My 2010 summer adventure in New Zealand left me with many memories to cherish. I went for soothing dips in hot springs, mountain biking, glacier walking, whale watching, Gondola riding, jade shopping, glowworm hunting, skiing for the first time, and more. Unfortunately, I can’t fully explain my experience in New Zealand because there will always be those little things in between; things which can never be described or re-lived and remain only as memories for me to relish and keep for the rest of my life.
*The pictures displayed below are from most of what I could salvage. There were maybe 50 or 60 other photos that were taken but I have lost many of them over time and many others are scattered all over facebook from years ago. I did my best with what I still have left.
Enjoy
Sports:
Skiing-
My first ever skiing experience was as noobish as it gets. As you can see in the first picture on the left I had little to no balance and barely any idea on how to properly use my sticks to guide me down each slope. If I remember correctly, I maybe had 1 or 2 good runs downhill so I'm proud of that at least. What made the time most enjoyable was watching other people bust their bums. I remember being extremely sore and exhausted mostly due to the weight of all the gear I had to carry throughout the day. I relished every opportunity I got to sit down and kick off my skates for a bit.
Rugby-
Indeed, some of my favorite parts about visiting NZ was being immersed into rugby culture. My host family didn't know much about U.S football and I didn't know much about rugby at the time so one day, we went to an all black sand beach near the edge of the North Island to play some pick-up games. My host brothers, Zachary and Quentin, who were a few years younger than me, were fascinated with throwing a football and were thrilled at idea of being a Quarterback. We played rugby and of course they schooled me. After all, the two of them were apart of their school rugby teams so I was way out of my league to begin with.
While visiting Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, my exchange group and I briefly ran into some team members from the All Blacks. I didn't know who they were at the time but rest assure I did my research and had found out that the All Blacks were one of the top rugby teams in the world. They were mostly known for their intimidation ritual known as the Haka, where before every game they would perform a war cry dance, shout rhythmically, and widen their eyes with scary looking faces in attempt to strike fear in the hearts of their opponents before every game.
Mountain Biking-
Believe it or not I was never a fan of riding bikes ever since I fell off my first one when I was seven. This was a picture taken after a 4-5 hour long trek around huge hill/mountain tops located somewhere in the South Island of New Zealand. I remember enjoying the scenery as I was riding but I was winded after a long while as I wasn't used to riding uphill and having to keep an eye out for pitfalls and sharp edges every other turn. I think I was one of the ones who burst out ahead secretly trying to race everyone else (even though it wasn't a race),yet I ended up being one of the last to finish. Keeping pace is the key to the game and I realized that in the end.
Outdoors
Possum Hunting-
My first time shooting a gun and my first possum kill. Unfortunately, it had to be a pregnant mother but nature itself can be unforgiving. I owe my host father most of the credit here as he and the family dog basically guided me throughout the whole hunt and even assisted in signaling to me when to pull the trigger. I just posted the picture of me holding up the gun indoors for some cool points. The only pictures taken on site were of the dead possum.
My host mother and father assured me that possum were (for the most part) a pest to their farm that they managed. Many possums that they caught carried diseases that would commonly infect much of their cattle/calf and crops on their farm, which was ultimately bad for business. Understandable.
Planting and Forestry-
As part of a 6 to 8 hours community service agreement my exchange group and I were called upon to help revitalize a part of a major rain forest located in Fielding, NZ. We helped with seeding, digging, and many other strenuous work loads. Our instructor for the day was a cool cat with a colorful sense of humor so I didn't mind being around him and helping out; I was most definitely up to the task.
Exercise:
Glacier Hiking-
Another cool experience I got to share with my exchange group. Thanks to our cool tourist guide we were all kept safe and had a beautiful time exploring the Franz or Fox glacier in Queenstown NZ - it was one of the two, I do not remember correctly. I'm also missing some very cool pictures from underneath one of the glacier caves that we went into. I'm disappointed I couldn't retrieve those, however, these pictures should suffice.
Wrap Up:
In the world we live in today, too many people overlook the importance of diversity and culture when it comes to experiencing the world and what it offers. I hope after sharing my two part story many readers will be more accepting of the positive influences that cultural diversity and exploration can bring to our communities, families, and our character.
While across the world in New Zealand, I learned what it meant for people with different backgrounds to come together to accept and honor each other.
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Thanks for reading.
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