Teacher Holiday = two week break

First Week:
Some friends drove me down to Wellington. I think this took just as long as the bus did, but I was infinitely more comfortable. I met up with the three guys from Furman again and will be traveling with them the whole two weeks. I am very excited. We hoped on the Ferry on Saturday and from then until Thursday of next week we were driving 5 or more hours a day staying in hostels and seeing as much as we could in our rented car. It was nice to be back on the South Island, but I appreciate the longer time I spent, when it was not so rushed. This was a very enjoyable experience though and I wouldn't exchange it for the world.
We took the ferry to Picton and quickly picked up the car we had rented and after grabbing a bite to eat we headed on the road. We made it to Christchurch a little before night fall. We broke up the trip by stopping in Kaikura to walk along the beach and find sea lions. When we got to Christchurch we checked into our hostel and headed out to find dinner at a tasty Indian restaurant. The weather was perfect, respectively chilly. The next day we drove to Dunedin. This drive was not amazing we saw some coast line but a good portion of the drive was nothing to write about. When we passed through Oamaru we went looking for penguins and followed a nice coast trail until high tide washed up. By the time we got to Dunedin we were so hungry that we set out to find food. This was Easter Sunday mind you and not many places were open, but we were lucky and found an amazing Italian restaurant called Etrusco and had a fabulous pasta dinner. The next morning we were ready to tour the Cadbury Chocolate factory, explore the art gallery and look at the cathedrals. We also ran/walked up the steepest street in the world according the Guinness world record; Baldwin street at a 35% gradient. By the afternoon we were making our way through the Catlins seeing Jack's bay, McLean Falls, and Purakaunui falls (picture provided). We made it to Invercargill late that night very cold and very hungry. Thankfully there was a warm fire place to meet us with a very friendly owner who had all kinds of gadgets hanging from the walls and strings attached to doors which had little figurines attached to the ends of them, all rigged up so when you open a door the figure pops out at you. We stayed in the Egyptian room and cooked a huge portion of rice and beans and added many spices and herbs to make it a fantastic meal.
We had not inclination to stay in Invercargill long so we headed out to bluff in the morning. Bluff is the southern most city to Antarctica and we had to stop there on our way through the South Island. We made it to Te Anau by lunch time and hiked part of the Kepler track. The Kepler track was just as amazing as when I did it the first time with the mossy trees and the beautiful scenery as you wind your way the the first hut coming in, where it had a nice beach which looked out across a lake. By dinner time we made it to Queenstown to walk around a little and find dinner before we made our way to Wanaka. By the time we got to the Catlins it was starting to get chilly. Queenstown was very cold and reminded me a lot of winters spent in Lake Tahoe as you walk around Squaw Valley. Where the center of town is all lite up with the cobble walkways and all the stores and restaurants close together inviting you into their warmth. As we drove out of Queenstown to Wanaka there were condos for rent for the ski season, having the inviting atmosphere of a great place to be in the winter. Too bad it wont be snow season until July, I would love to tear it up on these beautiful mountains.
We slept in Wanaka and awoke to a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains ready for what they day would hold for us. We had the best drive yet on our way out of Wanaka to Fox glacier. Sights completely out of this world through windy roads and in the mountains the whole time. Before we got to Fox Glacier we were almost run off the road by a motor home going the other way as it turned a corner to sharply and started rocking back and forth. Matthew had to drive off the road a little bit to avoid the last tip of the motor home before it rolled off the other side and landed upright with no one hurt, but a vacation that will have to have some major changes before they get going again. We hiked as far as we could on Fox glacier and headed on for we had a very very long drive ahead of us. We made it to Greymouth by nightfall exhausted and happy we would be out of a car and in Fiji soon. There was nothing to do in Greymouth as we left and headed to Picton to drop off the car. Nelson had a beautiful beach I convinced the boys to stop at and walk around before we went through the vineyard section of the trip. We did a wine tasting at Herzog (which you can look up and order if you want). I believe if I remember right my favorites were the Merlot Cabernet "spirit of Marlborough" and the Sauvignon Blanc "sur lie" although I will not credit myself with any decent knowledge at explaining good wines for I am still very naive. Although I do intend to learn a lot about wine. We got to the Ferry in time and were very happy to be rid of the car.

We had a day off before we headed to Auckland, in which I wrote one of my essays and relaxed happy to know I would not have get into a car and drive for 6 or more hours that day. I gathered my strength for the next day I get to go through customs... yeah! We flew from Wellington to Auckland then from Auckland to Nadi (Fiji). Once there grabbed a taxi to World Mark resort where we would be staying until we came back to Auckland and parted our separate ways. We arrived relatively late, but could still get dinner and walk around on the beach as well as swim in the warm pool. The ocean water in Fiji is easiest to describe as bath tub temperature, the beaches were white and had a lot of crabs running away into the dark. In the condo we were staying in it had one king size bed, two twins and a pull out of the wall bed. Short end of the draw got the pull out bed. I was sleeping in the twin. My time spent in Fiji was very relaxing. I caught up on my reading, I was able to write two essays, I laid out on the beach, watched movies, went swimming and scuba diving. We took a day trip to the what they called the south island where we scuba dived and were fed an amazing meal, allowed to take snorkel gear, kayaks, sail boats, play volleyball, sit and do nothing in lounge chairs, free drinks, massages looking out to the water... wasn't a bad place to go. The two dives I did, one was a wreck dive on a boat which was maybe 8 years old, but it was great to have had the experience of going through a sunken boat. The second dive I did was a coral dive, which was also cool and I got to touch anemone, see colorful coral and play with a some fish. There were no great problems, although I was very cautious of the equipment and had fins too big for me and didn't have the right weight on the first dive, but by the second I was all squared away. Oh we didn't wear wet suits because there was no need, the water was wonderful and I'm pretty sure my breathing is more stable in warmer water. We ate some very good meals, while at the resort, as well as cooking a lot of pasta and soups, which we brought through customs. We even ordered giant pizzas one night and watched the Dark Knight. I wouldn't suggest drinking the water or eating fruit, while you stay in Fiji I may have gotten sick because of it and wont say anything more. Thankfully the day I did get sick was a little raining and cloudy so it was a good excuse to sleep all day. But the weather the entire time was humid and warm and just what we needed for a break. Thank you Chris for bringing me along.
The two week break, which is technically a teacher's holiday was a great way to explore New Zealand and get to Fiji. I had a little trouble getting back into New Zealand, a problem with my student visa, but all was ok when I had proof I was leaving the country before my visa expired. It only took 45 minutes to get a ticket, but once I was on that plane everything was A-O-K.