"The Road to the Shire" Takes You on Some Grand Adventures!

Wednesday February 8, 2012

Today we are leaving Christchurch! I am really sad! I don’t want to get back to reality (well sort of reality). This morning we woke up, got packed and headed outside to load the vans. The BYU boys got here last night and they picked up their camper van. 

Let me tell you about these BYU boys! Okay first, I have a back story. Rewind to last Semester, I was eating lunch with my friend Christie. She asked me if I had seen this show called Dining with the Dean. I had not! She then told me about these boys that were from BYU were on it and then she told me that they had this goal to go to New Zealand to be in the movie the Hobbit! I thought, hmmm... that’s cool, and then forgot about it! Fast Forward back to today. 

So last night these 3 BYU boys and 1 girl came to Christchurch. They are here to be extras in the movie, THE HOBBIT! I thought, oh that’s cool. I met them last night and they were way cool! Today they picked up their camper van that they will be driving to Wellington, and living in for the next 2 weeks. They pulled up and the side of it was painted to match LotR characters! We took some pictures with them and then we headed our separate ways. Fast forward to a few hours ago. As I was flipping through my pictures I realized that I had seen these boys before, and then it hit me. These are the boys that I had seen last semester on the blog on the internet with my friend Christie! Why didn’t I make this connection earlier! So basically I know these three boys, Mitch, John, and John and they might be in the Hobbit movie, which makes them famous, which makes me famous because I met them and I have pictures of them! Wahoo! 

Check out their blog, we are mentioned in it and I am in the picture in front of the van!! Wahoo! Now I will be famous too (JK)!

Road to the shire. 

After parting ways with the boys we got to the airport and waited until our flight. To pass them time a few of us, played Greedy with James! I seriously love that game and that man! He is so great! It was a lot of fun and we passed a lot of time very quickly! 

Soon it was time to get on the plane and head back to Auckland. I was sad to leave! I wish that I could just play for the rest of the time. 

The Chroni-what-cles of Narnia!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 

Another Amazing Day in New Zealand! This morning we woke up and headed to Castle Rock, where the final battle scene of the Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe was filmed! It was beautiful! Again the drive there reminded me of Wyoming! Lots of brown grass and farms! The rocks at Castle Rock were the coolest thing Ever! I climbed up over so many different rocks to get pictures. I climbed down into a hole in order to get a picture and then couldn’t get out! It took me a minute but I finally did and guess what! I have a battle wound from Narnia! How cool is that! 

After walking around and hiking around, I realized that I really love to hike! I should do that more often. I might have to go and find some cool trails up in my mountains in Wyoming when I get home! 

Me and the other Emily finally walked down to the cars where everyone was waiting for us. We loaded up and headed to the cave. The plan was to hike through this cave that apparently had a river running through it! We were told it was really really cool! So we all go flashlights. Laced up our tennis shoes and started down the mountain to the cave. The very first thing you do is go into the water that is above your waist and you wade through it! It was so cold but amazing! Then we trekked through the rest of the cave, up waterfalls, over slippery rocks, in total darkness until we reached the end. I was almost at the end of the line, only Ramona and her husband Chris were behind me! I had a flashlight but Ramona didn’t so I would shine the light ahead of me, take a few steps and then shine it for Ramona! It was a long process but we made it! At a few points we turned our lights off and were in total darkness! It seriously reminded me of being in the mine with my dad and being in total darkness. Oddly enough I love that feeling! I may just need to work in the mines for awhile! The end was the hardest part of the entire trip! You have to balance on this waterfall and then stretch and grab the metal rungs of this ladder that has been put there to help you get out. I got to the rungs no problem, but I was really shaky and my hands were wet and cold and slippery. I started climbing up and then one of the girls said Emily smile for a picture. I stopped, my hand slipped and I had a moment where I thought I was going to fall! Luckily I didn’t! I made it to the top and then I had to crawl through a tight crevice to get out. Unfortunately I had to crawl on my knees and that really hurt but I made it! Wahoo! 

Apparently tonight a couple of Chris’s students are flying into Christchurch. They are staying with the Cutri family until they can pick up their camper van tomorrow! What are the odds! 

Canterbury Museum, and the Beach!

Monday, February 6, 2012

When we first came to Christchurch I didn’t think that it would be very fun! Almost one year ago there was a massive earthquake that hit the city. There have been numerous aftershocks since and the bulk of the city is still shut down. Usually the BYU girls go to Christchurch for an entire week but because of the Earthquake we will only be here for 4 days. 

My opinion quickly changed about Christchurch today! We woke up, after sleeping in (wonderful!) and drove to the Canterbury Museum. It was fun to walk through the exhibits and to read about all of the different things. I learned so much about the culture of New Zealand, fashion, and a ton of other things. Unfortunately I went through the museum slow and didn’t get to see it all before we had to leave. 

After the museum some girls went to play volleyball with the missionaries and a few of us decided to walk around Downtown Christchurch. That was the most humbling experience I have ever had. The entire city center is blocked off. All of the buildings have to be knocked down because of the damage they suffered during the earthquake. It is like a ghost town. I am impressed with the people of Christchurch! They didn’t let this get them down! A good chunk of them stayed and are trying to get things back to normal. I don’t know if I could have done that. 

When we were done walking around we headed back to the hotel and decided to go to the beach. We got there and the wind was blowing like crazy and it was kind of cold. I decided to go and walk along the pier and the other girls decided to lay in the sand and try to get warm. The Pier was beautiful! I loved it! I could have stayed there all day, but we decided to leave because it was cold and the sand was blowing everywhere. 

We got back and laid by the pool for awhile and then a couple of us went grocery shopping with James! He is such a great guy! I love getting to know him and talking to him! He would be starving and give you his last bit of food! That is how great he is! On the way back from the store he asked us what we were doing for Family Home Evening. We said we didn’t have plans and asked if he wanted to come over and do something with us! He told us he would teach us how to play Greedy! 

It was so much fun! It has some of the same rules as Farkle! I will remember the rules so I can teach everyone when I get home! After that was over, Ramona stayed for awhile and watched Sweet Home Alabama with us! Lots and Lots of fun!