#7

Around six years ago I wrote a blog that has been at the forefront of my mind for a while now.  I set a goal for myself...  I wanted to visit all 7 continents by the age of 30.

I am now 30 and next month I will officially be able to say that I've been to all 7 continents!

We will leave from South America and sail through the Drake passage to the South Shetland Islands.

I am beyond ecstatic... not only do I get to complete my goal, but I get to do it with my husband by my side!  I am extremely blessed to have such a supportive husband who will follow me around the world... even if he would prefer staying home and playing board games.  ;)



MORE UPDATES TO COME!

The Last NZ post... for now.

Guys, I totally forgot to finish my blog on New Zealand! I came on here to write about our upcoming trip when I realized I never finished my last blog... so here we go!

Our last day in Queenstown we ended up doing the Hydro Attack which I thought was pretty cool. Below is a picture from their website: 

The shark can swim, dive, and shoot up into the air. It's just you and the pilot inside so it's a pretty tight space, but the shark itself can reach speeds of 80kph on the water. It can leap straight out of the water into the air before diving back down into the water. I had done research prior to our trip and it looked fun so I thought we would give it a try.

 It was definitely a unique experience and it's amazing that they were able to come up with something like this. I appreciated it for what it was, but if you ask Mike he'll say it wasn't thrilling or exciting enough. We both like major thrills, so I get where he's coming from, but it's still unique and still got my approval! 

Later in the day we rode up the gondola to see some amazing views..

(lol first amazing view)

Queenstown is my absolute favorite city - it is STUNNINGLY beautiful and of course I like it because it's all about the THRILLS!  As you can see, we did some bungy jumping as pictured below:

I've done it here before, but this was Mike's first time! We had such a good time we actually did it twice! <3  We got LIVE MORE FEAR LESS shirts as POJ! (proof of jump) And then of course we also had to buy matching SWEET AS shirts! 

The rest of our time in New Zealand was essentially just making our way back to Christchurch to head home... we were going to take a nice scenic drive along the coast, but due to the weather we ended up skipping that part. It was cloudy and rainy that day so we decided we'll do it on our next trip to New Zealand. (Which I DO have a video of Mike stating we could come back!)

If anyone ever wants to travel to New Zealand...

1. Take me with you

2. Ask me anything

3. I will help you plan

4. For real take me with you

5. I will be your tour guide

6. Just go

7. It's the best 

This is why we kept our fork!

Our favorite part of the trip involved taking a private plane from Queenstown to Milford Sound. The views were absolutely STUNNING!!!! I had traveld to Milford Sound before, but it was always via car which I think takes 4 hours or so...? I wanted to do something different this time so I suggested we do a combo package. At first, Mike wasn't totally on board because of the price, but GUESS WHAT?! He changed his mind once he saw the views!! I think his camera was going off non-stop during the flight! He even got to co-pilot! 

After the plane ride, we took a scenic Milford Sound cruise. 

It was beautiful... I wish it had been a little bit of a nicer day, but still... no complaints here! :)

Included with our package was a ride on the dart river jet. 

Oh my goodness... it was such a fun ride!! I loved the zoomies and spins! We got a little wet, but even worse... we got eaten up by those darn sandflys! 

The pictures in this post do not do any of this any justice... to be there and to experience all of it was worth every penny. I'm so glad Mike got to experience the New Zealand I have come to love so much!!

Wanaka and first day in Queenstown

So... every time I've come to New Zealand I've made a stop at Puzzling World in Wanaka. Great stop on the way to Queenstown! It's basically like EnterTRAINment Junction's funhouse, but they have a huge outdoor maze and a few other optical illusions and attractions that you can't find at EJ. 

^Mike demonstrating the tilt room

^Ames room

^Look at our tan selves! Working on the maze!

You can definitely spend a couple hours here --they even have a cafe where you can sit and do puzzles and brain teasers! Mike was a fan! After a quick stop in Wanaka we headed to Queenstown! Check out our amazing accommodations!! We stayed at Swiss-Belsuites Pounamu Queenstown and it had such great views!! We loved our room -it was very spacious and picturesque! 

We went to bed early the first night as we had a big day planned the following day... save your fork!! Dessert is coming!!!

Journey to Mt. Cook

I had never been to Mt. Cook before so this was a new experience for me. We ended up staying at Mt. Cook Lodge and Motels and it was one of my favorite stays EVER!! The views were absolutely beautiful and it's right in the heart of the village... which means easy access to so many beautiful hiking trails and even Mt. Cook itself!

The first day was a little cloudy, but the second day was absolutely gorgeous! I was nervous at first because the mountains were covered by clouds, but as we hiked along the clouds slowly moved so we could get the perfect view of Mt. Cook. We took the Hooker Valley Track which was about a 3 hour hike.

Absolutely stunning! Again, I can't speak highly enough of Mt. Cook village... reminded me a bit of our time in Patagonia. We could definitely come back and spend more time enjoying nature and all the trails of the area! It was one of my favorite days of the trip. 

Kia Ora!

Disclaimer: I have so many pictures of New Zealand that this post is only going to cover the first couple of days. We arrived in Christchurch in the south island and rented a car. The first day was just meant to explore Christchurch a little bit and be the setting off point for the rest of our trip!

Below are some pictures taken around Christchurch:

(cardboard cathedral... built out of cardboard after the earthquake)

(botanic gardens)

(memorial to the earthquake victims)

I was last in Christchurch prior to the major earthquake in 2011 and have not seen it since... in fact, the last time I was in New Zealand I was told not to go to Christchurch because it was still in ruins. You could tell by walking around the city that there was still work to be done, but the people have also done very well rebuilding and making the city look great.

Speaking of Christchurch... we literally left Christchurch (to go home) the day before the shooting took place. A week prior to that we had been walking through the park very near to the mosque where it happened. New Zealand is such a calm and peaceful place. Don't get me wrong, I don't want there to be killings anywhere, but the fact that it took place in New Zealand made me tremendously sad. My love for New Zealand and the people of New Zealand is forever. <3 Kia Kaha!

First real stop on our road trip around the south island... LAKE TEKAPO!

Church of the Good Shepherd 

Everything in New Zealand is so picturesque... you can't help but fall in love.