Sweet As Trip of a Lifetime

We flew out of Christchurch on the evening of Saturday, January 5. Zack and I both agreed that this was truly the trip of a lifetime and New Zealand is an incredible place. We were treated to a beautiful sunset over the mountains as we flew away from our dream holiday.

Here we are sporting our new shirts and jade necklaces on the flight home. "Sweet As" is a saying in New Zealand that basically means "awesome." For example, our trip around the South Island was sweet as and there will never be another vacation like that one!

A Jucy Love Story

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Aubree and a boy named Zack. They spent many months planning their holiday trip around the South Island of New Zealand, and they booked a Jucy campervan to take them around the country. When they met Jucy in Christchurch, it was love at first sight. Zack loved the quote about music on the side of the van, and Aubree loved how clean it was and all of its features. They set off with Jucy to explore the land.

Jucy went with them everywhere. She pulled up right next to the beach so Aubree and Zack could have an amazing view as they slept in Kaikoura.

She took them to wineries in the Marlborough region and stopped along many beautiful viewpoints near the Marlborough Sounds.

She held their wine and cheese and crackers on Christmas Eve as they snacked and watched the sun go down in Abel Tasman National Park.

Jucy looked so beautiful when she reflected the colors of the sunset in her windows.

Jucy drove them along the West Coast and then on to Wanaka and Queenstown. Though she got left behind when Aubree and Zack did exciting things like bungy jumping and skydiving, Jucy didn't complain. She just waited patiently for them to return.

Jucy especially loved the lupines that were seen in many places along their drive, and Jucy stopped to smell the flowers whenever she could.

Jucy was no ordinary campervan. She came equipped with a fridge, gas cooker, sink, and water tank, so Aubree and Zack could cook on the go during the day.

At night, her seats folded down into a super comfy bed, and Aubree and Zack could watch a movie on the DVD player as they went to sleep. They didn't have to wake up early in the morning, because all of Jucy's windows had darkened shades that snapped down and kept the light out.










Jucy loved taking Aubree and Zack to Milford Sound; driving through the Homer Tunnel was her favorite part. She wasn't a fan of all the rain, but she got them there and back safely.

Jucy never got tired of stopping along the road to let Aubree get out and take pictures of the beautiful views, even if Zack got a bit sick of it!

Jucy looked especially lovely with Mount Cook in the background on Aubree and Zack's last night in New Zealand.

Jucy didn't mind that her front windshield was covered in holiday park stickers by the end of the trip.

After nearly 2800 kilometers together, Aubree and Zack didn't want to leave Jucy. They were so sad to have to say goodbye to her in Christchurch, but they knew she had to be given back in order to make other people happy. They still miss their Jucy, and they will forever remember the wonderful times they had together in New Zealand.






P.S. I am in no way getting paid for endorsing Jucy campervans, though if they'd like to send me some something, I would not complain. We just really loved our Jucy and feel like there was no better way to see the South Island of New Zealand!

P.P.S. Update: I shared this blog post with Jucy on Facebook, and they're going to share it online and send us free T-shirts. Jucy rocks!

Mount Cook Mania

After our skydiving adventure on Friday, Zack and I drove up the East side of the South Island to spend the night near Mount Cook. We had seen glimpses of this mountainous region when we were on the West side near the glaciers, but the view was much better from here. This strange round cloud encircled the peak as the sun went down while we were driving. When we reached our campsite, the view of the mountains was even more amazing.

On Saturday morning, we drove to Mount Cook National Park to do a short hike. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, so we were able to get some good pictures. As seen in the glaciers, the snow atop these mountains had a cool blue tint to it.

I loved the reflection of the mountains in this random pond!

We weren't able to hike for long, because we still had a four hour drive to Christchurch to drop off our campervan before closing time. But we didn't mind the drive, because we got to pass by incredibly blue water like that seen here in Lake Pukaki. The color was truly unreal.








The Church of the Good Shepherd on Lake Tekapo is one of the most photographed in New Zealand, so we made a quick stop there to join the many tourists getting pictures.

Then it was off to Christchurch to say goodbye to our beloved Jucy campervan (post about that coming) and head to the airport to leave New Zealand. Boo!

Skydiving Paradise

Posing on the way out to our jump site.

Somewhere along the way in my planning of our New Zealand trip, I decided it might be fun to try skydiving. I'm not sure how this came about; I think it started as more of a joke. I knew I had to bungy jump while we were there, and we planned to do the canyoning and jetboat ride, so plenty of exciting activities were already on the itinerary, but I kept coming back to the idea.

Zack is screaming affirmations at himself to pump himself up!

Zack had already been skydiving in the United States, but it wasn't an exciting location (to avoid offending readers from a certain state, I won't say where!). He was willing to do it again in New Zealand, and I figured if I didn't do it there, I probably wouldn't do it anywhere else.

This was before the ear pain set in!

I always thought skydiving was out of the question for me, because of my numerous ear infections as a child and a few burst eardrums as an adult. I was most scared of the pain that would probably come with the pressure change during the freefall, and I've always avoided scuba diving for the same reason (pressure changes).

Zack perfected his Maori face!

I decided to give it a whirl, and I booked us to skydive on January 1. What better way to bring in the new year? Unfortunately, the rainy weather didn't agree with our plans, and we had to put it off for a few days. But on Friday, January 4, we did it!

My knuckles say "I love NZ, 2013."

We jumped with Skydive Paradise, whose location is near Glenorchy. That meant that we got awesome views of mountains, water, and even some Lord of the Rings filming sites. After a fifteen minute scenic flight, we were at our jump height of 12,000 feet. By the way, the third person on our plane was a 70-something year old grandmother who got a 15,000 foot jump as a birthday present from her grandchildren! Anyway, skydiving was actually less scary than bungy jumping, because the guy on your back is in charge, and you don't really have to do anything. The most frightening moment was probably when your legs are dangling out of the plane right before your instructor leans out and you start falling.


We were above a layer of clouds when we jumped. Zack went first, and it was kind of alarming to see him sitting in the plane one minute and then totally gone the next. I found it difficult to breathe during the freefall. And yes, one of my ears hurt. A lot. But once the parachute was pulled, I was able to equalize the pressure with some yawns and plugging my nose and blowing out. Then I could enjoy the amazing views. Wow; it was incredible! My instructor did some spins, and I just looked around and soaked it all up. I landed smoothly on my feet and waited for Zack to reach ground too (somehow I beat him down).

Skydiving was definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever done in my life, and I'd recommend everyone do it just once. I don't think I'd do it again, partly because of the ear pain, and mostly because I don't think I could have nearly as awesome of an experience as I did in New Zealand, but it was so, so cool. It was my favorite thing we did on this trip for sure (swimming with the dolphins would be second). I've included our videos below, but if you only have time or the interest level to watch one, Zack's is better. I'm in his anyway, and he makes fun faces! If you are even remotely considering skydiving at some point in your life, DO IT!!! I promise you won't regret it; I don't! Update: Shout out to my parents and aunt and uncle who did this exact same skydive today (Feb. 5). They are living it up in New Zealand!

Skyline Gondola, Show, Luge, and Buffet

After our afternoon Shotover Jet boat ride, we spent Thursday evening atop the Skyline gondola in Queenstown. After the gondola ride, we started out by seeing the Kiwi Haka show, which was an entertaining (though a bit cheesy) performance that showcased Maori singing and dancing. It was full of audience participation; here I am learning how to work the poi balls. Below is a video of Zack learning to do the Haka, which is the traditional Maori war dance done by the All Blacks rugby team before each game. It was here that Zack also perfected the Maori face that graced so many of our future pictures on this trip.

After the show, we enjoyed the views of Queenstown and rode the luge at the top two times, which was surprisingly fun and fast.

See the rainbows?

After our luge rides, we enjoyed the amazing buffet. There were so many choices, including tons of fresh seafood and yummy desserts. We considered this to be our traditional Christmas dinner, and we pigged out as the sun went down.

Going to the top of the gondola is a must-do in Queenstown. The show, luge rides, and buffet dinner added to the fun of the evening, and it was a New Zealand night to remember.

My husband is just lovely, eh?

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is considered a must-do when visiting the South Island of New Zealand. However, it's one of the wettest places in the world, and the day we visited was no exception to the usual rain.

Because our kayaking trip was cancelled, we took a scenic boat cruise of Milford Sound instead. When we saw these kayakers braving the cold, windy, wet weather, we were quite glad we weren't among them.

Milford Sound is beautiful, even in the rain. There are tons of waterfalls, enormous mountain peaks, seals hanging out on rocks, and gorgeous views along the whole trip. There's not much else to say about it, so I'll leave you with a few pictures of our wet trip.

The boat you can see (which is a large boat) might give you an idea of the size of the mountains.