took a moment to shine through onto the turquoise waters and craggy snow peaked mountains.

Manapouri: We had driven 0ut towards the fiords, near Milford Sound, and stayed right on the water at Lake Manapouri. The weather was once again gusty, and the snow on the surrounding mountains were unseasonably snowy. I had spent a lazy afternoon in my room, reading and enjoying the warm sun shinning through the window, but I decided it was time to get moving. Again, I ran along the lake, trotting through forest and Lupin covered beaches. I was in Lord of the Rings land, and could just imagine Hobbits and Elves tramping through the forests. It truly was Middle Earth!

My time in New Zealand is quickly coming to an end, but I'm sure more runs and adventures will await me in Australia!

I'll try to update as much as I can.