When life hands you lemons (aka a missed bus to Milford Sound).....

..... cry for 5 minutes, then say F*%&@ it, go spend $200 buying a lift pass and a new pair of goggles, and renting skis, boots, poles, ski pants and a ski jacket, and GO SKIING!

* Editor's note:

To make a long story short, Kiwi Experience printed the wrong pick-up time for my departure this morning to Milford Sound, and I missed the bus. I called the office, and while they were stumped as to how the wrong pick-up time could be printed on my itinerary (they did acknowledge that it had been printed in error), they were still unable to do anything about it as there would be no more busses leaving Queenstown today for Milford. I was super gutted, as Mangee, my bus driver from 3 years ago, was going to be driving and I was really stoked to be able to catch up with him. Anyway, hopefully we will manage to get together to party tonight or tomorrow, as that's all I was excited for anyway - I've already seen Milford so that's not a huge deal.

Anyway, so I was standing there with the realization that I had missed my bus (frustrating, since I was up at 7am and could have easily made the earlier pick-up time), and I had no plans for the day. Another friend was already up the mountain snowboarding for the day, so I decided to follow and try to find him. I never did end up running into him on the hill, but I got a day of skiing in by myself and it was all good. Budget schmudget... I'm spending lots of money but having a great time doing it. :oD A great (and unexpected) day at Coronet Peak in Queenstown!

A week in the Hutt (photo edition)

It's hard to believe, but my week in Lower Hutt is over as of tomorrow at 10:20am when I catch a flight to Queenstown. The week has absolutely flown by, and I've seen some people who are really important to me, whether from 3 years ago or from much more recently in my life. It has been a full week, a fun week, and after Kirsten's and my all-day shopping trip today I think I can say an expensive week! Haha. Here are a few of the things I've been up to this week in a photo montage:

Visiting Te Papa museum in Wellington with some friends from Kiwi Experience (me, Marlin, Kate, Victoria, and Dipesh)

Chillin' with miss Charlotte on Tuesday night (Muppet Show movie night)

The gang together again! Fish and Charlotte, Kirsten, Sam, Rich, and me :o)

A visit to Hutt Valley High School! So wonderful. :o)

Taking the train into Wellington from the Woburn station (right by HVHS - this was the station I caught the train at every Tuesday for Wellington Youth Choir rehearsal in '07)

Out for dinner with some WYC friends (Evie, Imogen, Isaac)

Rockin' out at karaoke (Emily and Evie)

Hanging out at karaoke with Dom

Reuniting with some of my former HVHS students (all of whom have graduated and are now at uni, 2 studying music, 1 in photographic design, 1 in English literature, and 1 in media productions)

OH! And these next pictures require some further explanation.... last night, Kirsten, Rich, and I went out for dinner. We had initially tried to go to the Hog's Breath Cafe, which turned out to be closed down. So, the backup plan was to head to the Cadillac Diner, a nice little 50s themed American diner.

We ordered a couple 50s diner-type drinks, in the spirit of the evening:

Shortly after our arrival to the diner, we realized that they were filming a restaurant make-over show there that night, and we were asked if we would be willing to appear in some of the footage. We agreed, thinking that we'd be in background scenes, like extras, etc. As it turns out, they had cameras and mics and everything right at our table when we were ordering, and they even interviewed us after our meals. The show will be airing on TV-3 (I think?) in September or October. Stay tuned to see whether my super articulate comment about the "thematically appropriate" decor of the restaurant makes the cut (how embarrassing). Haha. I was quite awkward about it all... while I was on camera, they said they thought they could detect an accent, and I said "Yes, but it's not American! I'm Canadian." The lady interviewing proceeded immediately to ask me how the diner stacked up to the American diners at home, to which I awkwardly replied, "I don't know.... I haven't been to many American diners.... I live in CANADA...." Oh geez. Haha. Here's to hoping I don't make it on TV in a couple months. :op

Today Kirsten and I spent the whole day shopping. I spent about $350, although to be fair, $117 of that was spent on international postcard stamps. Haha. I also bought 2 pairs of jeans (one full-length and one pair of cute cuffed capris), a new dress shirt, a pair of hot pink peep-toe heels with a bow on the toe (SO cute), a pair of black boots with a bit of a heel on them (that make me feel somewhat sassy when I wear them, even under jeans), and a duffel bag that I can check on the flight home because I can't fit everything in my backpack anymore. Haha. Busy day at the mall for sure!

I then went to St. James Church to sing with Fiona and her mom in the church choir for a farewell to Ros, their pastor (I'm assuming?) who has been there since 1983 and is now moving from Lower Hutt. It was a total fluke that the timing of it worked out like it did; I didn't think I was going to have the chance to sing in the choir again, as I'm not catching any Sunday mornings in the Hutt during this entire trip. Anyway, it was great to see the choir/church people and to sing with Fish again. And a nice little added bonus to the afternoon was when I got to spend some time with Charlotte as she plunked away at the piano. So cute!

So tomorrow morning it's off to Queenstown for some more crazy adventure travels. I'm doing the Nevis bungy on Tuesday, which is actually quite terrifying. My legs feel weak when I think about it. Haha. Now THAT will be an impressive DVD to show when I get home, I'm sure. Stay tuned for more updates from my travels around the south island! I'll be in Q-town until Wednesday, then it's off to Christchurch for Wed. night, off to Kaikoura on Thursday, then back to Wellington again on Friday! I'll spend Fri/Sat with Fish and Sam, then I'll be off on my tour of the east cape before heading back to Auckland. I'm over half way through my trip now, and as always, I'm having lots of amazing times but still missing Jeff and mom and dad, and of course Karyn and the musical beans. I will be happy to get back when it's time to head home. :o)

See you on the south island!

A post-luging update from Rotorua

So I finally got my pictures uploaded from my camera to my external hard drive... and wouldn't you know, now I can't upload pics from my hard drive to my blog! Gah. I will be very happy when I become reunited with my computer.

Speaking of my computer, do you want to know something funny? The computer will arrive in Lower Hutt this week. Guess how much my credit card was charged for to FedEx it (economy rate)? TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS AND SIX CENTS. Holy crap. I honestly just have to laugh at it, because the other alternative is to cry, and really, what fun is that? SOOOO expensive. I will keep it very very close to me for the rest of the trip, I can assure you that! Haha.

So I'm writing this post from the Base Hot Rocks backpackers in Rotorua. I spent the afternoon luging with a group of 6 or 7 Kiwi Exp bus friends, and actually managed to successfully record a video of an entire luge run down the advanced track from my makeshift "helmet cam" (which just consisted of my own regular camera, heavily taped to the front of my helmet with maple leaf print packing tape).

Oh, what do you know? This computer JUST recognized that I wanted to upload pics... SO SLOW! Haha. Here's one of us luging earlier this afternoon:


Anyway, I just noticed the time. We're heading out to our Tamaki tours evening in about 20 minutes so I'd better run. I need to get spruced up for the big event! I'm sure I will take heaps of pictures. My camera battery is charging up in my hostel room as we speak.

Thanks again for all the blog comments, guys. I will continue to update with pics as often as I can! I took some amazing scenic shots at Cathedral Cove yesterday so would love to share a couple of those when I have the time.

Cheerio until tomorrow!

Kiwi Experience contest entry has arrived!

In case you missed my last post, I have entered a competition with Kiwi Experience to win an incredible prize package that includes 2 flights to NZ, 2 travel passes for the entire country, 20 nights accommodation for 2, 2 return Interislander ferry passes, and 20 of their favourite Kiwi Experience activities, plus a camera to top it all off! This prize is worth thousands of dollars, and is SO right up my alley, especially considering the fact that I'm coming to NZ in July anyway!

So, if you feel so inclined (please!) to go vote for my entry on www.kiwiexperience.com, follow this link and sign up for an account (I promise they don't e-mail you unless you sign up to receive their newsletter), then post a comment in the box under my video explaining why you think I'm a "legend", as this is the theme of the competition.

The video can be found on the Kiwi Experience website at:

http://www.kiwiexperience.com/Communities/Pages/DisplayPost.aspx?PostId=1229

Thanks in advance for your help!

Also, you can check out the video here before you vote so you can see what you're voting for! :o)

2010... the year of the kiwiland return!

Hello friends! So here I am again, after yet another deplorable 3-month hiatus from Lauren's Kiwi Adventures. I've kept up with most of you in other online areas (yay, facebook!), so I suppose this isn't much of an update per se, but here I am anyway. I have to admit, I've kind of missed this place!

In recent news, I had a great Christmas holiday. I headed out east to Falcon Lake, MB (about a 10-hour drive from where I live) on the 26th to meet up with 4 of my closest friends from IMC who had made the trek from Brandon, Winnipeg, and 2 different cities in North Dakota. We had rented a gorgeous cabin for 3 nights, and spent all of our time relaxing, skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, and definitely lounging around in the hot tub on our deck! Our American friends were held up a bit on the way there because the highways out of Fargo were closed for a few days, so they ended up missing our first night at the cabin, but we made up for lost time once they got there. :o) It was an action-packed and yet relaxing 3 days... beautiful scenery, loads of laughs, and great friends!



I came back from MB on New Year's Eve and spent a quiet night in with my boyfriend Jeff. I had driven for 8 hours that day, and I didn't start my trip home until 1pm so I drove most of the way in the dark (ahh, yes, Canadian winters.... sun sets at 4:30pm these days)... but Jeff brought over a pizza and we watched a movie, and it was glorious. In fact, it was so relaxing that we actually fell asleep before midnight, and woke up at about 12:10 to say "Happy New Year!" How anti-climactic! Haha. But in reality, it was exactly what I needed. A great start to 2010 indeed!

So yes, in case you haven't done a double take yet, I did say "boyfriend" in that last paragraph. It's the first time I've said that since the summer of 2008 so the term feels a bit strange, but to be honest it's pretty good. Jeff and I have been together for a month now so it's still very new, but so far things are going really well and we're just enjoying spending time with each other. He's really a great guy, very easy to talk to, quick-witted, thoughtful, etc. etc. (insert swoony commentary here). He's also not a big fan of pictures/Internet social networking, etc. so there won't be much on here about him.... but there you have it. He has at least been introduced. :o)

So I go back to work on Wednesday. The school year is flying by, and before you know it, I will be making my return to New Zealand! It's absolutely crazy to think about how quickly my countdown is diminishing... it has been 26 months since I left NZ, and now only 6 months left until I'm back there! Amazing. I am currently plodding away at a Kiwi Experience competition entry as well, hoping to win a huge prize package for 2 including flights, travel passes, accommodations, activities, etc. I made a video set to "Jump Around" by House of Pain, which promptly had the audio removed upon uploading to www.kiwiexperience.com/YouTube because of potential copyright infringement, so I've been trying to work around that (by posting to Facebook and sending on the link to the people at Kiwi Ex, burning my project to DVD and mailing it to NZ, etc.) but just in case I've created another video for the contest, this time on www.animoto.com. That site is INCREDIBLE, and if you're into iMovie/photo and video montage type things, you should definitely check it out! Stay tuned for more info on the competition... I could really use your help to win the prize (even though I only blog once every 3 months!). :oD

Enough blabbering for now. Catch you fine folks soon! Love!

Kaikoura photo

Just thought I'd take this opportunity to post a neat photo I took in Kaikoura. There's something appealing about this picture to me, either in the colours or the texture of the clouds or something.

I have been procrastinating WAY too much today though, so I need to go do some lesson planning. Back to the real world tomorrow! But, as dad said in his letter, I'm in the "final 4" (weeks) at HVHS. Amazing. Time flies, doesn't it?!

Home, sweet home!

Sorry for the lapse in blogging. Since my last update I saw Christchurch (although a very limited visit in terms of getting a feel for the city), and Kaikoura, a beautiful seaside town on the east coast. After Kaikoura we headed back up to Picton, where we stayed overnight with Trish and Kurt (Trish is Fiona's mom's sister). We went out to the Irish pub for a drink last night and saw a guy playing his guitar and singing, in a sort of a mellow folkish style.... definitely enjoyable. Then today as we were just getting settled into our seats on the ferry, I saw the same guy setting up for a performance in the Fo'c'sle Bar/Lounge! I was surprised, but went to round up Fish so we could get some good seats for performance #2. After the show he came to visit with us, and now he's going to text us tonight so that we can all go out in Wellington. Fun stuff!

What a great holiday this has been. It was also really nice to get home too, and into the open arms of Mr. Sam Hall, who has been without any female company in the house - except the rats, of course - for an incredible 2 weeks! While his time alone was quiet and probably quite enjoyable (leaving the toilet seat up, etc.), he was glad to see us again. Of course, the sentiment was reciprocated. We missed our Sammy! I also came home to a HUGE stack of mail, including a care package and postcards from mom and dad, a letter from Scott (including a bunch of pictures of his new band and choir rooms at his new job!), a letter from Andrew (one of my co-workers from IMC), 2 packages from the U of S Dept. of Music (3 CDs each of Wind Orchestra and Jazz Band), and my new airline tickets to Australia and Vancouver. YEEHAW!!! It was just like Christmas, opening so many packages!!!

Tomorrow morning we're going to head over to Richard and Kirsten's place at 8am for breakfast and rugby..... GO ALL BLACKS!!!!! It will be great to catch up with those 2 as well... it feels like we've been gone so long!

I took SO many amazing pictures this trip, and I will get around to posting a few of them soon enough (and yes, photo challenge pics too!).... but for now I'm exhausted, and I'm going to borrow Fi's car to go visit some friends that I haven't seen since I left. Jude, Julia, Aidyn, etc. are awaiting my presence!!!!!

Cheers, from a tired but content little kiwi traveler!!!

Canyon Swing Eve = better than Christmas?

First, I have to give a shoutout to all of you who responded to the last post. It was awesome to read all of the comments and to get all of your input!!!! So the Canyon Swing was by far the most popular choice, which is fantastic because that was the one that I was leaning toward anyway. It has now been booked and paid for, and at 4:30-5ish tomorrow afternoon (10:30-11pm at home) I will be freefalling through the Shotover Canyon at 150km/hr! I think I will be taking the "do a back flip off the platform" option, so I will be sure to take Karyn's advice and go pee before the swing so that I don't have any unfortunate accidents caught on DVD! Don't worry about me either - I promise to post an update as soon as I'm back on the ground with access to the Internet.

Fish is also doing a Canyon Swing tomorrow, and she's convinced that she's going to get up there and just cry her eyes out. Now she's trying to reframe it... positive thinking! "I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't cry.... I will f#^*ing love it!!!!"

And I should mention as well that I am completely GUTTED about the fact that the Tim Horton's in Queenstown has apparently gone out of business. NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! You had all better plan to have a Tim Horton's date with me when I get home, because I've been too long without it... and now with all of this build-up and subsequent disappointment re: the lack of a kiwi Tim Horton's, I am really feeling deprived. Imagine me shedding a single tear here in Queenstown. Do I have your pity? Go, go now and drink plenty of iced capps for me. And eat a Boston Creme. Perhaps some broccoli soup... or cream of potato bacon. With a beautiful fresh roll. WHY, OH WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!?!?!

And on a much less dramatic note, I am going to sign off and go seek out some food with Tiffany (another crushed Canadian in this whole Tim Horton's disappointment). Then it's off to do some gift shopping!

Cheers!

Franz Josef glacier hike picture overdose!

Hello from a very tired and content little glacier hiker! As the title suggests, prepare yourself for a picture overdose from today's hike. It was beautiful, tiring, cold, wet, breathtaking, and absolutely worth the $130 NZ I spent on it. Worth. Every. Penny. Here are some picture highlights (I took about 250 pictures on the glacier today, so I've obviously chosen just a few):

Just thought mom would appreciate this one. Haha.

Our guide, Rob, briefing us before we head off on our hike.

Maddie and me in black and white.

Some of the steeper or more dangerous areas had ropes that we had to hang on to for balance and/or support (I took this one at the spot just before I had to grab the rope - no worries, I wasn't being careless!).

Halfway through our hike, we got to a place where we could choose whether or not we wanted to use an ice pick for the rest of the hike. Many of us decided against it, but we had to pose for pictures anyway!

Liam managed to cut both of his knees on the ice... you'd be amazed at how sharp that stuff is! I cut my leg and my finger too - everyone was bleeding. Haha.

Maddie took this picture of me pretending to hike a steep incline. She forgot to put the camera on an angle, so it's pretty clear that I was just laying down on the ice. What a nut!

This is what it was supposed to look like! Lewis helps to pull Sarah to safety.

Trekking across a flatter part of the glacier.

Lewis and I stopped for a photo op in one of many crevaces.

Here is where I'm saying "How the heck am I supposed to get up here?!" (The steps seem a lot less steep in this picture, but climbing up here with legs as short as mine was a challenge!)

Liam strikes an epic cliffhanger pose.

Some of the crevaces that we had to climb through were quite tight. Rob forges the way, while Sarah looks a bit hesitant (we all made it through, but we were all soaked!).

(Semi-)Group shot!

Rob (aka Jafa - "Just another f****** Aucklander," although he swears it stands for "Just another friendly Aucklander," haha) and friends hack away at the ice so that it falls on Ben and Scott below. These guys are all about helping each other out, let me tell you.

One of the steeper crevaces that we had to manouever through (the camera doesn't do it justice).

James made it through the tiny cave!!!! Well done, bro!

Group 1 forges ahead on the way back down the glacier while Group 2 waits for everyone else to catch up.

Mom, this is the picture I was talking about.... I took it just for you!!!! I promised I wouldn't fall into a glacial crevace, and I didn't, but I had to take this picture just to freak you out a little. You're welcome.

Yep, that's a bit of a tight fit!

One of my favourite parts of the glacier.

Hiking through the "wave" formations, on the way back down the glacier.

Almost at the bottom.

On the way back to the hostel after a long and tiring day of hiking, I had to stop to pose with Cowan Street (for my roommate, Scott Cowan). I miss him, but at least I can hug the street sign!

Photo update of south island adventures!

I have managed to scrounge up enough money (after paying for my many excellent adventure activities) to find enough internet time to upload, compress, and post a few of my pictures for your viewing enjoyment. Tomorrow I head out on the glacier hike, while Fi will do some kayaking. I should get to bed soon, as it's nearly midnight and we have to make an early start tomorrow. So, with that, here's what Fi and I have been up to since Monday:

I've been in NZ for 2 1/2 months now, and I still hate seafood so much that I chose to stick my head in my trailmix bag and sniff while we walked by the smoked fish shop in Nelson (notice my fabulous new "NZ Identity" shoulder bag!).

On our first night of Kiwi Ex in Nelson we collectively bought Matt (from England) a jug of beer if he agreed to shave his head. Here it is in action.

We've been hanging out with these two hooligans, among others, since Day 1 - Scott and Ben, both from England.

We stopped at Lake Rotoiti for lunch, and our bus driver Mangee offered a free pint (or jug?) for the first person to dive off the dock into the frigid water. Kelly and Ste chose to pose nicely instead.

Fish won the free beer!

Jetboating on the Buller River en route to Westport.

We had a bonfire on the beach in Westport. Fiona and I took every opportunity to sing around the campfire.

Whilst taking a picture of my feet in the Tasman Sea, as per mom's photo challenge request, the tide came in, leaving me with wet jeans and a friend (Tiffany, my fellow Canadian!) who was eager to take my picture.

One of the many beautiful scenes at the Cape Foulwind Walkway.

I had to pose by the crazy sign at Cape Foulwind. How far to Vancouver?

The big green Kiwi Experience bus!

We stopped at the Irimahuwhero lookout point to take pictures. This doesn't do it justice - I actually got choked up as we drove past because it really was that beautiful.

On our way to Lake Mahinapua we stopped at the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. It was a gorgeous day, and the sun was warm and bright, making the walk enjoyable (maybe almost too hot), and the pictures vibrant.

Maddie (from England) and I picked up skipping stones from the beach at Mahinapua.

Last night we had a "T" Party at our hostel in Mahinapua. Scott (England), James (Northern Ireland), and Liam (Dublin) all went in togas.

Fish in her Maori costume (mentioned - and likely horribly misspelled - in the last post)

Jauma and Lewis went as tramps, while Maddie and I went as trailer trash twins. We even had matching travel pillows under our shirts! I know, I know, it's classy. What can I say? (It was especially entertaining to explain to Jauma, who is from Barcelona and doesn't speak very good English, how we wanted to pose in these awful costumes with him)

Jade, Craig, and Claire (Scotland) = tribal

Lewis (from Wales) got up-close and personal with his new girlfriend, a thar, at the Bushman Cafe, en route to Franz Josef this morning.

Our first peek of the Franz Josef glacier this afternoon, which we will be hiking all day tomorrow.

One of my favourite pictures from the last few days. Maddie has written in the sand the name of each country she's visited. This was taken yesterday, late afternoon - a beautiful day at Lake Mahinapua.