Hi everybody! In this blog, I am going to tell you about our last week in the camper van. In case you didn't know yet, we named the camper van "Tourtelvis" because it has been taking us on "tour" of New Zealand and it has a bed that sits over the main cab that looks like a big pompadour (a hairstyle where the hair is combed back to form a mound above the forehead, kind of like Elvis Presley's hair).
Anyway, one of the places we visited this week was Queenstown. They have tons of adventurous activities there. We went on a thing called a luge. A luge is a cart/sled that you sit on with a bicycle handle in the front that you steer with. We got to ride on a track that went down a big hill. We steered our way down, going through tunnels and big slopes. It was so much fun! Stefan and I could have done it all day.
We just finished our last week in the camper van (Tourtelvis) and I'm going to fill you in on what we did. We went on a jet boat ride on the Dart River. We were going so fast, it felt like we were going over 100 miles per hour with super sharp turns and even full 360 degree spins in the water. It was so much fun, I loved it.
Anyway, one of the places we visited this week was Queenstown. They have tons of adventurous activities there. We went on a thing called a luge. A luge is a cart/sled that you sit on with a bicycle handle in the front that you steer with. We got to ride on a track that went down a big hill. We steered our way down, going through tunnels and big slopes. It was so much fun! Stefan and I could have done it all day.
We just finished our last week in the camper van (Tourtelvis) and I'm going to fill you in on what we did. We went on a jet boat ride on the Dart River. We were going so fast, it felt like we were going over 100 miles per hour with super sharp turns and even full 360 degree spins in the water. It was so much fun, I loved it.
Another thing I loved was the kiwi birds. We went to a kiwi
conservation center in Queenstown and saw all types of rare birds
there, like the kiwi, which is so cute. Kiwis wobble when they run.
They are the native bird of New Zealand and New Zealanders even call
themselves kiwis. Kiwi birds are nocturnal, which means they sleep
during the day and they play and eat at night. It was dark in the room
they were in, but we still saw them pretty well.
Ok, now for the really cool stuff. We saw bungee jumping and it was really wild watching OTHER people do it. The people jumping had their feet strapped together and bungee cords attached to their feet and then they would hop out to the end of a platform and jump off the bridge.
The coolest thing we did was the family helicopter ride through the glaciers. At the end of it, the pilot landed the helicopter in a huge ice field on the top of a mountain and we got to wander around and play on the ice. That was so awesome and so was being in a helicopter for the first time.
Speaking of glaciers, we also hiked on one. Before hiking, we went through a forest. The path was so steep that we used ropes to help us get up and down the rocks. We also crossed lots of streams on our way to the start of the glacier. New Zealand is one of the only places in the world where you go from a rainforest to a glacier - cool!
When we got up to the glacier we had to put spikes on our shoes, called crampons. They would help you stick into the ice to help your balance. They were a little weird to walk in, but we did fine since we've become really good hikers on this trip. This was my favorite hike so far and I really liked hanging on the ropes.
New Zealand has a lot of funny things. One day we went to a place called Puzzling World. They have all kinds of illusions and puzzles there. First, we went through a giant maze where we walked through four different towers one at a time. It took us almost an hour to do it. It was hard, kind of like a corn maze, but made of wood. After that, we went inside an illusion room. The room had a giant wall with a lot of carved that we followed. It seemed like they were all watching us. Too weird! Also, there was a big room that Tyler and I went into that made it look like he was really big and I was small when we stood in opposite corners. The picture we took turned out really funny.
Finally, we discovered a new game called Golf Cross. There was a golfball shaped like a football and you would hit it like a normal golf ball on a course. The course doesn't have greens and you don't putt because instead of a hole, you hit it into a net. It was cool because there were even sheep on the course, and sheep are everywhere in New Zealand!
So, those were some highlights of my 3rd week in New Zealand. See you next time!
Ok, now for the really cool stuff. We saw bungee jumping and it was really wild watching OTHER people do it. The people jumping had their feet strapped together and bungee cords attached to their feet and then they would hop out to the end of a platform and jump off the bridge.
The coolest thing we did was the family helicopter ride through the glaciers. At the end of it, the pilot landed the helicopter in a huge ice field on the top of a mountain and we got to wander around and play on the ice. That was so awesome and so was being in a helicopter for the first time.
Speaking of glaciers, we also hiked on one. Before hiking, we went through a forest. The path was so steep that we used ropes to help us get up and down the rocks. We also crossed lots of streams on our way to the start of the glacier. New Zealand is one of the only places in the world where you go from a rainforest to a glacier - cool!
When we got up to the glacier we had to put spikes on our shoes, called crampons. They would help you stick into the ice to help your balance. They were a little weird to walk in, but we did fine since we've become really good hikers on this trip. This was my favorite hike so far and I really liked hanging on the ropes.
New Zealand has a lot of funny things. One day we went to a place called Puzzling World. They have all kinds of illusions and puzzles there. First, we went through a giant maze where we walked through four different towers one at a time. It took us almost an hour to do it. It was hard, kind of like a corn maze, but made of wood. After that, we went inside an illusion room. The room had a giant wall with a lot of carved that we followed. It seemed like they were all watching us. Too weird! Also, there was a big room that Tyler and I went into that made it look like he was really big and I was small when we stood in opposite corners. The picture we took turned out really funny.
Finally, we discovered a new game called Golf Cross. There was a golfball shaped like a football and you would hit it like a normal golf ball on a course. The course doesn't have greens and you don't putt because instead of a hole, you hit it into a net. It was cool because there were even sheep on the course, and sheep are everywhere in New Zealand!
So, those were some highlights of my 3rd week in New Zealand. See you next time!
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