Budget

Day 1-
Flight to New Zealand and back - $3350.55 NZD
Hotel in Wellington, NZ for July 1st-July 7th - $1,744.00 NZD
Wellington Cable Car attraction - $6.00 NZD
Sea Coast Safari attraction - $35 NZD
Night Rafting attraction - $50 NZD
Dinner at Little Penang - $15 NZD

Day 2-
Skyline attraction & lunch at buffet - $50 NZD
Skydiving attraction - $318 NZD
Te Puia evening tour attraction - $26 NZD

Day 3-
Ballooning attraction - $320 NZD
Hamilton Gardens attraction - free
Glowworm Caves attraction & dinner - $75 NZD

Day 4-
Royal Albatross Centre attraction - $25 NZD
Larnach Castle attraction - $17 NZD
New Zealand Aquarium attraction - $10.50 NZD
Shrimp vindallo dinner - $14.50 NZD

Day 5-
Bungy jumping attraction - $90 NZD
Million Dollar Cruise attraction - $25 NZD
Kiwi Birdlife Park attraction - $19 NZD
Post Office Cafe breakfast - $12 NZD

Day 6-
Hoglund Glass Art Gallery attraction - $15 NZD
Suter Art Gallery attraction - $3 NZD
Motueka District Museum attraction - free
Dinner at Bouterey’s Restaurant - $15 NZD

Day 7-
Upton Oaks Garden attraction - $10 NZD
Lochmara Wildlife Recovery & Arts Centre attraction - $25 NZD
Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre attraction - $15 NZD
Dinner at Argosy Restaurant - $20 NZD

Total- $6,305.55 NZD ($5004.08 USD)

Map of New Zealand

1.) Wellington, NZ
2.) Rotorua, NZ
3.) Hamilton, NZ & Auckland, NZ
4.) Dunedin, NZ
5.) Queenstown, NZ
6.) Nelson, NZ
7.) Marlborough, NZ

Day 7

     When I awoke this morning a sudden sadness overwhelmed me. Today was my last day in New Zealand. I packed my bags and then went to Marlborough, New Zealand to spend my day. First I went to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre. It is one of the world’s largest private collections of Great War aircraft and artifacts. I liked looking at all the rare memorabilia from the past.

     Next I went to the Lochmara Wildlife Recovery & Arts Centre. It was a very unique and vibrant centre. I got the chance to see different artists at work. The last attraction I visited was the Upton Oaks Garden. It was very relaxing to just walk through the garden and look at the formal framework of hedges and walls.

     I ate at a place called Argosy Restaurant before I left for the airport. I had a delicious rib-eye steak and a salad. Tonight, July 7th, I left on my long flight back to West Virginia.

Day 6

     The first place I visited today was the Hoglund Art Glass Studio & Gallery in Nelson, New Zealand. The gallery included a large display of people's glass art. The masterpieces had many different designs and various colors. I even got to try to make my own glass art.

     Then I went and visited the Motueka District Museum since it was close. The museum had artifacts from Motueka's past and many different displays. I learned many different things from the museum. After I was done at the museum I went to the Suter Art Gallery. It had a collection of local, national and international art, dating from the 17th century to the present day. It was very interesting.

     I ate dinner at Bouterey’s Restaurant tonight. My dinner consisted of seared venison, braised red cabbage, swede, and pistachios. The whole meal only costed $25! When I was finished eating I went back to my hotel. Tomorrow will be my last day in New Zealand but I wish I could stay here forever.

Day 5

     Today I travelled to Queenstown, New Zealand to spend my day. Then I stopped at the Post Office Café to get some breakfast. There I ate french toast with a side of bacon.

     The Million Dollar Cruise was my next destination. The cruise lasted for an hour and a half on Queenstown's spectacular lake. People say that it's one of Queenstown's most fabulous scenic highlights. Then I went to the Kawarau Bungy Centre and bungy jumped off the large bridge. The Kawarua Bridge is known for being the first commercial bungy jumping operation. It was a lot of fun.

     To finish my day, I went to the Kiwi Birdlife Park. On the tour I got to see display over 20 species of native bird and reptiles. I learned many interesting facts about the birds. After the tour I went back to my hotel in Wellington and stayed there for the rest of the night.

Day 4

     Today I went to the city of Dunedin, New Zealand to spend my day. First, I went to the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre & Aquarium. There were over 100 different types of creatures there! Some of the creatures I got to see included sharks, octopus, seahorses, seastars, crabs and crayfish.

     The next attraction I visited was the Larnach Castle. The castle was built in 1871 by William Larnach for his wife. I learned about Larnach's three wives and six children. Apparently Larnach comitted suicide in the house. While touring the large Victorian castle some people even said that they could feel a ghostly presence.

     Next, I went to the Royal Albatross Centre. In the centre they had an exhibit where the birds would fly effortlessly around you. I even got to learn more about this bird's fascinating story. At the Centre they also had New Zealand fur seals, blue penguins, spotted shags, and royal spoon bills.  It was a very unique and fun experience. For dinner I stopped at a nearby restaurant and ate shrimp vindallo. The meal was delicious and after I was done eating I went back to my hotel.

Day 3

     I had to wake up really early this morning to go Hamilton, New Zealand to go ballooning. We took off from Innes Common, by the lake in Hamilton in the hot air balloon and went up in the air at around 6:00 A.M. We had to go up at sunrise when the air was still calm and quiet. The views were breathtaking as we flew over mountain ranges, various lakes and green fields. It was very serene and calm as we flew over the beautiful Waikato area between Auckland and Rotorua. After about two hours of flying, we landed.

     While I was visiting in Hamilton, I went and visited the Hamilton Gardens which is one of New Zealand's top tourist attractions. It was free so I figured I would go. The gardens were beautiful and I took many pictures of them.

     Later, travelled to Auckland, New Zealand since it wasn't that far away. I visited the Waitomo Glowworm Caves The tour guides led us through the magical caves and we got to marvel at all the unique limestone formations. After my tour was over, I grabbed a bite to eat from a restaurant near the caves. I had a New Zealand beef burger and fries which tasted similar to American food. Exhausted from my long day, I went back to my hotel to get some sleep.

    
   
  

Day 2

     After a long night of sleep, I awoke to the sun illuminating my small hotel room. I already had my day planned out and I was ready to go. Today I was going to be spending most of my time in the city of Rotorua.

     First, I went and rode the Skyline Rotorua Gondola at 11:00 A.M. The gondola left high from Mount Ngongotaha and I got to see extensive views of the wonderful city of Rotorua, Lake Rotorua, and surrounding highlands. After I was done with that, I went and enjoyed a delicious meal of roasted kumara with cashews at the New Zealand Buffet and Grill.
 
      Then I just had to go skydiving at Nzone Skydiving. Everyone was telling me that I just had to go skydiving in New Zealand since I had never done it before. It took around an hour and a half to learn the basics of skydiving and then I went up in the air. I put the safety harnesses on and was ready to go.At first I was a little afraid to jump, but the jump was exhilarating as I plummeted 12,000 ft towards the earth.

     To end my day, I went and visited the Te Puia which is a New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute. I went on a guided tour and got to experience the Māori world. It was a very different experience and I got to meet some of the native people. In the end I got to see the ancient valley where the world famous Pohutu geyser is. When the tour was over, it was getting late so I went back to my hotel for the night.

Day 1

      I got on my flight in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was set for New and. It took 25 hours just to fly to Wellington, New Zealand! On  the day of July 1, 2011 the plane landed in Wellington, New Zealand at 9:00 A.M. The first thing I did was go check in at the Citylife Hotel and rented a car.


     Then I went and visited the Wellington Cable Car. It is one of Wellington's oldest and most popular tourist attractions. The cars run throughout the amazing city of Wellington. The view was spectacular as I looked down over the city and harbor. I even got to catch a glimpse at the beautiful Wellington Botanic Gardens.

     At 1:30 I went and participated in the Sea Coast Safari. I got the chance to visit and observe the New Zealand Fur Seals in their natural habitat. They lounged lazily along the beautiful, rugged coastline as I watched them. I even got a chance to touch one of the large, furry seals.

     Feeling rather hungry after my adventure, I went to a restaurant called Little Penang. There were many various foods to choose from, but I chose the Mee Siam for my dinner. Mee Siam is a dish of thin rice noodles in spicy, sweet and sour gravy. It was served with salted soy beans, dried bean curd, a boiled egg, and tamarind. It was absolutely delicious!

     Instead of sitting at my hotel that night, I went night rafting. I had never been rafting before so it was a whole new experience. The person I was with, guided me down the river. I saw many amazing sights on my journey and the lights from the city were beautiful. After this long journey, I ventured back to my hotel to catch up on some much needed sleep.

-Recipe-

Roasted Kumara (sweet potato) Salad

 Ingredients:

-1 kumara or sweet potato, diced into cubes

-Several leaves of romaine lettuce, chopped

-8 cherry tomatoes, halved

-4 radishes, sliced

-A handful of crumbled feta

-A handful of pinenuts

-Cooking olive oil for drizzling on kumara

-Extra virgin olive oil for salad

-Balsamic vinegar for salad

-Sea salt

-Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:       

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
2. Place the kumara in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on a pinch of salt. Roast for 25 minutes or until soft. Set aside to cool when done
3. Arrange lettuce, tomato and radishes in a serving bowl. Add the kumara once cooled. Sprinkle on some feta and pinenuts.
4. Finally, drizzle on some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The Boston Tea Party

    On the day of December 16, 1773 my husband and I ventured down to my brother, Nathaniel's, house in Boston, Massachusetts. I went down there quite often but today was different. A large group of patriots had been planning to dump the tea from three British ships into the sea. My own husband, John, and brother, Nathaniel, were among this group of men.

     I had came up with the idea for the men to dress up as Mohawk Indians and paint their faces so no one would be able to recognize them. I spent almost the whole day of December 16th getting cloths, and rags, and war paint ready for the group of men. I was sitting in the kitchen talking to Maria, Nathaniel's wife, when the large group of men came marching through the door. It was time for me to do my job. It took a few hours to paint all of their faces and get them ready, but when I was done you could barely recognize who anyone was.

     Maria and I put on our warm winter jackets and slipped out the door into the cold winter air to walk down to the harbor. At the appointed hour of 7:00, I saw the group of men marching down the street with the spirit of freedom burning in their eyes. They had serious looks on their faces and in their hands they each carried an ax or hatchet. When they got to the harbor they boarded the three ships quickly and quietly.

     Thousands of spectators stood and watched in silence as the men struck the chests of tea with their axes. The sound of the ax blades splitting into the wood pierced the air. Once the crates were open, the patriots began to toss all of the tea into the sea. Within a few hours the patriots had emptied all of the 342 crates of tea into the sea.

Sarah Bradlee Fulton

     Sarah Bradlee was born on December 24, 1740 in Dorchester, Massachusetts. As a child her parents always said that she was very brave and daring. Sarah had one younger brother named Nathaniel. On July 25, 1762, Sarah married John Fulton. Sarah and her new husband then moved to Medford, Massachusetts. They both frequently visited Sarah's brother, Nathaniel back in Boston.

     Sarah is also known as "Mother of the Boston Tea Party" because she helped patriots disguise themselves on the evening of the Boston Tea Party. She painted their faces and made them look like Mohawk Indians so no one would be able to recognize them. She is the one who came up with the idea of dressing up the men like this. Sarah was also a member of "The Daughters of Liberty" which was an organization for women patriots. In 1835, Sarah Bradlee Fulton died at the old age of 95 in Medford, Massachusetts.