We spent a couple more days in Nelson where yours truly went into the ocean even though it was borderline freezing. We went to wine tastings and breweries galore. The Germans had seen a New Zealand movie that they wanted to show us called “What We Do in the Shadows” and it turned out to be hilarious! We hit up some of the craft markets; the Nelson markets are the best markets we have seen to date. I also made Mags go on a hike to go to the geographical center of New Zealand! Our last day in Nelson we tried to go swimming in a river but it was actually freezing. We were peer pressured into jumping in and man was that a bad decision, we thought we were going to get hypothermia. But on Sunday we packed up and started out on our 5 hour drive to Christchurch to meet up with Trinity and Mike (Yay American friends!)

Well turns out Mike and Trinity’s travels was super hectic and it all stemmed from the flight in NYC being delayed. This meant they were traveling for 33 hr instead of the normal 14. On top of all of the delays they almost missed every single connection they had, lots of running was involved. This also means checked luggage was sacrificed.

While Mike and T were having all the tragic times with traveling, Mags and I were living it up in the Air bnb, we did laundry, took real showers, had A/C, there was a toaster it was the best. Mike and T finally got to the Air bnb around 10 but we had to head out to pick up essentials that were left in the checked luggage. The next day we all slept in and had a slower start. We dropped off Paggie Waggie at our friend Ben’s house so we could all just ride in the rental car and then we were off to the winery. The winery, which I cant remember the name of, was a fantastic winery it was a tasting of 11 different wines and the man who was in charge of the tasting was super helpful and educational. He even told us to go walk through the vineyard and take a couple grapes, what a rebel.

The next day we packed everything in to the rental car and were off to Arthurs Pass. This was Mike’s 1st time driving on the left side of the road and he did a great job, we didn’t crash once. We hiked a trail in Arthur’s Pass to see another waterfall and headed to Hotikia, the jade capital of NZ. Mags and I picked out a few items and then we were off to another brewery of course! Our next Air bnb in West Port was on top of a hill in the bush and had a great view of the city. However the house itself was freezing! We ended up watching a movie called “Boondock Saints” because Mike’s acting skills of summarizing the plot were amazing. And now my only goal is to find "Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day".

Our next adventure was Paparoa National Park. We did a hike and saw the pancake rock and blowholes. The place we were staying that night was booked through book-a-bach (Thanks mama Trudy for the suggestion). We got to the bach super late and getting in to the house was an adventure of its own. It is officially the end of summer in New Zealand and you can really start to feel how cold it is once the sun goes down. If we thought the last house was cold this place was the Arctic. Luckily the beds did have electric blankets!

The next morning we went to go see the nelson lakes, Rotoiti and Rotoroa. They were both so stunning and had adorable ducks. Also apparently there are eels in lakes, something I didn’t know but anywho I got to see an ell for the 1st time! Mags and I also worked on our poses so we don’t look as awkward in photos. The theory is if we are intentionally awkward then the photo will turn out better. The 2nd lake was covered in sandflies (sandflies are the absolute worst their bites balloon and itch like crazy and leave scars.) Luckily for me bugs tend to leave me alone so I didn’t get bit, but poor Mags bugs love her! As long as you keep moving the flies tend to stay away so we all just kept walking in circles and flapping our arms, basically we just looked like lunatics.

The morning after we drove to the Buller Gorge Swing Bridge, which turned out to be scarier than expected, well at least for me. Maggie didn’t help she actually was having a blast scaring me on the bridge. We also found out from the people working at the bridge that book-a-bach is pronounced book-a-batch. We had been pronouncing it like Bach the composer. That night we got back late (or at least late for NZ which is 9pm) so everything was closed and we were on the hunt for food. We ended up at some bar that had tapas and it turned out to be pretty good. I had a really good pork taco!

The next day we took a day trip to Akaroa. Akaroa was stunningly beautiful! We just had a lazy day. We walked around the little town ate some grub and hung out at the beach! That night we actually made it to a restaurant/bar before the kitchen closed…but barely! I choose my beer like I choose ice cream based off its name. I chose the best-named one Black Betty Bam-ba-Lam, it’s a great song!

The next morning we went to the markets and the mall to pick up a suitcase for Mike and T. After our whirlwind of a week we had to take the day to rest. We ordered in Thai food and watched Arrival, a really good movie. Trinity and Mike had to catch a flight early the next morning so Mags and I woke up at 4:30 to make sure we could say goodbye!

Fun Fact

We got to shower every single day for a week! We were kings!

Every time we go somewhere I get singled out, I think I just have that kind of face. One of the waiters made fun of me (a very common occurrence in my life in every country I have been to). Trinity felt that the waiter deserved a tip for that interaction.

After the visit from Trirnity and Mike I think I miss America!

New Zealand needs Wayz. Its crazy it would be so helpful. We need to know gas prices before we get to the station and compare prices.

WE NEED JOBS