Hike a Volcano........ Check!

Yes, today we took the ferry to Rangitoto and hiked to the summit! It's a small island that is a volcano that has not erupted in over 600 years, with a trail leading to the summit. It was about an hour hike, and the view at the top was gorgeous! We had a perfect view of the city and some of the other places that we have been already. Again, I'm just amazed at creation and can't believe I get to experience this! We had a beautiful day, although not very sunny. It didn't rain and it wasn't cold, so in my book it was fabulous! This trip was through Arcadia, so the ferry was paid for, and as always, it was great to see Kate again :)


This was also on our big list of things to do. My friends and I actually did sit down in the beginning of the semester to make a list of all the places we wanted to go and all the things we wanted to see! I'm sure we have way more things on our list than we have weekend time for, but we're going to try to do as many as we can for sure! Here's a few pictures from our hike up Rangitoto.









I guess I'm backtracking, but Saturday night we celebrated my birthday! (We went out for ice cream on my actual birthday) We got semi-dressed up and spent a night in the city! Since I have a new found love for Indian food we went to Pankawalla, a restaurant in the Viaduct! I got mango chicken, and we all shared an order of naan bread.





After that we went to Minus 5-- an ice bar. (It's a bar made completely out of ice, including the glasses.) This was really fun! It was about $20 USD which included one drink. They give you huge winter coats, booties, uggs, and thick mittens and send you into the bar area. We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I did anyway without using a flash, so most turned out blurry. I believe the drink I had was called a "frisky penguin" :) It kind of tasted like a green jolly rancher. They let you stay in for about a half hour-- and I'm not sure we would have lasted much longer anyways! So, here's a few of the better pictures!






right to left back row-- Amanda, Meredith, Becca, Mariel, Sarah, front row--Katie, and Colleen

We went out kind of early so we were home by 9:30 :)Mariel and I stopped on our way home for some good old dunkin donuts coffee!! Meredith made a giant cookie and they all sang happy birthday! Then as we pigged out we watched Pride and Prejudice and called it a night! It was such a good way to end the week! I know I probably say this all the time but my friends here are really great and they made my birthday so much fun!




This week I have one paper due and a test! Then it will already be our mid semester break for 2 weeks!! Next week Sunday, Mariel and I are leaving to spend 6 days in Australia and following that we'll fly straight to the south island to meet up with the rest of our friends to take an 8 day bus tour! I'll write more about that next weekend! I also somehow got sick again. A few of my roommates were sick this week and I'm afraid they've passed it on to me... Pray that I feel better this week so that I can finish up my work ahead of time for break and that I'll be healthy for our upcoming trips!

Have a great week! I miss you all!

Bec