Written by Amanda White
Thursday and Friday were long travel days, and our last two
with Stacey and Wendy. {You mean you don’t know who Wendy is?! Wendy is only
the best lil Haka tour bus EVER! Our home for two weeks, now filled with
laughter, memories, great music, lots of sleeps, and lots of Stacey fun facts—and
once-filled with all of our luggage over and over and over again.}
I’ll be honest: I took very few pictures on Thursday. One
takeaway for me personally from Kiwi culture is being laid back and unplugged from technology.
I’m trying to continually apply this to my life more and more, looking at my phone and watch less and less. And while I love
taking pictures and capturing memories in that way, by this point in the expedition
I had taken around 800 pictures (NO JOKE) and was ready to just sit back, look
around, and enjoy the scenery the second time around as we passed back through
the South Island.
Thursday night was our farewell dinner to Stacey. We ate out
at one of her favorite pubs in Christchurch, and she {eventually… after a long
and drawn-out night full of procrastination and bets regarding our tour group
being in her Facebook cover photo} told us the stories of all her tattoos. It
was a cool bonding time, particularly for those on the trip who have tattoos of
their own, and several of whom got new tattoos in Wellington today (Sunday)!
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| Some final views of the South Island mountains |
Friday was just an EARLY morning. Stacey drove us all the
way from Christchurch to Picton by around noon to catch the ferry back to the
North Island. She took us to her favorite spot in Picton for final pictures,
selfies, and hugs {and, unfortunately, a few final sand flea bites}. It was a bittersweet
goodbye to Stacey at the ferry terminal, but we’ll see her soon.
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| Me and PC Stace |
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| One last bus selfie! |
The ferry ride was pretty rocky. After watching the sunset
up on the observation deck, I came to the passenger lounge to find almost all
of my pals laying on the floor to mitigate the rocking/seasickness, either
trying to sleep or giggling uncontrollably (I’m looking at you, Shannon!). But
at least Madeline, Tori, Shannon and I figured out that (1) Tori can list all
the US states in 19 seconds; and (2) between the four of us, we know most of the US state capitals. Finally
in Wellington (FOR GOOD! Well… for four weeks. Which, in the context of NEIP is
“for good.”), we checked in to Trek Global and headed out to the night market
on Cuba Street once again, and then to Kaffee Eis for some Well{ington}-enjoyed
gelato.
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| Sunset on the interislander |
Saturday marked the last day of our expedition officially!
We learned about organizational purpose at Zealandia, and the wide variety of
campaigns that Absolutely, Positively Wellington has put on through the years.
These were a strong ending to two weeks of travel and 13 branding presentations—now
it’s time for report-writing and interning! The group spent the afternoon
exploring Wellington in various ways—some shopping, some exploring Te Papa
Museum, and others resting up for the big week ahead. Most of us ended up at a
bar on the harbor to watch the All-Blacks crush Wales in rugby again—we’re
pretty big fans now.
Sunday, according to our itinerary, was “Rest and
preparation day,” which we took to mean “Get to know Wellington however you see
fit Day.” There were Sunday morning markets; more Te Papa exploration;
shopping; tattoo-getting; some naps; and even some homework. We’re getting
ready for internship orientation—tomorrow, we’ll go our separate ways and work
in the real world! Wow.
Nowhere I’d rather do that than here in Wellington, New Zealand.
Cheers!
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