Pages

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Hello, again, my faithful readers!

Let me fill you in.

So, when I last left you we were in Nelson. Awesome city. And the weather is great. Nelson is right next to a national park called Abel Tasman. I must say the Abel Tasman could be my favorite place in New Zealand. It is so beautiful. It is right on the coast of the Tasman Sea with white sandy beaches and then it goes up into lush green rainforest. So amazing. The only downfall is that it is called a rain forest for a reason. Especially in the winter. (it is winter here, lest we forget) So we hitchhiked in the pouring rain to a hostel right outside the park. Now this is a magical place. They have this art gallery outside where people carve things into trees and make jewelry and all sorts of cool artwork. We bought some cool necklaces from a french woman who is a reiki master. Of course i had to do a reiki session with her. It was awesome.

Then next morning we got up and headed for the hills. They have huts along the trails where you can stay. On the coastal track you have to pay but we did the inland trail which isnt as popular and so they don't charge. We met these two boys from northern california who we ended up hiking with the whole time. They were way funny. One was 18 and the other was almost 17. We started on the inland track and we were more out of shape than we thought so we didnt make it to the first hut. We did make it to a possum infested shelter though. It is not as nice as a hut but it gets the job done. We kicked the possum out and set up camp on this kindof bunkbed with ghetto foam pads that had all sorts of mystery stains. There were dirt floors and a tiny fireplace where we magically started a fire with wet wood. It was a fun night. We had to build a possum proof door. It worked but we could hear them try to get in all night. And one of the americans eased the situation by reading us to sleep with Lord of the Rings. He did all of the voices.

We woke up the next morning and decided to hike down to the coastal track so we could experience both. That was a cool hike but it rained like non other and we got totally drenched. We made it to a hut that was pretty nice. There was a gas fire that kept us warm and dried out clothes. By the end of the day there were 11 of us in this hut. There is a room in the middle which is a kitchen and where the fire place is and then there are two rooms on the side that have beds with matresses. Well we were all too cold to sleep in the rooms without fire so we crammed 11 matresses in this little kitchen and all slept on the floor. Good times.

Then the next day was clear and beautiful and so we had a nice hike back and headed back to Nelson where we stayed with the Hippolite family again. We love them. Such a great family. We stayed with them another few days and we got welcomed onto a morai (not sure on the spelling).
It is a moari meeting house and you can only enter onto it if you are welcomed. They have a whole ceremony where they sing and stuff. It was pretty cool.

We finally said goodbye to the Hippolite and the south island and headed north. We took the ferry and i got sea sick! I have never gotten sea sick or had motion sickness. Crazy... Then we took a bus up to a town called Rotorua. Here we have been staying for the past week with Yoga Master Paul Barton. He is an intense yoga instructor that runs retreats from his home in the forest farmland. So pretty. So we have been studying meditation and Iyengar Yoga (which is the yoga that makes you hurt). I will say that it changed my life. My body kills but wow. I cant even tell you what I have learned about myself and the mind and all that jazz. I never knew that yoga could work so much on the inner self.
Also while in rotoura we went zorbing which is rolling yourself down a hill in a giant rubber ball filled with water. So fun!!! Kiwis are crazy people.

Now we are right outside of a town called Hamilton. We are staying with another member couple. They are the parents of a family we met in Nelson. They are a pretty funny old couple whose kids are all grown up so they just go on service missions for the church. They just got back from serving all over the cook islands. Here we will go to the new zealand temple, which will be really nice.

So ya. Thats the new update. Oh yea, and we are coming home August 4th!!! I am loving this crazy journey, but i must admitt....it will be really nice to be home.

Peace and love!!

7 comments:

*ehu. said...

Hamilton? Isn't that where the temple is located?

KG said...

Possums!!! Also, I want to know what Reiki is. And August freaking 4th, are you kidding me! I await the day when all will be well again. P.S. Tell Husband Chris I'm sorry he got perped on while wearing socks.

it's me, andrea. said...

Diz, your awesomeness blows my mind. You do such a good job at recreating your adventures. I really can't believe it'll be over on the 4th, crazy! I miss you two kids. I'm so excited to see you and some pictures!! loves

Unknown said...

I know I've said this a million times, but if you were a boy and I was Mormon I would want to marry you so much.

jessica said...

I love reading about your adventures. My connection I thought I had is actually no longer there, they are back in the states. Which is why I never got back to you on that. Anywho...

It sounds like you are having a wonderful time and you Chris will clearly treasure these memories forever.

Stay safe and stay clear from those crazy possums...we were stalked by a couple of them in Mexico once...

Love you!

BTW we just turned your room into a nursery. No baby yet...but we are praying for the phone call. xoxox

Emily said...

you guys are amazing!! I can't believe all the stuff you have done! What a wonderful time that you get to have with your hubbie before things get too settled.

Unknown said...

hahahah. possum. believe it or not i "found", or rather was lead to a dead possum undeer our shed by a swarm of flies. lol. it's a big shed, but i got it and buried it. and the craziest thing, my feral cat watched me the entire time ( i think it was hers :)) well, i can't wait to get more pics. miss you guys lots. i tried finding you on backcountry so i could talk to you. lol. but no luck. will try again later peace, luv n happiness you teo :)