Leaving Aotearoa

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

-Mark Twain

April 7, 2011

I leave the beautiful country of New Zealand tomorrow. I never thought that day would come. I looked forward to going to New Zealand for 3 years and now my time in New Zealand is over. I am going to miss it so much and have very mixed emotions about leaving. The time I have spent in New Zealand has been the hardest and best time of my life. It may be hard to believe that a semester in New Zealand during summer and missing the states winter with friends, travel, and teaching is one of the hardest things I have done, but it is. It was definitely not an easy adventure. I had such a hard time being away from family and friends and missing what was happening at home. I have never been more homesick than some of the days here. I have gone multiple times wondering if we will have enough food for another meal or if we will get to eat. I have lived with people that lie and steal. I have been through good and bad times with friends. I have lived without the internet, with limited water at times, out a suitcase for a month and out of a backpack on every trip. Some of this stuff was actually easy, but my home stay and not being able to communicate with family was the hardest.And I think even more this was the hardest thing I have ever done because of changes that went on inside me and challenges the Lord gave me.

I am so grateful for the hard things I have gone through and the way my faith has grown. I have so much more trust in my Savior now and go to Him with every decision I have to make or anytime I need someone to turn to. I know He is always there and that he listens. One of the hardest things for me was not being able to go to the temple because it was far away. I am used to going to the temple multiple times a week and it is one of the most important things in my life. Not having one close made me miss it even more and makes it even more important to me and more important for me to go often when I get home. It was hard to live in a home without the priesthood. I never realized how blessed I really am to have a father that holds the priesthood. I am looking forward to going home and having the blessings of the priesthood in my home again. The Lord has taught me how to live with and even love people that do not know how to treat others. He has taught me to love people so much more fully than I ever thought possible through the hearts of the children and some of the kiwis I met here. It was so hard for me not to be able to listen to conference and hear a prophet's voice, but I am so grateful for the internet and ways for me to now access it. I have learned to value conference even more now though and the trials of now having access to some of the blessings of the gospel have made me a stronger person and brought so much perspective in to my life. I have grown in faith and now have no worries about the future and unknown because being in New Zealand has taught me to trust in the Lord and to let Him guide me in every step of life. My testimony has grown in so many ways and I just want to share it with everyone. I want everyone to know how glorious the gospel is and what a blessing it is in my life and how much love I have for my Savior Jesus Christ and for Heavenly Father. I have changed so much in 3 short months and am so grateful for the woman I have become.

I went to visit room 6 today and was rushed by 15 five year olds in a bear hug. One of the most amazing feelings. These kids mean the world to me and it breaks my heart that I really may never see them again. They have changed me in so many ways and really showed me how to love. They are who I have to thank for the teacher I am becoming. I will never be the same because those children and Amy and others at Henderson South were in my life.

James Ahmu is also one I will never forget and one that has shown me what charity, love, and humility really mean. I admire him so much and will always be grateful for the time he spent with us and the place I have for him in my heart. This trip could not have happened without him. This trip also would not have been as meaningful as it has been to me without Dr Jacobs and Linda. They really made this trip, and I have grown to love them so much. Linda was the mother figure I needed here and was always there to talk to and to help me have a better day I am so grateful for her. Jim never thought he would be coming back to New Zealand, but I still remember the feeling I got when I got accepted and found out he was the director. It felt so right and I know he is the director I needed in New Zealand. He has taught me so much and it is from his example, that I have seen great faith and humility. He has such a wide perspective of life and people and I truly admire him for it. He was there for me through thick and thin during this experience and if any other professor would have come over I really do not think I would have gotten the experience I did in New Zealand or grown so much. He really helped me to do so. I will forever be grateful to him. I take great comfort in knowing that if I do not see the people I met here in New Zealand, James, or the Jacobs for a very long time that I will see them again and that I will have an eternity with the people I have grown to love here. This knowledge is the only thing that makes it possible for me to say goodbye. I know I will see each of the people I have grown to love again if not in this life, most definitely in the next.

James, Jim, and Linda are not the only family I have gained over here. I have also gained 15 sisters. I love each of the girls over here and each one of them brought something different to the group and helped to change me. Many of them were examples to me and have helped me to grow in the gospel and love my Savior more. They have become part of my family and it is hard for me to picture a life without them and to see us going separate ways. I will always hold each of the girls in my heart and I hope that all of us can remain close friends for eternity. I can't believe that all of these people now mean so much to me and that I have to say goodbye to them. I can't believe that some of the most important people to me my family and friends back home have never met and may not ever meet. I wish I could introduce my family to the incredible girls I spent the 3 months with and that they could meet Jim, Linda, and James. Leaving them and leaving New Zealand is so hard for me. Much harder than I ever expected and harder than it was for me to leave home because I knew I would get to come home. Saying goodbye to people you may not see for a very long time is so hard. It bring tears to my eyes every time I think of how much I love James, Jim, Linda, Katie, Becca, Allie, Kara, Nicole, Neeley, Emily, Whitney, Jessica, Christine, Anna, Heidi, Janet, Diana, and Nancy and how much I am going to miss seeing them and having them in my life. Life really will not be the same without my BYU New Zealand family.

What I am going to miss about New Zealand..... 16 BYU Princesses, Jim and Linda, James, the beautiful scenery, the beaches, the bush, New Zealand lingo, room 6, Henderson south, road trips in the vans, endless pb&js, seeing the most beautiful places on earth, the gorgeous skies all the time, sunset, sunrises, hiking, rugby games, Friends night with Nancy, talking to Katie on hikes, taking the bus with Gecko, walking everywhere, life without a cell phone, summer in January, glow worms, meat pie, jump jam, Nancy playing Friday for me, no school on Fridays, magnum bars, tastis, passion fruit, kiwi accents and hospitality, living on the edge, and so much more.

What I am looking forward to when I get home... seeing family, catching up with friends,being close to a temple, going to the temple all the time, ATL temple open house and dedication, last semester of BYU football games, conference in Oct, Easter with my family,  teaching, working, EFY, planning a wedding, being in GA, having a phone, sleeping in my own bed,seeing Alison and her kids, going to FL, driving, not having to worry about having food everyday, summer, mom's cooking, exercising, walks with mom, seeing my dogs, playing with my brother, talking with my sisters, games with family, watching my Disney movies, going to singles ward, going to pilgrim mill ward and coal mountain ward, lunch with my brother, getting a hair cut, printing off pictures, sharing my stories, going to friend's weddings, a summer full of fun and surprises, my adventure is not ending with New Zealand I am looking forward to going home and continuing to grow and get closer to becoming the woman Heavenly Father knows I can be and reaching my full potential. I have so much to look forward to. I really am so blessed.

Things I never would have done if I did not come to New Zealand... bungee jumped, zorbed gone to a sheep show, seen Hobbiton, seen 2 oceans come together, gone sailing, gone on the sand dunes, dug a hole on the beach to reach hot water, met James Ahmu, taught in room 6, luge, seen glow worms, tried fejoa, tried kumera, learned Maori, taken a train for 12 hours, taken a cable car, lived without a cell phone, lived without a dryer, ridden the world's largest swing, and so much more. But most importantly I never would have grown and changed so much in 3 months or met people that are now family. I would not change the experience I have had here for anything and I will never be the same again because of the difference it has made in my life.

Inside jokes... hands underground, sweet as, steam roller, take a picture girls, roll call, I want my nuts back, what's your major, hey ____ what are you doing today?, introducing the band of the New Zealand army- The New Zealand Army van, Friday, I have a song for you, make-shift pancakes, the face, etc. We had way too much fun together.

Life if a funny thing. You never realize how much is going to mean to you or how fast time is going to fly until it is over. This time I had in New Zealand, really was so short, but I lived everyday to the fullest and will never forget the experiences I had here. I will continue to be a changed person because of the experiences I have had in New Zealand. We came to Earth to gain experience, to grow and to change and to become like our Heavenly Father. I have so far still to go and so much to look forward to in life, but the experiences I have had in New Zealand have helped to refocus and open my perspective to a new understanding of life and all it has to offer, the importance of having experiences, and the importance enduring life's challenges well and living the motto "come what may and love it."  Everything I have experienced in New Zealand and in life I owe to a loving Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for His love for me and for His plan for me. I am who I am because of the knowledge I have of Him and his love for me and because I love my Savior Jesus Christ loves me, and because of this glorious gospel. I am so grateful loving parents and grandparents that helped me to get to New  Zealand and for friends and family that love hearing about the experiences I have had and helping me continue to treasure them. I may not know what is in store for my life after New Zealand, but I do know that I was supposed to come to New Zealand and that it was part of the Lord's plan for me. I know that He will continue to guide me as I leave New Zealand and continue on my journey home and throughout life and eternity.

Make-shift Pancake Day!!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

This morning, Nancy, Emily, and I got up to watch the sunrise. It was probably the last time I will watch the sunrise in New Zealand and it was a gorgeous sunrise. On the way back to the motel Emily brought up that we were planning to make pancakes for breakfast, but we didn't have a spatula or butter or oil for the pan. We were like okay maybe we can figure this out and just flip them in the pan and maybe we will get luck y and they won't stick. We ended up finding a spatula, but still did not have anything to grease the pan. Nancy suggested we make our own butter, so we started shaking there little milk containers like the ones you pt in coffee to try to make butter. No go. Next, we had some frozen cheesecake in the fridge so we tried putting some of that on the pan and using it instead of butter didn't work. Our room was pretty smoky  by now, but then I was like okay well now we have a layer of pancake on the pan so we can try to make them on top of that, but that did not work either. We were about to give up and just wait for a store to open and then just go grab somethings, but then I said, "wait why don't we make them in the microwave?" We weren't sue if it would work, but it was worth a try, so I put some pancake batter on a plate and Emily put it in the microwave and cooked it for a minute and guess what, it worked. You can make pancakes in the microwave. We told the others and they were unsure at first, but it so worked. The pancakes looked and tasted like pancakes. So now April 5th is official make-shift pancake day; we are going to celebrate it every year and make pancakes in the microwave. It was so much fun and we were laughing so hard when it actually worked. Emily, had learned to play the ukulele while we were in the Northland, so she made up a song about our make-shift pancake day to the tune of bruises. It is so funny and we even got a video of it.We then went and shared our pancake song and discovery with the other girls. That song ans making make-shift pancakes really made my morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgyF0jR2xdA

Before leaving the motel, we sang Te Aroha to James and then gave him our gift and then sang lean on me to all of them. I think just about all of us were in tears by the end because it finally hit us that we are leaving New Zealand and may never see each other again. We want to do reunions in Provo, but we will probably never see James again unless we get back to New Zealand, which makes me so so sad. I am really going to miss him. I am glad we are going to have reunions with the girls and Jacobs in the fall, but it will still be hard to get all of us together.I will have to make it a priority. I am really going to miss all of the other girls. We were so unified and as Jim and Linda say, out of their 9 study abroads, their best group. I hope I do get to see all of the girls again, we have become such good friends. I also hope I can keep in contact with Jim and Linda and James. Jim and Linda are so amazing. They really made this trip. It would not have been the same if Jim had not decided to do New Zealand from again. I have learned so much from him and he really has become a grandfatherly figure to me. I am going to miss him and Linda so much. The 16 of us decided that we want to make a children's book for him of our story in New Zealand with pictures. It is going to be so cute. We wrote the story on our drive back, and I love it.

Once I got back, I tried for a few hours to talk to my family, but it never really worked very well, internet and skype was in and out. I did finally get it to work to talk to my poppop though and I was so excited. I love talking to him and telling him everything. I am so glad we have grown closer while I have been in New Zealand.

A rainforest hike to Haruru Falls

Monday, April 04, 2011

Monday morning, I woke up bright and early to hike a 5k to Haruru Falls. It was the perfect day for a hike in the rainforest and was so much fun. We hiked through a natural kiwi habitat, but sadly did not see any wild kiwis since they are nocturnal. I am really going to miss hiking through the rainforests of New Zealand. Katie made up a story along the way about a knight and a jester. The knight was in love with the Princess of Pennsylvania, but the king and queen wanted the princess to marry the Slovakian man. The knight and the jester met the Slovakian man in the mangroves and plotted to have the crocodile eat his shins. The story was never finished, but was so funny. Part of the hike was through the mangroves of crocodile land. We are lucky there are no wild crocodiles in New Zealand. If I had been hiking through the mangrove swamps in Savannah, I would have most definitely seen some crocodiles. We also saw some birds that looked like penguins, but weren’t because they could fly.

I was surprised when we got to the falls at how big they were. I was definitely not expecting them to be as wide as they were. I took my shoes off and waded through the water and crossed the top of the waterfall to the other side. It was so much fun. I would have been the one to jump off the waterfall if that would have been allowed.  All of the other girls thought I was crazy for crossing the top of the waterfall. They were worried about me, but it was so much fun. We hiked back down through the rainforest (probably my last time to do so in New Zealand) and then went to the beach and soaked up the sun for a couple of hours. I am going to miss my almost weekly trips to the beach as well. Am I really leaving New Zealand this week? 

After spending some quality time on the beach, Katie and I headed into town to get supplies for something to give James. Katie told me we can't go shopping together anymore because she always spends more when she is with me. Imagine that. 

I came back and watched my last sunset in New Zealand. It was beautiful, but also sad I never actually thought that day would come. I have watched so many amazing sunsets in New Zealand though, and I am so grateful for each one of them. 

For our last Monday together, we had a phenomenal family home evening all together. Anna shared her favorite scripture found in Helaman 5:12, and then Katie gave a phenomenal lesson on Faith. Faith has been a guiding principal for each of us throughout our journey in New Zealand. It started when Dr. Jacobs had us read an article on fear vs. faith and then continued throughout our trip. During my time in New Zealand, my faith has grown more than it ever has before. I have grown to trust the Lord more and put more faith in Him. The decision I made about student teaching vs. an internship is one I started weighing in October. Before then, I was set on student teaching, but in October I started to really struggle because others were talking to me about an internship and an internship became a possibility. All of my professors thought I should do one and knew I would make a great intern and it would be a great opportunity to have my own classroom and receive half of a teacher's salary. I really had a hard decision to make and for a while I thought I would be cutting myself short if I didn't do an internship. In December, I started looking into what I would need to do to become a certified teacher in GA. For some reason I felt and continue to feel a strong pull towards GA and away from UT that I really cannot explain. It is a feeling I keep having though. I went to my bishop and talked about the internship and also to the advisement center in the McKay building to get input. I ended up deciding to apply for the internship before I left for New Zealand because it couldn't and it was better to apply and then decide later then to not apply and end up not having a choice. My first month or so in New Zealand. I prayed and fasted about whether to do an internship or student teaching almost every Sunday. Then when we traveled to the South Island, and while there, I was almost sure I was going to do student teaching, but I did not fully make the decision to do so until fasting some more a few weeks later. I know without a doubt that student teaching in the Nebo school district is what I need to be doing in the fall and that I need to graduate in December. As much as I would love to go back to GA after that and teach, I do not know what is going to happen, but I have faith in the Lord that He does and He will help guide me to the best path for me after graduation.

 Uncertainty and the future can be very hard things, but they do not have to be if I just press forward with faith. For the longest time, New Zealand was my goal and my future. Having the opportunity of going to New Zealand is one of the main reasons I went to BYU. It was what I looked forward to and planned on during my entire time at BYU and when I finally applied and got in I was so excited. I remember the interview like it was yesterday and remember getting accepted like it was yesterday. I found out right after a run and then called my parents, grandparents, and Alison to share the good news. I then went over and told the Jamestown 18 boys. I was so excited that I was going to get to go to New Zealand. After that is was a reality and planning for the journey. The day to come to New Zealand finally came and now after 4 amazing months that have changed my life, my semester in New Zealand is coming to a close. I never thought that day would come. As excited as I am to go home and see family and friends. I have very mixed emotions about leaving because New Zealand is now a home to me and I am going to miss it. But also because my goal for so long has been New Zealand, that has been my future, but now that time is coming to a close and I do not really know what is next. I know I am going home to loving family and friends, but also that life at home has gone on while I was away and things have changed. My sister Taylor started dating someone, got her first kiss, and got engaged all while I was in New Zealand, so even though my reality has been drastically different than everyone else's back home it has been my reality while life continued at home. I am so excited for my sister and Rudy. It will be great to have him as part of our family. So I have that to look forward to when I get home. I also have the Atlanta temple open house and dedication, which  I am so excited for that. I cannot wait. I am so glad that is the first thing I am doing when I get home. I am also looking forward to spending time with family and with Alison and her family as well as some other friends in GA. I am so so excited about doing EFY in GA and FL this summer. It is going to be great, very different than last year, but just as amazing.It may even be better. Then I have student teaching in the fall. The rest of my summer and everything after fall is kinda up in the air, which is exciting and nerve racking at the same time, because I have no idea what the future holds, but I do know that it will be better than good if I just trust in the Lord and allow Him to guide me. I am so grateful that I have realized all of this and that my faith has grown so much while I have been in New Zealand. 

After the lesson on Faith, we worked on our gift to James. We decided to give James a canvas with 16 reasons while we will miss James Ahmu. Some of those were his giggle, that he calls us girls, that he knows everything about New Zealand, that he knows everyone, his love of fruit, his driving skills, his stories, his roll call, girls take a picture, his music, his spirituality, his remedies knowledge of church history. I just loved it. We also decided to sing Te Aroha for him and then to sing Lean on me for him Jim, and Linda. I loved working on it. I am going to miss James so much. The New Zealand experience really would not be the same without him. He has always been there and was not only our driver but a friend and I would even consider him family now. I am so glad we decided to do something for him. I am going to miss him and have loved having him as part of my New Zealand family. I most definitely will never forget him. 

My last Sunday in New Zealand

It is so hard for me to believe that today was my last Sunday in New Zealand.  I am going to miss it so much. I am kinda sad that I didn’t get to be in Auckland for my last Sunday, but I did get to go to the Maromako ward in the Bay of Islands. A bunch of James’s family was in the ward and it was a fist Sunday. I like how my last Sunday in New Zealand was on a fast and testimony Sunday. James bore his testimony and told about the piper fish we saw yesterday and how the bigger fish had chased them into the rock pools and how we had to save them. His story reminded me of President Monson’s motto to go after the “one” or as it says in the scriptures to leave the 90 and nine to save the 1 sheep who has lost its way. I feel like all of us are that one lost sheep at some point in our lives or another and it is our responsibility to help each stay close to the Lord and grow in the gospel.

I am so grateful for the time I have had in New Zealand. My faith has grown so much over the past 3 months. I now trust the Lord more than I ever have before. Coming to New Zealand was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and it has been one of the best, but also one of the hardest experiences I have ever had. I have learned to communicate, talk to and live with so many different types of people with different personalities and values. I have become more sure of myself and the Lord’s love for me. I have learned so much about the natural beauty of the world and how much I have to be grateful for. Even though I have been far away from family and friends, I feel that through this experience, I have grown closer to my family and some of my friends. I have also gained a clearer perspective of what is most important to me, not only now, but in the long run and for eternity. I feel like I am leaving New Zealand as a completely different person than I was before, but I am not.  I am still the outgoing, happy, kind, thoughtful Hannah that everyone knows, but I am coming back having learned and grown a lot and gained a clearer perspective of life.

After church we went and looked in the original Maori chapel for the ward. It was pretty cool. They are renovating it to use it as an area for ward and family get togethers, but including family history of the original members of that ward when it was established on the walls. We made Hawaiian haystacks for dinner tonight with everyone, which were pretty good. A bunch of us then went to watch the sunset. The sunsets in New Zealand are amazing every night. I am really going to miss them so much I feel like we have pretty ones at home, but not every single night. The skies are just so gorgeous here. I loved watching the beautiful sky on the beach and talking with all of the girls. I also watched heaps of Gilmore Girl episodes with some of the girls. I really love that show and am so glade Whitney brought her DVDs so we could enjoy them.

As grateful as I am to be in New Zealand this Sunday, it also makes me sad because I am missing general conference. I love general conference, and I have attended it in the conference center every year I have been at BYU so far. I really miss being there for it. Conference is not broad cast here until a week later and by then I will be in Australia, so I don’t think I will get to see all of it until I get home. I cannot wait to get to watch conference though because conference really is one of my favorite times of the year and something I look forward to. I am so grateful that we have living prophets and apostles on the Earth today that continue to receive revelation from our Heavenly Father and I am grateful for the opportunity to hear from them twice a year a conference. 

Russell

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

The day of our lunch with Ian finally came. I heard about this day way back in January when we had Ian Mills for science. I never thought the day we were going to have lunch at his house would actually come, but it did today. Time flies by so fast.

We did our rap role call in the van with James and then took the car ferry over to Russell, where we first drove up to the flagpole where a Maori warrior cut down the British flag shortly after the treaty of Waitangi because he did not like the British. From the flag pole there was a gorgeous view of Russell and the Ocean. I just love all of the spectacular views in New Zealand. We then drove down into Russell and explored through the shops. It is such a quaint little town.We even saw the Crusty Crab like in Sponge Bob. Who would have thought? Only in New Zealand.

We follow the road out of town to the summer home of Ian and Leslie Mills. Their house is absolutely gorgeous and looks out over the ocean. We had a nice lunch with them of subway platters, cookies, chips, and L&P. It was fantastic. All of us then walked across the street to the beach. It feels like so long since we had a good sunny day at the beach. A few weeks I guess, but this was our first beach day in April. The beach was so nice and gorgeous. It felt so good to just sit in the sun. It was also a great day for fishing. I caught a piper fish with my bear hands. So sweet as!! James then showed us this cool octopus that could camouflage with its surroundings. We got to see it so close to and it was a good size. I swam from where all of the girls were to the tide pools, which was a pretty good swim and it felt so so good to go for a swim. I just loved having a day at the beach. After a few hours on the beach, we packed up and headed back towards Pahia.

I explored Pahia for a while with Whitney and Diana and then on our walk back to the motel we found some of the other girls and decided to go kayaking around an island. It was so fun Diana, Whitney, and I caught up with James and the girls that had started before us and got out on the little island. We went swimming around and did some synchronized swimming together. We had so much fun just laughing and splashing and doing our dolphin swims.

Diana, Whitney, and I then got back in our kayaks and continued around the island. It was so cool to be kayaking around our own little island. We kayaked around to the other side of the island and stopped at a cove and I went exploring and climbing on the rocks. It was so much fun.  When we started kayaking again, it was so much harder because the waves had picked up and there were lots of rocks to maneuver through. It was still so much fun though. Kayaking is becoming one of my new favorite things. I finished kayaking around the island and then headed back to shore and back to the motel.  We watched Gulliver’s Travels on James’s laptop. It was a pretty funny movie. I actually liked it. I then went on a walk with Nicole and Emily and watched the sunset. We then walked over to a little park and played on the playground before watching the stars. I love how I can find the O’Ryan’s belt and the Southern Cross so easy; makes star gazing so much fun. We came back and watched Along Came Polly. I love our trip up North it has been so much fun so far.

Exploring the North

Friday, April 1^st, 2011

This morning I woke up and all of us went to my new favorite spot in New Zealand, Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga is the northern most part of New Zealand and is where you can see the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. It is also legend that this is the gateway where spirits come and jump off the cliffs to get into the afterlife.  Because of this Maori legend, we are not allowed to bring food or drinks onto the hill. It took us about 3 hours to drive to Cape Reinga. Once there I mailed some postcards from the most northern mailbox in New Zealand that gets special postage.

I then walked down around the cape. It was the most gorgeous view I have ever seen, surpassing everything I have seen in New Zealand.  It was so cool to be able to look on one side and see the Tasman Sea, and then to walk over to the over side and see the Pacific Ocean. The two bodies of water look so different. They are such different colors and have different tides. I hiked up to the top of the cape and did a cartwheel on the hill. So fun, Not many people can say they have done a cartwheel on top of Cape Reinga. I then went and sat on the edge just taking in and enjoying the view. It was so spectacular to watch the two currents from the two bodies of water meet and clash together.  There are very few places in the world where you can see that spectacular event take place.  The mixing and clashing of the currents is such a gorgeous and interesting sight with each pattern being unique. I could sit there and watch it for hours. Seeing a place like this just reminds me more of what a beautiful world we live in and how grateful I am for a Heavenly Father that created it. He has such insight and really did think of everything when creating the world. It is seeing places like this that reminds you of how marvelous the hands of God are and make you think of what it must have taken for Him to create this world we live in. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to see this amazing sight.

I then walked down to the light house and saw how many kilometers I am from LA. I wish we could have climbed up in the light house, but since we couldn’t I climbed over the wall and sat on the edge of the cliff just thinking about how wonderful this place is and how beautiful the natural wonders of the world are. I am so grateful I have had so many amazing experiences in New Zealand. Before leaving Cape Reinga, Dr. Jacobs used our money to buy five plants so we could plant a bush or a tree on Cape Reinga. So I have officially planted a tree on Cape Reinga and left my mark on the Cape forever.  I loved being at the Cape so much. It had this special feeling about it that you don’t feel everywhere. It is almost like the Lord was there with us helping to show us how beautiful the natural wonders of the world are.

Afterwards we drove to 90 mile beach to have lunch and go surfing on the sand dunes. I grabbed a boogie board and hiked up this huge sand dune, almost like a little mountain, much bigger than the ones in Utah. Once I got to the top I jumped on my board keeping my whole body on the board and feet up and started surfing down the dunes. I went down so fast, due to my speed, about ¾ of the way down, my board flipped and I got right back on and rode the rest of the way down. It was pretty funny and so much fun. I did pull a muscle in my back pretty bad though. Janet set the new record of the BYU girls surfed the farthest and Becca had a complete wipe out in the water at the bottom. We had had so much fun surfing on the sand dunes.

We then loaded back in the vans and turned up the tunes and rocked out to the Beetles and songs from Grease while off-roading on the sand. It was the New Zealand form of safari. James drove our van 60 miles down right on 90 mile beach. It was such a cool experience to just be driving on the beach for miles and miles with the sand as our road and the ocean out our windows. It is kinda dangerous to do this because if you go at the wrong time your car can get stuck in the sand and be taken away by the tides. We drove about 60 miles down and then James stopped to ask someone that was on the beach where the point was we could drive back onto the road from. When he did, our tires got stuck in the sand. We were like oh no!! James told us we had to get out and push the van out of the sand, so the nine of us got out and pushed the van as hard as we could to get it out. I am sure it looked so funny to see nine girls pushing a car over the sand. We were laughing the whole time. Once we got the van moving again all of us went chasing after it and jumped back in. James then turned around and we headed towards the turn off back on to the road. It was such an experience. We always have some adventure in those vans. It was so cool to just drive in the beach for miles and see nothing but ocean and some birds we didn’t even see any people except for the occasional fisherman.

On our way back from 90 mile beach, we stopped to get the vans washed because they were so dirty from all of the off-roading on the beach. We stopped at the kauri gallery where there is a stair case made out of a tree and lots of amazing wood carvings. As we left the gallery, the girl in our van decided to play an April fool’s joke on Dr. Jacobs. Once we pulled away and were going again, Emily asked “Did anyone see Nicole come out of the bathroom?” Kara said. “No” Then all of us were like where is Nicole, I hope she is in the other van, Dr Jacobs asked us if Nicole was in the van and we said no, then he had us count how many girls were in the van we said 8 even though there were nine. He used his mirror to double check and Nicole ducked so he couldn’t see her. Then he yelled crap and was about to turn around. We all yelled, “April fools.” It was so funny we got him so good he was double checking to make sure all of us were in the van for the rest of the day.

We then continued our journey back and drove to doubtless bay for a swim and to walk the beach and then a place on the bay for fish and chips for dinner. The view from the fish and chips joint was gorgeous; straight out of a movie. It really was such an amazing day. I saw so much and all of it was just such an unbelievable experience.

Once we got back, I spent some time talking to Linda about the day and being in New Zealand.  I just love her. She told me though that about two weeks after we get home it will feel like New Zealand never happened. That really scares me. I really hope I never forget all of this and the feelings and experiences I have had here. I am such a different person now after living all of these experiences. I am not the same person I was when I left the states 3 months ago. This experience has changed me in so many ways and has really strengthened my faith in the Lord. I really hope I never forget all that I have felt and experienced here. 

The Far North

Thursday, March 31, 2011

                We left early this morning to drive up to the Northland. We drove for about an hour and stopped to see the oldest tree in New Zealand, the McKinney Kauri tree. It took all 16 of us standing around the tree to get all the way around. James gave each of us an orange lava lava to wear and showed us how to tie them. They are so cool. I really like them and am excited to wear mine.

We then drove 10 minutes to go to the best bakery for meat pies in New Zealand; the Picnix Bakery in Warkworth. I bought my first meat pie. It was chicken cranberry and so good. Definitely agree that it is the best in New Zealand.

2 hours later we reached a little town where there are some beautiful mosaic toilets and a mosaic tiled garden across the street it was pretty cool. It is classic road tripping when you get to stop along the way and enjoy some classic sights. We made it to our motel in Pahia, a small coastal town and we can see the beach from our window. I just love it. I can’t wait to go for a walk along the bay.

We headed up to the Waitangi treaty grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in the 1800s between Britain and the Maori people. The treaty is equivalent to the Declaration of Independence in America, so it was pretty cool to see. We got to see a huge wakka/canoe that they take out on the water once a year, the treaty house, and the meeting house. There was so much history. This sight is the birthplace of New Zealand history. I quite enjoyed it. To get up to the treaty house we walked along the coast and it was so gorgeous to look out over, one of my new favorite sights in New Zealand. We also walked through some bush with cool jungle bridges. I felt like I was in Tarzan or something. So fun.

We came back for dinner and then James taught all of us how to make Poi Balls. It actually took some time, but all you need is yarn, plastic bags, tape, and cotton. It was fun to make the balls and I am looking forward to playing with them. I could start my own poi ball show in the states.