Queenstown Getaway

Kia ora, everyone!!
Before I talk about my hilarious weekend in Queenstown, I have to tell you all that today in class I found my calling! Sounds goofy, I know, but bear with me. Ok, so today in Indigenous Peoples we watched a movie about the UN and Indigenous Peoples and they followed a handful of Indigenous People from Amazon, Russia, Canada, Greenland, Togo, etc and it was just fascinating! Everyone in class was bored and chitchatting and I got so pissy b/c I wanted to hear every word!!!! So UNPFII (UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues) seems ah-mazing. It's linguistic-y, it's psych-y, it's travel-y....So. Cool. Of course I fantasized about being an expert witness or liason or SOMETHING......but realized a little white girl from the US wont be as informative as an Indigenous Person, but hey, maybe I can just be their photographer?? As we speak, with kiwi(fruit) in hand, I'm doing research on when the next UNPFII meeting is after 2010. Maybe after I graduate NEU, I can spend some time in NY and work there? Oof. Dont get me started, I'm so excited! Seriously, I'll keep you posted, it's awesome.

Ok! So my crazy weekend in Qtown!? It was a series of unfortunate events that led to a (hindsight) great weekend. Long long long story short, I was basically homeless for three days. I ended up sleeping on couches, in cars, on beaches...Yuck. But! I got to see Francisco, who I haven't seen in 4 years, which was amazing. It was so nice to actually be in the same country after 4 years of being pen pals. It was really great. I met his friends Sacha from South Africa and Marius from Germany. They all work in the same orchard together and they migrate in their tiny nugget car around Qtown area. So the reason we were homeless? Well their friend Kike was on a 3-day hike that was supposed to end on Friday morning, but by Saturday afternoon he was still MIA. I, the worry wart, was really freaked out that he didn't show up, but the boys just assumed that he had hitched from Glenorchy back to Alexandra where their caravan is...Hmm...Fingers crossed, right?

Queenstown was amazing. It's seriously heaven. I can't even begin to describe how magical it is. The flight from ChCh was only 45 minutes and I didnt put my camera down once. I think I took about 100 pictures just from the air. Here are the highlights :)














Uh hello, Lord of the Rings!?!?!?!










Absolute Heaven


:)


At least 3 ladybugs landed on my this weekend...so much good luck :) :)


Skipping stones













Lake Wanaka
Where we stayed in a hostel the second night (thank god for beds...)


The Remarkables...are truly remarkable


Flying into ChCh

So that was my amazing trip to Qtown and Wanaka! It was definitely an adventure, haha.

I hope you enjoyed the pics, and more are to come of a Lantern Festival in town.

Besos to everyone and please please send healthy, recovering vibes to my sick puppy in Atown. I wish I was there to snuggle with him right now :(
::Virtual snuggles to Nikki::