My life has turned into a movie. Or at least, we try as often as possible to make it that way. Climbing to the top of Mount Ngauruhoe (otherwise known as Mount Doom or Mordor) was no easy task, but of course the group wasn’t satisfied with the normal scenery photos. instead we had to film our own Lord of the Rings scene on top of the volcano.

Timberlock’s voyageurs has taught me a bit about hiking in difficult conditions, but this was a whole new world. The mountain was steep, really steep, and each step we made was met with three backwards as we were climbing up what could only be compared to a giant sand pile, covered in sharp volcanic rocks. The climb took us a couple of hours, and once reaching the top we encountered freezing winds and an absolutely stunning view.

The way down was extra adventures as we would take one step forward, and slip several feet down the mountain. At one point I fell and rolled down the rocks until I crashed into the rest of the group, safe but rather scraped up. Our dinner that night never tasted so good, and I have rarely ever felt so accomplished.

Wellington, in the words of my 15-year-old home stay brother, is “completely awesome”. We did another city scramble and spent our days exploring, asking a lot of questions, and shopping, shopping, shopping. I don’t typically care that much about clothing…but after four week wearing the same frequently washed three shirts? Well it gets a little old. We were so excited to be surrounded by lots of new people and exciting things to distract us.

Speaking of new people, our home stay in Eastbourne has been wonderful. It was fantastic to be in a real home again, and taking a break from the routine of travelling and hostels. Exploring the town and hanging out with the locals is wonderful, and I was really sad to leave.

We left early on Monday morning, to meet the ferry that will take us to the South Island, and the second half of our trip. Five hours and a lot of homework catch up later, we set foot on Te Wai Pounamu.

If I don’t blog or contact in the next few weeks, it is because we are attempting to officially disconnect from NMH and the world outside of our group. We have a little over two weeks left, and are currently in the midst of the Southern Alps, surrounded by sea, jungle and mountains. I promise to fill everyone in on the rest of my adventures once I return.