Mid-Semester Break

Mid-semester break was epic! It’s a difficult task to explain the vast amounts of beauty we saw on our trip, so here goes nothing.

We left Kaikoura early to hang out in Christchurch for a little. Christchurch is a city plagued by earthquakes, so it’s the shortest and most spread-out city I’ve ever seen. The vibe was extremely cool, though! There were tons of cafes with top-notch coffee and sausage rolls, and all of the restaurants were rad. Some of us explored the ins and outs of the city, while the others went to a gem show held at the Christchurch horse racing tracks. It was a great morning.

Then we set out to Lake Tekapo, a small town known for its iconic lake, a tiny church, and stargazing. We drove several hours across the South Island of New Zealand, admiring the beautiful landscapes. Everywhere we looked were rolling green hills with tons of mountains looming in the distance. Lake Tekapo was freezing! I highly recommend plunging, but please make sure you get warm properly afterward! We stayed at a backpacking hostel, which was a super fun experience!

The following day we woke up before the sun and headed off to Mount Aoraki! The morning drive was majestic as we drove toward the tallest mountain in New Zealand. The sunrise illuminated the green forests and rolling hills, making every lake shimmer. It was one of the most special mornings ever. At Mount Aoraki, we did the Hooker Valley Track, which led us to a glacier! The colors were so cool. It was this shade of blue none of us had ever seen before!

After our hike, we drove down the South Island to Te Anu and stayed in another backpacking lodge. It was a very pleasant and restful night. We got dinner and prepared for our backpacking trip! We woke up early the next morning and took a water taxi to the Milford Track starting point. Then the first day was just 3 miles, so we strolled to the first hut leisurely. At the hut, we built a fire and spent the afternoon in the gloriously green mossy forest and reading/napping by the fire. It was perfect.

Day 2 was our longest trek. We hiked across the entire valley to the base of Mckinnon’s Pass. It was a tiring day but probably the most beautiful one so far. This valley was nestled between massive mountains on either side. The melted snow from these mountains trickled down in every place imaginable, creating gorgeous waterfalls and sometimes even lakes! We saw tons of birds and were blown away by the views time and time again. God is a Creator that truly delights in His Creation. Getting to the hut that night, we collapsed by the fire. Some of us tried plunging into some of the snow runoff. It was freezing!

The next morning we ascended the mountain! We saw several Kea throughout the day up close. They are the only alpine parrot in the world and my new best friend. They wobbly hop around in the funniest way! As we reached the alpine zone, it began to snow! For the Southern California native (yours truly), it was magical! Reaching Mckinnon’s pass was the highlight of the trip. It was possibly the most beautiful view of my entire life. You could see the whole valley we trekked across the day before, but some of the mountains were still towering over us! We were in this perfect position where you could take in the whole tramp! It rained the rest of the day, so we got super wet!! Waterfalls were everywhere! We saw the tallest waterfall in New Zealand (5th largest in the world)!

On the last day, we were all starving, so we hustled to the end and admired Milford Sound in all of its glory and then totally pigged out on a ton of food. By myself, I ate a whole pizza, a cheeseburger, chicken tenders, two sides of fries, and a coke. It was awesome.

The next day we recovered from our tramp by slowly driving to Owaka (southeast of Te Anu) and stopping wherever looked cool. We found an amazing, tiny bookshop in Manapouri, explored caves in the countryside, looked for cool rocks on Gemstone beach, and ate a ton of food again in Invercargill. A major theme of the trip: eating a lot of food.

The next day we headed to Dunedin! We had a little car trouble, so we relaxed in Balclutha while that was sorted out. I enjoyed reading The Little Prince, if you haven’t read it, well, get to it. In Dunedin, we had pizza and enjoyed our last night of break together! It was a fantastic trip that we all will remember forever. It also confirmed my decision that I need to come back to New Zealand after the semester is over, and there’s too much cool stuff in this country for just one semester!

It was an incredible time exploring New Zealand and being blessed by God and His Creation. Highly recommend exploring the South Island as much as you possibly can!!