Mid semester break

Hey everyone!

I am back! And wow, I don't think I have ever seen so many places in two weeks. It was amazing and I am even more excited to do it all again and more in November!

So after crying the whole morning because my parents left and I wanted to go back to the Netherlands with them so badly, I got myself together now to tell you all about my trip.

It all started on monday two weeks ago when I flew to Auckland. The sky was completely clear so I had an amazing view on the Southern Alps and the sea. At the airport my parents were already waiting for me and it was great to see them again! We had a rental car and drove to the Bay of Islands that afternoon. We had a great stop at a garden where we could walk up a hill and to a pond. We arrived in the evening and looked around in Paihia a bit before going to bed. The next mornng we had to get up early, because we were going on a dolphin cruise! Unfortunately we did not see any dolphins but we saw a lot of birds, seals, bays and islands and we went to the hole in the rock. It was a really beautiful boat trip and we got a new ticket as refund so I can go again in November! After the boat trip we drove to a forest with Kauri trees. There was one who is estimated to be 2000 years old. They were huge!! And really beautiful :) We spend the night in Auckland and went to the Coromandel the next day. There was a hot water beach here, which means you could just dig a hole in the sand and sit in it ecause warm water came up! It looked really funny because the beach was completely empty except for the part where hot water came up. We also went to cathedral cove. On our way we had a random stop at a very pretty waterfall again! I love those random stops :D After Coromandel we went further south to Rotorua. And yes, it is definitely appropriate to call it Sulphur city! What an awful smell everywhere.. But very interesting to see normal ponds boiling and steaming coming out of parks etcetera. Really cool! We also went to a warm water creek nearby where there was a small waterfall. So there we were.. In winter, sitting in a natural 'jacuzzi'! We also went to 'Craters of the moon' where there were mud craters with steam and stuff and to falls with very blue water. So awesome! The next day was already the last one on the north island. We did the most amazing walk ever near Taupo. The girl at the information desk told us it was an easy walk, but there was a river crossing without a bridge but it should be possible to cross. So we went on the walk and it was not what I would call easy.. We crossed a million streams without a bridge and then the river as well. The paths were very steep and muddy, but it was much fun to do. I like the challenge ;) Then we came higher and there was just snow, so no more path. We had to go up so step by step we managed to go up the steep snowy hill. It sure was an adventure, but after six hours we made it safely back to the car!

Then it was time to go back to the South island. We flew from Wellington to Christchurch and it felt really weird, beacuse I was going home and I felt like the break was over already. But luckily I had another week! I showed my parents around campus and my house and then we went to Christchurch. It was a very beautiful day so we went up the gondola and saw the cathedral and the botanical gardens. The next day we went throught Arthur's pass to the west coast. We saw some amazing waterfalls and very pretty views. We also went on a walk in the dark in a forest where we saw the glowworms! The day after that we saw the glaciers, but the weather was very bad, so we decided to keep on driving. We did do some hikes along the way to the blue pools, some waterfalls and up some hills. The road was so beautiful! We arrived in Queenstown and walked around for a little bit. After all days driving with barely any cars on the road and people around, this was quite a busy city! But we had to move on because the next day we had a cruise in Milford Sound! And we were so lucky, because there was no cloud in the sky that day!! It was great and we saw penguins and seals and waterfalls! The road from Te Anau to Milford was amazing too, we went to the mirror lakes and through a really dark hand dug tunnel :p After Milford we went to Otago peninsula, to look for penguins and albatross. We saw the small blue penguin and lots of seals and seal pups! The next day we went to a pretty lighthouse and there were more seals there. The sun was shining again so it looked so beautiful! Then we drove to Lake Pukaki and went hiking to Mount Cook and Hooker valley. The sky was completely blue and clear so on our way back we could see stars and the full moon :) We did some more hikes near the lake and at Fairlie the next day before going back to Christchurch. Yesterday we went to Banks Peninsula. We took a very touristic route, so with sand roads where you prefer not to meet any oncoming traffic! But the views were amazing and eventually we arrived in Akaroa. We went to the lighthouse and monument there and then we had to go home.

I dropped my parents off at the airport in the evening. It was way harder then I expected and I really have to flip my switch from holiday mode to school mode again. But I am almost halfway already and time flew by. A couple more weeks and hopefully lots of cool weekend trips from now, I got my second holiday waiting for me. So excited to see how different it is in summer and to go camping and on multiple day hikes. Really looing forward to that!! But first.. Back to school, let's ace those tests and projects next week!

Thanks mom and dad for the amazing past two weeks! I love you so much and I am going to miss you!

And thanks everyone else for reading again, hope you enjoyed it!
Talk to you soon!
xxxxxxx

PS I made way to many photos so I will post them on fb in stead of here ;)