The A.P.B

26 Nov

After a run, we went down to a pub to watch the first half of an All Blacks (national rugby team…and said to be the best in the world) game. They were playing Ireland in Ireland. I had a huge breakfast, fitting for a rugby game. Then we drove down to Christchurch. It was a little dreary, so we got some food and relaxed at the hostel.

27 Nov

I got up early and took the GMAT. Conor and Tamara went for a run and toured the botanical garden. After the test, I went to the botanical garden too. It was an amazing city park complete with canal and rose garden. I may have been the best free botanical park I have ever been to (not that I have been to too many). After we drove over Auther’s Pass. At the top of the pass it was snowing pretty hard and starting to stick to the road, but we made it over to the west coast. Then we went down the coast to Franz Joseph. While in the grocery store, I ran into a friend and his wife from the Stennis, Andrew Jackson. We went out to eat and swapped some stories.

28 Nov

When we got up in the morning the weather was poor and the tours to walk on the glaciers were booked. It was raining and cold, so we did the 30 min. walks to the glacier faces of Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers. You don’t see a glacier everyday, so it was worth the trip. We drove towards Queenstown and on the way we stopped along the road to take some pictures of the scenery. Once over the mountains, the rain stopped and the weather was good in Queenstown.

29 Nov

In the morning, we got up and went for a run along the lake. When we got back, we booked out trip to Milford Sound. Then it started to rain. It rained all day. Conor went to the movies and Tamara and I read. Andrew got to Queenstown, so we met up for dinner and then went to an ice bar. Everything was made of ice: the bar, the seats, and glasses. They outfitted you in a winter coat and gloves. It was a neat experience. We then went to another bar with a fireplace to warm up.

30 Nov

The weather still was rainy. Conor went for a bungy jump and Tamara and I got coffee and breakfast. At noon we headed to Milford Sound. The drive was nice and we had to stay on the move to get to our cruise. We had an overnight cruise in the fjords. When we got there the weather cleared up, which was lucky because we had all of the waterfalls in full flow into the fjord and the sun. It was a great cruise. We had a good dinner and we went kayaking. It is a small fjord, so you see everything in the evening.