And so break begins... (Palmy, Wellington, and Christchurch)

I am FINALLY going to buckle down and blog about break!
Day 1
My adventure began August 27th (I know that is a really long time ago. I promise it feels even longer here) with Josh, Marian, and Jen, three other American students in New Zealand for the semester. We started in Palmerston North at the bus stop in front of Massey. Our first almost crisis occurred when Josh forgot his passport and had to race back to his room, luckily catching a taxi on campus (which is not normal) and made it just in time. When we got on the bus, we found our fellow American friend, Kelly, who was also going to Wellington to meet her dad and they would also be taking the ferry, like us. Small world!
We took the ferry from Wellington to Picton and it was absolutely perfect! The sun was out, the water was crystal clear, and friendly dolphins made an appearance. I took this as a good omen for the next two weeks to come.

The crew (L to R: Jen, Marian, Josh, and I)

We stayed at a hostel called Tombstone (across the street from a graveyard) in Picton and it was pleasantly clean and homey-feeling. We did not spent much time there because we were famished, but when we got into town we quickly realized that Picton is not known for its nightlife/ life at all. We found burgers at Toot 'n' Whistle and headed back to Tombstone to get in the spa (hot tub). When we got to outside to the spa overlooking the beautiful Picton harbor, we found quite a drunk air force cadet who insisted we join him. He rambled for over an hour about his European journeys and all of the nights that he "doesn't really remember" but somehow in the end, everyone always got naked. Fun fun!

Day 2
We awoke bright and early with the plan to get to Christchurch, but no set agenda. Many of the things we wanted to do there were still closed because of the earthquakes, so it was all about the journey. We rented a car and the owner of Tombstone told us about the scenic drive along the coast and off we went. Again, the sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky. On the trip as a whole, weather was always on our side. As we drove along the coast, we stopped to take pictures about every 10 minutes, but it was absolutely worth it. The views were breathtaking and it gave us a chance to drive on the other side of the road without too much stress.

We stopped for lunch in this adorable cafe that a woman in Palmy had recommended. Marian and I shared some delicious nachos (New Zealand style of course) and then we headed out to a baby seal colony under a waterfall. They were all quite little hams and enjoyed all of the attention. We tried to do some whale watching in Kaikoura, but to no avail so we decided to head to Christchurch. 

Us outside of the cafe

so many options 

precious baby seals

they love the attention

normal view in New Zealand 

Once we got into the city center, we discovered how devastating the earthquakes were. Most of the residential areas are untouched, but the 8 blocks that make up the heart of the city were destroyed and, even after over a year, were still closed off. As we were trying to find out hostel, we invented the game "spot the rubble" and found countless piles of bricks and broken windows. After some serious frustration in trying to find our hostel, we finally made it and realized that there was really nothing for us to do that night. We walked around a little and decided to make a nice family-style dinner. Due to limited facilities, it took over 4 hours for our dinner to cook, but that must made us appreciate it all the more. We also made some monstrous cupcakes and were not meant for four people. Our sugar high inspired more exploring, so we went to the dock and played on the beach.