Remember this ad? It's easily my favorite tourism ad ever. When it came on a few years ago I got chill bumps each time I saw it. And while in New Zealand, I couldn't help but spontaneously burst out singing 'Forever Young' amidst such an unbelievably remarkable place.
We took two weeks to drive all over the South Island. It seemed like around each and every bend was yet another spectacular landscape. It was awe-inspiring and frankly, exhausting. Just too much diverse beauty in such a small place.
Also, this kid came along. My little brother, David. It was his first time out of the country and it was awesome to have him with us. We expected him to be rather timid, what with it being his first big overseas adventure and all. But no, we had to spend the better part of our trip talking him out of all the crazy things he was wanting to do. He did end up going paragliding while we were in Queenstown and loved it (paragliding makes an appearance in the tourism ad at about 1.36).
Dunedin - our first major stop. Home to a Cadbury factory!
New Zealand's only castle just outside
Dunedin
David attempting to lay claim to said
castle.
See that view just beyond the trees?
Ridiculous!
Much of the first few days looked like the picture above. Lots of green rolling hills and even more sheep. There are a lot of sheep in New Zealand. Like, a lot. A lot a lot. Significantly outnumbering people a lot. We drove and drove until we got to Queenstown, where we spent a week exploring.
It was a really good thing that we had a week in Queenstown, because this was the view when we first arrived.
Thankfully, it started to clear up...
And it just got real good from there.
Jimmy on a rock.
David on a rock.
'Forever young!...'
Being in New Zealand in spring did mean that there was far less snow on mountain tops, but the trade off was incredibly bright and colorful wildflowers, and of course, milder temperatures. The locals complained about how 'hot' it was getting at around 70 degrees.
Hey! More sheep!
We saw this little waterfall while just driving by and decided to stop and see if we could get closer to it. And this is what we found:
This wasn't the most impressive waterfall we saw, but it was a special find for me. The boys wanted to keep going to see if they could get higher, but I opted to just sit here while they scoped it out. It was so seclusive, with no one else around, and it gave me the opportunity to just sit and take it in. I've always had a special response to waterfalls, they just turn my attention to God and lead me to meditate on His greatness and beauty. So I just sat and thought on Him and thanked Him for that moment. And He responded by giving me a tremendous sense of peace with all that was and is going on in our lives right now. We left Birmingham six months ago craving uncertainty, and we have it now, though not at all in the way I was expecting. But He has taught us to have peace in the midst of it, which is something I'd never thought I'd be able to have. A few days later I came across Isaiah 26:3, and when I read it, my mind went back to this waterfall, to the way it made me think on Him, and the peace that accompanied my mind stayed on Him.
"You keep <her> in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because <she> trusts in You."
One day we noticed a trail near the top of a mountain that ended at a lake, and it appeared as though you could drive the majority of the way. That sounded to us like the perfect hiking situation (minimal walking - maximum reward) so we decided spur-of-the-moment to head up and check it out.
Our start <driving> up the mountain. Ridiculous, right!?
Getting a little higher...
Notice how unprepared I was for this altitude with my
cardigan and scarf.
We didn't realize the trail required us getting up to the base
of the mountain peak on foot.
Jimmy is a tiny speck in this picture, on the far right, just
below the ridge.
I wanted proof that I had made it all this way in my pea coat.
After I got over how unprepared we were, it was quite a sight.
We also took a day cruise out to Doubtful Sound in the Fiordland
National Park. We were ridiculously blessed by mostly clear skies (which
was a big deal since it rains 200-something days a year in the Fiords). It was so
nice to let someone else worry about transporting us for once and was
such a relaxing day.
Entrance to Doubtful Sound - don't miss that
waterfall on the right!
Our little cruise boat
It was a little windy at times.
Ok. There is a little yellow-eyed penguin in this picture! The trouble is I didn't have a zoom lens so you can't really see it. The best you can probably do is spot its white belly right in the center of the photo - it was up in the rocks and was just under the green vegetation. I took about a million pictures of it and then spent forever trying to edit the picture so the little guy could be more visible. This was the best I could do. If you right-click on the picture and open it in a new tab, and then zoom in on it, you can just barely make out the yellow streak on its face!
'...I want to be forever young...'
After Queenstown we made our way north up the west coast. There aren't many noteworthy things along the west coast, but here's some stuff we saw:
The Franz-Josef glacier.
David was disappointed after a long and
wet hike that this was as close as he could
get to the glacier.
His spirits were lifted when he found this 'piece of the glacier'
(some ice).
In my usual fashion, I screamed when
I saw this waterfall. It was just so
unexpected on the side of the road!
Pancake Rocks
Some seals swimming about in crazy rough seas.
This is a Kea, the world's only alpine parrot. It has crazy beautiful colors under its wings and is fully protected in New Zealand. They have signs explicitly instructing people to just leave them alone, and to not, under any circumstances, feed them. And guess who gave this one a chicken chip? (Yes, a chicken flavored potato chip.) (Hint: Jimmy. Jimmy gave it a chicken chip.)
Annnnnnd look what happened.
On our last big driving leg we cut through Arthur's Pass to get to Christchurch on the East Coast.
Of course we had to hike up to that!
I'm not sure if I've made it clear that
I love waterfalls, but I do.
'Forever young! I want to be forever young...'
This is Castle Hill. Remember that final battle scene in
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe? It was filmed here!
This is a cave near Castle Hill. We stopped here because it had a parking lot and we wanted to hop out and take some pictures of the area, not even realizing there were caves around. A couple started chatting with us and said they were heading to the cave to go through it because someone had told them the day before that it was a must-do. We were really just passing through and only had one more full day in New Zealand, but we decided to come back the next day (our last full day) to give it a go. It was so worth it. You make your way through this 600-meter-long cave against a river's current which at times was considerably strong and waist-high, up waterfalls (where David got completely drenched) and over rock falls (WITHOUT a guide, I might add!). The only light we had were headlamps we bought just for the occasion. It was pretty scary at times and the water was crazy cold but it was so unforgettable and fun.
It's difficult for Jimmy and me to fully comprehend all we've been able to see and experience over the past 6 months, and all that the Lord has done for us. I could have never dreamed that they would unfold as they have, but they have proven that God's ways are truly higher, bigger, wider, and so much better than my own. We really don't know what our next step is, but we know we want to go/do/be wherever the Lord wills. And we're thankful to be able to be with family over the holidays and have this time of rest while we pray through what that might be.
