Hello everyone!
Sorry for such a long delay since my last post, it ha
s been a busy time here in New Zealand! It is exam time, and I have been busy with school and rotary events. It is so hard to believe I have been here for about 4 months now, I feel very settled in my life here. I recently went to the rotary district conference at Mount Cook, which is on the west coast of the south island. I got to meet rotarians from different parts of new zealand, other international rotary representatives from the states, europe, and south america, and listen to some amazing speakers! One of the speakers was a kiwi that lost his legs during his youth and recently climbed mount everest! He was very inspirational to say the least. The beautiful surroundings weren't too bad either:
I also recently took a trip to Australia, a whirlwind 6-day journey through Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. I went on the trip with a friend I meet on the plane ride over. Her name is Amy and she is from Wisconsin but I have already forgiven her for that (just kidding). We started out trip in Brisbane, which is located midway up the east coast of Australia. The city itself was very beautiful, a bit smaller and more manageable than Sydney and Melbourne:
And to the lone pine koala sanctuary to hold koalas and feed kangaroos!
Then we were off on a night train/bus ride to Sydney. After a couple cups of coffee, we ventured around the city and got to see the famous opera house:
And the next day took a trip to the Blue Mountains National Park:
A quick plane ride later we arrived in Melbourne, and took a walking tour through the botanical gardens and other parts of the city.
We saved the best for last with a trip on the "great ocean road", which is a 243 stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia. This included the beautiful rock formations of the twelve apostles:
and the tower of London:
I just arrived back in New Zealand, and I am happy to report that not only did I have an amazing trip to Australia but I am also swine flu free! I hope to go back to Australia sometime soon and see the rest of the amazing country. Well that's all I have for now, I will report more soon!
