Auckland and surrounding areas

We went to the hot pools on Monday and they were so relaxing. there was a lot of people there because everyone had the day off cause it was the queen's birthday but they were still pretty warm. On tuesday Erica and I did an exciting activity that we are not able to tell you at this time., From wednesday to Thursday we went on a Tour to see some caves with glow worms and then we went to Rotarua where we got to spend the evening in a Maori village learning about their culture and then eating a huge buffet that they prepared for us. It was amazing! Yesterday ERica and I spent the day on the bus stopping at Taupo and then making our way back on a double decker bus back to Auckland. It was so cold in the morning that erica and I each had a cup of hot chocolate and three cups of tea! When we got back last night we went to a fancy restaurant with Alicia and Marilee for dessert! Today we are leaving for Winnipeg. WE are excited to come back home ( we are hoping it will be way warmer than it is here) but we are sad to leave Alicia and Marilee. This trip has been absolutely amazing and we can't wait to show you all of our pictures and tell you all the stories we have!

Weekend in Auckland

We had quite the weekend! It isn't even over yet because it is a long weekend because it is the queen's birthday!! Marilee, Gordon, Erica, Alicia and I drove to Matamata yesterday and Erica and I went to go see Hobbiton ( or Hobbitville as I like to call it). Erica loved it and I thought it was kind of cool but I haven't seen the movies or anything so it was not as special for me. Marilee and the rest of the crew went to the cheese factory. Then we drove to Tauranga for hte night because some of alicia and marilee's friends were partying there for the weekend. So we went and partied with them and stayed at a hostel and then this morning we hiked up a volcano (Mt Manganui). IT was beautiful. Tomorrow we might be going to the hot pools tomorrow. I can't believe we leave on friday! IT is so soon. The weather here isn't hte greatest. IT is cold and rainy but we are with amazing people so that is all that matters!

Cairns and Auckland

so right now we are in auckland but we had a good few days in Cairns.
we went on the reef for a day of snorkling and saw a couple of sharks and other exciting stuff like that. it was too bad that it was rainy all day but we really couldn't complain because we had amazing weather for the rest of our trip. we left for new zealand on wednesday and we are here until June 5th, the day we fly home. We got to see marilee's house yesterday adn spent the afternoon there and then went up to the sky tower for a fancy dinner and went out dancing after! It was so much fun! Today marilee has to work but we are going shopping and hanging out with Alicia this afternoon and then probably doing some more partying tonight! Well I have to go for lunch so I will make sure to update more later

Whitsunday's Tour

Erica and I went on a whitsunday's sailing tour for two nights with 18 other people and 4 crew members! It was a lot of fun! We got to go snorkling and scuba diving and we got to see NEMO!! and this other huge fish that I don't know the name of! We didn't do much sailing, it was mostly just a motor which kind of sucked. the weather was perfect though and the water was warm! The sleeping quarters weren't the best. there was really not enough room for 20 people to sleep down there. ERica and I had to share a single bed (even though they called it a double bed...a single bed was half the size of a normal single bed). There were also bed bugs but erica and I didn't get bit which was lucky! the food on the boat wasn't the greatest but the amazing snorkling and scuba diving experiences made up for it!
Yesterday when Erica and I got to try eating crocodile. It was pretty good. It kind of tasted like a combination of chicken and fish.
We are hanging out in Airlie beach today and then tonight we are taking a bus to Mission beach, which gets us there at 4:15AM ( who knows what we will do or where we will go when we get there) and we are spending the day in Mission beach tomorrow and then going White water rafting the next day! It is going to be a crazy time!
I heard you winnipegers got more snow over the long weekend! I am so sorry to hear that and the weather better be nicer when I get back in exactly two weeks!

Fraser Island and Pictures!

So we went on our fraser Island tour and it was amazing! The weather was perfect! 25 degrees and sunny. we were in a group with 8 other people and we got a 4wd vehicle and took a ferry over to Fraser Island and then got to do some crazy driving which included a lot of bumpy times. luckly we didn't have to drive because that would have been terrifying. we spend a lot of time at the different lakes and beaches on the Island. one called Lake Mckenzie was absolutely amazing. It had crystal clear water! It was fantastic! It was kind of cold at night but that doesn't mean we couldn't have a good time. the first night we went and sat on the beach and someone brought a guitar and so we started singing wonderwall by oasis and a bit of s club 7 and then we saw a dingo so we started making up songs about dingos!

The first picture is in Sydney the first day we got there. the second picture is in the blue mountains with the three sisters in the background. the third picture is on great ocean road just outside of Melbourne with our friends Andrew and Sam. In the background are the 12 Apostles. The fourth picture is when we were in Noosa with some entertaining people from Denmark. the last picture is of our group on the fraser Island tour at Lake Mckenzie! Enjoy the photos!

The photos got uploaded backwards so read that last section bottom to top.

Noosa!

So I played soccer on the beach and erica refused to play so it was me and around 10 other guys. I scored the first goal and they were all a bit surprised and my amazing soccer skills! They were totally blown away!
Now we are in Noosa at a pretty sketchy hostel. the bathroom in our room is disgusting and it is cloudy and so we are trying to find random things to do. We went shopping this morning and I think we are going to go to some laguna lookout or something this afternoon with a girl from England who is staying in our room with us. We are here for two more nights and then we are heading out to Hervey bay and fraser Island to go on our first adventure tour! Oh by the way there is totally a creepy guy staying in our room with us...I am scared to make him mad though cause he has long hair and looks like he has some pretty good karate moves up his sleeve.
I think I am going to go eat a cookie now.
there is no nightlife here so we might just go see a movie or something. we went to a restaurant last night and there was someone singing there so that was wonderful but it was over by 8:30...so another early night to bed for us!

Surfer's Paradise

Erica and I are in Surfer's paradise right now! IT is pretty much like paradise but the surfing was way better in Byron bay (from what we have observed). WE had so much fun surfing! we got to the beach in a group with 3 other people and we did some stretches on the beach and a little warm up run ( consisting of running for approximately 2 seconds). Then we got on our boards and rode the waves! It was spectacular! WE have videos and pictures that they took of us and they are fantastic! we can't wait to show all of you! We were both a little bit sore yesterday and we are still feeling it today but it was so totally worth it! It is way more of an arm workout then you think it would be. The hardest part is walking against the waves to get further from the beach so that you can surf back towards the beach. WE both really recommend that you try itat least once in your lifetime!
Today we are just going to hit up the beach and I (jess) will maybe be playing soccer on the beach in the afternoon with some other people from the hostel ( if anyone shows up). That's right all you soccer people....I am going to play soccer on the BEACH! Then I will spend the rest of the day relaxing because that is what surfer's paradise is for!
Tomorrow we leave for Brisbane. I have no idea what is in Brisbane but it will be an adventure!
I heard that it was raining in winnipeg. Hopefully you guys aren't getting to wet. Can someone please update us on how the flooding is going? please...pretty please!