Tarzan and Jane

With my last few days creeping in on me, I’ve realized how much I’m going to miss New Zealand and the people I’ve met along the way.

There have been numerous occasions when I’ve said, “Wow, today was the best day I’ve had in New Zealand.” Like the day I got invited to go heli-fly fishing when I didn’t have a dime in my pocket, and being able to snowboard with my friends on my 23^rd birthday. But yesterday…..yesterday was beyond the best day of my New Zealand trip.

Ryan and I woke up early to take a road trip to a secret place his dad used to take his mom when they were younger.  It would be an all day excursion in the car over mountains, through fiords, and past green farm lands.  Two hours into the drive up the mountain, we became stuck in the middle of a huge snowstorm. Even though we had no phone reception, we decided to continue on our adventure.

Along a dirt road, we found an old historic ski hut that was built in the 1940’s. The tiny shack leaned slightly to the left, like it had seen many storms in its’ days. Inside the rugged hut, wet wood, broken beer and milk bottles, and ancient bunk beds lay untouched. I screamed when a bird flew out of an old mattress from the corner of the room. Ironically, there was still a guest book on the stove inside the hut from 1942. People from all over the world had signed it, so I felt like I had to add Texas to the list.

We continued driving through the snow, Ryan, loving the off-roading experience just like any other man would.  Eventually, the snow turned into rain, which made driving through the raging rivers more thrilling than a dull creek. At one point, I held my hands over my eyes peeking through the cracks of my fingers because I knew his truck wouldn’t make it across the deep river.  I hadn’t planned on floating the truck back to town. When water starting seeping through the bottom of the doors, he gassed it and we actually made it out dry. 

We drove and drove, and the rain finally let up. Ryan pulled over at the top of a hill and decided this was a good time to teach me how to drive stick.  Believe it or not, I’ve never learned how to drive a car with a manual transmission.  I think he expected me to stall several times, but to his surprise (and mine), I didn’t stall once. The only thing I had trouble with was keeping my eyes on the road. Instead, I concentrated on staring at which gear I was switching into or looking at my feet and pushing in the clutch. It became a problem when I ended up driving off the road and into the grass. I think I’m more of an automatic transmission type of girl, but at least now I know how to drive both.  Learning stick when the stick is on the left, while off-roading might not have been the best idea.

After switching back into the passenger seat, we continued on our drive through the empty New Zealand valley. I spotted a tire swing and we entertained ourselves on that for a while. It was nice to get out of the car and into the sun after being stuck in a storm for a few hours.

"I never wanted to be Jane. I always wanted to be Tarzan. I didn`t want to vacuum the tree house. I wanted to swing from the vines."

We jumped a fence and found this amazing tree to sit under. While the sheep ate their dinner beside us, I entertained them with my guitar. The sky was blue, sun was shining, grass was green, and I was with my Kiwi boy.

We stopped in the next town to eat pizza and grab a few beers. The pub was pretty quiet, just a handful of locals inside watching the rugby game. We got asked to play pool against two other locals, and immediately I gave Ryan a glare warning him that I am terrible and have no talent with a stick and ball whatsoever.  Even though I gave him the death glare, he agreed to a game of pool against the two men. I assured him that I would be no help and we would probably lose.  Ironically, we wonr!  It was the perfect way to top off an amazing day.

This adventure probably would’ve been an ordinary road trip, an ordinary day sitting under a tree playing guitar, and an ordinary game of pool, but it was whom I was with that made it the best day. It is who you share the moments with in life that make it so special. I went to bed with a smile on my face and an ache in my heart. Oh how I’ll miss moments like that.

The mountain is officially closed. Unfortunately, the last day of work a horrible blizzard came through.  All of the lifty’s were pretty excited to toss the shovels and head down to the pub for our last night together as a group. My lifty experience was amazing to say the least. Snowboarding and playing in the snow everyday with your friends…best job I’ve ever had.

I have ten days left in New Zealand. I leave Queenstown on Wednesday night, which will be sad. It’s been my home for the last year. We're driving to Dunedin to drop off our gear at Ryan’s parents and then were off to Milford Sound. I leave for Thailand on the 22^nd with two of my girlfriends, Lacie and Zoey. This last month came way too quickly, but I’m looking forward to spending some time in the sun.

Pray for safe travels…I’ll be back in Texas before you know it.