West Coast and Akaroa

Hello

So it's been a bit of time since my last post, but I have some great picture to make up for it! I can't believe 6 months has already

gone by, I feel as though I just arrived in NZ yesterday. I have been staying busy with school, rotary, and trips around this beautiful country! Recently a fellow rotary scholar studying in Dunedin came to visit in Christchurch. We met at the Rotary conference in Wellington, her name is Melissa and she was joined by her partner Daniel. They were only here for a short time, but we managed to take a short trip to the nearby town of Akaroa. Akaroa is about a 1 hour drive outside of Christchurch, located on the Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region. It is a magnificent harbour and overlooked by craggy volcanic hills:

I had great fun with Melissa and Dan, they even made me fajitas one night which for anyone who knows my cooking ability is aware this is quite the favor! I was also lucky enough to have a visit from another friend back home, his name is Pat and he is a student in California (but originally from MN!). We rented a car and took a trip along the west coast of New Zealand. The drive was beautiful, the land is this region is very scenic with exquisite coastline, mountains, native bushland, and some rain forest as well. It is also known for it's rainfall, up to 6,000 mm per year! We decided to stop in the small town of Fox Glacier, and got to climb on an the actual glacier for which the town is named!

We drove through to Wanaka, a small ski/snowboard town in the Otago region, and the drinve through this region was wonderful:

We then ventured up to the gorgeous Lake Tekapo. I've already visited with my brother back in April, but I was still amazed at how magnificent this area really is.

Pat also made friends with a few of the locals....

Overall both trips were excellent, I love getting out and exploring New Zealand. I think my next trip will be up in the city of Nelson, where I am hoping to make a few presentations to the local Rotary clubs, I will keep everyone posted! -Christina