dripping with passion

we had just one day in mount cook national park, among the southern alps. we decided to do a challenging seven hour hike up to mueller hut, a lodge overlooking glaciers and snow-capped peaks. the journey was pretty grueling (climbing up 2,000 stairs and then scrambling nearly up craggy side of the mountain, but the views were soooo rewarding! the weather was so perfectly blue and sunshiney, and right after we got back in our car a storm rolled in over mount cook! it was a really amazing and thrilling journey. ^^ at the trailhead, ready for a challenge! ^^ ^^ about half way up the stairs. we couldn’t get over these views all the way up! ^^   ^^ a reflection view halfway up, and then looking down nearly at the top! ^^ ^^ finally, the hut in the distance! ^^ ^^ loved this “halo” cloud over the mountain. this place really did feel heavenly. ^^ ^^ after we reached the hut, we sat and ate lunch on a tall rock overlooking the mountains on one side and the vast valley below on the other:...

{back to scheduled new zealand posts! i’ll post an update on nepal when possible.} we spent our first sunday of our trip in the magical little city of queenstown. we went for a little walk by the lake before church and then worshipped at a little branch of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. there were about 6 branch members in attendance, plus 6 visitors, in this little building with beautiful views of the lake. we absolutely loved meeting these beautiful people and strengthening faith together. ^^ we just love the look of the remarkables mountain range, which smacked us in the face right as we came out of church! ^^ after church, we hiked up queenstown hill to enjoy sweeping views of the city, lake and mountains. it was so so beautiful, and i couldn’t stop snapping photos! then, we got on the road to drive to mount cook national park. on the way we saw some bunjee jumpers leap from this bridge over such a pretty gorge! it was pretty captivating to watch.   ...

we spent the night in a bunk room at the milford sound lodge, and awoke early to get back on the water on kayaks! we were worried that the weather forecast said lots of rain, but we quickly learned that rain on the sound is not a bad thing. the mist hanging over the cliffs and the waterfalls gushing all around made for spectacular sights and an incredible experience. we coordinated our kayak adventure with rosco’s milford kayaks , and everything about it was awesome. after we got outfitted in gear that kept us perfectly warm and quite dry while paddling, rosco himself met us at the dock to speed us out to the end of the sound in a boat. he and our guide, jack, were so very kind and helpful and full of energy, information, and love for the sound and its wonders. we can’t recommend rosco’s highly enough! i strapped our gopro to my head and took some photos and videos while we were paddling. i didn’t think about wiping off the lens cover from time to time and got a lot of pictures of ...