Danielle in New Zealand!

I’m loving New Zealand and if it would not mess up my graduation plan, I would consider staying another semester. It is such a beautiful country; everywhere is like a scene from a postcard. Speaking of postcards, I have accumulated a lot. The original plan was to send them back home, but I think I’ll just use them as pictures I couldn’t personally take with my camera. Good thing I never promised that I would send any postcards. 

My little dragon companion is only a special guest star in my pictures. He is very lazy and prefers to spend his time near the window basking in the sun. Occasionally, he will go to lay on the beach.

Classes are going well, but my focus has been on experiencing as much as I can in the little time I have here. My Uni hosts field trips every weekend to different events around the North Shore, such as night markets, hot springs and horseback riding. The night markets have been my favorite; I was able to eat from every type of food stall imaginable and then pick up some cool clothes and knick-knacks. Luckily, I came in the right semester for all of the cultural events. I was able to go to a lantern festival for Chinese New Year and the annual Pasifika Festival, which showcases music, food, clothing and traditional items from all of the Pacific Islands. 

During our two week Easter break, a group of us traveled around North Island. We unsuccessfully dug for hot water at Hot Water Beach. We hiked to Cathedral Cove and Stingray Bay in Hahei. We stayed in Rotorua, the home of geothermal pools, for a few nights. We visited the glowworms at Waitomo Caves. We had a free drink at the Green Dragon during our Hobbiton tour. We hiked through Tongariro Crossing in Taupo. You don’t know adventure until you’re crawling up a snowy, rocky mountain in simple tennis shoes. At one point, you had to use a chain to climb one peak and at another you literally slide down the tallest peak of the mountain. 

Common dolphins in the Hauraki Gulf.

Hahei, the site where Narnia was filmed. 

We might be too tall to be hobbits.

The beginning of our 6-8 hour hike up snowy mountains, past sulfur lakes and through active volcanic regions at Tongariro Crossing.

After that once in a lifetime hike, we spent our last days of the break in Wellington. We visited museums, historic churches, Parliament and on the last day, we went ocean kayaking. It was the best and we are planning to travel around South Island during our study break before exams in June. 

There are still some things I cannot get used to. The most inconvenient is that most stores close at 5. My flatmate explained that it is the effect of World War 1. New Zealand had gone into a depression, so all of the shops closed early and were not open on the weekends. It was only a few years ago, that stores even opened on the weekends, but they still close early.  Apparently, bars had closed between 6 and 8 and it’s only recently that they stay open past 10. Another peeve is the internet. It is amazing if you can find a place with Wi-Fi, miraculous if it is free. The internet you do have is not what I’m used to. On campus, I can rarely connect to the internet on my laptop from my flat. If I go to the academic buildings, I can usually only connect to Facebook and the school website. Overall, it has been fun and at times, challenging. 

I cannot believe that I am half way through my time here and I’m excited for all that is still to come. 

Danielle Hill

Massey University

Auckland, New Zealand