Stephy J Singapore: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

Visiting the South Island, New Zealand

I got to spend some amazing time in New Zealand! Always on my list and when Lena said she was going before she moved back to USA, I had to join her! And it is amazing! I loved the beautiful mountains, cold winter weather, and friendly people of NZ! Everyone was so kind. Lena and I started in Queenstown - a cute little town in the South on a lake in the mountains. It was lovely. We spent a day at Millford Sound - we cruised around the sound in a boat and headed out to sea. It is the 2nd rainiest place on earth so the waterfalls were flowing. We enjoyed our water taxis into town for fish and chips too! Next we started the drive north to the glaciers! We spend a couple days in the Glacier Country. One afternoon we kayaked along a glacier lake. It was like glass - you could see complete reflection of everything including the moon on the water. And of course the mountain scenery was perfect! Next we hiked a glacier! Fox Glacier is incredible. I loved hiking on a glacier. Especially when settled in between mountains. We hiked all day wearing crazy attachments to our boots so we wouldn't slip on the ice. The best part of the day was when we got to crawl through some of the ice. Really amazing! Next we headed back to Christchurch! Part of the town still closed due to the earthquake but the rest of the town is lovely and the people continue to be so kind! Lena headed back to Singapore but I stayed another day to ski Mount Hutt! What a great day! The snow is a little icy in NZ but it was an amazing day skiing on the Southern Alps! I loved it! I can't wait to go again. And skiing in August was perfect!
What a great trip! I can't wait to go back and do some more hiking and skiing! Had a blast! One of the top 5 places I have ever been!!!! Thanks Lena for a great trip!

The South Coast

Lena and I hiking Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier

On the glacier

Inside a tunnel

I loved hiking the glacier

Breaking the ice

Lena and I on the glacier

West Coast

Beatiful Day

Jump shot during a hike

Jump shot with a waterfall

Lena and I hiking

Views are incredible

Sking Mt Hutt

The Southern Alps

Loved skiing the Souther Alps

Queenstown

Kea

Bus to Millford Sound

Getting on the boat

Millford Sound

Waterfall at Millford Sound

Lena and I as we get close to the waterfall

A little town in NZ - so beautiful!

Having a local beer while the locals watch the ruby game

Water taxi!

Beer and fire after glacier hiking!

Queenstown

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Gardens on the Bay

The new gardens and park opened in July and it is amazing! It is powered by solar energy from the tall fake trees. I now have added this to my morning runs... So peaceful. Here are some pictures from the park:

My apartment is in between the trees :)

Tall bridge that connects the trees

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, August 6, 2012

Celebrating Team USA - London 2012

Go Team USA!!!! Well attending the Olympics is an amazing experience! And doing it in London with friends makes it just that much better! It was so fun! Though I would have liked to have gotten an opportunity to cheer on Team USA more in person - it was so hard to get tickets and the ones we purchased online 1.5 years ago were mostly for sessions when Team USA didn't play! I have a few choice words for the ticket planning company! - but we did get to see USA rowing team and USA diving team with a little from the USA track and field team. No swimming but we lead the sports bar every night through the events by cheering for Team USA! So fun with Bridget, JR, Erin Y, Stacy, Lisa, and Mike. What a great trip! Even got on the Today Show with fellow Packer fans. Here are some pictures from the amazing experience! I will post more from my other camera soon!