So long nz!

The realization has set it in.
We have just checked in and said goodbye to Amy.
This new Zealand trip is coming to a sudden end.....
It seems like last week that we all meet in atlanta air port and began this journey. 
It has been an incredible trip. The places we have been too, the things we have all experienced for the first time, the friendships we have made and the activities we have all been able to do. We have done so much in the last 20 days!
Looking back on the trip some of our highlights have been, zorbing, learning how to snow board, skiing, Kyle front flipping on ski's, lugeing, seeing a kiwi in the wild and white water rafting!
Some things we are taking away with us from this trip are, the different lingo (phrases), helping out more with packing whilst on trips, different recipes and food idea's, being more aware of my belongings, leadership skills, looking and thinking before asking questions when I have already been given the information, speaking up and being confident when talking to people. 

We had a great night at my mum's last night. She cooked us a nz roast dinner and then we packed our bags and then attempted to watch all of the lord of the rings. So with a few hours of sleep up our sleeves we find ourselves relaxing at our departure gate awaiting our first of 4 or 5 flights (depending on who's flying out of Atlanta)
There is a lot of book reading happening and soon to be some sleeping on the planes. 
We look forward to being back state side but are all very sad to be leaving our Aotearoa, New Zealand!
Thanks for following along with our blogs! We look forward to being able to tell you all, all about our adventures! We might need a couple of hours sleep first :-)

Signing off. 
Jaron Frost
NZ TRACS Trip Leader

Day 19 - Last full day in NZ.........

Every one reflecting in Kyle's goggles.

Today was another amazing ski day. We got up early this morning, packed up all of our bags, and drove to mt. Hutt. Their were no lines at the chairlifts, which was awesome. Kyle landed a frontflip....and then five more. It was sooo cool. Everyone improved a lot at skiing/boarding today. It is hard to believe that tommorow morning we are going home. This trip has been amazing! We are all going to miss new zealand soo much.

Leader of the day - Jody

Dinner at the Frost residence after a great day's skiing

Day's 16, 17 and 18.

Day 16
Today we had a 'relax' day. We drove to queenstown and spent the day there. First we had a breakfast of spaghetti and beans on toast, followed by an hour long drive into queenstown. In queenstown we prepared lunch by the lake and then spent the remainder of the day walking around the town. In town there were lots of little shops and almost everybody bought something. When it started to get dark we ate dinner out then everyone went to the movies. After the movies were over we then drove back to wanaka were we are staying. All in all we had a chill day and took a break from skiing which we will resume tomorrow.

Leader of the day
Matthew Tschieder

Day 17

Today we had the choice of skiing and boarding from 1-9 or to go to Queenstown and then go night skiing. Some people went to Queenstown while the others went straight into skiing. We picked up pizza and ate it at the ski field. Night skiing was alot of fun and today was awesome. Oh and tell wolfman that Jack and Kyle said hey!
Leader of the day- KSky


Tonight will be our last night of five nights in southern Wanaka. It has been great staying in this area for the extended time. We have managed to score some FANASTIC weather. Three blue bird days whilst skiing and a picture perfect day to wonder around queenstown. We skied two different fields and are right now on out way back from night skiing. Everyone really improved on the slopes and had a great night shredding the with fluffy stuff.
As it is night 17 in nz it brings the end of our trip very near! We have a day of sightseeing and driving tomorrow and then our last full day in nz we will return to the slopes for one last adventure packed day at Mt Hutt.
I can tell you all, this is the quietest the van has been Over the entire trip. Some very tired teenagers and tired body's too. My 27year old man body is feeling the affects of three huge days on the ski fields over the last 4 days and a big tumble on the slopes tonight.
We also got to meet up with some great friends and ex camp counslours over the last five days. Gen Hilliard, Ben Craddock, Lauren Hawke, Stu Greg, Dave Felstead and Sam Palmer. We enjoyed there company and their personal touch on the area's we were in!
Look out for one more post from us/me before we jump on a plane on Monday. Until then, good night.

Jaron.


Day 18

Today was mainly a day for driving with a few activities along the way. We had about a six hour drive from Wanaka to Methven where we are staying the night. Along the way we stopped at "the wrinkly rams" for lunch and the world's longest milkshake, which ironically wasn't that long. We drove for a while longer until we came to Mayfield where we all kicked around the rugby ball and had some competitions. From there we finished driving to Methven where team Charlie cooked up a "pasta surprise" for dinner. After dinner, we all watched TV for a while. New Zealand has some pretty intense commercials. All you kiwis know what I mean.

Trip report #16. New Zealand TRACS 2010. Leader of the day: Jake Nichols. Over and out.

Day 17

Today we had the choice of skiing and boarding from 1-9 or to go to Queenstown and then go night skiing. Some people went to Queenstown while the others went straight into skiing. We picked up pizza and ate it at the ski field. Night skiing was alot of fun and today was awesome. Oh and tell wolfman that Jack and Kyle said hey!
Leader of the day- KSky


Tonight will be our last night of five nights in southern Wanaka. It has been great staying in this area for the extended time. We have managed to score some FANTASTIC weather. Three blue bird days whilst skiing and a picture perfect day to wonder around queenstown. We skied two different fields and are right now on out way back from night skiing. Everyone really improved on the slopes and had a great night shredding the with fluffy stuff.
As it is night 17 in nz it brings the end of our trip very near! We have a day of sightseeing and driving tomorrow and then our last full day in nz we will return to the slopes for one last adventure packed day at Mt Hutt.
I can tell you all, this is the quietest the van has been Over the entire trip. Some very tired teenagers and tired body's too. My 27year old man body is feeling the affects of three huge days on the ski fields over the last 4 days and a big tumble on the slopes tonight.
We also got to meet up with some great friends and ex camp counselors over the last five days. Gen Hilliard, Ben Craddock, Lauren Hawke, Stu Greg, Dave Felstead and Sam Palmer. We enjoyed there company and their personal touch on the area's we were in!
Look out for one more post from us/me before we jump on a plane on Monday. Until then, good night!

Jau
Sent from my iPod touch

Day 16 will come tomorrow after I type it up......

Day 15

Morning view at Cardrona Ski Field

Today we all went skiing and snowboarding. It was our second time on the mountain and the weather wasn't as good as it was yesterday but we still all had an awesome time. On the mountain there was beautiful scenery. Three of us snowboarded and the rest skied. Also Kyle did a 720 off a ramp and it was amazing. Even though I had a bunch of hard falls, I still had a sweet day.

Bren

Kyle half way through his 720 (sorry about the flat light, it was rather overcast today but I thought the trick deserved and upload :-) )

The Team lined up over the back side of Cardrona

Watch out for those snow balls Amy!!!!

Hay from Amy, Had another amazing day skiing today. Weather was qutie chilly in the morning though it warmed up alot. Great to see so much improvement already from everyone skiing and boarding. Everyone is looking forward to a day in Queenstown tommorrow. Catch ya tomorrow Amz

Day 14

view from the top of the ski field

Today was our first ski day! When we woke up this morning we were a few minutes behind schedule but ended up leaving sooner than we planed. We arrived about an hour before the lift opened but just hung out. Once it opened it was so much fun!!!! We skied for about 2 1/2 or 3 hours and then ate lunch. After that we skied until 4:00! And then we all got back in the van and drove back home. All and all it was a awesome day!

Leader of the day
Nick

Today we had a sleep in, chill day. We woke up late and drove 4 hours or so to Wanaka with some epic views. It was overall an especially scenic drive. We drove past some massive mountains and incredible lakes. We arrived to Wanaka around 3:30 and went into the city to look around, eat, and rent ski gear. It was a pretty awesome day.

Leader if the day - Jack


Plan is to head up to cardrona ski field tomorrow. Hoping for a blue bird day with some great skiing! Looking forward to having a dinner guest rhinos also an ex ccb counselor and great friend , Gen Hillard.
Bring on the snow! We are all excited!

Jau

Trip report day 12

Blazing a path up the glacier

Trip report. Day 12
Today we went to franz Joseph glacier. It was really cool. The glacier is a lot bigger than it looks because we hiked up it for about two hours and we only got about a fifth of the way up the glacier. We also got to drink some fresh glacial water. After the hike we went back to camp and made toasted sandwiches that were glorious. After lunch we went on a surprise trip. We ended up tracking kiwi birds with a trained guide for two hours. It was a really cool experience because we actually saw two kiwis. It was really special because that was the only place in the world where you can see these birds in the wild on an organized trip. Overall today was epic.

Leader of the day
Kyle Supple.

What a team!

Sorry there are no photo's of the kiwi's but if you search Okarito kiwi you will be able to find out all about them and see some pictures of what we got to see in real life. This was the first kiwi I have ever seen in the wild and I am so excited that I was able to share the experience with these 9 teenagers and my good friend Amy Devlin! Time to switch off the light and go to sleep.

Good night untill next time :-)

A very very happy TRACS leader
Jaron Frost :-)

Inside an ice cave on Franz Joseph Flacier

Found a photo of the type of Kiwi :-)

Day 11

Beutiful sunset along the wild and scenic west coast

Trip report day 11: Leader of the day Nick Tschieder

Today we had a great day. This morning after we packed we ate at the owner of the campground house. They also showed us around their farm. It was cool. They had emu's, pigs, deer, sheep, chickens, ducks and an amazing dog! They let us feed the animals and sheared a sheep for us. Also the dog named Jock rounded up sheep for us. After that we hit the road and went to a beach. Me and a few other people saw seals like 5feet away!!! We also saw like a bunch of weaka's. After that we drive to amy's home town of Greymouth. We had sine awesome fish and chips that we ate at a peir type thing. Then we drove to where we will be staying tonight and tomorrow night. All and all it was a pretty fun day.

One of the top 10 scenic drives in the world!

Day 10 Leader of the Day: Jody Bettencourt

Baby seals at Tonga Island Abel Tasman National Park

Today was amazing. This morning we sea kayaked from a place, in a National Park, called Bark Bay down to Marahau. On the way there we paddled by Pinnacle Island, a protected seal colony. The seals were really cool, and one of them was a baby. We paddled for about 4 hours, and the sun was shining the whole time. This was my first time sea kayaking, and I will remember it forever. The water was calm and no one complained about the cold. After kayaking we all loaded the kayaks on a tractor, unloaded our stuff got in the van and stopped for lunch. Then we drove to where we are sleeping tonight. If you're reading this, mom, I Love You!!! Ksky and Bren love their moms too!! Jody

Day 9 Leader of the Day: Tomas Wilson

Today we went out and took a boat to the beach that we were staying at. The entire time we saw plenty of AMAZING views; almost all of the views were things that I've never experienced. When we got to the water taxi place we proceded to all load up in a boat and drive to the water where we were loaded into it. Yes again we saw plenty of beautiful sights. We got to our room and it was cool because we were walking on a mini desert because of low tide. The place that we were staying was really cool and that night included telling funny and scary stories and a Tim Tam Slam. Tomas

DAY 8 Leader of the Day Bren Thompson

Today we came back to Matiu Island on a 20 minute ferry that was pretty shaky. After that ferry we went to the Holiday Park were we stayed last night and we made lunch there. Then we went and got on the next ferry to go to the South Island. That ferry was huge but it was the nicest ferry I had ever been in because the inside looked a little bit like the Titanic. For the first two hours of the ride it was very shaky and people were throwing up everywhere. After that it was really nice though because I got alot of reading in. After the ferry we went to a little town called Picton to eat some lovely fish and chips. Then we went 45 minutes away and stayed at another Holiday Park. Bren Thompson

Day 11 update

Well here I am early in the morning in the little town of Murchison writing this quick little update for you.

The North Island was fantastic. We had a great mixture of weather up there, from gorgeous days with chilly nights, to windy days with some light drizzle. The capitol of New Zealand, Wellington of course lived up to its reputation as being 'Windy Wellington'. The troops didn't bat an eye lid to the weather though and we did 4 hours of volunteer work on Matiu/Somes Island which consisted of digging some new drains for the tracks and clearing out previous ones. It is a protected Island and we got the chance to see some of New Zealand's animals up close. That night we challenged the weather yet again and went out for a walk to see if we could find some PENGUINS! We had great success! We managed to see a handful coming back onto the Island from a days hunting and gathering.
We then crossed to the South Island. We were predicting a rough sailing across the Cook Straight. So, we loaded up on Sea Leg travel tablets for the 3 hour ferry ride, which paid off. It was pretty bumpy but none of us were ill, there were some not as fortunate people around us, however, which were a little ill. That aside, we went into the Able Tassman National Park via water taxi and spent the night at Bark Bay, where we stayed in a hut. Good thing it had a gas heater, as yet again, it was a chilly night. We then paddled back out to were the van was. We were on the water for about 4 1/2 hours, the water was really calm. We were all really happy to get to the van for a late lunch. Hamish Depoff, former Camp Carolina counselor, volunteered his time and came out and guided us. He guides in the park during his summers. And now that brings us today. We are heading towards Amy's home town today, Greymouth, and then spending two nights in Franz Joseph Glacier.
Hope you enjoy the new pictures :-)
Until next time.
Jaron Frosty (as my hands are rather cold)
TRACS TRIP LEADER

Day 7 Leader of the Day: Jake Nichols

Yo! So today was a nice relief from crazy awesome adventure stuff. W took a ferrry out to a little Island in Wellington Harbour called Martin/ Somes Island, many native NZ species safely strive. Only about 1000 kiwis have actually been to this very well protected island. We dug some trenches through which water will soon flow due to the terrible rainy weather. We got to see some cool native wildlife, the giant tree Weta, the heaviest insect in the world. We also saw the small native blue penguins. The gang did a great job of getting all the work done, and the team Alpha's burritos tonight were tasty!

This trip report has been brought to you by the "New Zealand Foundation for the Leader of the Day"

PS Kayleigh Sky's refried beans were Awesome!!!

Day 4 Leader of the Day: Kayleigh Sky Donner





Today we went to Waitomo Caves. We Repelled from a 300 ft rope into the Waitomo Cave. Then we proceeded to climb through the cave and back up to where we started. During the caving everone turned off their headlights and when we did tiny glow worms lit up the cave. After caving we drove 2 hours to get dinner and then drove 20 minutes to Howard's Lodge where we are staying. Today was awesome! KSky D

Waitomo Caverns!

Day 4 Leader of the Day: Matthew Tschieder

Today we were supposed to go skiing but that was cancelled due to weather. Instead we drove all over, and went to many interesting places, we went to Huka Falls, the craters from the moon, a hot water river and we walked around a small lake. All in all today was a fun day because of all the intersting places we stopped at. Although today did not go as planned we did enough fun things to make the day interesting. Even though we did not ski, everone had a blast and saw many cool places. Matther Tschieder

Day 6 Leader of the day: Jack Taylor

Today we drove from National Park to Wellington which we all learned was the capital. We stopped to get NZ cash and had a gumboot throwing contest, which was a first for everyone. After that we drove to Levin to eat Meat Pies, drink L and P and have a cookie time cookie. We then arrived in Wellington where we got situated in our rooms and went to Te Papa Muesem. We stayed there for a while and then explored the city and ate in a food court. Everyone seemed to have a good time today even though we drove most of the day. Although it was a good day to have shotgun! Jack

Welcome to the 2010 New Zealand TRACS Trip Report. The trip is amazing and everyone is having a blast down in the wonderful world of New Zealand. We hope you enjoy!


The 2010 New Zealand Winter Wonderland Crew in Auckland after the long journey across the pacific.


Our very own New Zealand family and amazing host! Michael, Janet and Sharon Smith plus Lynda, Ian, Jonte, Lucas, and Isak Olsen. Thanks again for the warm hospitality and sharing your amazing lake house with us!

Day 3 Leader of the Day: Kyle Supple

Today we went to the Red Wood Forest to go Mtn. Biking. It was really cool! We split up into two groups. My group went on the class IV trail. There was some pretty technical parts, but everyone made it through in one piece. After that we went back to our way cool Lake house for lunch which consisted of cold cuts and this New Zealand soft drink called L and P! Anyways, after lunch we went Zorbing. It was crazy awesome. it is really cold at the top of the hill, but they fill the ball with hot water, then you get in and they push you down this hill. Today was a great, and I can't wait for tomorrow. Kyle