Finally coming to the end of finals...just one more to go on Tuesday then I'm off to Sydney for 5 days and 2 weeks tomorrow I'll be home!
My other two exams weren't too bad, my hand just hurt after all the pages of writing I had to do.
I'm finding it hard to motivate myself to revise for my last exam as people are already leaving to go back home and I just want to spend my time making the most of these last few days in Wellington.
I've had my fair share of study breaks to go for goodbye coffees for Alicia and Juliette who are now back in France. I've also done my final cleaning job; they gave me a big box of chocolates to say thank you which was very kind of them.
On Thursday, Maxence, Merien and I made use of our free tickets to Wellington's zoo.
I can now return home as I have finally seen a kiwi; sadly it was pretty dark so I couldn't get a very good photo. We also saw a very scary pelican (pictured above), plenty of monkeys, giraffes, tiger, bears, a lion, a cheetah, penguins, otters and a range of Australian animals (to get me in the mood for next week).
Our favourite animal had to be the little chimpanzee (pictured below). We spent ages watching it playing with a sack and it seemed almost like a human child in its behaviour.
We were extremely lucky with the weather as the sun shone and we relaxed under New Zealand's intense blue sky; I'll miss that vivid blue.
Liam and I are going to make use of our free passes to the cinema this evening and watch a film set in Wellington then tomorrow morning we're going to Maxence's for brunch as he has a balcony with an amazing view across the city and a professional coffee machine. Fingers crossed my final exam will be ok on Tuesday. I'll update my blog again when I get back from Sydney (if I have time during those last two hectic days before coming home).
Lectures are now over and most of us here are in the midst of our exams meaning the majority of our time is spent studying in the library. My first of three exams is tomorrow so writing this is a welcome break from staring at Latin fossil names and facies models. In order to ease the stress of exams the university put on a number of events this week including free breakfast, lunch and good coffee (none of that instant stuff) every day. On Wednesday they tried out a new initiative of bringing in puppies for us to play with; for me this experience merely created stress as a TV camera appeared in front of me and I was interviewed about the benefits of puppies during exam periods. The chihuahua I was holding didn't make up for this experience; next time I'll stick to the free food.
I've also had a few meals this week as people begin to realise how close the end of our adventure is getting so want to make the most of these last few weeks together.
On Tuesday it was Annemarie's birthday so a small group of us made use of a Groupon voucher entitling us to unlimited tapas and pizza for just $8 each. The food was surprisingly good and I was suitably stuffed by the end of the evening.
Last night we were treated to amazing Mexican food cooked by the Texan, Justin, next door. He had all the proper ingredients shipped up from Dunedin in order to create authentic tasty spicy enchiladas and fajitas with refried beans and much guacamole. You notice that in the photo below the majority of my friends have chocolate smeared across their faces; this was the result of a large scale chilli chocolate war. I was still finding chocolate in my hair this morning.
Other than the study it's been a great week and I'm really going to miss all the fantastic friends I've made out here; I'm not ready for them all to leave yet, however I am looking forward to home.
One month today I will be back home; I'll be sad to leave New Zealand behind but I'm very excited to be reunited with my family and friends. I know I keep saying it but time really does fly when you're having fun; I can't quite get my head around the fact I've been away for 11 months already. New Zealand now feels like a second home but I'll always be British through and through; you just can't beat the historical buildings, crumpets and scones or a refreshing glass of Pimms on a long summer's day.
The weather in Wellington has been glorious, if rather chilly, this past week. I made the most of it over the weekend as I've had to spend the week revising for my geology exam and finishing arranging fossils.
On Saturday my flat and I decided to take a picnic to the graveyard down the road; this sounds like an odd spot for a picnic but the view to the right is why we picked it. It was a lovely study break with some very tasty home baked food.
This was our last full weekend with my flat mate Drew as he's going travelling tomorrow and will only be back for a couple of days to take his exam. So on Sunday morning Liam, Drew and I got up at 6am and walked up to the top of Mount Victoria to watch the sun rise. It was very cold, the first time I'd seen frost in Wellington, but definitely worth it for the spectacular view and peaceful atmosphere; I'll definitely miss this city.
In order to warm up afterwards we went for coffee and pancakes at Caffe L'Affare; one of Wellington's many famous brunch spots. It was absolutely delicious and such a wonderful way to spend a fantastic morning. I was particularly happy with the bar of Whittaker's chocolate which came with my mocha.
On Monday we had the day off uni for the Queen's birthday (why we don't get this in the UK I don't know). The rest of the week has been pretty uneventful, mostly finishing up lectures; this means that tomorrow is my last lecture in New Zealand, not sure if I'm ready for that!
