Milford Sounds

Hey Ya'll!

Well it has been quite the busy week for me. My computer charger died earlier this week so I had to live without it for a bit.  That was quite tuff!! Although in hind sight it was really good for me to unplug because I was able to catch up on some reading I had been neglecting. Anywho the weather here has been a bit wonky, which I do not appreciate! Over the past couple weeks there have been beautifully warm days then it suddenly drops to cold a rainy days.... the joys of spring!  I am looking forward to a nice warm/hot summer! On the warmer days I try to get out more and over the weekend I went on a little walk through some wetlands. Gotta soak in that Hawke's Bay Sunshine. I also spent some time in the mornings after a run outside cleaning the windows, it was lovely. My friends know how much I love to clean :) So I'm finally bunkering down to write a post since you know it's cold and rainy today.

Today's cold and rainy weather reminds me of my Milford Sounds excursion (but I think it was colder then). Apparently it's quite the challenge to see the sounds when it's sunny, contrary to all the pictures. The nice part about going after a good rain is that there are heaps of gushing waterfalls.

It was quite the experience trying to capture all the landscape. I was on the top deck of the boat with no cover wiping my lens every few clicks of the shutter. At the same time trying to keep my camera as dry as possible and trying to not to fall over onto the wet deck. After a bit the rain stopped which was really great. Then everyone else came up top which was not so great.  Very thankful I already had my spot :) It definitely paid to stand out in the rain!!

Part of the excursion included getting really personal with this waterfall. The captain steered the boat right up to this waterfall. It was pretty cool. I snapped away for as long as I could, but there comes a point where my camera could become drenched so I stopped. Then I brought out the iPhone with the life proof case and got a few more shots #score :) 

I cannot tell you enough how breath taking this landscape is.  I just kept staring at all of the rugged cliffs, the gushing water, seals, and the open seas. I wish I could have kayaked around Milford Sounds, but that will have to be for another time. 

It's pretty spectacular scenery if I do say so. I cannot wait to share the rest of my South Island adventures with ya'll.  Well I hope ya'll enjoy the rest of the week! It's Friday here so my weekend has begun :)

The Chasm

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After going through the Homer Tunnel the next stop off is the Chasm.  It's a short walk (400m) through some scenic bush to see really cool swirling powerful waterfalls.  I am constantly falling in love with the blueness of the water here.  I wish streams in the States were this blue all the time! 

It was a lovely little walk then it was back onto the bus, the next stop Milford Sounds!! Hope ya'll enjoyed!

Homer Tunnel

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Continuing on with my adventure to Milford Sounds I am going to share two quick stops along the way.  Well the drive is just breathtaking if you have not gathered that already.  Just as we were about to pull over at Monkey Creek the fog began to burn off the mountains and the rays from the sun starting streaming through.  It was an amazing site!! During this quick stop off you could fill up your water bottles with some of the purest water in the world. Then we were off to the Homer Tunnel! I was hoping I would be able to see some cheeky Keas there, but sadly none were out :( Quite disappointed about that one.  

I did want to share a bit of information on the Homer Tunnel with ya'll.  The construction of it began in 1935 and finished in 1954.  Yep that's nearly 20 years! The tunnel is 1.2 km long, and is the second longest road tunnel in New Zealand.  Funny thing about New Zealand is that there are not heaps of tunnels; I have only gone through two on my many road trips. More tunnels would be great because you would be able to get to places so much faster, but then you would miss some views.... it's a catch twenty two.....

When we stopped at the Homer Tunnel we only had about 10 minutes to take it all in.  There is a timer that counts down to when the tunnel will open on your end and when you're given the green light you gotta move on through.  So in the short time I had I captured the amazing landscape.  The vibrant green moss growing wild among the rocky landscape, the water and fog flowing down the sides of the mountains concealing its true height was really something to behold.  You feel so small in relation to everything else.  

Well I hope all ya'll back in the States are enjoying the start of fall! I know I am enjoying spring, summer is so close I can taste it! 

Mirror Lakes

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With all the wonderful warmer weather here in the Hawke's Bay I have been getting out heaps hiking, biking, and all sorts of mini adventures.  I am so excited for summer to be here and all the adventures with friends that will bring :)

For now here are some adventures from the South Island :) After leaving Te Anau I had a lovely scenic bus ride. Along the winding roads I saw the swamps that were used as the aerial shots for the Dead Marshes in the Lord of the Rings!! Unfortunately I was not able to capture that from the bus :(  Although it was pretty epic and yes I geeked out :) Anywho once we drove for a bit longer we stopped at the Mirror Lakes.  The stop was quick and a bit chaotic because you have other tour buses stopping simultaneously with about 50 people per bus.  So I prepared myself, I got my camera all ready and then rushed off the bus to see some amazing scenery.

You could never tell by these photos but there was over 100 people at this stop and I threw some elbows errr I mean waited patiently and used my manners to get to the front :) The lake was just breathtaking.  It sits perfectly still, unmoving and unshaking.  Even when surrounded by the chaos of tourists crowding round to get a glimpse of its majesty.  This was a good reminder to me to just be still, that I do not have to be constantly doing something. Often in the chaos of life we forget to be still and feel like we have to have everything planned out. When in reality that striving to constantly be doing something is not healthy.  Taking a step back and spending time in God's Word and learning from that is what we should be striving for.  Definitely something I am working on daily.

After a short 10ish minutes it was time to get back on the bus. Then we were on our way to the next stop :) More to come later. Hope ya'll enjoyed the pictures!

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Threads

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Today I have a special post to share! Ya'll know how I looooooooove op shopping (translation - thrift shopping) So I wanted to share one of my favourite shops in the Hawke's Bay. It's where I have gotten pretty much all of my designer pieces and I adore them.  So without farther ado...

Threads!!!

Threads was established in the end of April 2015 at 110 Karamu Road North just down from ANZ bank and next to Stanton Print. Stanton Print actually divided up part of their factory space to make room for it.   Originally Threads was an online venture, however due to the outpouring of donations they opened up a physical store.  One of my favourite parts of this op shop is that it runs on donations from about 7 churches across the North Island of New Zealand.  I love the variety you get from the different regions! Another very awesome thing about this shop is all the profits go to support missions work.  I love that! New Zealand has a small Christian population and I love that Threads helps to support the Gospel being spread. Threads also supports Veronicas Place.

Threads operates with 5 volunteer staff who are super awesome and helpful.  The shop is well organised, neat, and clean.  All the clothes are pre washed so you don't have "that" op shop smell (all you op shoppers know what I am talking about). 

 

 I also wanted to give a quick shout out to Sheep Knits.  My friend is the owner and is the one who taught me to knit.  So yeah she is pretty awesome in my book.  If you get a chance pop into Threads and buy her amazing work :)

To end I just wanted to share a few outfits that you can purchase at Threads :)

Pink top size M $5
Skirt Kilt size M $20
Shoes Garage size 8 $5

Top Marco Polo size S $7
Skirt Gitane size 16 $10
Shoes Hearsay size 8 $6

Red Shirt Jacque-E size small $15
Under shirt Kathmandu size s/m $4
Liberated by Colvin size 10 $10
David Elman size 7/7.5 $15

Dress Jessica size 10 $15
Shoes Garage size 7 $3

Threads hours are Tuesday through Friday 9-3 and Saturday 10-2.  Be sure to check out their Facebook page as well!

 *I receive no compensation for this post I just really love shopping at Threads.

Te Anau

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Blogging has not exactly been in the forefront of my mind recently, lots has been going on here on this side of the world.  As some of you may know I recently lost my Grandma to brain cancer.  So I have been trying to occupy my time with adventuring, spending time with friends, and knitting amongst other things.  Still all of those pre occupations do not stop the grief from coming.  Even though I thought I had mentally prepared myself for it, I am still surprised by the waves of grief that hit. I am definitely grateful for the amazing support system and friends God has provided.  They have been a great help over the past few weeks.  But I know I have the ultimate support in Christ and that I am never alone.

I am going to try to get back to blogging on a more regular schedule soon. For now I wanted to share these pictures of Te Anau. It is a cute little town on the way to Milford Sounds.  I especially enjoyed the views from the lake.  The South Island landscape still takes my breath away. The whole drive was stunning.  One of these days I am going to have to drive it myself so I can stop wherever I want and take pictures :)

I hope ya'll enjoyed these! I am going to try to get some more posts up in the next few weeks so stay tuned.