So sorry for the radio silence on the blog! I just got back for a vacation in New Zealand and let me tell you…wow. It surpassed my expectations by leaps and bounds. And the story ideas! I have an entire notebook full of them 🙂 Everywhere I went I got an idea for a book…as if I didn’t have enough books going already LOL
Here’s a little peek at my adventure.
I had NEVER been on an airplane before this trip. It wasn’t because I have a fear of them or a fear of heights. A lot of things stopped me from international travel, and I kick myself for waiting so long, but life…was life (no personal details here 🙂 ). But after losing my father to cancer last year I realized that I didn’t want to wait anymore to travel outside the US.
Was it scary for me? I wouldn’t say I was scared, but definitely nervous because, not having flown before, I wasn’t certain what to expect. Everyone I spoke to who has flown told me everything they experienced before, during, and at landing. Everyone had a bit of different story so I knew my experience would differ as well.
How was that first plane ride (from Boston to LA)? Fine 🙂 The flight crew was wonderful and so were my seat mates. My friend that I went with was in the aisle seat across from me. Special shout-out to awesome flight attendant Dave, who was an older gentleman and made my first flight a lot less stressful. And yes, when he learned it was my first flight, he gave me wings 😀
After that, we had two more planes to catch: one in LA and one in Fiji. Both of those flights went smoothly as well. I didn’t sleep much, but on the overnight to Fiji I slept a few hours. Interrupted, but still a few hours of rest.
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This is Auckland, where we were based for most of the trip. A lovely city, though I will admit that driving in it wasn’t a highlight for me. Which is why, thankfully, my friend did most of the driving. It wasn’t so much being on the opposite side of the road as much as it was the narrow roads and weird (to me!) traffic design. But I did drive a little bit 🙂
This photo was taken from the Auckland Bridge in the morning. It’s one of my favorite photos from Auckland. And the reason I was on that bridge? This:
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I bungy jumped for the first time! It was exhilarating 😀 Was I scared? A little bit, but as soon as Bjorn counted me down, I went. There was no hesitation~ I just jumped. I have more photos as well as a video.
Proof, people. Proof *grin*
copyright@ October Weeks
copyright@ October Weeks
copyright@ October Weeks
copyright@ October Weeks
These are photos from our evening tour and banquet at Hobbiton. For you Lord of the Rings fans, you must do this! If you do any tours of Hobbiton, do the Evening Banquet! The tour was awesome (thank you Sonny and Bethany!) and the dinner was delicious. These photos of the food do not do the layout justice. Suffice to say, you will not be disappointed. Do this!
Being there was a bit emotional for me. You have this great crowd of people with the same love for the books and movies as you do, and then you all sit around talking and sharing stories and geeking out. I swear to you, for that one night, we were all hobbits having a merry gathering and celebrating.
The next set of photos was from our tour that started in Queenstown and went to Glenorchy. We used Pure Glenorchy, and I highly recommend them! Our guide was fantastic and so was the scenery 🙂 Some of the best four hours of my life.
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You see that acorn shaped tree? That was the location for Beorn’s house 🙂
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This is Lothlorien ❤
copyright@ October Weeks
And why did I take this photo? Because this is Isengard 🙂
We also went to Te Puia, a Maori village, which was nice. We had a small tour and then had dinner, which they cook in the ground. Afterward, we had some hot chocolate and spent some time by the geysers.
We did so much on this trip but there’s so much more I want to see and do! I would move to New Zealand in a heartbeat and have actually thought about it and researched it 🙂 Definitely have a long list of things I’d like to see and do on the South Island (we stayed mainly on the North Island with one overnight in Queenstown).
I won’t lie~ the almost 42 hr trip back home was an adventure in itself. I got maybe an hour of broken up sleep. Delirium set in about halfway through our eight hour layover at LAX…not even kidding. Then, when we got to Boston, we still had a two and a half hour bus ride back to Vermont that was followed by another half hour car ride home. I eventually took a six hour nap that was followed by eleven hours of sleep. I rolled out of bed around 2pm today. I’m feeling less exhausted, but my inner clock is still slightly off. I’m also a little stuffy. I was supposed to go back to work today but that was not happening. Too exhausted from that journey home so I had a lazy day and slept and chilled.
But it was worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat ❤
At 40 years old, this adventure~ both the leading up to and during~ taught me so much about myself. I’m so glad that I bought those plane tickets and went on this trip. I can’t wait to go back!
