My oldest daughter graduated from high school last May. So this year she was off to college. She choose University of Arizona for the veterinary program. We did all the things, you know shop for the dorm, get the food program ready, take the tours. She took one semester and came home and said I am moving to New Zealand I got into Massey University. She came home in December from U of A and had to be in New Zealand in early February. What a whirlwind that was. Getting a student visa and transferring money to another country to pay tuition. The crazy part was no one in this family had ever been to this country or seen this school except for pictures.
So my husband decided we all needed to go as a family to take our daughter to school. So we drove to LA to catch a direct flight to Auckland and we toured there for a few days. While there we also had to get her a phone number and a bank account. Both things we had to jump through a few hoops. Also had to find a place to trade in money for their money but banks there don’t do that anymore. While in Auckland we toured some museums and learned about the Mauri culture. We toured the Weata workshop which is the company who helped make props for The Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, Avatar and so many more. It was pretty fun to go through. Also toured Hobbiton movie set. This was very fun family adventure. This set was actually made on a family owned sheep farm and made permanent. On this tour you have the option of just touring the set or touring the set and having a hobbit lunch also. But either way both tours end at the pub the green dragon with a cup of cider or ale. So fun and family friendly but make sure you get tickets well in advanced they sell out very fast.
Part of the Hobbiton tour we also got tickets to Waitomo glow worm caves. This is a family owned cave that they take you on a tour of that finishes on a short small boat ride through the glow worms that are seen hanging from the ceilings in the caves. They guides do a good job with explain all about the cave and the worms. It was a fun experience and different. Here you also get to learn more about the Mauri culture.
We had a lot of fun in Auckland so then we traveled to Palmerston North where Massey University is. We checked into our hotel I think was a Sheraton. It was so different. It was like to suites smashed together. It had two of everything. Two kitchens, two rooms, two living rooms, two bathrooms, and a washer and dryer. Ok the weirdest setup I have ever seen and not as clean as I would have liked. But it was really great for all four of us. We could wash our clothes and cook meals and not have to eat out as much. So plus side we went home with clean clothes. Palmerston north we really just focused on touring Massey, going to the international student meetings, getting our daughter into her dorm, making sure all the money transferred right, you know all the super fun stuff. However we did go take a beautiful walking path through a tropical rainforest area. I did wish we had more time there. A few days there and we left our 18 year old daughter half way around the world. All I can say is that was way harder than taking her to U of A that was only like a 2 hour drive from our house. However I should be proud that we raised a daughter with courage and the sprit of adventure to move to another country to pursue her dreams.