Last Day in New Zealand

Well, the day has finally come for me to document our last day of our magnificent experience in New Zealand.

First I would like to present some of our favorite slang terms we heard the "kiwis" of New Zealand often say:

(Try to hear these words in the glorious accent of New Zealand natives. Oh how we miss that lovely accent.)

"I got heaps of 'Lollies'!!!" - Candy
"That's all right" or "That's okay" - You're welcome
(I don't think we ever heard the phrase "you're welcome" the entire time we were there.)

"Rubbish" - trash
"Are you under control?" - Is everything okay? (Jon wondered why they continually asked him this his first day at the firm.)

"They are busy scruffing it out" - Fighting it out
"Motorway" - Freeway
"Are you on 'holiday'?" - vacation
"Ninny!!" - Grandma
"Poppi!!" - Grandpa
"I spent three years at the 'Uni' " - University
"I go to Kindy!!" - Kindergarten
"Would you like a Bicky?" - Biscuit

Hee hee.


During our last day in New Zealand, we...

Soaked in the beauty of the landscape one last time.

Lake Wanika

Ate a few of our favorite things, like another Ferg Burger with chips for Jonathan

And one more container of Rach's favorite TipTop icecream. (Jon is my hero for finding this at the last minute! I needed to experience it one last time. Delectable :-)

We drove away to the tiny Queenstown Airport

 And while we were so sad to leave...(there's our sad, black airplane)

We were so happy to leave together! (No more goodbye-for-3-and-a-half-weeks-heartaches! Highly UNrecommended.)

We flew back to Auckland, and rented one more adorable little mini mouse car. 

And while gearing ourselves up for the 13-hour flight to the states, Jon flipped when he realized who was standing in line behind us...

And was particularly grateful that his wife is still not shy so that we could chat with him for a bit and even snag a quick photo. :-) We love and respect Bronco!

The Greatest Standstill Moments of New Zealand:

-Seeing Jonathan again after 3.5 weeks. Just holding his hand and being near him again felt incredible.
-Snorkeling at Goat Island while the sun set
- Driving through the rolling hills of green throughout New Zealand
- The tropical forest that awaited us at the end of Tongariro Crossing
- The emerald pools of Tongariro Crossing
- Celebrating our 2 year anniversary at Lake Taupo
- The dream-like glowworm caves
- Standing on top of an active volcano
- The dolphins at Milford Sound and the scenic drive we took to get there
- The Redwood Forests

I have traveled to Mexico, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine. I have toured the east coast of mainland China and Hong Kong.

Jonathan grew up in Hawaii, served his mission in South Africa and Botswana, and traveled to Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Monacco.

We both agree that overall, New Zealand is the most majestically beautiful place on earth we have ever been.