sorry i havent been updating for a while, but please take that as i sign that i am having the time of my life and just keep forgetting to check the interwebz.

i am learning that plans change a lot when youre backpacking, but im really ok with this.  i was supposed to be in methven for christmas, but ditched out on that the night before and hopped into a car with an alaskan man and another californian that i met in the hostel in christchurch and we headed straight for queenstown.

it was a wonderful 8 hour drive during which we entertained ourselves by listening to classic '70s and '60s american rock, playing "hey cow/sheep!", and stopping every few hours to take photos of each other climbing on top of statues of fish and fruit.  naturally i won, but the victory was shortlived because now the cows that i startled haunt my dreams.  i also learned that i am not super fond of cows up close.  dont ask me why.

queenstown is amazing.  i walked out of the car and felt right at home.  this place is at the base of a mountain and surrounding the north side of a magnificent lake.  and wow does that town have a personality!  more outdoor stores than you can shake a stick at, bars and restaurants, skydiving, bungy, rafting, boating, kayaking, hiking... theres a million things to do.

we chose to get burgers at fergburger and then drive around until we found a wicked beautiful campsite 4km down a gravel road.  cannot tell you what it felt like to wake up on the side of a mountain and dip my feet in a lake to wake up.  despite the massive quantity of bugs and bites that i acquired (i think its up to 20? in one day), i wouldnt have traded it.  if i were to do one thing differently about that night, it would have been to shut the window before going to bed so that the mosquitoes couldnt get in.  FAIL.  but we are actually car-camping instead of using a tent, so its pretty convenient all things considered.

christmas came and went in queenstown just like any other holiday celebrated by travelers: with great quantities of booze.  my travel buddy kaleb went paragliding while i sunned myself on the beach.  then he and i had pizza and beers with the bikers that i met in tekapo, napped, and spent some time by the hotel pool before heading down to the impromptu party of beautiful young people in the lake.  the rest of the night included more americans, dutch girls avoiding the american men, the aussie biker getting attacked by some chick, and much dancing.  ah backpacker bars...

kaleb and i woke the next day and proceeded to spend way too much money shopping like tourists and then white water rafting later on.  i cannot oversell the drive to the river as it was hands-down the most dangerous road that i have ever been on.  the bus driver and guide had way too much fun torturing the women with fear of heights by driving with only 3 wheels on the road at one point.  clearly, you had to either laugh or cry from fear.  i chose laugh.  the rafting itself was fab although slow at first.

yesterday we checked out of the hotel and went wine tasting down the coast.  in lieu of camping another night in QT, we made our way to te anau which is about 4 hours south and then west of QT.  because there is naturally no tv and i am a super-nerd, we entertained ourselves by cooking our first healthy meal in too many days, and reading shakespeare out loud. 

that finally brings me to today.  today was for milford sound.  we drove up here looking for some kayaking and hiking adventure, but as it turns out we got up here late in the day because the drive was longer than we thought, and the kayak tours were all sold out.  we opted for a 2-hour boat cruise through the fijords instead which was stunning.  although we (read: me) had every intention of hiking this afternoon/evening, it looks like rain and i found the internet and my wine.  theres also some laundry in the works as well.  so now its tomorrow for hiking haha!  i think ill trick kaleb into a 5-hour hike instead of the 3-hour one i promised him... thats if it isnt raining like the weatherman promised tomorrow.  then its probably back to te anau for a night if we dont go straight back to QT until new years which is shaping up to be just f-ing wild.

and so, with the sweet strains of a live recording of the police's SOS in my ear, i must away for to make dinner.  and more wine.

i love you.
Taryn