Just a Feather in the Wind

This passed weekend was literally a large sum of random events that had such an impact on making it a wicked amazing trip. It really all started with Laura and I sitting around the kitchen table Thursday night writing a "Queenstown pros and cons list"  for travelling there on Friday. The pros definitely out weighed the cons but the two MAJOR cons were that we had no rides to and from and there's always the $$$ issue. We were both back and forth on the decision to go and at one point we both decided that it was just too unrealistic to go and thought we could just go another time.

That thought didn't last long at all; I feel sometime Thursday night during all the usual "Thursday Night Leith St. Shenanigans" we both made a promise to go! We were up Friday morning packing our bags not knowing how we would get there or where we would stay if we did get there. I told Laura to not worry and "everything will workout for the best." but I really had no idea haha, I just didn't want her worrying. We called our kiwi friends to find out if they could drop us off at the highway on-ramp going to Queenstown! Our initial plan was to hitch-hike out to Queenstown, meet up with the 12 guys that went out there for the weekend, then hitch-hike back on the Saturday afternoon.

Our buddy Ben dropped us off right outside of town just before the highway and he said it would be the best spot to catch a ride to Queenstown. It was awesome! Both of us dancing, holding the sign, Laura ended up hula-hooping holding the sign. A lady pulled over real quick and we both freaked out! Turns out she was just going to the business we were standing in front of. That poor lady was just pulling into a mechanics garage and had us two crazies running up to her car with all of our stuff both real excited thinking shes giving us a ride to Queenstown. She definitely psyched us out and it was a really funny awkward interaction with her explaining that she was just going to the mechanics not Queenstown.

After 20 minutes of being out there we both instantly thought that we were never getting picked up! Little did we know that 25 minutes later we would be picked up by some super awesome people travelling around the South island in a campervan! Watching them pull over was such a relief! At that point my initial thought was "what the hell am I getting myself into now?" but there was just too much excitement to back out at this point. Bob, Laura (I'll refer to her as travel Laura) and Sam were the ones crazy enough to pick Laura and I up. Travel Laura just got back from travelling around Australia in a van for a year with her best friends, Sam (Travel Laura's cousin) was on mid-semester break and currently doing a semester on exchange in Sydney, Australia, and Bob (Travel Laura's Dad) took time off work to travel and experience New Zealand. They are all initially from America and I believe from Colorado.

The 4 hour drive was just so so cool! We all exchanged our different travel stories that were so interesting and bonded over some amazing music. When we stopped for lunch they even gave us beer and I thought to myself "man I love this hitch-hiking thing." Heading into Queenstown we exchanged numbers to meet up later that night for a drink downtown. They dropped us off right at a trail head because Laura and I were planning on doing a hike as soon as we got there. Walking out of the trail was 2 of the 12 guys we were initially planning on meeting up with. They just finished the trail and were planning on going to get Ferg Burger (Since I've been in New Zealand I've known about Ferg Burger and when you go to Queenstown it is mandatory to that you get Ferg Burger). We decided to boycott the trail until the following day and head to Ferg Burger with them. Walking into Ferg Burger I had the expectations of conquering the biggest, nastiest burger they made. I ordered the "Big AL" for $17.50 and both physically and mentally prepared my body for what was coming (felt like I was on the show Man Vs. Food). The Big AL came and to this day I have never seen a bigger burger in my life! But there was no hesitation, I dove straight into crushing that burger and after around 12 minutes of strict concentration she was finished. Jordan - 1, Ferg Burger - 0

FUN FACT - Record for completing Big AL 
IMPOSSIBLE

Double patties of beef (1/2 pound), lashings of bacon, a whole lotta cheese, two eggs, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, red onion, a big wad of aoili, avocado, and pineapple

We headed back to the hostel to meet up with the rest of the guys staying in Queenstown. We arrived dropped our stuff off, hit the liquor store and walked around downtown Queenstown. After that it was straight to "the piss" (drinking) with us 14 taking over this common room in the hostel. Scrumpies (alcoholic  cider) were on sale so everyone was drinking the Scrump! After around 2 hours we headed into town, Laura and I met up with Travel Laura and Sam and we went bar hoping all over the place. After that I can really only recollect ordering a Big Mac (still not sure if I ate it), watched Laura and Sam go swimming, and then saying goodbye to travel Laura and Sam. From that I can definitely say that it was a great night! Queenstown was one awesome place to party.

Breakfast of Champions

Waking up the next day, I didn't share the same thought. It was one rough morning, cleaning up and heading out. All the boys were going bungee jumping and Laura and I decided to finally do the hike. We could either hike or take a gondola to the top (at that point I would've paid anything to have taken the gondola). Laura and I stopped at a grocery store, got a bunch of groceries for free (cashier messed up our change and gave us $10 more than what we gave her? Winning). Then we started the dreadful hike to the top of the lookout. I personally stopped every 15 minutes along the trail and at one point Laura just ended up giving me a hug because she said I looked like I wasn't going to make it. Finally making it to the top, it felt like one of the best acheivements in my life (even though it was a very simple hike) I felt on top of the world! We celebrated over a classic PB&J at the top and just looked over Queenstown.

Heading back down was much more easier than going up, but we both started to worry about how the hell we were going to get back to Dunedin. I didn't let it worry me too much because I felt that everything has worked out so perfect all ready, we'll be fine. Getting to the bottom we went to a travel store found out that a bus ticket is $40 and defintley were both super keen on "thumbin' it." Heading to the outside of town we were both just super excited to have another crazy experience!

We weren't out there 20 minutes and these 2 guys pulled over who were Otago students on there way back to Dunedin!!! Like it couldn't have worked out any better! We hopped in the car played the "Name Game" to find out our mutual friends and bonded over some ice cream.

Tired out

This was definitely one of the best and most random weekends I have had in my life. Getting home Saturday night Courtney (Kiwihost) had been day drinking all day with the couches outside in the sun. All I thought was "here we go again!" haha and it turned out to be a great night too!

The All Blacks vs. South Africa

In the Beginning

I don't even know where to start on explaining this crazy day! It all started at 8:30am with my alarm going off and I literally went from my bed to a keg outside our flat. With the game being at 7:30pm the boys wanted to get an early start on getting ready for the game!?! At that point in the morning there was really only 7 of us crazy  (or brave) enough to start drinking. As the morning progressed on, more and more people came and things started to get out of hand.

At the beginning of the year a couple buddies bought a cheap car that ended up breaking down before they could really take it anywhere so it has been parked in the parking lot for the entire semester. I'm not relaly sure how it started but ended up turning into something similar to a riot with the car getting the windows smashed out, all the lights smashed and to finsh it off, she was rolled! Its definitley one way to get amped up for the All Blacks game.

A few of us ended up strolling into town to get a second keg, little did i know it was around 12pm (things we do in NZ). The next thing I knew we were at the annual "Naked Rugby Game" and yes it is exactly what you think. Something that no one should ever have to experience or take part in, in their life...
Came home from that and the time strangley hit 4pm and with everyone slowing walking back to their flats I thought it would be crucial to have a quick power nap before the game. What a terrible decision that was. I woke up so late that I thought I missed the rugby game!

What was left...

We started to walk over around 6:30 to the stadium and it felt like half the population of Dunedin had the same idea. The streets were packed with people everywhere all walking towards the stadium. It was the first All Blacks rugby game in the new Forsyth Barr stadium that just opened last year. The place was already packed when we arrived and we all had to split up because our tickets were all in different sections. I ended up sitting in row F (row A was front seats) right behind the All Blacks uprights. By the time I got to my seat the All Blacks were performing their traditional Haka.

The Haka

Walking into the Stadium

The game started and another international student (Jesse) came and sat beside me. Having an empty seat and some angry old guy on the other side I was happy when she took the seat. The whole game was quite the experience! The play was so fast pace, hits were huge, and being so close to the field we could see everything going on. One real drunk kiwi came and sat in-front of us wearing a   horse head, so we got some humor out of talking with him.


The All Blacks obviously ended up winning 21-11 against South Africa and the victory was not taken lightly. After the game everyone went home to prepare for one crazy night. I ended up only lasting an hour at a party before calling it a night. I just couldn't take anymore after such an eventful day. But from what I heard downtown Dunedin that night was just wild! The streets, bars, and pubs were all packed full of people celebrating the recent victory, while I was KO'd. These Kiwis really know how to party!

From Coast to Coast

For mid-semester break the infamous English Rob and I teamed up with two amazing Kiwis (Jess and Ben) that were more than happy to show us tourists around the South Island. They had planned on doing a train ride from Christchurch (East coast) to Greymouth (West coast) for the holiday. Fortunately they didn't mind us hooligans tagging along for the adventure.

Moeraki Boulders

Our journey started Saturday August 25th leaving Dunedin at 7:30am heading towards Christchurch. The dreadful 4.5 hour car ride in Ben's car that could maybe fit three people comfortably (we had 5) was eased through the multiple stops along the way. Our first stop was at the Moeraki Boulders just outside of Dunedin. They're massive spherical boulders that were formed on the ocean floor millions of years ago that now sit on the coastline from the erosion (as the Kiwis say it was Buzzay!). We then stopped at the Rakaia Salmon for a pit-stop. Rob and I tried to climb it, but we weren't successful. At the next stop, I made the worst decision that I have made since being in New Zealand. Both Rob and I each bought a 1kg bag of cookies from the Cookie Time Factory. Ben bought 8Kg but was smart enough not to open any bags during the trip, Rob and I on the  other hand weren't so lucky...

Seemed like a good idea

Climbing the Salmon

Christchurch Shops

We finally made it to Christchurch and spent the rest of the day travelling around the city. Ben was so excited to show us Littleton Tunnel which is the largest driving tunnel in New Zealand (I guess tunnels are a big thing here), we stopped at Sumner beach  and then went to the city center for lunch. We had lunch at the Red Zone in Christchurch (shops that were made out of storage containers). The city is still in ruins after the earthquake that happened in February 2011, so it was interesting to see the city center today. Ben's Grandma's Sister was more than happy to let us four stay the night. She had a homemade stew for tea waiting for us when we arrived (tea = dinner... very weird). It was an early night, as usual we watched the rugby game (New Zealand beat Australia so it was a good win!) and headed off to bed.

Rebuilding the City

Ben's Grandmas Sisters House!

Waiting for the Train

Sunday was an early morning wake up call but it was worth it with breakfast already made for us! We took the Transalpine Train that left the Darfeild station at 9am heading towards Greymouth. Only an hour onto the train I had already lost my wallet; what a great start to the adventure... The 4 hour train ride was a lot of fun though, traveling through some amazing places (Apparently we went through some spots where Lord of the Rings was filmed). The train only stopped in two towns Springfield which unfortunately had no relation to the Simpsons, and Arthur's Pass where I ended up taking photos for half the train in front of the Arthur's Pass sign... I guess they thought I was the freaking photographer for that stop.

Ben's parents met us in Greymouth, and took us to the Speights Ale house for lunch. I had my first New Zealand pie! Which is very important because they are a Kiwi favourite. Ben's amazing parents paid for our lunch and gave us a car to travel around in for the rest of the time being on the West coast. You couldn't ask for anything better! Such amazing people.

Feeding the Eels

Our first stop on the West coast was a little town called Hokitika (say that 10 times fast) saw the beach their and went to a Kiwi Bird center. We got to feed 2m long eels that where around 100 years old, they where disgusting. Rob and Ben forced me to feed them... Afterwards we got to see the Kiwi Bird! They're endangered and nocturnal so its very difficult to see one in nature. Leaving the Kiwi center we traveled up the West coastal roads towards Westport; stopping at Punakaiki for the pancake rocks. It started to rain so I literally ran the trail taking quick snapshots of random rocks! We reached Westport where Ben's parents have another house! After watching a terrible movie, it was another early night.

Monday morning Rob and I got up and went to the grocery store. Went the complete wrong way and got lost in the town that literally has two main roads... We had to ask someone how to get to the store. Our first stop that morning was where the Tasman Sea meets the Buller River. From there we traveled up the Karamea and stopped on the beach for lunch. We saw the Limestone caves (went barefoot Kiwi style for that one) and got lost in the caves with only a little torch light between Rob and I. Thank goodness for the glow-worms. Heading out, Ben let me drive the right handed manual diesel truck around the parking lot, seeing how there where no other cars around (Highlight of the trip! haha) That night we had Westports best Fish and Chips and both Rob and I had both officially finished our 1Kg bags of Cookie Time (I'm not sure to be proud or disgusted by this).

Half the road is missing...

Kiwi As

I SPY - A Seal

Tuesday was our "Lazy Day" which consisted of eating pies, drinking beer, and enjoying the sun! We traveled to a Seal colony and saw the Denniston lookout that overlooks the coatline along Westport. On the way back home we stopped at the super market for more Speights (of course) and I drove home! Must have been less than a kilometer down one road but is just crazy driving from the right side of a car on the left side of the road! That night we all planned to experience the West coast pub life but none of us made it out of the house. Guess I'll never know how the pubs are on the west side...

Long way from home

Wednesday we cleaned up the house and had to catch a bus from Westport back down to Greymouth (In town Rob bought another case of Speights for the bus/train rides). We took the Inner-city bus to Greymouth, had the lunch of champions: Subway and boarded the train. Our first thoughts were to crack a beer which was definitely not a smart choice by the way the conductor explained to us not to open any more. And if we didn't cause enough trouble Rob couldn't find his train ticket and I'm not sure if they were serious or just didn't like us but apparently we would've had to get off the train if he couldn't find it... I was up for the adventure! We met some crazy Australians on the train that gave us some pointers for our January Australia trip! (Basically warned us about the saltwater crocs, snakes, and jellyfish - Can't wait!). We spent Wednesday night at Ben's Grandma's sisters again with just the best hospitality. I left my wallet there, thank goodness.


We took off from Christchurch Thursday morning, stopped at Cookie Time again (felt so sick going in there, it will be a long time before I eat another cookie) and took the Inland Scenic route. We stopped at a river where Rob and I went swimming. Little did we know the river was flowing from a glacier, so it was the coldest swim of my life!

Asides from the Cookie Time, the worst part of this trip was making it back to my empty messy flat back in Dunedin. With only half the mid-semester break done, I now have time to get some work done, plan some trips and burn off the 1kg of Cookie Time.

Living Young, Wild and Free!

So this is definitely either one of the coolest things or the stupidest things that I have ever done in my entire life! If you have not read the "Living Dunedin Style" post, Id suggest reading that first.

I never thought that going to the gym would have ever got me involved in what happened post-gym. I saw my buddy Liam in the gym and the conversation went like this:

Liam:  "I picked up a raft from the Salvation Army on the weekend. Was thinking of rafting the Lei..."

Jordan:"I AM IN!"

Little did I know this raft was literally a pool toy that fit a maximum of 215lbs. It was perfect! We found a kayak paddle and decided to do a couple test runs. They didnt go so well for us...


First time we attempted it we hit a small patch of rapids right away, spun around and instantly flipped. Smashing on all the rocks flowing through this dreadful river. Barely getting out of the current we figured our weight wasn't distributed correctly in the boat so we had to try it again (I know your probably shaking your head) This time we put a girl in the front with the paddle and having one of us guys in the back. Success!

After the first run walking back up the river, cops stopped us and I had a million thoughts running through my head (will I be deported, charged). Hell no! I forgot its New Zealand. They explained to us that if an emergency situation happens then we will be charged. Being young and invincible this did not stop us! The cops actually watched and laughed as we kept falling out. I love NZ

The best part was that another car pulled up with 3 Kiwi guys jumping out with cameras running towards us. Turns out another group of 5 Kiwi guys (very intoxicated) had the same idea and started further up the river in a very similar raft size to ours... They flew by us! Hollering and yelling the whole time.  (Just picture 5 real drunk teenagers barely in a dinky raft all with paddles no bigger than a kitchen soup spoon paddling down the river) This was one of the funniest things I have ever seen

One of the rocks we hit popped a hole in the bottom of the raft. Nothing a little patch job cant fix up!

K-Mart Grundy Run

Today I competed in my first ever "Underwear Run" Only hearing about an advertisement on the radio a couple days prior, my buddy Ryan and I show up at this field all ready for business around 10:30am expecting to see a run expo and a registration desk (seeing how the run was at 12pm). It was dead and we thought we were in the wrong place. Turns out the registration started at 11:30am at the place we were at (Honestly I should have known, being in Kiwi Land)

It ended up being an obstacle course run across a rugby field, that they thought of on the spot (run 50m, crawl 10m, run backwards 20m then sprint right back to the start...) Talk about organization. Race actually didn't start until around 12:30pm and there was a turn out of around 35 people (not bad for a half an hour notice eh!). The winner got a $500 gift card to K-Mart!






Being the tall long distance runner, I did not have a chance against all these short track stars (Ryan and I had a plan that I would sacrifice myself to take out the fastest runner and he could win, we decided against it though). We didn't do too bad! I had a bad start but caught up on the mud crawl through an awesome power slide but at that point there was already a Kiwi hitting the end of the rugby field.


Overall it was so much fun! Got a little muddy, had like 5 hot dogs and they gave out some random prizes (I snagged a classy fleece sweater vest). Ryan and I walked back to our flats in our underwear. We got some pretty funny looks (Ryan was in a speedo...)

It times like these that make this trip so memorable and such a great time! Lord only knows whats going to happen next...