The last couple of weeks have been great. The 15th and 16th was the Literature Festival. It was very neat to see the different authors and illustrators. Their stories and talks were amazing. Friday night was the Lit Dinner. The dinner was amazing, the guest speaker was very entertaining, and the band after diner was great. All in all it was a very fun night :)
That Sunday we took a boat out to one of the islands to do some snorkeling. The boat ride was awesome. We saw a whale on the way there and on the way back. The snorkeling didn't go so well. Since it is the middle of the winter here, the water was very cold. But that wasn't really the worst part. Just the feeling of being in the middle of the ocean, not having a floor beneath me, I kinda freaked out. Then looking down to the water I would start hyperventilating. So I was in the water for about 2 minutes then got out lol. For the rest of the time dad and I sat on the beach.
Monday was the farewell assembly for the Jim Hill group. There were lots of tears at that assembly. My dad got up the next morning to be at the airport at 5 to see the group off. I think he is crazy for doing that, but he is usually up early anyways so...
The rest of the week at school was a lot more normal. Classes were back on as usual. I have been going to classes every day. It has been very interesting going to all of the classes.
This last weekend Mr. and Mrs. French took my dad and I to Cape Hilsboro. We went for a hike, saw a kangaroo, sat around the bonfire and had a relaxing evening. Sunday morning I went for a walk along the beach, on our way back we stopped at a Tea House for some morning tea. I got back to Angela's house around noon and the rest of I was lazy lol. I watched a movie, took a nap, watched some tv and saw the Masterchef Finale. It was a really good day lol
Now that its getting so close to the time to come home, I'm getting very anxious. I really hope it doesn't make the next week go by slower. But I now leave a week from tomorrow :) Then I'll be on my way home!! I am soooooo excited!!!! lol
Well, I will see everyone in a week!!
Sarah
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Busy Times
Wow!! The last few weeks have been pretty amazing!! The from June 30th to July 5th I stayed at the home of a family I know here in Aus. They were in NZ at the time so I had the place to myself. It was a good week of relaxing :) I went to see Eclipse on July 1st and it was absolutely amazing!! The rest of the week I mostly hung out at the house and went to the mall a couple of times.
On July 6th I left for NZ. My flight was good. I made it to the hotel by 7:30 that night. My dad's flight was supposed to get in at 5 the next morning. I figured he would be at the hotel by 6:30 and I wanted to be up by the time he got there. So I set my alarm for 5:45. Now NZ is 2 hours ahead of Aus. So I was really getting up at about 4am Aus time. It was a lot easier to get up that early than I would have thought. I think it was mostly because I was so excited to see my dad. Well I didnt realize that the rest of the group from Jim Hill was on a different flight from my dad. Their flight came in later. So they didn't end up getting to the hotel until about 9:30 AM. I was up way to early. But it gave me time to make sure I had everything packed and ready to go. When he got to the hotel my dad called up to my room, I got my stuff and went down to the lobby. It was so good to see him!
Not long after I went downstairs we were off to our first stop. We walked to the Auckland sky tower. We went to the top and saw the amazing view. Our bus picked us up and we went to Mt. Eden. Its a dormant volcano. We went right up to the top and saw into the crater. It was very cool. A little later we went to one of the museums in Auckland. We had some lunch and a tour and then headed back to our hotel. After my dad showered (he had been traveling for about 35 hours) we walked back to the Sky Tower. I then jumped off the top :) The Sky Jump was very cool. It is basically a very controlled base jump. I fell for about 10 seconds :) Dad and I had made a reservation for diner at the revolving restaurant in the Sky Tower. We went and ate and the diner was very good! After diner we went back to the hotel and dad went to sleep.
Day 2 of our NZ adventure started out early. The bus left at 7:30. We had about a 2 hour drive until our first stop. The Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. Those caves were so cool. And we saw tons of glow worms. We got some lunch and got back on the bus. We then had an hours drive to Rotorua. We went up the Gondola and the kids got to go on the luge ride. After that we went to see the gysers and hot mud pools. At the same site we got to see a Mauri culture performance. It was very interesting and cool to learn about their culture.
The morning of day 3 we got to sleep in :) Dad and I did a little shopping and then went back to the hotel. We did something first (cant remember what that was at the moment lol) then we went to the black sand beaches. That was one of the prettiest beaches I have seen yet. And it was awesome to be there with my dad.
Saturday morning we left for the airport. We all flew from NZ to Brisbane together, then my dad and I were on a different flight up to Mackay. Our flight was supposed to land 5 min after the group's and we were nervous about missing the big welcome party that would be waiting for us. Well our plane ended up landing about 5 min before the group's so we waited for them and all went into the terminal together.
Our welcome was awesome. All the teachers and host families were there to meet us. Plus there were some aboriginals and other natives to Aus there to perform some dances for us. It was a great way to start our time in Mackay. Saturday night we went to Mr. Greer's house for a BBQ. It was a nice way to get to know some of the teachers.
Our first day at the school started with a tour. In the afternoon there was a whole school assembly where we were all introduced. Day 2 at the school I went to the Sugar mill with some of the other parents. We got to see how they process the sugar cand and then got to tast test some of the products they make right at the mill. Some of that stuff was awesome!! We got back to school around noon and ate some lunch. Then my dad and I went down to the oval to watch the senior school in the athletic carnival. It was a georgous day to be outside.
Today (Wed) we went to The Hut to learn more about the culture of the aboriginal people and the South Sea Islanders. They cooked us a meal the traditional way their people cook, which was very interesting. We learned about their culture and got to do some painting.
At the moment I am waiting for the launch to the Literature Festival. Angela is on 'board duty' (she is watching the kids in the boarding house) and I'm sittin here waiting for dad and Mr. Greer to arrive at the school. I am very excited for this Lit Festival over the next couple of days. Last time we were here it was amazing! Should be a good 2 days :)
Wow...I think that's it for now. When I remember what else we did on our last day in NZ I'll write another quick post lol
Hope all is well. I'll see you all in a few weeks :)
Sarah
On July 6th I left for NZ. My flight was good. I made it to the hotel by 7:30 that night. My dad's flight was supposed to get in at 5 the next morning. I figured he would be at the hotel by 6:30 and I wanted to be up by the time he got there. So I set my alarm for 5:45. Now NZ is 2 hours ahead of Aus. So I was really getting up at about 4am Aus time. It was a lot easier to get up that early than I would have thought. I think it was mostly because I was so excited to see my dad. Well I didnt realize that the rest of the group from Jim Hill was on a different flight from my dad. Their flight came in later. So they didn't end up getting to the hotel until about 9:30 AM. I was up way to early. But it gave me time to make sure I had everything packed and ready to go. When he got to the hotel my dad called up to my room, I got my stuff and went down to the lobby. It was so good to see him!
Not long after I went downstairs we were off to our first stop. We walked to the Auckland sky tower. We went to the top and saw the amazing view. Our bus picked us up and we went to Mt. Eden. Its a dormant volcano. We went right up to the top and saw into the crater. It was very cool. A little later we went to one of the museums in Auckland. We had some lunch and a tour and then headed back to our hotel. After my dad showered (he had been traveling for about 35 hours) we walked back to the Sky Tower. I then jumped off the top :) The Sky Jump was very cool. It is basically a very controlled base jump. I fell for about 10 seconds :) Dad and I had made a reservation for diner at the revolving restaurant in the Sky Tower. We went and ate and the diner was very good! After diner we went back to the hotel and dad went to sleep.
Day 2 of our NZ adventure started out early. The bus left at 7:30. We had about a 2 hour drive until our first stop. The Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. Those caves were so cool. And we saw tons of glow worms. We got some lunch and got back on the bus. We then had an hours drive to Rotorua. We went up the Gondola and the kids got to go on the luge ride. After that we went to see the gysers and hot mud pools. At the same site we got to see a Mauri culture performance. It was very interesting and cool to learn about their culture.
The morning of day 3 we got to sleep in :) Dad and I did a little shopping and then went back to the hotel. We did something first (cant remember what that was at the moment lol) then we went to the black sand beaches. That was one of the prettiest beaches I have seen yet. And it was awesome to be there with my dad.
Saturday morning we left for the airport. We all flew from NZ to Brisbane together, then my dad and I were on a different flight up to Mackay. Our flight was supposed to land 5 min after the group's and we were nervous about missing the big welcome party that would be waiting for us. Well our plane ended up landing about 5 min before the group's so we waited for them and all went into the terminal together.
Our welcome was awesome. All the teachers and host families were there to meet us. Plus there were some aboriginals and other natives to Aus there to perform some dances for us. It was a great way to start our time in Mackay. Saturday night we went to Mr. Greer's house for a BBQ. It was a nice way to get to know some of the teachers.
Our first day at the school started with a tour. In the afternoon there was a whole school assembly where we were all introduced. Day 2 at the school I went to the Sugar mill with some of the other parents. We got to see how they process the sugar cand and then got to tast test some of the products they make right at the mill. Some of that stuff was awesome!! We got back to school around noon and ate some lunch. Then my dad and I went down to the oval to watch the senior school in the athletic carnival. It was a georgous day to be outside.
Today (Wed) we went to The Hut to learn more about the culture of the aboriginal people and the South Sea Islanders. They cooked us a meal the traditional way their people cook, which was very interesting. We learned about their culture and got to do some painting.
At the moment I am waiting for the launch to the Literature Festival. Angela is on 'board duty' (she is watching the kids in the boarding house) and I'm sittin here waiting for dad and Mr. Greer to arrive at the school. I am very excited for this Lit Festival over the next couple of days. Last time we were here it was amazing! Should be a good 2 days :)
Wow...I think that's it for now. When I remember what else we did on our last day in NZ I'll write another quick post lol
Hope all is well. I'll see you all in a few weeks :)
Sarah
Ok I remember what else we did on the 3rd day in NZ. We went to a rainforest and walked some of the trails. It was georgous :) Dont know how I forgot about it lol.
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