This Year's Christmas

Once again I’m off again, off to Mount Beauty this time.

I’m telling you, I really don’t like Brisbane very much, based on the amount of time I’m spending here these holidays! I’m only actually here three weeks out of the eight I have for holidays.

Anyway, this year I am a bit apprehensive going to Mount Beauty. This time it’s just us, just our family. Last time the Harlands’ came down after a few days to spend the rest of the time with us. And even though we will have all of our Victoria friends it still might be a awkward.. For me anyway.

I haven’t talked to Ruairidh in months, mainly because after a while he just stopped talking to me. What the hell am I supposed to do when I see him? “Hey, how are you, haven’t spoken to you in months, why did you stop talking to me?”? Not exactly the best conversation starter. I’m worried that its going to be a case of I ignore him, he ignores me, we’re all happy, kind of thing. How fricken awkward is that going to be living with him in the same campground for three weeks?!

And as for Josh, well, I’m worried that he’s going to expect things of me that I really don’t want to give. And I know that if it comes down to it, it’s going to end up that we stop talking rather than me giving him what he wants. I’m actually a bit pissed off at him right now, him and his stupid horny little penis. I mean, for god’s sake, can he not think of something other than that for five fricken minutes?! We used to be really good friends.. and I hope we still will be really good friends because I also have to live with him for three weeks as well.

And for the rest of them, well they’ve all been friends for years. They go there every year and hang out all together. I can’t help but feel that I’m intruding on their friendship, just another outsider who doesn’t belong. I really don’t want to just end up having only Libby to hang out with.

It just doesn’t feel right this Christmas. It doesn’t feel like Christmas, it hardly feels like the summer holidays, and for once I’m not super excited about going away for a long time. I hope that I’m just worrying too much and that it will all turn out fine. I really hope that it does.

But it’s ok, of course I’m going to live through it. And I’ll emerge on the other side, unscathed, with two weeks still left of the holidays, where I can do whatever I want. And then on to year twelve. And I’ll get through that as well, perhaps not totally unscathed, but still certainly very much alive. After all, it is just only one year of my life, not many compared to the other 82 I am expected to live. And I’m sure I will live even longer than that. So it will just be one 83rd of my life, not much in comparison. Even if it doesn’t go according to plan, it still won’t really matter in the big picture.

So I won’t dread it, and I will stop dreading about it, because that is sure to only make it worse.

At least next year I will have my head on straight, my priorities right, and I will know what to expect.

And I will get through, and do well, and I will look back and wonder why I ever worried so much. I may as well enjoy it while I can!

So goodbye once again, you know I will miss you, even though I only saw you yesterday. But three weeks is a long time without you and I’ll be sure to text you whenever I can! I love you more than what is possible :)

Magic Really Does Exist

I am currently reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, his new book. And I came across a part in the story that really intrigued me.

Here is the little excerpt:

“Professor, if I were to reach out with my hand and transform this pyramid right before your eyes, would you believe what you had witnessed?”
Langdon had no idea how to respond. “I suppose I would have no choice.”
“Very well, then. In a moment I shall do exactly that.” He dabbed his mouth again. “Let me remind you that there was an era when even the brightest minds perceived the earth as flat. For if the earth were round, then surely the oceans would spill off. Imagine how they would have mocked you if you proclaimed, ‘Not only is the world a sphere, but there is an invisible, mystical force that holds everything to its surface’!”
“There is a difference,” Langdon said, “between the existence of gravity... and the ability to transform objects with the touch of your hand.”
“Is there? Is it not possible that we are still living in the Dark Ages, still mocking the suggestion of ‘mystical’ forces that we cannot see or comprehend. History, if it has taught us anything at all, has taught us that the strange ideas we deride today will one day be our celebrated truths. I claim I can transform this pyramid with a touch of my finger, and you question my sanity. I would expect more from an historian. History is replete with great minds who have all proclaimed the same thing... great minds who have all insisted that man possesses mystical abilities of which he is unaware.”
The Last Symbol by Dan Brown, pages 307-308.

I guess I have never thought about it that way before. But just imagine back 300 years ago before they knew of gravity, how mystical and magical it would seem that the world is round and at the core is a huge overpowering force that holds everything to the surface. How strange and unlikely that would have seemed! Just the same that some things, like transforming something with just a small touch, seem so unbelievable to us now. Perhaps it is really possible for something like that to happen; just because we do not understand it does not mean it doesn’t exist.

I suppose that means that magic really does exist. Because what is magic but that which we do not understand? So in reality, going by that definition, our lives are filled with magic; that which we do not understand.

I like that thought.
That my world is full of magic, both good and bad.
It gives me some hope.
And makes me smile, that magic really does exist.

So I wonder when are we going to discover the fairies?

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!

So its that time of year again.
Christmas time!

I like Christmas, but then I don’t.

See, I love Christmas because it brings people together. People who you haven’t heard from in months, years even, will send you a Christmas card. Family members all come over; people go away on holidays; everyone tries their hardest to be happy and smiling, even just for that one day of the 25th. I like the relaxing that Christmas day brings, the happiness, the family time, the proof of how much you love someone. Of course, just like any special day, Christmas day is important and people look forward to it.

But the one thing I don’t like about Christmas is the presents. Ok, call me weird and whatever, but it really is my least favourite part of Christmas. No, I’m not one of those die-hard Christians who believe Christmas should be about the birth of Jesus, not about presents and food and money. Because these days Christmas is about the presents and the food. It’s about being a family, or about being with your friends; it’s about having a good time. Which is good in my opinion, and far better than remembering the birth of Jesus, which although is important, it really isn’t very practical in our modern world.

The reason I dislike presents on Christmas is the fact that these days, so much money is spent. People go over the top being gifts of all kinds, both useful and useless gifts. The amount of money that is spent over the Christmas period is both phenomenal and ridiculous. Do we really need that many things just to have a good time? What about the saying ‘money can’t buy happiness’? I think, if we really wanted, we could have just as much of a good time if we totally skipped out on the present giving. Of course its always nice to show someone that you love them, but seriously, isn’t a nice hug and a good meal enough? For me, my favourite part of Christmas would have to be going away and camping and then waking up in the morning to find everyone in the campground so happy. Everyone has their new knickknacks that they’re playing with and almost every single person that you see has a smile. My favourite part of Christmas is the happiness that everyone has.

And also the food! It’s one of the few days where you can totally stuff your face with delicious food and not feel guilty because hey! its Christmas! I love it when delicious dish after delicious dish comes out and then after, and even better, all the sweet goodies come out! Mmmmmm! Yes, that would have to be my favourite part.

But I can still have all of that without the immense amount of money spent on presents. And I’m sure it’s even worse for children whose parents don’t have very much money. Because they will see other kids opening these hugely expensive presents and they will feel left out, that Santa doesn’t love them as much.

I think we could have just a good time without the presents on Christmas.
Because it’s the spirit of Christmas,
Not the objects of Christmas.

I love you all the way from New Zealand to Pluto and back 10000 times!

I wish I could say how much I love you,
Or how much I miss you.

But words can’t express that.
So I guess I shall just have to show you when we next meet again.

I love you my gemstones, who are so much prettier than rocks.
And I don’t know what I would do without you.

J’teim.

Dear You

So now that you’re back,
I hope you get better soon.

Love your Stephie

This one has no title.

I missed you today.

Even though you were standing right next to me.
It wasn’t you who was there.

It was someone else.
Someone else who had taken your body and kicked what made you you out of it.
And then decided to inhabit your body themselves.

Where were your jokes?
Your “I’m such a dick”?
What happened to your tooth smile that makes me laugh every time I see it?
Why was it me pulling you along, instead of your usual “Come on, Stephie!”?

I know you said you were tired when I asked you what was wrong,
But I can’t shake off the feeling that I’ve done something.
Please, can that not be it.
Please, if I have done something, or if someone has said something, anything, please no..

I don’t want to loose you.
As irrational and silly as that sounds,
I really don’t want to loose you.

And I promise you, I will have you in whatever way, shape or form that you may come in.

I only just found you.

Those two words that you want to hear

It’s good to know that I’ve finally let you go.

You can be someone else’s problem now,
And I don’t have to worry about you any longer.

It’s frustrating to know that all those tears were wasted.
All that anger and hurt was for nothing.
Because nothing ever became of it.
And it’s frustrating to know that I let my time be wasted.

But that doesn’t matter anymore.
You don’t matter anymore.

I have to thank you I suppose.
For giving me the opportunity to grow up.
To make mistakes, as embarrassing as they were,
And to learn from those mistakes.

Because I know I won’t make those mistakes again.
I’ll make other ones instead.
But by and by, the amount of mistakes I have to make will come to an end.
And then I should have learnt my lesson enough to know what to do.
So I thank you for letting me use up some of my mistakes on you.
And not laughing at me when I did.

Thank-you for being my friend.
And I think you’ll be glad to know,
that I’ve

Two Songs, Both Different

Two songs that I have to post the lyrics to.
The first one is our song.
Because it’s your favourite song.
But I want to say it to you.

You Had Me at Hello
By A Day To Remember

I'm missing you so much, I'll see you die tonight

Just so I can get to you before the sun will rise

I know these times are hard and I feel this too

None of that ever seems to matter when I'm holding you

And I'm wasting away, away from you

And I'm wasting away, away from you

What have I gotten into this time around

I know that I had sworn I'd never trust anyone again but I didn't have to

You had me at hello.

I've never seen a smile that can light the room like yours

It's simply radiant, I feel more with everyday that goes by

I watch the clock to make my timing just right

Would it be okay?

Would it be okay if I took your breath away?

And I'm wasting away, away from you.

And I'm wasting away, away from you.

What have I gotten into this time around

I know that I had sworn I'd never trust anyone again but I didn't have to

You had me at hello

You gave me butterflies at the mailbox, [you had me at hello.]

You gave me butterflies, you had me at hello.

What have I gotten into this time around

I know that I had sworn I'd never trust anyone again but I didn't have to

You had me at hello

You had me at hello

You had me at hello

I miss you.
More than I should.


And the second song is a favourite of mine.
I think it should be the NZ Tour song.
Because it’s certainly how I felt on tour.
:)

Where the Lines Overlap
By Paramore

Give me attentionI need it now

Too much distance

To measure it out, out loud

Tracing patterns across a personal map

And making pictures where the lines overlap

Where the lines overlap

No one is as lucky as us

We're not at the end

But oh, we already won, no no

No one is as lucky as us

Is as lucky as us

Call me over

Tell me how you got so far

And never making a single sound

I'm not used to it

But I can learn

There's nothing to it

I've never been happier

Never been happier

Now I've got a feeling if I sang this loud enough

You would sing it back to me

I've got a feeling if I sang this loud enough

You would sing it back to me

I've got a feeling (I've got a feeling)

That you would sing it back to me

You would sing it back to me

No one is as lucky as us

We're not at the end

But oh, we already won, oh no

No one (no one) is as lucky as us

Is as lucky as us

Is as lucky as us

I think it pretty much just sums up tour.
Geese I miss it already.
:(

And just in case you thought I forgot..

Well I didn’t.
Not for one second.

Every day I thought about you, and every day I missed you.
Until I found Isaac, I missed you more than words can say, every moment of the day.
But don’t worry,
He didn’t replace you.

No one could ever replace you.
No one.

But he reminded me of you because we were so similar.
Just like me and you.
And he helped to ease my loneliness that I had from being away from you.
Even if only the tiniest bit.
Because I missed you.
More than I could say.

Every beautiful thing I saw, I wish you could see as well.
I wanted to share with you all of the wonderful sights that I was seeing.
I wanted you to be in heaven just like I was.
And that made me miss you even more.

The three of you, my gemstones, I missed.
It was you I always thought of, when I was lonely and wanted someone to talk to.
I missed all three of you.
More than what I thought was possible.

I didn’t realise how much I loved you until I didn’t have you anymore.
But I do love you.
A lot.

DAY TEN - THE LAST DAY :'(

We got up at 8:30 and had our last breakfast together. We left by about ten-ish to go to the Antarctic Centre. Because New Zealand is so close to Antarctica, it is the common stop off place before travelling to Antarctica. It’s where you get stocked up on all of the warm clothes that you will need and also where a bit of training is done to prepare you to go to Antarctica. It was pretty interesting seeing what you have to do in order to be prepared for the cold weather. And the amount of clothes you have to wear! But it does get down to -50°C and lower so you need plenty of layers.

In the centre is a sub-zero room where a storm in Antarctica is artificially created to give you a feel of what it’s like in Antarctica. It got down to -18°C with a wind chill of god knows what. We were given thick jackets to put on which actually really helped. TO be honest I didn’t really feel cold at all, even though I probably should have. Not even my exposed face was cold! Isaac and a few of the other crazy guys on the other hand wanted to act all tough and what not so they didn’t take a warn jacket to put on. This meant that Isaac was in jeans and a t-shirt in -18°C! He was cold! I felt fine but I was worried for him because the human body really isn’t meant to be in -18°C weather! So I was pretty much trying to keep him warm the whole time. Unfortunately thought, I'm not really big enough to do that so I don’t think I helped much :( But he survived, even though it took him about 15mins to get feeling back into his fingers! Silly boy :)

After lunch it was time for the plane ride back home. “At last!” some would say, but I was actually pretty upset to be leaving. Tour had been great fun and I didn’t want to leave such a beautiful country like New Zealand. And I was also really sad about the fact that we would never be this group again. The friends I made on tour were amazing and I’m going to miss them heaps. We had so much fun and had such great jokes together that for it to finally be the end is very depressing.

Anyway, when we checked in, Isaac and I were luckily seated right next to each other on the plane! That was pretty cool, so once again I just spent the whole plane flight talking to him. I’d have to say that out of the whole tour, I’m probably going to miss Isaac the most. Even though I only really spent about half the tour with him, we still became such great friends and I already miss him more than I’ll admit. We just clicked, you know, and I don’t think I’ve ever met a guy as similar to me as he is. It’s good. I really do hope that we keep in touch and do stuff together these holidays.

So anyway, the plane flight was a little boring; I was actually quite restless the whole trip. When we were leaving New Zealand I was pretty sad because I knew that there was a possibility that I might never go there again. And also, seeing the land fade off in the distance marked the end of the most brilliant tour ever, which was really depressing. I disliked the flatness of the ocean which was all I could see for a few hours and so I became restless. I wanted to be back on land. Luckily Isaac’s talking could distract me but even then I was still bouncing around in my seat. When we finally caught sight of Australia again, I didn’t want to land. I wanted to get off the plane but I really, really didn’t want to be back in stinky Brisbane again. It didn’t help that the weather was hot and steamy and the clouds made a murky blanket over the whole city. Didn’t make it appealing in the slightest. The moment we got off the plane I could feel the heat and all I wanted was the freezing cold of New Zealand again.

We got our bags fine and went through customs fine. Then we walked out into the airport and I saw my dad. Throughout the tour I had missed my family a bit, which was a bit unusual because I have never missed them before. So when I saw dad I couldn’t help but run to him and give him a big hug. And from then on I couldn’t stop talking. I told him what I had done and described so many things to him. I swear my lost voice got even worse because I was talking so much. But the funny thing is that I only told him about one tenth of what happened on tour. No doubt the other nine tenths will come out over the next few weeks.

Once we had been picked up from the airport we were all supposed to go back to Mta to help unpack the trailer of the percussion gear. I think that it was really just a prolonging the goodbyes because it took literally about 2 minutes to unpack the trailer. I stood in the San Dam car park and watched the people who I had gotten to know so well. Already we weren’t the group we had been; it was as if we as a group didn’t suit the hot, humid weather. We were already changing, going our different ways. But then it was time to leave and I had to say goodbye to Isaac. I was dreading this. I’m not very good with emotional stuff and I don’t think he is either. All I could do was give him a huge hug and tell him to keep in contact. Which he made a joke out of, but such was the way we were together. I’m not sure if I will see him again because he was in grade twelve this year and now graduated. But we have each other’s numbers and I’m sure we’ll keep in contact. I’m going to miss him though.

And so the New Zealand Tour of 2009 ended. Everyone went their separate ways back home into their own beds. So many friendships were formed and so much fun was had. I’m actually really sad that it’s over.

I wish it wasn’t over, and that it could have gone on forever.

DAY NINE

Today was the eleven hour bus trip back to Christchurch so that we could catch our plane back home the next day. The first two hours I spent asleep on the first bus, and apparently I snored :S But it was ok because no one really noticed except one or two of my friends. I blame my terribly blocked nose! I don’t normally snore! After our morning tea stop I transferred onto the other bus to sit with Isaac who normally sat on that bus with Coxy, Declan and Duncan. However, it somehow turned out that they all left us to go on the other bus which left only Isaac and myself up the back of the bus. I think they were a bit pissed off that Isaac was ditching them for me and just wanted to make it awkward for us. But it was fine because it meant that Isaac and I could have more time to just talk again! Which was exactly what we did, pretty much the rest of the 11hr trip, other than the last two hours when we both fell asleep. It really is so easy to talk to that boy! And before you come to conclusions, he has a girlfriend, so I mean it when I say there was nothing like that between us.

So that bus trip was fun and we got to our final place to stay at about five in the afternoon. That night for dinner we went down the road a bit to eat at an Italian restaurant. The food was very nice and at the end a few speeches were made by Mr D, thanking the year twelves and the other teachers etc etc which were kinda sad because the tour had been such great fun and we all knew that it was coming to an end. I think everyone was in two minds about whether they wanted it to end or not. We had been going nonstop for nine days now, with plenty of sightseeing and rushing around being done. I think everyone was just about ready to go back to their own beds back in Brisbane. But at the same time, that meant that it was the last time that we were all together as a group. That was the saddest part because we had all become so close. And I know that I’m never going to see some of those people again, which is really quite depressing.

So that last night was probably the best, when everyone was down in the common room of the accommodation which was just a simple backpackers. Part of our normal group ended up playing poker. I didn’t know how to play poker so Isaac taught me. Well at least he tried to. I sort of got it but I still didn’t really know exactly what to do so he ended up doing most of it. But it was still fun. The teachers didn’t make us go to bed until about 11:30pm and after that our room stayed up talking. In my room was Aj, Neville, Renata and Camilla again. All of us (minus Camilla because she was asleep!) had a good talk and we didn’t stop talking until about 2 in the morning. But we didn’t have to get up unitl 8:30 which was like a 2 hour sleep in compared to every other morning on tour! The morning where we had the long bus trips we had to be gone by 6:30 which meant a 5:30 breakfast. That meant that I was up at about 4:45 on those mornings! So on the whole tour I probably got about half the amount of sleep that I normally get at home. But that was ok :)

DAY EIGHT

Today we travelled about an hour out of Queenstown to a place called Glenorchy. Here a lot of The Lord of the Rings was filmed so it was very beautiful. We split into two groups: one group went for a little tour around the area while the other went on a jet boat ride. I went on the tour first, which was very pretty. It was overcast again today, but somehow that just suites the scenery of New Zealand. We saw some amazing mountains again with really nice little farms and some beautiful forests. The guide showed us a few places where The Lord of the Rings was actually filmed! I’ve decided that as soon as I’ve finished writing this blog, I am going to go and watch all three of the movies to compare what I’ve seen with what’s in the movies! Pretty much everyone decided on tour that they would watch the movies again because you really do feel the need to visit Hobbitland again!

After we took a short walk in a beautifully green forest, we walked to the river to swap over with the other group who was on the jet boats. There were three boats that took half of our group, which was about 45 people. I got in the back seat with AJ and Bec Hull with Daniel and Jordan next to us. We had an absolute ball! If you’ve ever been on a jet boat then you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t then I highly recommend that you go on one because they are SO FUN!!! I can’t remember the name of the river we went down but it was what they call “braided”, which means that instead of having just one channel of water, there are several interweaved channels over a larger area. And this jet boat, which went about 80 to 90km/hr weaved in between these braided channels. It was actually pretty scary because some of these channels looked no wider than the boat! I kept thinking that we would hit the rock of the bottom and yet we never did! The boat also did tricks such as 360° turns. Those were thrilling! The first one was a bit scary; it felt like a dreamworld ride or something, only you weren’t strapped in and on a track where nothing could go wrong! We also got incredibly wet because water is constantly spraying up over the edge of the boat. The three jet boats decided that it would be a game to see who could get the others most wet. The teachers’ boat got ours pretty good and all of us got totally SOAKED! But withing a few minutes we were dry again from the wind blasting at us. I would have to say that the jet boat ride was the funnest thing on the whole tour!

Back at the accommodation, tonight was the No Talent Contest, an annual event for all band tours. Of course it was hilarious! The winning act has to be the act with the least amount of talent, so basically the point is to get up there and make a huge fool of yourself. We did an act with the cup game where you bang a sequence with cup on a table. Not too much talent there. It failed miserably, which is the whole point. We didn’t end up doing too badly, getting fifth or something like that. The winning act was by Borg who got Jessie and Coxy to wax his legs while he sang “Last Day on Earth” by Kate Miller-Hidke. It was a classic! Definitely a first place getter! That night was good, especially with the absolutely terrible puns that Coxy and Declan made throughout the show. Good times!

DAY SEVEN

Today we went into the main part of Queenstown again to do our last performance. Once again, we played in a lovely spot under a big shady tree on possibly the greenest grass I have ever seen. But then again all grass in New Zealand is the greenest grass I have ever seen! Heaps of people came to watch and I think they enjoyed our performance. I was a bit disgusted though because it seemed that the Buckingham Green, which was where we played, was the local hot spot for sunbaking. I didn’t realise but the South Island is directly underneath a huge hole in the ozone layer. So you get tanned pretty darn quick when you lay out in the sun. With all of those semi naked people just laying in the sun, I could just see the skin cancer forming on their skin. It was horrible!

Anyway, our last performance went very well. It was kind of sad to know that I would never play with this group of people again. And to realise that I only had a few days left with the grade twelves who I had become really good friends with since tour. But life goes on, and soon we were driving to the bottom of one of the hills in Queenstown so that we could catch the skyline gondola up to the top. The skyline gondola was like a chairlift which was enclosed. It sat four people and went up the hill, which by the way was pretty damn steep. It was pretty cool going up that high, and the view was amazing! We could see the whole lake, which was quite large and very blue. When we got to the top we had a pass to go on five rides of the luge. The luge is like a cross between gokart and a toboggan. It’s about 800m of track which is all downhill. The kart which you ride doesn’t have an engine, thus why the track has to be all downhill. All you are given is a brake, which controls how fast you go. And then you’re off! It was SO FUN! The track was quite tight and had a few sharp corners but it gave you such a thrill to be so low on the ground and to be going so fast! The guys had great fun doing heaps of races against each other but I wasn’t too much competition because I didn’t go so fast. But it wasn’t my fault, they could go much faster than me because they were so much heavier! But because I was so light, when I went down the short steep hills I got a bit of air, which was really fun!

Once that was done we went back to the accommodation. And unfortunately, my friends decided that my hair needed straightening. So they straightened it. And I must say, it looked horrible. I dislike my curly hair because it seriously never looks good, but straight hair is even worse! It really doesn’t suit me at all. Neville insisted on parading me around the place showing everyone my straight hair. I would have to say that about half of them said I looked better with curly hair and the other half said that I looked better with straight. But they all agreed that it was a close competition and that they liked my hair whatever it looked like. “Hmmmpphh” was all I had to say. I did like Max’s comment though, and his facial expression: (just imagine his face) “Seriously Steph, you’re hot! I’d say that you’d give pretty much every guy on this tour a boner with your straight hair.. Ok should not have said that! You can leave now, Steph!” Personally I don’t agree, but it still made me laugh!

Today was the first and only say that I wore shorts on the whole tour. It was quite hot in the afternoon (at least compared to what it had been!) so everyone had shorts on. One particular thing I liked about that afternoon was sitting with a whole group of people, guys and girls, who I had become pretty close with over the past few days. Someone had their ipod and was playing some pretty good music while we were all sitting on the grass with the sun going down. It was so peaceful to just listen to everyone’s conversations while the wind was gently blowing in our hair; I felt so relaxed and so happy. That was one of the best moments on tour.

After the usual good food for dinner, Isaac and I who had become pretty good friends the past few days went into the soundproof room to just have a chat. I didn’t realise it until we got out but we must have talked for a good two hours! It was actually really surprising to find how much we had in common. Just little things, but things that make a difference. It was good to finally talk to someone who was the same because even though I love my girls on tour, none of them are really quite the same as me. Maybe thats why I found myself more hanging out with the guys than the girls at times. So Isaac and I had a really good talk, a d&m if you want, and so pretty much from then on we where almost inseparable. At times I felt a bit guilty that I was spending so much more time with him than I was with my other friends, but it was good to be with him and we had so much to talk about. I dunno, its hard to describe but I suppose I love new and different things and Isaac was new and different so there was so much to learn about him that it kept me occupied for the rest of the tour. Lol, sounds sus I know but there wasn’t anything like that between us. Jess described us as an old married couple.. lol :P Both of us got a lot of shit from everyone, teasing that we were together but we dealt with it and it was all good :)

DAY SIX

(Or day sex I should say, seeing as that’s how they pronounce it in New Zealand!)

Today we went to a little suburb I suppose you could call it, of Queenstown. It was called Arrowtown and was sort of a town within Queenstown that was very pretty. It had a big English influence on it and had many pretty English cottages with big green trees and little rose gardens. It was Senior Band’s turn not to perform so while the other bands were performing, Neville and I went around and bought souvenirs in all of the little shops. Our group was actually written about in the newspaper, but because Neville and I didn’t know it was happening, we weren’t in the group photo :(

After the performances in Arrowtown, we went into the main part of Queenstown to go on a cruise on the lake. That was very beautiful because today the sun was out and shining and the water looked so pretty and so blue! It was very nice to watch the water go by as the sun shined. We got off on the other side of the lake, about 45 minutes away and went on a tour around a farm there. That was ok I guess, but I sort of found it a little boring compared to the conversations I was having with the guys.. hahaha good times :P

As far as I can remember nothing much else happened that day. We got home to our accommodation and had a wonderful dinner as usual. This time I could appreciate the view that our accommodation had because I wasn’t totally out of it. And it was such an amazing view! Because Queenstown is on a hill pretty much every house has a fantastic view because there are no houses in front of them. Our accommodation was on the side of the lake which had less houses, which meant that we got a wonderful view of the bigger part of Queenstown framed by the huge snow-capped mountains behind. The sight was even prettier as the sun was going down because all of the lights were turned on and the whole city glowed. It really was beautiful. And we got to wake up to that every morning!

Oh and I just think you should all know, when I’m older I’m going to be living in Queenstown! It’s so perfect and peaceful and I really noticed it when we got back to Brisbane because I was so used to the clear blue air of Queenstown. When you compare that to what we have in Brisbane, you almost gag with the uncleanliness of the air. Brisbane really isn’t a very nice place to be, so I’m moving to Queenstown as soon as possible because it’s so much nicer!

DAY FIVE

Another long bus trip, but this time through the mountains on the west coast to the sea and to see a place called Millford Sound. That bus trip was also absolutely stunning. This really was through Hobbit land. The scenery was pretty much exactly as in The Lord of the Rings and we even passed a few spots where it was actually filmed. Everything was so green and wet and lush, so vibrant with colour! And then we got to the mountains. Through those huge mountains that are nothing like we have in Australia. We don’t have anything that large here! They come out of nowhere to loom above you, looking dangerous and strangely beautiful at the same time. We got very close to the snow/ice here and we actually stopped at a slab of ice that came down to the edge of the road. Unfortunately though I had woken up feeling quite sick, after my sore throat had decided to migrate to my lungs, stomach and head, causing me to feel quite queasy. But I refused to let it ruin my tour and so I tried my best to ignore it. I managed to keep the contents of my stomach down for the entire trip which was a pretty good effort.

We got to Millford Sound in what seemed like a short amount of time, but then again I was just glad to be off the bus. We then got on a boat to go cruising around the magnificent inlet. Millford Sound is where the mountains meet the sea, literally. Those huge mountains just fall straight into the sea. And the sight is amazing. Funnily enough the moment I got on the boat I felt heaps better. The tables only sat six and I was last on the boat so that meant that I couldn’t fit at a table with my friends. So instead I made even more friends and sat at a table with Declan who I had briefly talked to, and Isaac, Coxy and Duncan, who I hadn’t talked to before. The waiter actually came up to us and said to me “How did you end up with all the guys?” to which I replied “I just got lucky I guess!”. They all laughed. Anyway, I took about 100 photos again of Millford Sound because it really is breathtaking. The way that it goes straight from those sharp, high snow peaks, to the green, green trees and then straight into that perfectly clear aqua water. How can anything be so perfect and picturesque?

By the time we got to our new accommodation at Queenstown I wasn’t feeling too good at all. I hated being sick. I barely made it through dinner and by the time it was eight o’clock I knew that I just had to go to bed. So I missed out on dessert (something I never do!) and was in bed asleep by 8:15pm. That meant that, added to the two hours sleep I got on the bus, I ended up getting 13hrs sleep that day. I spent more time asleep than awake! But it did the job because the next morning I was totally better! Well I had no voice, a totally blocked nose and a pretty annoying cough but at least my stomach had stopped churning and my head had stopped pounding! I could deal with the rest.

DAY FOUR

THE BUS TRIP!

Today was the eleven hour bus trip from Christchurch to Te Anau. I think a few people were dreading it a bit, spending that amount of time in a bus. I wasn’t worried though because I can sit still for long periods of time without too much hassle. Unfortunately though, I woke that morning with an incredibly sore throat. I bought some absolutely amazing sour throat lozenges which I haven’t seen in Australia but which work brilliantly. So I didn’t let my sore throat bother me too much.

That bus trip was so fun. It was the grade eleven and twelves up the back of the bus and when you’re on a bus for eleven hours, you have an awful amount of time to talk. That means getting to know each other. I’d say that day was the day where everyone really became good friends. I was already talking to quite a few grade twelves but that particular trip I became pretty good friends with Alex Borg who was sitting across the aisle from me. He is such a nice boy! He’s one of those guys who has no pretence whatsoever and is who he wants to be. That makes him come across as a bit in touch with his feminine side but it also makes him incredibly easy to talk to! I had been in the band for two years with Borg but funny enough I had never talked to him in my life. I found him really fun to be around and I ended up spending a bit of my tour time with him, which was fun.

Anyway, talking about the scenery we saw.
OH.
MY.
GOD.

I have never seen anything so beautiful! If you have watched The Lord of the Rings then you would know what I was seeing. At first it was beautiful countryside. It was still raining and seeing everything wet and green was just amazing, nothing like we have in Australia. New Zealand is much more.. extreme than Australia is. Their grass is greener, their hills are bigger, their mountains are prettier, their flowers are more colourful, their water is clearer. It’s hard to describe but it really is magic. Duncan described it perfectly actually. He said “New Zealand is like cordial. Everywhere else has its own fair share of picturesque places. But in New Zealand it’s like the cordial hasn’t been diluted with water because everywhere in New Zealand is picturesque!” That pretty much sums up how beautiful it was. Because it was still raining the clouds were low and quite often covered the tops of the hills. That made beautiful pictures. We stopped at one particular lake, I can’t actually remember what it was called, but seriously, it was natural to be that blue! Or that perfect! The water literally looked like something had been put in it because it was so unnaturally blue! And with the snow capped mountains as a background and hundreds of purple flowers growing in the foreground, it made the perfect picture. The photos that I took really don’t do it justice because it was seriously breathtaking.

We left there and started to go inland a bit. When we were inland it stopped being so overcast and started to clear up a bit. In the distance were these huge mountains that looked so majestic with their snow on the peaks. It was difficult to take photos but I don’t think I could forget how beautiful it was. The further we went, the less overcast it got until we got to Queenstown area. Here was where we started following the river in between the hills. That river would have to be the most beautiful thing. I know I keep using the word beautiful but really, everything in New Zealand can be described as being beautiful! That river was so blue! If you have seen The Lord of the Rings then picture the river at the end of the first movie and how blue and perfect it is. That’s what we were following except through different countryside, which made the river slightly thinner than what it is in the movie. But still the same colour blue. That amazing, bright, aqua sort of blue that really does look fake. But no, its real, something to do with how clear the water is which reflects the light quite a lot creating the blue colour or something like that.

We continued on through that country until we reached Te Anau late in the afternoon. By that time I was feeling quite sick from my sore throat and needed to have my own space, something which I hadn’t had all tour, always being around people all the time. So I went off for a walk around the campground which we were staying in. I found this lovely clearing in the pine trees which helped me to relax and really calm down. I got back and had a rushed dinner. Then it was off to visit the glow worm caves. They were spectacular. We got on a boat to travel across the lake and onto the other side which was the start of the caves systems. Those caves were amazing. The water gushing through them was so loud that it was impossible to hear anything. Then we got into a small boat and travelled a bit into the calmer parts to see the glow worms. They were very pretty, those blue lights just twinkling overhead. We had to be dead silent and absolutely no artificial light was allowed. So it was pitch black with nothing but the glow worms’ light.

Afterwards we got back and fell asleep pretty quickly considering that it was 11:30 at night. The glow worms kept us up late!

DAY THREE

This day the buses took us on a tour around the Christchurch area out to the coast and then inland a bit. Once again, it was just so pretty! It was very cold that day, probably the coldest day of the whole tour. And raining still. But it was ok because we were all sort of used to it by then. The coast of New Zealand was nothing like our coasts. It’s basically the sea, then a small beach and then the land goes straight into hills. It’s quite odd to see all of the houses propped up on stilts hanging off the steep cliff-hills. It’s actually really funny because the land is so steep that the houses’ garages must be at the bottom of the hill with the house about 500m up because the cars wouldn’t be able to drive up. This means that the only way to get into your house is to walk up a path on about a 20% gradient hill for half a kilometre! Haha no wonder those New Zealanders are so fit! Not really but still.

After we had gone for a bit along the coast we went inland for a bit. And here was where we saw our first sheep! They were eating grass in the hills, a whole heap of them, all very fluffy. It was very funny because when we all spotted it we got so excited! And then the bus driver made a comment saying “Geese, I thought only New Zealanders got excited when they saw sheep!” Obviously he didn’t realise that we were only excited because finally, in the land of sheep, we had spotted some! And of course we have to get plenty of photos of the sheep in New Zealand!

The scenery in the hills was very nice, especially with the rainy backdrop that really just competed the picture. We then drove back into Christchurch town in time to play a 1pm concert in the Cathedral. That performance really was magical. The sound echoed around the beautiful old building and just filled it up with lovely music. The sound lingered in the air for a few seconds after being played which created a wonderful echoie sound. We then went back to the accommodation and had dinner as usual. All the while everyone is becoming closer friends and meeting those who they hadn’t talked to before. My girls and I tended to hang around with the grade eleven and twelve guys with the occasional grade twelve girl thrown in. But that was a group of about 30 people so we were often in smaller groups. But still, I had hardly talked to any of the people who I was now hanging out with. That’s what I love on tour, how everyone becomes such good friends :)

DAY TWO

We woke up nice and early for breakfast at eight. We were all still sort of on Queensland time so this was actually five in the morning for us. We left about nine to go into the “city” or Christchurch and go around the Museum/Botanical Gardens until our performance at 2pm. This was very nice and it was a good way to be introduced to New Zealand. The place that we went to was an old University that was later converted into a Museum. And for those chemistry nerds out there, that university was the place where Rutherford conducted his experiments using the cathode ray! And we even went into the “den” where he did all of his research! Pretty exciting I know! Anyway, the place was so beautiful (and cold!) and I got plenty of photos. We didn’t really go around the museum much because it kinda wasn’t our thing but we walked around the surrounding streets which were very nice and tried to get used to using the strange New Zealand money which looked fake and could seriously pass as monopoly money! The little stalls were pretty cute and there was a good fudge shop which we all bought some good fudge from. Today was the day where we all started to get to know each other a bit (I’m talking about the people who we didn’t talk to previously i.e the guys in our grade and grade twelve and the other grade twelves. They were the people who we hang out with most of the tour.) After lunch Brooke and I went over to see the Botanical Gardens. My God. They were just so beautiful! Everything was so lush and green and perfect! They had the English style to them which was very nice and made great pictures! I seriously couldn’t get over how lovely that place looked! I swear I took about 100 photos that day.

Our concert went great; we played in a beautiful little courtyard underneath a big green tree to a smallish but welcoming audience. Considering that none of us could actually feel out fingers because it was that cold (and the cold also affects how in tune your instrument is!) and that we were outside compared to normally being inside, we played pretty well. As far as I remember there was no huge mishaps and I think the crowd didn’t notice the minor mistakes if there were any. Pack up was good, everyone helped and got it done quickly. We went back to our rooms and talked until dinner, which was once again good. We got to bed at a reasonable time because Neville was arriving that night at about one-ish. Her and I were supposed to be sharing a bed so I knew I was going to wake up when she got in. I was right. To be honest I had been hanging out for her coming because although I am friends with the other girls, I was the closest to Neville out of them all and I sort of felt a bit lonely without her. So when she came I was pretty happy and also half asleep and from what I remember how I greeted her showed that I wasn’t properly awake.. haha but it was good and I fell back asleep pretty much straight away.

DAY ONE

I woke up at 4:45am so that I could be ready in time to be at the airport at 6:00am. I finished packing my bag at about quarter past five only dad came in a “weighed” my suitcase to see if it was under the 14kg limit. He decided that it wasn’t (we don’t own scales in out house) and I agreed with him so I took all of my clothes out of that suitcase and put them in a bag without wheels which technically should have been lighter. So I was all set, had packed absolutely anything that I may have a chance of needing in another country and I went to the airport pretty much totally high because I was so excited! Got to the airport and checked in. Turned out that I could have taken my bigger and easier to carry suitcase because my bag only came to 12kg! I was pretty pissed off at that. I had to wait around for a bit between checking in and going through customs because our plane flight wasn’t for another hour. So I just sat with mum and dad and talked non stop. Finally it came time to say goodbye. I didn’t want to say goodbye because I'm really not very good with the emotional stuff so I ended up saying quick goodbyes about five times because I didn’t want to leave them. But I did and I GOT TO GO DOWN THE STAIRS! Most people don’t know what I’m talking about here but every year I go to the airport to say goodbye to Grandmama going back to Hong Kong. And she has to go down the stairs into customs that we are never allowed down because we’re not boarding the plane. But this time I got to go down the stairs while my parents stayed up the top! It was very exciting :)

I got through customs fine but the whole time I was semi-freaking out because I didn’t really know what I had to do and I was worried I would be pulled up for doing something wrong i.e. not putting all my liquids in the zip lock bag, or having the wrong things in my luggage. Good thing I had AJ with me because otherwise I would have had no idea whatsoever on what to do! I got through safely (phew!), waved one final goodbye to mum and dad up the top and boarded the plane. I sat next to AJ with a window sit which was of course directly behind the wing :( The plane flight was average I guess, probably because I have been on four plane flights in two years so I'm sort of used to it. But I was still pretty exciting! The sea was boring of course (its so flat!) but when we got in view of New Zealand it was amazing! Almost the entire west coast of the South Island is mountains, called the Southern Ranges or something like that. So the first glimpse we got of New Zealand was these huge mountain ranges. Now I’ve been to the Snowies in Australia but seriously, next to New Zealand’s mountains, those Snowies look like hills. The mountains of New Zealand are tall and jagged and capped with snow. They are totally free of any hint of human life; they consist of just rocks, trees and snow. And that’s it. No roads, no houses, no nothing. And there is so many of them! In Australia we have maybe two or three big “mountains” next to each other, but in New Zealand there is heaps of them all just sitting there! They really are so beautiful.

Anyway, we arrived in Christchurch and it was raining. And it was cold. I’m talking 7°C sort of cold. Which is cold. We loaded up the buses which took about an hour, the entire time of which was spent outside with a thin cardigan on in the cold. But I liked the cold because it reminded me that I was in a different country, because there was no way that Brisbane could ever have these temperatures in summer! We drove through Christchurch to our accommodation, which was quite nice! Christchurch has a big English influence on it so a lot of the houses were old English style. They were quite pretty. Christchurch is totally flat. It was built on swampy ground and that meant that there are absolutely no hills whatsoever anywhere in Christchurch. It was a little odd at first actually. And I would say that the tallest building in Christchurch would be no higher than about six floors. They don’t actually have a city as such like we have in Brisbane. And there isn’t much residential estates either. All in all, Christchurch is pretty small compared to Brisbane. Keep in mind that the entire population of New Zealand equals to that of the population of Sydney alone. So New Zealand is small. So anyway, our accommodation was very nice with about five people to a room. I was with AJ, Camilla, Renata, and Neville when she came two days later. Everyone sort of didn’t really know each other then but we all felt part of the group and we were all excited to be in New Zealand finally! Dinner was good, cooked by the teachers like every dinner on tour. I was on cleanup duty and let me tell you, washing up 90 plates by hand is not fun! We went to bed with the heater on full blast and got a good night’s sleep.

And in the beginning..

I’m back.

Back in shitty, stinky, hot, sweaty, smelly, dirty Brisbane.
Because it really does seem so after amazing New Zealand.

So I'm still in the clothes I wore on the plain; still smell like non-showered-ness; still have the New Zealand dust on me; still “feel” like New Zealand. And although my body is telling me that it is in fact five to twelve instead of the five to nine that it really is I am going to write this blog now while everything is still fresh in my mind. Because I’m scared that the moment I fall asleep, the last ten days will seem like nothing but a dream. And I know that pretty much all of my friends want to here about my trip so here goes the longest blog yet! I’ve actually decided to post each day as a different post so that it’s not just one huge block of writing.

I’m sorry if you find it boring and I certainly don’t expect you to read it all – its some seven and a half thousand words long! :S But just like with everything I write on this blog I wrote it for me to write not because I want you to read it! I mean you can still read it I don’t really mind. My point is that I don’t care if you read it or not, because I know that I’ve written it :)

ENJOY THE STORIES OF MY TRAVELS!
And my pictures! Would you believe I took 791 photos?!