Here's some stuff I forgot I wrote. It's mostly cryptic 'cause I was doing it in a hurry. Maybe I'll come back later and fill in the blanks...
Whitsundays
Panic leaving house; didn’t really finish packing. Woke up at 4:30 AM! Long day of traveling. Airlie beach, well lagoon anyway. 3 days on a sailboat. 1 too many people = girls get to sleep on dry land w/ a real shower. Team Ireland drinking at 9:45 am. Snorkeling. Dodgy dishes. Pump toilet. Food. Rough 2d day. Camera broke. Lazy last day—postcard, bought harry potter. Tiring day traveling back. Back to the house for the last time. Too many bags. No taxis. Crowded bus. No place open to eat. Had to wake up early the next day.
New Zealand
Hotel is actually attached to a restaurant called “Outlaws” that has a wild west theme right down the lyrics for “The Gambler” and “Rawhide” on the placemats. Even has a 10 ft. outlaw in the front. Met Mike, roommate and coming on the Contiki tour with us.
First morning…had to figure out which of the 2 contiki buses to get on. We wanted “Toothpick’s” bus. Was this a special tour for people w/ lisps? Spent a few hours in Christchurch. Weather sucked—cold and raining. After driving an hour, everything cleared and weather was amazing for 4 days. Couldn’t stop taking pictures (w/ Ana’s camera) of the scenery. Beautiful mountains w/ green, rolling hills right beside them. Signed up for a scenic flight over Mt. Cook (highest peak). Stopped at a stone church by Lake Wakatipu. Got some gorgeous pictures of the lake. They ended up saving my $200 because the van for the scenic flight left while I was on the lake shore b/c no one could find me. There was a wedding of a Japanese couple in the church going on…w/ a bagpipe player. Lodge at Lake Ohau was amazing!! Wouldn’t mind coming back here. Starting to get to know folks. A few other Americans, all undergrads incl. 1 from Baylor. Mostly Australian w/ the rest Canadian, Hong Kong, and one from India. Jennifer is in denial—London by way of NYC according to her…later the truth comes out, she’s from London by way of New Jersey.
One girl ate a
1 Kilogram T-bone steak!!! That's 2.2 pounds for all the Americans out there. I'm just glad I wasn't there to see it.
