June 30, 2015
Vanderbilt soccer seniors Erin Myers and Keegan Thimons outside of Hobbiton in New Zealand
Senior soccer teammates Keegan Thimons and Erin Myers spent the month of May thousands of miles away from home studying abroad in New Zealand as a part of Vanderbilt’s Maymester program. Thimons, a native of Fairfield, Conn., wrote about her experiences in New Zealand and shared some picturesque photos of the beautiful country with vucommodores.com.
When deciding what Maymester to take this summer, Erin and I immediately agreed upon geological fieldwork in New Zealand. A few months of waiting and twenty-four hours of travel, we found ourselves in Auckland. Landing around 6 a.m., we were excited to spend the day in one of New Zealand’s greatest cities! Exploring the winding paths of Queens Street, we saw kiwis, fish and chips and amazing scenery everywhere we looked. Tired from our travel, we decided to grab an early dinner and head to Sky Tower. Sky Tower is the tallest manmade building in New Zealand and stands at 328 meters tall with breathtaking 360-degree views. Luckily, we were able to see our first (backwards) sunset over the beautiful city on our first day in New Zealand.
The next day we began school. Meeting our fellow ‘Dores, we walked from our hotel to the University of Auckland and spent the morning learning about volcanoes and the Maori. After about three hours of review, we left for the harbor to catch a boat to the island of Rangitoto. The island of Rangitoto is the largest and youngest volcano in the Auckland Volcanic Zone, which erupted around 600 years ago. That afternoon, we hiked through what seemed to be a forest until we reached the top.
View from Sky Tower in Auckland
After four days, our group traveled to the Coromandel Peninsula, located four hours north of Auckland. Taking two petite white vans, we drove through the mountains and arrived at our cozy backpacker lodge on the beach. Hiking around the Coromandel Peninsula for a week I found that it was full of pristine beaches, native forests, as well as a walker’s paradise. Our first hike in the Coromandel was spent trekking an hour and a half along the top of the cliff that descended into Cathedral Cove. Not only was the hike amazing, but we also had the opportunity to go to a warm bubbling pool at Hot Water Beach. This beach is located above a hotspot and when you dig deep into the sand you can create your own personal hot tub!
Shortly after Hot Water Beach, we left for Ruapehu. The area of Ruapehu is an active stratovolcano zone that both tourists and locals travel to in the winter months to ski. When we arrived, we stayed at a ski lodge with the most beautiful view of the stars at night. Being from Connecticut and New York, neither of us had ever had the opportunity to see the Milky Way as clear as we had those few nights. As a Lord of the Rings fan though, I was mostly excited to be staying in an area where a major portion of the movie was filmed. But, I was even more ecstatic to hike the Tongariro Crossing, better known as Frodo’s trek to the top of Mt. Doom. Waking up around 7 a.m., we ate breakfast, packed lunches and were on our way. The Tongariro Crossing is one of New Zealand’s oldest national parks and holds a 19.4-kilometer journey up and over a volcano, which takes about eight hours to complete. Beginning our hike, we walked through a stunning glacier valley until we reached a never-ending staircase up the mountain. The picture below was taken from the top of the volcano, which was dusted with clouds. This was by far one of our favorite days, as well as the most physically exerting. While in the North Island, we also celebrated Erin’s 21st birthday! Luckily, we had the day off from school and decided to visit Hobbiton (the movie set from the Lord of the Rings) and go zorbing, which is the sport of rolling downhill inside a huge plastic orb.
The never-ending staircase up Tongariro Crossing
After two weeks spent traveling the North Island and seeing spectacular views (all covered with sheep) we left for the South Island. When we landed in the South Island, it didn’t seem that New Zealand could be much more beautiful, but flying over he Remarkables mountain range proved us wrong. Landing in Queenstown, we had one full day with no class. So, naturally Erin and I decided to skydive and bungee jump within a four-hour span. It was safe to say it took us a while to fall asleep that night from the adrenaline. The next day, all 19 of us traveled to Milford Sound. Many have called Milford Sound the eighth wonder of the world, and after a two-hour boat ride, I would have to agree. Touring the carved out glacier we saw 100-foot waterfalls, seals and a stunning untouched view of lush terrains.
One of our last days in New Zealand was spent at Mt. Cook National Park, New Zealand’s highest mountain peak. We hiked for about an hour and a half through the valley and ended at a crystal blue lake. Later that day, we toured a glacier lake on a small speedboat, which was a bit cold considering it was nearly winter. Our final destination was Christchurch. Taking the time to explore the city, we walked around only to see a lot of construction everywhere. This was because the city had suffered a major earthquake a few years before and was still recovering.
Later that night, we had our final meal at BurgerFuel and departed a few hours later. Erin and I were sad to leave such a beautiful place, but are so thankful to have had the opportunity to travel all the way around the world to experience a month in paradise. It truly was the best Maymester!
Keegan skydiving over Queenstown on the South Island
Mount Ngauruhoe, or better known to Lord of the Rings fans as Mount Doom
Making the eight-hour trek through Tongariro Crossing
Hiking through the Tongariro Crossing
Hiking around Coromandel Peninsula
Coromandel Peninsula
Cathedral Cove on Coromandel Peninsula
The active stratovolcano zone of Ruapehu
Driving to Milford Sound
Scenic North Island covered with sheep
