"You win at life!"

Bonjour à tous!

I know I know I know, it's been ages since we haven't updated --apologies are in order, really. It's been virtually impossible to find the time to write here, as strange as it sounds. We haven't had a second to ourselves since the end of October; the end of classes, of course, meant the beginning of exams (for which we studied really hard indeed), followed by what seemed to be an endless row of farewell parties and celebration of the end of the schoolyear. It's all fun and games until people actually have to leave, either going back home or travelling around. Juliette and myself had our own trip to plan -turns out it was trickier than we'd ever expected. With two other Frenchies, Marine and Flo, we decided earlier on that we would buy a car, travel around the South Island, then take the ferry up to the North Island, where Marine and Flo would fly out from Auckland to go to Australia then directly back to France. As for Juliette and myself, because we're staying for another semester obviously, we would be flying back to Dunedin.

Mais reprenons là où nous vous avions laissés!

Par où commencer? Il y a tellement à dire depuis l'Oktoberfest... For starters, the exams, otherwise known as "payback time for all those lectures we missed during the semester because we were partying". We spent countless hours at the library, had some studying sessions with Marine, and did our best, really. We sat the exams with varying degrees of success or failure, I'd say, although we haven't got our results back yet. They were nasty pieces of work in any case, and unlike nothing we'd done before in France.

Meanwhile, we also had some heavy, heavy nights of partying all over the place. There was this incredibly insane party up in London St --where the bathroom was trashed and dark deeds occured in dark corners... There were a couple of huge parties over in Willowbank, including a massive one for Halloween (people were incredible well dressed-up). And then of course, loads of boozing and going berserk at St Davids -Marine, Marek and Doug's place. To be honest, I feel a bit odd summing it up and writing about this here, because the whole partying and drinking thing, there's almost no words or justification for it, that's just how it goes. In any case, our last night in Dunedin before leaving for the trip (Friday the 9th) was absolutely nuts. Cars got burnt, people were completely bonkers, and everyone was enjoying the hell out of their last party, Dunedin-style. It was particularly memorable... and so was the hangover the day afterwards.

Frenchies at Halloween: Marine, Ju et Fred; partying in St Davids: Flo, Malte, Ulla, Marine, Ju et Marek; end-of-the-year barbecue at Castle St: Ulla, Ju, myself and Jules

Saturday the 10th was thus the day of the departure. Packing hastily and trying to recover from the night before, we had a particularly difficult time fitting everything in the car (four girls on the road, what did you expect...). We also had to say goodbye to everyone, which wasn't really a big deal at the time, but in fact quite hard in retrospect. Marine was leaving her house, which was a big deal -so much had happened there, and the idea of never coming back was more daunting than she would ever be willing to contemplate (I could totally feel for her, how could you ever want to leave this place?). But in the end, we had to leave, and so we were off...

It was even messier in real life...

To make it easier for you guys to understand, I borrowed a map off the Net and drew up our itinerary. The little blue dots indicate the places where we stayed overnight. I've also included a bunch of Wikipedia and DoC links in case you're interested in learning more about the places we've been to. Also, my stupid camera broke down after a week of travelling, so there's only pictures from the beginning of the trip. Maybe we'll update with more pictures sometime later on.

Sooo, we spent our first night camping in Omarama; it was quite an adventure as we were trying to sort out how everything was working -the tents, the food...

Sunday the 11th, we went to church. No we didn't. Ha. We actually used a public toilet as a bathroom; quite hilarious, I have to say. That day, as we drove by, the landscapes were becoming more and more impressive (especially the lake Pukaki, known for its turquoise water). We arrived at Aoraki/Mt Cook around lunchtime, where we went out for a walk. The views were stunning, even if we were at ground level, and the peacefulness of it all was almost overwhelming. It finally felt like we were seeing New Zealand, as we pictured it in our minds. We then drove off to Lake Tekapo, where we stayed overnight. This is where the car broke down for the first time, out of many...
The following morning, the 12th, after a quick visit at the mechanics, we were set and ready again. We stumbled upon this little, cute town called Methven, apparently quite a renown ski resort. However, once we passed it, we got really lost in the mountains and it took us ages to get back on the right path. We had no choice but to go back to Methven, where we stayed in a backpackers (no comments as to how we actually got inside the backpackers :p).

The next Monday (13th), we slacked off around before leaving for Arthur's Pass. By the time we got our lazy arses moving and drove to get there, the daylight was already gone. Juliette and myself slept in the car that night, because Flo and Marine had sneaked into the only backpackers there, but for some reason, we didn't. The day afterwards, on the 14th, we finally got to tramp with a Dutch guy the girls had met the day before, Luke (Skywalker. Not.). He was very nice, and we had a pleasant time hiking there; and by pleasant, I mean, exhausting but very much worth it... We did a 4-hour hike (which actually took us around two hours) and then a shorter one, of about 30 minutes (but it was all uphill), which ended in front of a stupendous waterfall.

Views from the Beasley Valley track and the Devils Punchbowl Waterfall track

After that, we were on the road again, driving up the west coast. We stopped overnight in Punakaiki, a little beach resort which is famous for its 'pancake' rocks. At the camping in which we stayed, we bumped into Ben, Jakob's friend who we had met in Tonga! Small world indeed..

The pancake rocks against the backdrop of the West Coast (I'm a crappy photographer eh)

[At this point, I didn't have my camera anymore so there's no pictures... You'll have to put up with me babbling, sorry! We'll fix that as soon as possible...] The next day, the 15th, we carried on driving until we arrived in Motueka, which is the largest town near the Abel Tasman National Park. We stayed at the Marahau Beach Camp (right by the entrance of the park, and also by the beach, which was really cool), and had some trouble figuring out what we were supposed to do the next day, because the girls really wanted to go kayaking and I didn't (or rather, couldn't: I can't swim). It was thus decided that I would tramp by myself while the girls were off kayaking. We had the entire following day left to ourselves, since the kayaking was only feasible once booked (therefore the day after). We went shopping in Motueka, and all in all, it was a really nice small town indeed. Marine bought this long, flowing skirt she was quite proud of; it was kind of funny! The following morning, Saturday the 17th, I was off hiking on my own as planned. I started walking around 10am. It was incredibly peaceful and refreshing, and the sights were downright incredible, whether it was in the forest or on the deserted beaches. There's almost no words to describe such unique sensations, really. I arrived in Anchorage, the beach where I was supposed to meet up with the girls, earlier than expected, and waited for them there; lying in the sun after what had been quite a long walk and listening to the Arctic Monkeys (most perfect moment ever). Later on, I finally saw Juliette coming my way: she had gave up on the kayaking (leaving Marine and Flo who would be kayaking together the next day) and had done the exact same walk than I did, to meet me up. That night, we stayed on a boat (since it was a 2-day hike, we couldn't go back to the camping). It was really nice and cosy but it felt downright weird being surrounded by adults. I know this sounds ridiculous, but the truth is, Dunedin is such a university/student-centered city, I hadn't been around adults at all for quite a long time. Socialising was out of the question there XD

The day afterwards, we were awaken by the captain of the ship in the very early hours of the morning, around 6am: some dolphins were out playing in the bay! It was quite something. By 9, Juliette and myself were back on track (no pun intended, haha). We tramped for four or five hours, if I remember well; there were some really steep patches where I thought I would actually die of exhaustion, but other than that, it all went rather smoothly :D We took the water taxi back to the beach camp, where we treated ourselves to a very expensive dinner at the fancy restaurant there (not expensive by Parisian standards, but very much so by Kiwi ones). It was a really good night...

The next day, Monday the 19th, we had to wait for the girls who were still kayaking. Juliette and I couldn't bring ourselves to not going back to Abel Tasman, so we went back. God we loved that place. We walked for a couple of hours, laid down on the beach, spent most of the day there, and walked back to our beach camp. It was all neat, quiet and peaceful, deserted and enchanting. We met back with the girls during the evening, and set off for Nelson, which is supposed to be quite a hotspot. But we found it quite disappointing; it's basically a town with posh people in one district, and even posher people living in another district right by the beach, and that's about it. The streets were empty, but we did manage to bump into Lisbeth, another friend of ours from Dunedin who we'd also met when we were in Tonga! Anyway, it took us ages to find a place to camp there, but we finally did, well beyond the city's boundaries.

The following day, we drove from there to Picton. This is where we had booked a ferry to cross the Cook Strait and thus, go to the North Island. Picton was this very lovely little town, which had an incredible harbour, and in which we stayed all day on the 21st. It was also the departing point of the Queen Charlotte track, which goes along (or around) the Marlborough Sounds. Juliette and myself tramped for an entire day there, on the 22nd. It was awfully steep, harder than anything I'd done before (although I haven't done much), but it was utterly amazing, and the sights were as breathtaking as they had been in Abel Tasman. We walked for around 6 hours (absolutely exhausting but once again, very rewarding), and then came back to join up with Marine and Flo who had been walking their own way. We stayed at a jolly great backpackers that night, because we had to wake up very early on to take the ferry up to... Wellington.

Aaah, Wellington, Wellington, Wellington. I don't even know where to start. I'll simply say that it was the GREATEST CITY WE'D EVER BEEN TO, that we had the time of our lives there, and that the only thing that was wrong is that we stayed for such a short time there. I wish I lived there, truely. I absolutely loved it, every single moment of it, every street, café, and place we've been to. It was the first time we were actually in a big city since we'd arrived in New Zealand, which was thrilling for city gals such as Juliette and myself...! I like to think that I hate the city and its subsequent individualist, self-centered lifestyle; but it was probably just Paris and the loathsome, ubiquitous indifference there. Of course, Welly is quite individualist and considerably less welcoming than other towns in New Zealand, but it is unquestionably friendly and beautiful (especially by the waterfront). The sights were of a different kind than the landscapes we'd seen so far, but it was all very informative and interesting.

We spent our first day shopping in Lambton Quay (and God invented... Borders, the best bookshop that ever was *hearts*). The day afterwards, Saturday the 24th, we walked around Manners Mall, had a crêpe (exactement comme en France!) there, went to the Gardens and had a lovely coffee and a chat, before heading for the waterfront. It was just really wicked strolling around the city as I so often did in Paris. The following Sunday, we went to church (naaaah, we didn't, I'm just kidding!). We actually went brunching on Victoria St, right by our backpackers, which was really cool! We then had a guided tour of the New Zealand Parliament (even cooler), which we really enjoyed. After that, we went back to the Borders on Lambton Quay, for a bit of reading, until our friend Lucy (fellow classmate of ours who went as an exchange student in France last year) came to join us. She had invited us to dinner at her sister's, which is where she was staying. It was a very, very pleasant evening as we met with her family, the coolest family I'd seen in a long time. It was like something out of a film, almost. In any case. Really good evening XD

In what was to be my last day in Welly, we went to two museums, the first one centered on the city of Wellington itself, and the second being Te Papa, which is the national museum of the country. It was highly, highly enjoyable, too; they were very interactive and unconventional, in both form and content.

So this brings me back to Tuesday the 27th, which is when I had my flight to Christchurch and then a bus back to Dunedin (hooome!). Juliette, Marine an Flo are still touring the North Island as I write. Juliette will be coming back in ten days or so, and Marine and Flo, as I've already said, are staying in the North Island until their flight to Sydney. We'll join them there, as we're flying out of Dunedin on the 20th of December, where we will hopefully spend Christmas and New Years' Eve together.

It's still hard to believe we are that fortunate. It's all been such a blast...! And New Zealand is such an exceptional country, I have to say. I can't wait to go to Australia, but in all respects, New Zealand is way superior. It's also home to us now, kind of. Or at least that's the way I've been feeling lately... I'm very much looking forward to the second semester as well, although the first one's been so eventful and insane and fun that it's going to be hard to beat.

Phew. I guess that's all for now. Yeaaah, we don't update much but you can't say we don't write a lot once we do :D Hope it wasn't too boring for you folks... It certainly wasn't while we were living it.

I hope Juliette's going to write everything about her trip soon. In the meantime, I'm back in Dunedin enjoying my holiday. Life's undoubtedly really good down here...