Going South to North and to the NCAA Final Four

I was luckily enough to watch the amazing NCAA game where Villanova beat Pittsburg advancing the team to the Final Four for the first time since 1985. Scotty Renyolds made an beautifu last second layup to win the game. I was in a bar jumping, screaming, and yes some tears were shed when we won. Amazing game, amazing team, amazing University.

With that I will get back to New Zealand... After Queenstown, I headed out to see Milford Sound with two of my favorite English gals from the trip, Hannah and Amy. I had grown quite close to them during the trip and we would continue our journey together to the north island. Milford Sound is known for its numerous waterfalls that come off the cliffs that surround the Sound. When it is rainy it is said to be spectacuar, but we had a sunny day, so there were still waterfalls just not as many. We were on a cruise type ship and our general path was seeing: Dale Pt (the entrance to MS), Bowen Falls (161 m), Sinbad Gally (steep slopes of mtn on each side surrounding the Sound), Mitre Peak (one of the highest mtn in the world to rise from the ocean floor), and the elephant rock. On the drive from the Sound, I got to fill up my waterbottle from a bubbling brook nearby, that was mountain spring water at it best.

We were then off to the North Island and our first stop was Wellington which is a great city with a fresh and young feel. There is a very young population in Wellington and that can be felt with all the artsty buildings and active nightlife. There they have an amazing museum, Te Papa Museum, which has a large focus on NZs enviorment and how it has been affected by immigration. Very interesting. That night we enjoyed some life music and dancing at one of the cities clubs before we left on our day long road trip up to Auckand.

In Auckland I was staying with my friend Jake, who Mary, Hari and I all met in Koh Tao. He goes to University of Auckland and I got to become a uni student again for a few days (laundry room, ID cards, even cleaning). That night we all went out in Auckland to this club that had an amazing freestyle group that was so good we didnt even know it was live until we saw the two singers in the corner of the room. The group was really really good, creating fresh and innovative beats. Really good music. That next day, unfortunately Jake and his roomates were taking off on their spring break so Jake was good enough to let me use his apartment for the next few days before my flight. We were pretty bummed that we only got to see eachother for one day, but I was excited to have an apartment to use. Over the next two days Amy, Hannah, and I explored the city which feels nothing like the rest of NZ with its big buildings, busy streets, contempory and high end shopping stores. We checked out the National Museum, a Maori culture dance performance, local markets, and the harbor.

I also did a two day roadtrip up to the Bay of Islands, on the very northern end of NZ. We got in a full day on a boat checking out some of the amazing islands that dot the end of NZ. We even got in some dolphin and penguin sightings, snorkeling, kayaking, and sun tanning over those two days. I wish I had more time to see the North Island, but that seems to be the case for each country we go to on this trip. So, I hopped on the plane and made my way to my personal unltimate destination, South America.