kia ora

I had a hard time justifying blogging, or anything internet-related really, while on holiday in New Zealand. So I didn't. But now that I'm home, I wanted to post some of the most beautiful pictures, after one of the most spectacular vacations I've ever been on.

Devonport, Paihia, Mission Bay... I felt like I was a part of a postcard almost everywhere I went. (Everything that is, except for when I saw Rangitoto Island. Inside joke. My parents will get it).

Last Christmas I was absolutely fascinated with the country. But this time, I fell in love with it. To be quite honest, I have so many stories to tell, I will probably wait to cover different parts of my vacation over the next few weeks, but first, I have to share the most exciting story of the year. Or I guess due to the date, it would be the most exciting story of last year. Happy (belated) New Year by the way!

So here's what went down: My family ventured out on this boat called the Excitor while we were visiting the Bay of Islands. Basically, all you need to do is imagine yourself flying over the ocean at 70 mph while seeing all these amazing islands created by volcanoes thousands of years ago, all completely covered in green grass and trees and flowers. The point of the Excitor is to take you to this place called Piercy Island about 45 minutes out into this bay. It was spectacular. Absolutely everything about it. But... then just imagine something going horribly wrong. Instant whip lash. Your boat has stopped. Your head has hit a bar, and you are almost positive you have a concussion. Your sunglasses have flown off the edge of the boat. Your sister has fallen out of her seat. You look back and your dad's forehead is covered in blood. Your mom is throwing up. Yes. This, in a nutshell, ended up being our trip out on the Excitor. In the end, it ended up being not so exciting.

Other than that minor mishap, (and really, my version of that story is extremely dramatic) -- I can't even begin to tell you how much I am growing to love this country. Even with the whip lash. (Just kidding). Everything is green. And not a normal green, but a green, green, green - like somebody took a crayon and colored everything, everywhere you look. Wild flowers cover the roaming hills. Eighty percent of the time, you're somewhere near the coast. The accent (of course) is still the most charming thing to me in the entire world. And out of all the exciting adventures over the past two weeks, I got to bottle feed a tiny little lamb with the help of a boy named Damian (aka my future rugby playing husband) and I have decided that aside from owning a golden retriever named Chester the II, I will one day herd sheep because the baby ones are unbelievably cute.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that for now. I'll try to include some other stories soon, but now that I'm back home, and the new year is here, (forgive me if I post another belated "2010 in review" for my own sake in a few days) I have to say one thing about the past year of my life, because it deserves being said:

2010, I didn't want you to go. I thought everything about you was nearly perfect. You were exactly what I needed, and truthfully, I have never been happier with the success of 365 days well lived. But if on a scale of 1-10, 2010 was an 11, I have a feeling this year just might be a 12.