The morning didn't exactly go as planned. We got up late, watched too much TV and by the time we were about to leave, Mom Skyped us. So Jay and I spent 37 minutes video chatting Mom. When we finished, it was almost 12:15 which was when Dad was going to meet us in the room for lunch.
Lunch was a buffet set up by the ACR conference people. I had a chicken and lemon mayo wrap and orange juice. It was really good.
At 1:30 we (Jay and I) were picked up by a van for the Nomad Safari Lord of the Rings tour. We also picked up four other people. They were all friends and looked to be in their mid 20's. They were also big fans of Lord of the Rings so they always knew what the tour guide was talking about. Unfortunately the last time I had seen Lord of the Rings was when I was four (not exactly the best time to watch those movies, I don't know what my parents were thinking) so I didn't remember anything about the movies. It was still nice though because of all of the amazing scenery and next time I watch the movies I can say "I've been there!" or "I saw that place!" The tour wasn't just about Lord of the Rings though. We also learned other stuff, like the history of the name of the lake in front of Queenstown, Wakatipu (sleeping giant).
"There was once a Maori tribe that lived at the head of what is now the lake. The Chief had a beautiful daughter, the princess. One day, a giant came and kidnapped the daughter. The Chief, devastated, said that anyone that could find and rescue his daughter could marry her as long as he also defeated the giant. Several men tried to find the awful giant, but they all failed.
Finally, one man stepped forward and offered to look for the princess. He searched and searched, but he could not find the giants hiding place. Eventually, he looked in one more cave, with no more hope, and there he found the giant, asleep, and the princess bound with ropes. The man cut the ropes and the princess ran into the forest safely.
Now he only had to find a way to get rid of the giant. He dug a deep, long hole, big enough for the giant and gently rolled it into the hole. The man covered the giant with dirt, just enough to feel like a blanket, and backed away. The giant didn't wake up.
The princess ran out of the forest and hugged the man. Then she cried. She cried so many tears of joy that she filled up the hole, creating the lake."
The water is constantly rising and falling, moving up to 20 cm at a time. The Maori say that it is the giant breathing, still asleep.
After the tour, but before we went back to the hotel, we stopped in a forest for a hot chocolate break. Jill, our tour guide, also had some "toys" for us. They were prop swords from the movies! We got to play with them. I used a long sword with a blue handle and a small blue gem on the hilt.
It was time to go back. We got back into the van and on the ride to the hotel, Jay fell asleep.
When we got to the hotel, Jay and I went to our room and saw Dad. He told us that we were going skiing tomorrow! We had to go get our lift passes and rent equipment. We were ready to go!
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