I've been waiting to travel around New Zealand since I arrived about 6 weeks ago and now the time is finally here! We have 2 weeks off from school for spring break and I'll be flying down to the South Island for about 17 days from August 27-September 12. A group of 8 of us from the group are renting campervans and road tripping across most of the South Island! After Mia's wonderful experience doing this 2 years ago, I had to do it! I'll be out of touch most of the time since we'll be in the middle of nowhere for most of the trip, but I will have my cell phone with me in case anyone feels like calling. Here's our itinerary for the trip and some links to see pictures:
Friday, August 27th
• Fly into Christchurch
• Drive northwest to Arthur’s Pass
Saturday, August 28th
• Hike the next morning in Arthur’s Pass
• Drive west to Punakaiki Pancake Rocks
• Drive south to Hokitika and stop in Greymouth
Sunday, August 29th
• Drive south to Franz Josef Glacier
• Hike around Franz Josef glacier/Lake Mapourika
Monday, August 30th
• Drive to Fox Glacier
• Hike around Fox Glacier/Lake Matheson
• Gillespie’s Beach
Tuesday, August 31st
• Drive south to Wanaka and explore
• Drive to Queenstown
Wednesday, September 1st
• Explore Queenstown and do fun things!
Thursday, September 2nd
• Another fun day in Queenstown!
Friday, September 3rd
• Drive to Milford Sound
• Hike around Milford Sound
Saturday, September 4th
• Kayaking/Cruise at Milford Sound/Lake Manapouri
Sunday, September 5th
• Hike in Fiordland National Park
Monday, September 6th
• Drive south and drive along the Catlin’s coast
• Stop at Cathedral Caves, Curio Bay, Nugget Point, Purakaunui Falls
Tuesday, September 7th
• Drive to Dunedin and explore!
Wednesday, September 8th
• Hiking on Otago Peninsula and see wildlifes
Thursday, September 9th
• Drive to Moeraki Boulders
• Drive north to Lake Tekapo and explore
Friday, September 10th
• Drive to Mt. Cook
• Hike around Mt. Cook
Saturday, September 11th
• Drive to Akaroa on Banks Peninsula
Sunday, September 12
• Fly out of Christchurch
I know I will have so many amazing pictures of my own after this trip, so there will be several entries once i get back. I hope everyone has fun moving into school and starting the new school year! And I hope everyone is doing well!
Love, Dafna
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Internship, Otara Market, Auckland Rugby Game
After working at my internship at Oranga for about 4 weeks now, I feel really comfortable at the school and with the students. All of the teachers and teacher aides are so friendly and make the workday really fun. Also, I've already seen progress with the students as I've gotten to know them better and they learn new concepts at school. This week, I was able to work individually with some of the students to teach them math and english. Each student has a specific learning program that you must follow and track their progress. I've also been able to observe the OT's and PT's working with the students, which has been really cool. Here's a photo of the school from the outside, as well as a photo of my classroom.
On Friday, the whole group went to a going away party for our friend Kahu. He works with the group and is moving to Gisborne, which is on the east coast of the North Island. It was a really fun farewell party, and a good chance for our group to get together to hang out. On Saturday a few of us went to the Otara Market. It's located in South Auckland, which was pretty far away. It is supposed to be the largest Maori and Polynesian market. There were so many stands of fruits and vegetables, as well as prepared food and other random stuff. I bought all kinds of good food, like silverbeet, which is a form of swiss chard, and kiwi's! I was hesitant to try the black Maori potatoes...
Today a big group of us went to the Auckland vs. Northland rugby game at Eden Park. It was really cool to watch a rugby game live. It is so violent! But luckily, Auckland won the game and we had a great time! We even got to meet some of the players after the game!
We leave for the South Island in 5 days! I am so excited! I hope everyone is doing well!
Love, Dafna
On Friday, the whole group went to a going away party for our friend Kahu. He works with the group and is moving to Gisborne, which is on the east coast of the North Island. It was a really fun farewell party, and a good chance for our group to get together to hang out. On Saturday a few of us went to the Otara Market. It's located in South Auckland, which was pretty far away. It is supposed to be the largest Maori and Polynesian market. There were so many stands of fruits and vegetables, as well as prepared food and other random stuff. I bought all kinds of good food, like silverbeet, which is a form of swiss chard, and kiwi's! I was hesitant to try the black Maori potatoes...
Today a big group of us went to the Auckland vs. Northland rugby game at Eden Park. It was really cool to watch a rugby game live. It is so violent! But luckily, Auckland won the game and we had a great time! We even got to meet some of the players after the game!
We leave for the South Island in 5 days! I am so excited! I hope everyone is doing well!
Love, Dafna
Friday, August 13, 2010
Auckland Museum, AUT, Devonport
So this weekend was somewhat of a bust, since we were unable to go camping in the Coromandel Peninsula. There were severe storm warnings so we opted out of doing the two day hike, only to find out that the trail was closed due to flooding. After planning this trip, I was disappointed that we couldn't go, but we'll reschedule and it will be great! But now I can catch up on all kinds of things that I've been doing recently. A few weeks ago our friend Kahu took us to the University of Auckland marae. A marae is a sacred, traditional Maori meetinghouse and is usually intricately carved and decorated. Each post represents a tribe, or a god, and tells a mythological story. He taught us a bunch of stuff about the Maori and it was a lot of fun!
Also, this week marked the ending of our group class that took place every night of the week. Everyone was always so tired during the evening that a three hour lecture from 5-8pm after a full day of classes or internship was difficult. Luckily, we took our final exam and it's over! Now we will have our afternoons and evenings free to explore more of the city. The class took place on AUT campus, so here's a few photos of AUT campus, including Hikuwai Plaza, which is the main area of the university with the library, bookstore, gym, and food court.
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This week was also pretty great at my internship. On Monday all of the teacher aides had a lecture on Wheelchair Mobility and Vision Impairment that was really interesting. And on Thursday my class had a class trip to the Auckland Museum. The Auckland Museum is located within a giant park called the Auckland Domain. The museum is technically the war museum, but it encompasses mostly everything about New Zealand culture, including a huge section on Maori and Pacific Islanders. It was really fun to go there with all of the students. We brought their walkers with us and the kids had a great time using their walkers to maneuver around the museum. There was also a special exhibit called Kai to Pie, which showcased New Zealand food culture. It was a great exhibit, and my Gastronomy professor was even honored as one of the best Kiwi food historians. It was a great day at the museum.
So even though we're staying in Auckland this weekend, I think we'll have a good time. Tonight we saw Inception, which was a great movie. I haven't seen such a crazy and unique movie like that in a while. For dinner I ate at The White Lady, which is a famous Auckland truck that parks in the city and serves delicious burgers and milkshakes! Here is a photo of The White Lady.
On Sunday Rachel, Kavitha and I took the ferry to Devonport, which is a suburb of Auckland that is across the harbor. It's an old town and is known for its cute shops, restaurants, and great views of Auckland. We walked around the main part of town and found some cool used bookstores and poster shops. We also walked up to Mt. Victoria, which is an extinct volcano. We had a panoramic view of Auckland harbor and the surrounding islands and volcanoes. It was so beautiful! The first photo is of Devonport and Mt. Victoria from the ferry. We also stumbled upon an open house and we just had to go inside. It was such a unique house, from the 1900s, and so well decorated. Here's a picture of the house from the outside.
I hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Dafna
Also, this week marked the ending of our group class that took place every night of the week. Everyone was always so tired during the evening that a three hour lecture from 5-8pm after a full day of classes or internship was difficult. Luckily, we took our final exam and it's over! Now we will have our afternoons and evenings free to explore more of the city. The class took place on AUT campus, so here's a few photos of AUT campus, including Hikuwai Plaza, which is the main area of the university with the library, bookstore, gym, and food court.
<
This week was also pretty great at my internship. On Monday all of the teacher aides had a lecture on Wheelchair Mobility and Vision Impairment that was really interesting. And on Thursday my class had a class trip to the Auckland Museum. The Auckland Museum is located within a giant park called the Auckland Domain. The museum is technically the war museum, but it encompasses mostly everything about New Zealand culture, including a huge section on Maori and Pacific Islanders. It was really fun to go there with all of the students. We brought their walkers with us and the kids had a great time using their walkers to maneuver around the museum. There was also a special exhibit called Kai to Pie, which showcased New Zealand food culture. It was a great exhibit, and my Gastronomy professor was even honored as one of the best Kiwi food historians. It was a great day at the museum.
So even though we're staying in Auckland this weekend, I think we'll have a good time. Tonight we saw Inception, which was a great movie. I haven't seen such a crazy and unique movie like that in a while. For dinner I ate at The White Lady, which is a famous Auckland truck that parks in the city and serves delicious burgers and milkshakes! Here is a photo of The White Lady.
On Sunday Rachel, Kavitha and I took the ferry to Devonport, which is a suburb of Auckland that is across the harbor. It's an old town and is known for its cute shops, restaurants, and great views of Auckland. We walked around the main part of town and found some cool used bookstores and poster shops. We also walked up to Mt. Victoria, which is an extinct volcano. We had a panoramic view of Auckland harbor and the surrounding islands and volcanoes. It was so beautiful! The first photo is of Devonport and Mt. Victoria from the ferry. We also stumbled upon an open house and we just had to go inside. It was such a unique house, from the 1900s, and so well decorated. Here's a picture of the house from the outside.
I hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Dafna
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Just a Regular Week in Auckland
I have been having a great time just living life in Auckland. I spend two days a week at my internship, and the rest in classes at AUT. We didn't go on a trip this weekend, but I managed to do a lot of fun stuff around the city. On Friday I went running along Tamaki Drive, which has a really nice waterfront path for runners and bikers. It was a beautiful day and I went as far as Mission Bay Beach, which is a nice area for restaurants and beach cafe's.
On Saturday we went to the Auckland Farmer's Market. There were all kinds of speciality cheeses, pastries, vegetables, fruits, and fish. In the evening the whole group went to our friend Kahu's house for a potluck dinner and to watch the All Blacks rugby game. The All Blacks won and we had a really great time. Today we went on a free trip to Kelly Tarleton's Underwater World, which is Auckland's aquarium. There were all kinds of fish, shark and stingrays, but the main event was the antarctic penguin colony. There were so many penguins and we got to see them up close. It was so amazing!
Now, I'm busy organizing a group camping trip to the Coromandel for the upcoming weekend. It should be a lot of fun. Along with some others in the group, we are planning an awesome spring break in the South Island of New Zealand. We plan to spend 17 days in the South Island from August 27th to September 12th. I am so excited to plan this trip! In the meantime, I have 3 more weeks of class until break! I hope everyone is doing well!
Love, Dafna
On Saturday we went to the Auckland Farmer's Market. There were all kinds of speciality cheeses, pastries, vegetables, fruits, and fish. In the evening the whole group went to our friend Kahu's house for a potluck dinner and to watch the All Blacks rugby game. The All Blacks won and we had a really great time. Today we went on a free trip to Kelly Tarleton's Underwater World, which is Auckland's aquarium. There were all kinds of fish, shark and stingrays, but the main event was the antarctic penguin colony. There were so many penguins and we got to see them up close. It was so amazing!
Now, I'm busy organizing a group camping trip to the Coromandel for the upcoming weekend. It should be a lot of fun. Along with some others in the group, we are planning an awesome spring break in the South Island of New Zealand. We plan to spend 17 days in the South Island from August 27th to September 12th. I am so excited to plan this trip! In the meantime, I have 3 more weeks of class until break! I hope everyone is doing well!
Love, Dafna
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