A Stormy Adventure

Final exams are over!  I finished my junior (3^rd) year of university!  It is now time to relax and enjoy my last few weeks in New Zealand.

Last week, New Zealand experienced the worst storm in years.  There has been widespread flooding, excessive snowfall, and incredibly strong winds.  The prediction of this storm caused a good deal of anxiety among the international students who were meant to be traveling home this past week. (Everyone made it to their destinations, only with minor delays).

On 15 June, three friends and I drove about 5 hours up the east coast of the South Island to Hamner Springs where we relaxed in the natural hot spring pools.  It was a perfect way to start off the weekend post final exams.

Beginning our adventure in our car, Seahawk. 

One of many braided rivers, soon to be flooded.

There's a heart in one of these hills! Gorgeous

On the beach at Moeraki

Sunday, we drove about another hour north to Kaikoura.  We had great plans to swim with dusky dolphins!  Unfortunately, the rain and the cold kept people away, so the tour was cancelled.  It was a bummer, but we spent the day shopping, eating, and getting coffee in the downtown area. 

The cafe we had coffee at! 

Then… We drove 20 minutes outside of the town and walked a few minutes into the forest along a river.  Soon, we spotted a couple seals hanging out behind the trees.  Just a bit further: baby seal heaven.  There were hundreds of baby seals swimming and playing around a waterfall.  I think there was a big excited smile glued on the face of every single person around the waterfall.  The baby seals were SO adorable!  It definitely made up for not being able to swim with dolphins.

The waterfall all the seals were swimming in!

 We leisurely made our way to Christchurch where we spent Sunday night in a holiday park.  And… I finally fixed my craving for Mexican food and margaritas at a restaurant called the Flying Burrito Brothers! We also saw After Earth at the cinema.  A rainy day turned into a wonderful and memorable day!

Monday… we left our accommodation on schedule to arrive back in Dunedin by 4 pm.  About 3 hours into the drive, we started driving through puddles on the highway.  The puddles became deeper and deeper as we continued south toward home.  About an hour away from Dunedin, the highway was closed because the rivers were flowing over the roads and bridges.  We went back to the nearest town to check other road closures and weigh our options.  After getting some refreshments, doing some research, and making some phone calls, it was determined that we could no longer make it back to Dunedin. 

The rivers flowing over the road 

A flooded river

Luckily, we found an adorable little motel for the night.  New Zealand motels are not the typical American motels.  Motels in America have a not-so-good reputation.  Our motel was once an old Victorian-style house with a large guesthouse and had a little black cat we named Buckets.  We stayed in a cozy part of the guest house with a kitchen, a TV, 6 beds, and… UNLIMITED INTERNET!  Woo! It was perfect.  We cooked dinner, rented a movie, and notified necessary people of our stranded state.  It really turned out to be a great night and we were able to make it back to Dunedin in the morning- without an extra day’s charge on the rental car! 

Our cozy motel!

Overall, it turned to be a great weekend trip, despite the setbacks.  Life really is a wonderful adventure!

Dunedin greeted us with a gorgeous rainbow upon our return!