I can now officially confirm that canyoning IS in fact one of the coolest things ever invented.  Basically, they put you in a wet suit and a life jacket and run/swim/jump/zip-line you around the New Zealand wilderness.  That may sound too awesome to be true, but it’s not, that’s EXACTLY how it went.  They cut us a deal on the CD of pictures and videos from the trip, so I’ll put those up on facebook as soon as I get the chance…I really don’t think I’ll be able to explain it any other way.  On our canyoning trip we met some cool guys from Australia, and ended up hanging out with them later that night.  It’s really interesting to make decent conversation with people our age who are from this part of the world.  They are really cool people, but they see the world in a completely different light, which is really interesting to hear about. 

After something as rigorous as canyoning, we figured we would tone it down and go with a little less strenuous activity the next day.  So we climbed a mountain.  Again, I know I may sound dramatic, but it actually happened.  The mountain we climbed had the option of a gondola ride to the top available, but we decided to be go-getters and hike it up instead.  I’m glad we did, it was a really great experience in my opinion.  At the top of this mountain, they had a “luge” course that a few of us took advantage of, and some pretty incredible views of the city of Queenstown.  It was a gratifying end to an extremely difficult hike.  Later that day, Brenna and I had our first example of why remembering what they told you at the pre-departure meetings can come in handy.  While out to eat at a local restaurant called "Devil Burger" (which was extremely good apart from this incident), we both ordered milkshakes with our meals, forgetting the warning we had been given about this very thing just months before.  Turns out in this part of the world, a milkshake is exactly that--shaken milk.  Long story short, we each paid $4.50 for something you can get in America for about a buck.  It makes for a good story though, so all is not lost.

As great as everything has been so far in Queenstown, this morning was the most surreal experience for me personally.  We went on a guided kayak tour that turned out to be THROUGH a former Lord of the Rings movie set, and was led by a guy who was actually IN one of the movies!  His name was Sam (no, not Frodo's buddy), and he epitomized the laid-back New Zealand personality that I've come to love since we've been here.  Disclaimer:  What I'm about to tell you about the trip would probably not be approved of by my parents, so they can feel free to stop reading now if they so choose.  Anyway, Sam picked us up in a van and drove us about 45 minutes out of Queenstown, to where he had our kayaks waiting.  We then kayaked out to an island in the middle of the lake, and settled in on the beach to have a snack that he provided.  Turns out it's ok to take van rides and food from strangers once you're an adult, everything works out great!  After we got back from our kayaking, Same drove us partway back to town and then stopped to show us a waterfall that was tucked away in the woods that nobody knows about (except him, obviously).  It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  All I could think afterwards was: "We just got a private tour of a secret waterfall from a guy who was in Lord of the Rings!"...pretty crazy.

That brings us up to the present.  I'm sure I've missed plenty, but if I took the time to pick everything apart on here, I wouldn't have the time to go out and experience more stuff to write about!  I'll be putting pictures/videos on facebook as soon as I can "potentially tomorrow), and if you have questions about any of those, feel free to shoot them my way.  For the time being, I should inform everyone that we've come up with a name for our glass-floored airline!  The sales pitch now goes as follows:  "Sunshine Air, where EVERY seat is a window seat."  It's a winner, and I refuse to let anyone tell me otherwise.  Hopefully we'll be able to sell the idea to someone when we get back, because I for one will be flat broke.  That's all for now!  Cheers, Mates!