New Zealand Day 12

January 1st 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! This day was non-stop fun! We started at 630 AM with a quick breakfast. We were tired from the night before but that didn't stop us from getting excited for the day. First on the list was the shotover jet ride. It's a jet that races across the Shotover River and gets really close to the edge o the cliffs. Since it was 730 Am the air was really cold and the water that splashed in our faces made it extra cold! The ride and water in our faces was a perfect cure to a hangover. The 360 degree turns were thrilling. We got so close to the sides of the canyon wall that I couldn't help but scream!

After the fun trip we jumped into wet suits, boots and helmets. We got into a helicopter and flew through the canyon, up to the start of the rafting trip on Shotover River. The pilot was a bit rishy with his quick turns through the canyon. We landed and jumped into our white water rat. Bryan and I were so excited to go white water rafting. We had gone rafting in Seattle and it was the best way to see the beauty in the city.

Rafting down the rapids was so different than Seattle. the scenery was more desert like, we were rafting through a canyon. We saw baby goats, which was super cute. Most of the rapids were a bit tame. We were able to jump out of the raft and float in the river. New Zealand people are so laid back. Their answer to any question is "sure, why not?" The water was so cold but it felt good to float in it. Wet suits are awesome! We had a blast!

From rafting we went into town to get a bite to eat. We ate at the world famous FergBurger. I hadn't heard of it before but we didn't want to miss out. It was very tasty. New Zealand didn't have the variety of food we were used to in here. We meet up with the Slattery's and they came with us to AJ Hackett Navis Bungy jump! This bungee jump is 440 feet free fall. We were so thankful that they came to support us! AJ Hackett is the guy that made bungee jumping a worldwide adrenaline activity. Queenstwon is where it all began, i had to Jump! Plus, they had a perfect record, no accidents. This information was comforting...

It was a long bus ride to the jump.I was trying not to freak out about it but my mind was getting the best of me. i had been bungee jumping 6 times before, one of those times was a couple days ago in Taupo. I didn't know why I was so scared. This time the jump was really really long! I couldn't stop looking down. Bryan went before me and i was a bit jealous. I didn't want to have to watch him jump before me.

Bryan after the jump!

I was suited up and the bungee was attached. I couldn't turn my mind off. I knew I wasn't going to back down, I LOVE being scared, but I wanted to enjoy the freefall. I was scared. I, Sally Catherine, was scared.

I was standing at the edge with my toes off the side. I looked down...then straight up to the mountains. I didn't want to hesitate, if I did it would be over...I took a breath, and listened to the count down. 1....2....3...BUNGEE! No stopping, just jumping. The freefall was 8 seconds long. It felt amazing. i loved every second of it. My heart was bounding as the ground got closer. On the first bungee up I began to cry. i had never been so scared before, but I did it anyway. On the second bungee up I started to laugh. it was a mix of emotions. I laid back as they pulled me up. I was so happy to be back in Bryan's arms. I was shaking. 440 feet is a bit too high, but if I ever go back to NZ again, that will be the first thing I do. I LOVE getting scared.

What a crazy day!

We went to dinner at a buffet at the top of one of the mountains in Queenstown. The view was amazing. It looked over the Queenstown Lake at sunset. The weather was perfect! The sights were breath taking. We took a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain.

The food was great. The best food we had the whole time we were in NZ. The whole side of the restaurant was windows so we could see the beautiful view. Bryan tasted the famous Green Muscles...Not very good :)

Dinner with Mikey Mike and Emmo.

the view on the way back down the mountain. The city of Queenstown.

Next stop was to a bar called minus 5. Everyone was really tired because of the night before but we all wanted to make sure we got a chance to experience the ice bar. The whole bar was made of ice, even the cups were made of ice. We got boots, jacket and gloves. there were ice sculptures everywere. Every drink we had felt like two drinks. It hit us fast because our bodies were so cold. We only stayed inside for 40 minutes, which was the perfect amount of time.

After the bar we went back to the hotel. We were exhausted. It was a wonderful first day of the New Year. I love my life. I'm looking forward to 2011!

New Zealand-Day 11

December 31st 2010

New Years Eve! hard to believe that we're going to be the first nation to bring the new year. It's amazing!!! We first went to Fox Glacier before heading to Queenstown. We took a hike up onto the glacier. The hike was so beautiful. The river flowing from the glacier was glacier run off and we saw giant chunks of ice flowing down it. It was cool to see. This is a picture of us at the base of the glacier.

We had a chance to taste the rushing water. It was extremely fresh tasting. Bryan had to hold onto me :)

Right before we got on the glacier we had to put Crampons on the bottom of our shoes.

Hiking up onto the glacier...

We made it! Look at the view! The glacier was cold but not as cold as I thought it would be. The sights from the top of the glacier were beautiful. I couldn't believe that this was how we were spending the last day of the year. The year has brought so much joy and perspective on life. this was the icing on top of the cake.

Ice cave.

On the way back down the glacier. We couldn't wait to hear about Bryan's passport. Emmo, our tour manager, had been checking up on the passport all morning while we were off having fun. When we got down he let us know right away that they found the passport in Wellington AND his buddy would bring it to Christchurch...It'll be waiting for us! PHEW. We were so happy and thankful. Now I didn't have to kill my husband.

Strange chips...mint/lamb flavor :) tasted OK...

Then we were off to Queenstown. We made a quick stop and this beautiful view.

Queenstown! We made it to Queenstown! This is Fergburger. A popular burger joint. Like Pinks hot dog in LA. The line was out the door. It was tasty.

Us on our patio in our hotel. It over looked Queenstown. I had never stayed in a place this amazing before. It felt like a movie set, I kept waiting for someone to wake me up. Queenstown is easily the most beautiful place I have ever been. This is where we got to bring in the new year. Couldn't wait!!!

We got all dolled up and went down to the lobby for dinner and drinks. The restaurant had a wall of Windows, this way we could see the view while we had NYE dinner. At dinner Mike and Andrea bought us a round of yummy shots. It was a great way to kick off the night. We jumped into taxi's and headed into the small town of Queenstown.

We started at this place called Buffalo Bar. The bar was two stories. Some of the group went upstairs and got in trouble for throwing ice off the balcony at other people...I'll give you one guess on who started this game. yes! It was Bryan...about 15 minutes before midnight the group wondered outside to the lakeside.

There were hundreds of people with the same idea. Once we got to the lakeside, there was a band playing music and there was a giant count down to midnight. The first nation to welcome the new year!! We all hung out and danced and waited until the last 10 seconds. We counted down together and shared our first NYE kiss as husband and wife! We were in a different country celebrating the coming of a new year. It was such a great feeling. Fireworks went off over the lakeside. Then we shared in some hugs and kisses with our friends. We also scanned everyone else to see who else got kisses...We didn't see any juicy hook ups but lots of love was being spread.

As the group walked to our next bar we clapped our morning song. It was great to have around 50 people clapping in the streets. It was a great bonding experience. We felt like sheep walking in such a huge group. The famous 'world bar' was our next stop. They served teapots loaded with shots. Teapots were flowing that night. We had a couple of shots, they were tasty. We didn't stay long because our first day of 2011 was going to be a long one. BEST NYE EVER!