so, there was some farting from the old lady, but not as bad. or as bad, but i had my ear plugs in this time, so i didn't notice it as much. though teresa did when she got up to go for her run in the AM! packed up and shipped out of the deer park sans deer, and checked out the town of te anau, since we didn't spend any 
time there yet. walked around the main street shops. walked around the lake. did laundry. went to a wild life preserve, which was full of empty cages, though we did manage to see a kaka bird (haha), a kea, and one of the fattest pigeons i've ever seen. it might now sound like it, but holy cow that was exciting!after our fun filled morning, headed to queenstown, the adventure capital of the world. home of the original bungy jump and all sorts of action packed crazy things. and finally hit some nice weather! i was really really beginning to doubt we would ever see the sun. and though i know i was getting burned, i couldn't help but at least soak it up a *little* bit. it had been so long since we've seen it! checked into our hostel (bungi backpackers) and headed into town to explore and get some more info on the goings-on of the town.
eventually found our way to fergburger, which was the most MASSIVE burger i've ever eaten. it was literally about 3 times larger than my entire hand. can't wait to upload a photo of that one. i got a sweet bambi (venison, if yo
u didn't gather), and teresa got a lamby something (lamb, just in case you couldn't figure out). we switched part way. steph got an osama bin laden (apparently kiwi's aren't too fond of vegetarian options and make fun of it whenever they can). couldn't actually finish it, but definitely gave it a valiant effort. walked around lake to try to get rid of the overly stuffed feeling and made some good purchases for souvenirs (got my woolly item - a winter hat). saw some really funny tee shirts, that i still wonder if i should purchase if i see them elsewhere. finally had walked around enough there was room for gelato to squeeze in, so finished off the day with that before heading back to the hostel to relax in the hammocks.
the next day, theresa and i split from steph, as she had already done what we were about to do - ride up the gondola to the top of the foothills of ben laden (not a joke about osama this time) for some pretty spectacular views of queenstown. and who would know, we had another beautiful day! sunshine, and cooler temps. but sunshine. it was a bit hazy still as it was early yet and the clouds hadn't quite burned off, but we had great views of the summits of cecil, walter, the remarkables and double cone, plus lake wakatipu. could really just sit and look at it all day. watched some paragliders taking off for their flights and walked around the short 30min trail with some (fake) southern men cutouts. watched the slowest lawn mover EVER (another inside joke). and after watching the people having a blast on the luge, decided to try it also. after all, we were in the adventure capital of the world; we had to do something! and it was a blast. i felt like a little kid smiling the whole time even on the beginners track. back at the viewing platform, watched the first bungy jumpers of the day take leaps off the original. i easily could have done it after watching tho - they strap you at your hips (not your feet) and it's only about 40m of a jump. and looked incredibly fun. maybe another time :)
rode the gondola back down to meet steph at the kiwi & wildlife sanctuary at 1300. and it was perfect timing, as there was a kiwi feeding at 1330, plus we stayed long enough for the conservation show at 1500. got to see 2 kiwi's in the 1st house and 1 at the feeding in the 2nd house (since the male was sitting on the egg in the burrow). this is when i thanked god i wasn't a kiwi bird. at least a female kiwi. she lays an egg that is roughly 1/3 her body wt - i will upload a photo when i can. that would be like a human giving birth to a 30+ lb child. ugh. shudder. no thank you. we had audio guides for the rest, and it gave us interesting info on all the birds. NZ was originally inhabited only by birds and one lone reptile (the tuatara) that was actually around with the dinosaurs and has a third eye. we got to see many of these birds (including some of the rarest in the world) and also a few tuatara. it was pretty cool. then walked thru a replica of a maori village. the conservation show was also interesting; got to see some trained birds that nearly took off our heads when they flew by, as well as a possum (there only to demonstrate the sometimes disastrous effects mammals are having on the natural fauna of the island) that was super cute. though the new zealanders play games to try to run them over on the roads ("look, there's a possum.. get it!").
finished off the day with browsing some more shops and another walk around the lake to watch the sun set. and of course, another stop at the award winning gelato shop. mmm.
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