Mid-semester Break

Get ready for a long post, all about my adventures during my 10-day Easter Break!!

Wellington, New Zealand (March 29 - April 2)

The first day of break was Good Friday.  I started the day off with a delicious breakfast at a cafe in town with Siri.  In the evening, I flew to Wellington where I spent the weekend with Debbie, Wayne, and Ruth!  It was so wonderful to be with "family" during the holiday weekend!  They were wondeful hosts too!  We went all over Wellington!  Friday night, we saw the city from the top of Mt. Victoria.

Wellington City from Mt. Victoria

Saturday, we went up the west coast of Wellington to Waikawa Beach, eating ice cream sundaes and picking blueberries along the way.  We ate lunch on the river and walked along the sand dunes to the ocean.  It was beautiful!  Saturday evening, we went to a Hurricanes rugby game!  It was my first ever official rugby game and they won!

Seagulls on Waikawa Beach

Hurricanes Game at Westpac Stadium.

Sunday was Easter Sunday.  It was a rainy day, but it was a perfect day.  We Skyped my family, ate Easter eggs, had an egg hunt, and relaxed all day.  In the afternoon, we went up through central Wellington to Kaitoke Regional Park where Rivendell in Lord of the Rings was set!  It was a nice walk in the crisp, fresh air and beautiful scenery.  For dinner we had fish and chips! Yum.

Where Legolas posed for his photo shoot!

Monday was a windy day, so we cancelled our planned hike and went for a walk around town and through a park.  It was a really nice morning walk.  In the afternoon, Ruth and Debbie took me around the south coast of Wellington, complete with a short tour of Victoria University, stopping at a wind turbine, a Prime Minister's memorial, Debbie's office across from the Bee Hive, and a scenic drive along the coast.

Wellington 

I really enjoyed my time in Wellington, relaxing and exploring with family!  I wouldn't have wanted my Easter weekend in New Zealand to be any different!

Tuesday morning, I flew back to Dunedin where I waited in the airport until Siri and Alecia arrived to fly to Brisbane, Australia where we spent a night's layover then flew to Proserpine, Australia for our beach destination!

Airlie Beach, Australia (April 3-6)

Wednesday morning, we arrived in Proserpine around 8am.  We took an airport shuttle to our hostel in Airlie Beach, shopped for some snacks and necessities, and ate lunch in the outdoor mall 30-minutes walk from the hostel.  The afternoon consisted of lying in the sun by the lagoon, reading books and relaxing.  We had a most wonderful dinner at a restaurant on the harbour, complete with a gorgeous sunset behind the hills and the sailboat masts.  After dinner, we spent a while staring at the sea of stars in the sky.

Welcome to Airlie Beach!

Stunning sunset over the harbour at dinner.

Thursday, we went Ocean Rafting!  So fun! The day consisted of a boat ride that was theme park worthy, walking along a gorgeous white-sand beach (Whitehaven Beach), bush walking in sandals, snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, and eating lunch on the beach.  What an awesome day of sun, sand, thousands of crabs, ocean, fish, and fun!

The Swirling Sands of Whitehaven Beach from the lookout on the bush walk!

We saw thousands of these little guys!

Snorkeling! 

Friday, Siri and I rented bikes and rode through town and down a peninsula, through the rain, next to tropical foliage, past small houses and gigantic houses.  At the end of the road, there was a little park with a forest chapel overlooking the harbour.  We spent a while there, enjoying the down-pouring rain, the view, and the company of a local newspaper writer who also rode his bike out to the park. During our time there, a coconut fell from a palm tree.  The Writer told us we should take it back with us and have it opened at the market the next day.  We did just that!

The forest chapel over-looking the harbour.

Enjoying the downpour! 

Saturday, Siri and I went off to the market!  First order of business was to get our coconut opened (we even took a few extra straws from a restaurant).  A man chopped the top off so that we could drink the water inside.  Then, he insisted we had to eat the inside too so he split it in half!  At first, I wasn't much of a fan, but with each taste, I liked it more and more!  The rest of the morning, we shopped around the market and in town and came away with some great souvenirs.  That afternoon, we said goodbye to our piece of Paradise and flew back to Brisbane for our last night in Australia.

Siri and I with our coconut!

Brisbane, Australia (April 2 & 6)
Tuesday (Brisbane night #1)- we stayed at a hotel near the airport, walked into town for dinner, and crashed pretty early.  We learned that this part of Brisbane has a pretty big horse racing scene!  We walked past the race track and warm up grounds.
Saturday (Brisbane night #2)- we stayed in a hostel in the city.  The airport shuttle driver gave us some restaurant suggestions, so we dropped our bags and went off to explore part of the city!  We walked along the Brisbane river at dusk.  It was beautiful.  We chose to eat dinner at Jo-Jo's, an 80's restaurant with a wide selection of yummy food!  I had a pumpkin pizza and it was delicious!  We found some ice cream for dessert and headed back to the hostel.  It was another early night for another early flight in the morning.

A bridge over Brisbane River at twilight.

Sunday, we arrived back home in Dunedin around 3:30pm, where we realized New Zealand had just had daylight savings so we had to re-calculate the time difference all over again!  It was so nice to go home to my flat and to re-coup after an excitement-filled 9-day adventure!!