Day 5: June 13

 On our way to Queenstown from Te Anau, we stopped at a sheep farm to see how New Zealand's famous wool is produced. First, Andrew (Andy) and his father (the farm owners) explained some basics of sheep sheering, then introduced two of his dogs: Spick and Clyde (I think...). Just like Mambo, they were begging for attention and loved to run and hop over the fences. Not to mention their love of scaring the living hell out of the sheep. We all watched and snapped some pictures while Andy, Spick, and Clyde rounded up the sheep to get them into the sheering room. I enjoyed watching this process, but also watching the sheep hop over each other trying to shove their way out of the huddle. Once all of the sheep were in the sheering room, Andy brought one out for a little haircut. It seemed as if the sheep knew exactly what to do: be jello. Despite the sheep's heavy weight, I don't think I've ever seen any animal or human more cooperative for a haircut. A few of us tried our best at holding the sheep, and he still complied. Then Miles took a stab at--almost literally--sheering another sheep and cut his bottom a bit. No worries... The sheep is still good as gold. Ya like that New Zealand lingo? :) Anyway... Then another dog came along, begging for some love. His name was Buddy, a German Short-haired Pointer. He would approach you, sit, be petted, and while somewhat still sitting, he would waddle over to another person. Adorable. Ok enough with the dog stuff. I really enjoyed the sheep farm and being able to see how a true Kiwi earns a living. After seeing such an interesting demonstration, it was time to get back on the bus and make our way to Queenstown.
                             

Days 1-4

Day 1 - 3: June 8 - June 11 (skipped June 9)

Peace out H-town.

Upon arrival in Queenstown (on June 10 before driving to Te Anau), walking off the plane onto the tarmac, we saw the Remarkables. They were truly remarkable. No pun intended. In case you don’t know, the Remarkables are the mountain range that separates Mordor and Gondor in The Lord of the Rings. We were pretty excited. Despite the beauty of New Zealand, the beginning of this trip was not too fun for me. One word to describe the first few days: barf. I got sick. In New Zealand. Thousands of miles away from home. I’ll spare you the details. But thankfully, I’m feeling almost 100% better today. I took the day off to rest (on June 11) when everyone else (except Ms. Bottoms who stayed back with me) went on a boat ride to Milford Sound. I was sad to miss it, but I probably would not have enjoyed it too much if I did go. Since most of my time was spent either sleeping of hugging a toilet bowl so far, I don’t have anything else too interesting to say.

Day 4: June 12

When I got up today I was so excited that I was actually alive. I was so ready for this sickness crap to be over with. We went into the common room of our hotel and uploaded and selected our #1 picture and our top 10 pictures of yesterday, ate breakfast and left on a walk around Lake Te Anau. While walking we snapped some pics of ducks, trees and other plants, etc. At the end of our walk we went to a bird conservatory and later on watched an amazing film on the Fiordland National Park. I really want to go on a helicopter and film places now.  Then we ate dinner and I was super lame and ordered the “USA Club Sandwich” off the menu. Adventuresome much? I enjoyed how laid back the day was. But we were all exhausted from walking and having to stay up late to pick and edit our top 10 was rough. I thought I was going to fall asleep on my keyboard. As soon as I was finished, I crashed so that I could get up to back and go back to Queenstown.

Still in h-town

Welp... we are still in Houston. We went to City Center and had an outdoor (and indoor at Free People) photo shoot. Although it was smoldering hot, I was able to become more comfortable with my camera. Tomorrow (yes, tomorrow. Oh em gee I can't believe it) we will depart for hours upon hours of plane rides. Will it be worth it? Is that even a question?

"Still round the corner there may wait, 

a new road or a secret gate."

-J.R.R. Tolkien

First Class

Today was our first class. I think this is the first time we've really gotten together. I don't think it's going to hit me that we're leaving until we're 7 hours into the plane ride... And I have not packed yet. Oops... Good thing I'm going somewhere COLD and not melting in Houston. mwahaha. this is the most random thing I've ever written and I do not think it will improve. Honestly, I don't know what else to say other than I'm extremely excited.
I will periodically add posts to this blog so you can keep up with what we're doing. I'll even post some photos. But no news is good news. It means we're having too much fun. :)

Kiwis out.