The South Island!

Hey Everyone!! Stanley here again, and boy have I been busy! I went on a tour of the South Island with Kevin and some of our friends. Let me show you some pictures!
First we flew out of Auckland into Christchurch on the South Island and we started driving west. On the way we found some beautiful, snow-covered mountains!













We had a little time, so I climbed up one!





















Just kidding! Ha, ha, these mountains were too big for me! We kept driving and camping all around the country. One day we went to Queenstown, which is where everyone goes to bungee jump and sky dive. A lot of people come to New Zealand to do some pretty extreme things!




















On our travels we stopped by a really cool river! The water was really really cold. A lot of the water in the rivers and lakes came from glaciers, great big old blocks of ice in the mountains! Here's Rich, one of my new friends, and I by one of the rivers!
















Look at those clouds!!!


















Here's Kevin and me!














Another really cool spot off point was a petrified forest! A long time ago, this place used to have a whole lot of trees, but a volcano erupted and they all got covered in lava! You can see all the little bumps used to be trees!























We had a great trip!














Hope everyone's doing well! I'll make sure to keep you guys updated!!
Kia Ora!
Stanley

What a cool beach!

Hey Everyone!
So Uncle Smitty and Aunt Regina came to visit!! Here's some pictures from out trip!















This is Aunt Regina, Kevin and me at Port Waikato, a black sand beach! The sand's black because it comes from a volcano a long time ago!
















Kevin buried me in the sand, good thing it was low tide!























Later in the day we made a black sand castle! There were so many shells to use!!!























After a long day at the beach, we jumped in the hot tub to relax! This hot tub had water right from the hot springs!















Phew, after a long day, it was good to take a rest! Next I'll tell you guys about my trip to the South Island with Kevin and a group of our friends! It should be a lot of fun!! Kia Ora Everyone!

Wow!

Hi again! Kevin and I just got back from our first big trip to Coromandel! We went with some of his friends from Loyola College. They are all in New Zealand going to school at the University of Auckland. Coromandel is not too far away from the University, so we went there for the weekend. Silly me, I forgot my bathing suit! Here I am at Cathedral Cove, a little beach we found, and to get there we had to hike through the forest!

Kevin and I also met a new friend at the beach! Her name is Clawdia, and she is a marbled rock crab!

She was taking a walk around the rocks when she saw us walking by, so she stopped to say hello. Clawdia also told us about this great surfing beach not too far away, and that is going to be our next big adventure! Well, this is Stanley signing off, but I hope to talk to you all really soon! Kia Ora!
-Stanley

P.S. Here's me and Kevin next to a HUGE rock at Cathedral Cove!

Hey Everyone!!!

Hi guys! Well I finally made it! A few weeks ago, Hannah sent me over to her cousin Kevin's house to go on a long trip, but she didn't tell me where we were going! When I got in, Kevin told me his surprise, we were going to travel to New Zealand! I was so excited, but I didn't know a whole lot about this place, so I grabbed a few books and started to read about it. I found out that New Zealand is a country made of two islands near Australia. (That means we were in for a long flight!) I also learned a few fun facts. The people who live on the islands are called Kiwis, named after the bird, and some of the people who have lived on the islands a long, long time have a special name for New Zealand. They call it "Aotearoa." (That's a mouthful!) That name means "The Land of the Long White Clouds", but New Zealand is a lot easier to say! Okay, well I have to go get packed up! Once we get into Auckland, the city we are going to live in, we have to get ready for another trip! Kevin and I are going to Coromandel next weekend, and that means we are going to the beach! I'll have to remember to bring my sunscreen! I'll keep you guys posted, Kia Ora! (That means "good health"!)
-Stanley