In Which Kat Bids Destiny Goodbye and Proceeds to be Epic

After telling Destiny and the rest of Napier farewell, I made my way to Wellington, where I got to experience the singular pleasure of being greeted by people I love as I stepped off the bus. My family took me out to dinner that night—and every night for the following eleven days. From Wellington we took the ferry to the south island and drove to Franz Josef, which brings us to:

Epic Adventure Number 1: Hiking to Fox Glacier.

We made our way along a riverbed to what honestly looks like a flood suddenly frozen. It’s eight miles long, beginning in the Southern Alps and ending in a rainforest. It’s one of those things you read about, then one day you see it and think, "It really is a huge piece of ice." Makes me feel like an Arctic explorer. 

From Fox Glacier, we went to Queenstown, where we had epic adventures 2 and 3.

Epic Adventure Number 2: Milford Sound

This was not actually in Queenstown, but you get there by bus from Queenstown. We left the sunbathing crowds beside the lake and, within 3 hours, were among snow-capped mountains. On the other side of these snow-capped mountains is a beautiful fjord surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. I stood at the bow of our boat as one of said waterfalls crashed down over me. It was brilliant.

Epic Adventure Number 3: Jet Boating

You put on a rain jacket and a life jacket and get into a boat strikingly reminiscent of a ski boat. You are then driven up, down, and around this snow-fed river that is shallow enough for me to wonder if I could even kayak it in some places. You get spun around, frighteningly close to the bank, and rather wet, all while in a 3 ton boat that’s riding on 10 centimeters of water. Think of it as driving a boat as if it were a jet ski.

After jet boating, we flew to Sydney. We walked on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, toured the Sydney Opera House, and spent Christmas Day on the beach. The day after Christmas, we flew to Cairns for the next epic adventure.

Epic Adventure Number 4: Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

It’s just as awesome as Nemo makes it out to be—crystal-clear water full of fish and coral of every shape, size, and color. Most memorable were the barracuda hanging out just behind the boat and the small orange and white clown fish.

The following day, before flying back to Sydney, we took a train into the rainforest where we had:

Epic Adventure Number 5: Cuddling Koalas and Feeding Kangaroos

It’s exactly what it sounds like.

We flew back to Sydney for a few days before my family headed back home and I returned to New Zealand. Thus passed my Christmas holiday. Now to begin another year. It’s going to be epic.