Category: Oceania

My final week in Dunedin was a rollercoaster of emotions. At some point every day, my friends and I sat around the kitchen table or on the couch in our flat and someone had to say, “Guys I’m sad how are we leaving each other soon.” We would all go silent and just think about it, you could feel the whole mood of the room shift as no one knew what to say or do. Honestly, who am I kidding most of the time it was me because I’m a nostalgic person who always is reflecting and processing my reality. Eventually, we would get up and go to the beach and do something fun and things would return to normal for the time being. It was a slow week- mostly everyone was done with finals, and we were all just trying to figure out what was next.

I had my 21^st birthday on the 8^th which was really fun to celebrate while away. It was crazy turning 21 in New Zealand and being able to come home legal. It was kind of perfect timing because most people were leaving around the 13th and it was the last time we were able to get everyone together. The night before my birthday we drove down to the Catlins which is a beautiful area a couple hours south of Dunedin with green rolling hills, beaches, and gorgeous views. My friends Hana, Caty, Emma, and I hiked to a hut and stayed the night outdoors. This was great to be all together and have a last outdoor adventure with them. I woke up in the Catlins on my birthday and my friend Caty managed to chef up some crepes and we had a nice breakfast. We headed back to Dunedin and I got my nails done and did some shopping for my birthday dinner. We went to a nice Thai place on the water at St. Clair and then headed home where my other friends were at the flat and surprised me with a cake. Others started to show up and it turned out to be a great, wholesome night. One of my favorite parts was the card they made me. I get really excited about cards because they are meaningful, and I always make the effort to make my friends one for their birthday. Everyone signed it and wrote the sweetest notes that made me feel so special, it was cute.

By the end of the week, my family got there, and it felt so surreal to be seeing them in this place that I had spent so much of my time on my own. Their coming crept up on me I really couldn’t believe I was already getting to see them and leaving Dunedin so soon. I went to their hotel and got into the elevator and pushed the button for their floor. I had a moment almost like not knowing what to even say to them, wondering if I’d changed and if they would notice. I got to their floor and the elevator door opened. My sister was standing right there, and we both screamed and ran to each other. It immediately felt right and normal as I felt that touch of home I’d started to long for each day. We went to a yummy Italian place right on the water and caught up about everything going on. I was so happy that I got to be with them after saying my goodbyes and that I could ease into the process of going home. I was in shock that they were even there, and excited to show them my favorite spots so they could see what my life had been like for these 5 months away.

The next day, I showed them my flat and we walked around my campus. They were in awe that this was the school I had been attending and spending my time in. I will say the campus is quite beautiful with flowers blooming everywhere and a stream that goes right through the middle of campus. That night, I introduced them to 3 of the 6 of my flatmates that were left in Dunedin. We shared stories and laughed, and I was so happy that all these people who mean a lot to me were finally meeting. Vasco, my flatmate from Portugal, always made fun of me because he says I talk with my hands and use “like” a lot. He said my mom was exactly the same as me and I said, “So now you finally understand where I come from.” I spent the night in the flat rather than the hotel to have one last night with my friends. A lot of people were gone at this point, but I said bye to those who were still there. There was a heaviness over the group as no one wanted to say bye, but we knew it had to be done. I truly never thought I would get this close to so many people from all over the world. They became my family and it felt like I was being forced into closing that chapter of my life. This was different than saying bye to college friends knowing we would all be back. I never knew when I would see these people again and that thought was on constant repeat in my mind. The next morning, I gave final hugs and headed off with my family. Our first stop was Queenstown, which had been a staple location during my time abroad. I’d gone there a few times now and felt good about showing them around.

Now that my family was here, it was a different kind of travel. Being with my friends we were on an extreme budget and usually would stay in hostels and try to eat the cheapest possible food. With my family, we stayed at nice places, going on tours, and eating nice food. I felt like I deserved this after the roughing it I’d done- most of the time in nature which is fun in its own way. We did a day trip from Queenstown to the Doubtful Sounds. This is where Lord of the Rings is filmed, which is the main thing that it is known for. It is one of the places on the South Island that gets the most rain so it is pure rainforest. We got to go on a boat through the sounds and the views were breathtaking. Everywhere you look there’s a waterfall. Since it rains a lot, it has a cool mystical feel, eerie like you’re in a dreamland. While this was fun, the tour was very long and all of us just wanted to get off the boat by the end of it. Because it is so secluded, we took a total of 8 modes of transportation throughout the day ranging between boats and busses. We were so excited to get back after our 2-hour bus ride to have some food and get a good night’s rest.

After that, we headed to Lake Tekapo for the night and stopped at Mt. Cook on the way to do the Hooker Valley track. This was a super easy walking trail with beautiful views of the mountains. It was very nice to get outside after so much sitting in the car and traveling. Driving into Mt. Cook was one of the most beautiful drives I’d ever done. That is the nice thing about New Zealand is that even if you have a long drive, it is a beautiful one, so it is easy to stay entertained. Anyways, there was the most vibrant turquoise blue lake to the right of us while driving in and we were all in awe of the sight. The mix of milky blue waters with snowcapped mountains was just stunning, and like nothing I’d seen before. We got into Lake Tekapo that evening and slept for a little before our stargazing tour at 12 am. Lake Tekapo is known for stargazing, so we knew we had to go see for ourselves. We got to look through telescopes and even see the rings around Saturn and various other planets and constellations up close. After that, we went into hot springs and got to float around while looking up at the vibrant stars. This was nice but slightly disappointing because we thought the hot springs would be natural and it was more of a pool with chlorine and everything. Despite that, it was a cool experience and I enjoyed it. In the morning, we stopped to see the famous lupin flowers around the lake that are beautiful and vibrant with color. They were not all blooming, but we got to see some.

Our next road trip location was to Christchurch for a night before catching a flight to the north island. Sadly, when we arrived, the weather was terrible, so we just kept it mellow. Me and my mom went for a drink and got delicious espresso martinis and enjoyed every second of it. That is my favorite drink to order on the right occasion because it feels sophisticated and tastes good as well. My friend Vasco who I had mentioned was staying in a hostel near the airport in Christchurch for the night, so I decided to Uber over to see him and get one last goodbye. We were very happy to see each other again and we talked outside about our favorite memories and what our plans were after this. There was a pool table in the hostel, so we decided to play a couple games (I beat him on the first one). I love being with my family, but it felt really nice to see him and be able to be around friends again. We gave hugs and I got into an Uber and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning, we got on a plane to Rotorua in the North Island. The plane ride was short only a couple hours and we landed and got a rental car. We were on the way to Raglan, which is a small beach town known for its long left point. My brother was very excited to surf this wave and be back by the beach. On the way to Raglan, we had an excursion planned to see glow worms in underground caves by boat. This was a really cool one because we learned how the caves were formed thousands of years ago when that part of the island was underwater. It was pitch black as we got on the boat and headed into the caves. I could smell that freshwater smell- similar to when you go on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. When we got to a certain spot in the caves, it lit up. It was honestly such a cool thing to see and extremely rare as well as there are only glow worms in New Zealand and Australia. It was as if I was looking at the clearest night of stars you could possibly comprehend. When we got to the end of the tour, we could see some light as we were approaching the exit to the caves. Upon exiting, we went into a beautiful rainforest landscape, large canopies of green trees that protected mostly from the rain. From the caves, we made the trek to Raglan- a secluded part of the North Island a couple hours from Auckland.

Raglan was everything we expected it to be. This is something I was particularly excited about because it was the only recommendation for New Zealand I got from a friend at home. I loved living in the South Island in terms of the grand mountains and unique landscapes, but I definitely missed warmer weather and the ability to be at the beach in a bikini. When I think about it, I missed summer in 2 different hemispheres which was really starting to affect me. In Raglan, we got to put on bathing suits and hang out at the beach finally. My brother is a big surfer, so he enjoyed the nice long left that this spot is famous for. I always love watching my brother surf because it reminds me of my childhood and being his proud sister watching him in competitions. To this day, I always think he’s the best in the lineup which is probably why I enjoy it so much. I was watching him and saw a full rainbow appear over him as he surfer- truly the coolest sight. Life in Raglan is simple- people live to surf and be in a tight community with each other. There was nothing fancy about this town, but we understood why people loved it so much. If I could live there for months with my family and do nothing but go to the beach every day I would say yes in a heartbeat.

After a few days in Raglan, it was finally time to go home. We woke up and did one last coffee run before having to hit the road. We were flying out of Auckland which was about a 3-hour drive from where we were. My family’s flight was a bit earlier than mine, so we got to the airport and I took the rental car for a couple hours around the city because I hadn’t seen it yet. It was a weird feeling, my last few hours in a country where I had spent so much time and made endless memories. It was hard to process that I was leaving, and I was unsure about how to feel. I was honestly excited to go home but knew I would miss it. Being abroad is something that is hyped up in your head for so long and it was a harsh reality that it was over, but life goes on. Despite how I was feeling, I went to the airport and got on the plane. I continued to think about my friends and how grateful I was to have experienced everything I did. My main goal moving forward was to take in everything I learned while away and look forward to my next phase of being home and going back to DU to catch up with friends. Thank you, New Zealand, you will be missed!

Currently thinking about how time really does fly by as I am starting to say bye to friends, it truly is bittersweet. The goodbyes feel a bit different- we’ve made so many memories and become extremely close in terms of the international students at Otago and I don’t know who I will see again. I have my last final in a couple days and then I am completely done and leaving to travel with my family and head home. New Zealand takes a month for finals, so I’ve had some break time to travel and spend time with friends which was really nice. It just now has started to hit all of us that our time is coming to a close and none of us have answers regarding how to feel or act. This month was a combination of studying, traveling, keeping up with friends, and navigating an array of emotions. I haven’t had enough time to reflect and process the fact that I’m heading home soon and closing the chapter on New Zealand. Since we all have such varying schedules of when we end finals and go home, keeping track of when people are leaving has been a task in and of itself because I am scared to miss a goodbye. No matter what, these people and memories will always be with me, and for that, I feel truly grateful.

After I finished two of my finals on the 18^th of October, I had a free week and decided to fly to Wellington with a couple of my friends. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, an artsy city on the water that is just beautiful. I’ve only gone around the South Island so far and going to Wellington would be my first time going north. I packed my bags and prepared to wake up early for my 6:00 a.m. flight- I was honestly so excited to go on a plane and get out of Dunedin. Once I got there, I found my friend Emma at the airport, and we hopped on a bus into the city. I was so excited to be in the city, an actual big city. I love the South Island, but it is far less populated and there are no cities that even compare to those in the North. We could not check into our Airbnb until 2:00 pm and it was about 9:00 am at this point, so we spent the day exploring and shopping around. One of my favorite things is finding unique clothing stores, especially in New Zealand because the vintage shops are insanely good. Wellington, in my opinion, has the best shopping in New Zealand because the fashion is on another level. We were having so much fun exploring the city and I quickly decided that if I could live anywhere in New Zealand, it would be Wellington.

One of the best parts about the city is that you can walk to everything and there is also good public transportation. Another cool thing is that it is right on the water, so you still get that outdoor element. The city felt fake to me because of how cool it was designed. I love the outdoorsy trips I’ve been taking, but Wellington made me feel more in my element and reminded me of Denver or LA minus the water of course. We spoiled ourselves a bit with nice restaurants, cafes, and rooftop bars. Wellington had some of the best cafes because they are known for their coffee, and I will say the food was a lot better than Dunedin with loads of options. In terms of coffee, Midnight Espresso was my favorite place we went to. It had art all over the walls and it made me feel like I went back in time in the best way possible. The downside to Wellington was that everything was very expensive- the shopping, the food, housing. This is to be expected in this big of a city and there was nothing we could really do besides trying to be smart with spending.  

While walking around the first day, we found the cutest jewelry shop right on the water outside of the city. The women who worked there were so sweet and genuinely interested in our time abroad and how we’ve been adapting to New Zealand. She is from the Wellington area, so she gave us some recommendations and we probably stayed in there chatting for 30 minutes before I finally decided to buy a necklace. After doing a little more shopping, we got some food and headed to the Airbnb to decompress because we were basically running on no sleep. Somehow, we entertained ourselves until 4:00 p.m. even though we could have checked in at 2:00 so by that point I needed some time downtime to feel like a person again. We decided to re-watch Gossip Girl, which ended up being the inspiration for my Halloween costume (so this was a crucial piece of information). After relaxing, we somehow got the energy to go out and meet one of my friends for a drink. This is the most random story that proves how small the world is that we live in. The only person I knew of in New Zealand before I came was a childhood friend named Piper whom I hadn’t seen since I was about 10 years old. Her mom is from New Zealand, so she has citizenship and I told her I was coming and would love to meet up. When we were out exploring that day, she texted me that she saw me walk by her work and I backtracked to go say hi. We reunited after over 10 years of not seeing each other randomly on the streets of Wellington (crazy, right?). Anyway, she ended up meeting me and Emma for a drink at a place called the library that she recommended. This was one of the coolest bars I’ve gone to. There was live jazz going on and the bar was actually like a library with a ton of old books. It was the perfect place to grab a drink and catch up after all that time.

The next day our friend Wyatt flew in and met up with us as well. The three of us were a fun group and we all got a lot closer on the trip considering we were sharing the smallest studio place that only had one bed. Despite that, it was great and quite sentimental because this was the last trip that I was going to take with my friends before finishing finals and heading home. We had a good day together at the Te Papa Museum- super cool exhibits with loads of history about New Zealand. We then took the cable car up to a lookout point and botanical gardens. I loved the restaurant at the top because the view was amazing, overlooking the whole city.

Since this was during Halloween time, Piper invited us to a party at one of her friends’ flats. We were excited but had nothing to wear and did some last-minute thrifting to pull stuff together. As mentioned, we started rewatching Gossip Girl, so I went as Serena and was decently proud because of how quickly it was put together. Meeting her friends made it one of the best parties I’d been to in New Zealand because of how nice everyone was. They genuinely wanted to get to know us all and were especially curious about me and Piper being from the same hometown. This was refreshing because sometimes the Kiwis can be quite judgmental towards Americans right off the bat. Some jokes were made, but overall, they were just funny, and I enjoyed getting the local experience.

The next day was beautiful out so we spent the day at the beach. I could physically feel the warm sun and my body getting tan- something I hadn’t experienced since being back in California. Another one of our friends, who studies at Otago, was in Wellington at the same time. She got a place outside of the city in the beach town area about 20 minutes from where we were staying. She was in the coolest Airbnb I’d ever seen. It was a treehouse that the owners built on the property, which happened to be the oldest home in that area, so the architecture was quite unique. We got lucky that we could visit her there and enjoy the treehouse/beach outside of the home. This was honestly such a smart idea by the people who lived there. They were still in the home but had two treehouses that they rented out on the weekends. The treehouse and surrounding area were such a cool thing to see and just being in the sun made me feel very content. The was a great last day in Wellington and we left early the next morning.

Now that I am back from Wellington, I feel such mixed emotions. It is getting very real that I will be saying bye in a week and leaving Dunedin for good. I feel so lucky for the people and experiences New Zealand has gifted me with. Despite the ups and downs, I wouldn’t change anything, and feel like I am coming out of abroad with a new perspective and outlook on life. I’ve also realized how it can be a good thing to miss home because that means I have something to miss. It’s been hard being away from my friends and family for such a long period of time. However, there is so much beauty in the fact that I can be in New Zealand and miss California and Colorado. For me, this was the perfect amount of time to be away because it was fun but also pushed me in certain ways to believe in myself with how much I can get through on my own. Also, I’ve never been truly alone here- I’ve had incredible people around me who have taught me a lot. So, I guess now I just make the most of the last bits of time I have with these people and truly cherish each moment.