by Shirley Gooding

Created on: July 02, 2007   Last Updated: March 11, 2010

In 2005 I packed winter clothes in 110 degree California June heat and boarded a plane to the other side of the planet. After a 12 hour flight from Los Angeles, our class of natural geography students landed in Christ Church, on the South Island of New Zealand. We would be in this magical land for three short weeks, flying over dome-building volcano's, walking on glaciers and bathing in natural hot springs. It is easy to see why New Zealand is the location of choice for movie makers.

One of the first oddities we noticed was that being winter and very close to the Arctic Circle, the sun did not rise until 8:30 a.m. and was gone at 4 p.m. Though we were told to expect rain at least every other day, we experienced only one wet day. We had breath taking views of the San Joseph glacier and while sailing on the fiord's the sights of the waterfalls dropping from dizzying heights was awe inspiring.

I was an older student (55) surrounded by a number of adrenalin junkies, so their ideas of an adventure and mine were not on the same page. They enjoyed bungee-jumping from bridges, cliffs and aerial gondolas as well as sky-diving and swimming in 40 degree waterfall pools. My rush came from crossing the two plank wide bridges suspended from cables with no guard rails over 1000 foot gorges. Though I always waited until last, invariably the person in front of me would test the strength of the contraption by jumping and shaking it. YIKES!

We stayed in five star hotels located primarily in national parks. Continental breakfasts were included all three weeks and I decided on the first day that I would not be losing weight on this trip! Breakfast included pork and beans, spaghetti, wild boar meat, stewed tomatoes as well as the usual cereal, toast, eggs and bacon. Though the bacon was not like one gets in the states, as they broil it instead of frying, it was quite tasty.

We were on our own for lunch and most dinners, though four of those were included. I was astounded that a Burger King value meal without the drink set me back $8. After a few times I stuck to the local buffets and ate more for breakfast to tide me over.

Another culture shock I encountered was that the price of a paper back novel in a chain store started at a whopping $45! A small book of cross word puzzles started at $15. I decided I would sleep on the plane.

While there I took my first ferry ride to the North Island where the Capital City of Wellington is located. It was a 3 hour crossing over very rough water that made many of us look like we were more suited to Ireland - in other words, GREEN. Most of the group was out on deck watching monster waves washing over the bow, accompanied by lightning and thunder. I was hugging a little white bag, sipping ice chips, mid-ship.

Our group visited many museums including the one that is built over an active earthquake fault. We experienced Zorbing, a unique New Zealand mode of transportation down an extinct volcano. One is strapped into a plastic ball, exactly like the ones they have for hamsters and other small creatures and sent rolling down the slopes. In the winter for an extra fee you can be doused with warm water while careening to the bottom.

I also found it a bit difficult to adjust to the fact that people here drove on the wrong side of the road. Several in our group were almost clipped because we tended to look the wrong way while crossing the street.

I added some sea glass to my collection while on the North Island. One of the pieces of white frosted glass looked like the womens leg lamp that was in a Christmas Story. I also found some rare pink pieces and even a bit of red.
It was the fastest three weeks of my life and I long to go back some day.

Learn more about this author, Shirley Gooding.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.