Submitted by Mackenzie Sharp on the 2018 winter session program in New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Animal and Food Sciences…
One of the things I really wanted to see while I was in New Zealand was Milford Sound. It’s supposed to be the 8th wonder of the world and the group and I were already going to Queenstown for the weekend so we would be halfway there. We booked this boat ride through Milford Sound weeks ago so I was expecting things to sail smoothly, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The morning we were going to Milford Sound I ended up waking up 5 minutes before the bus had to leave so I grabbed what I could and ran to where the bus was supposed to be, but when I got there everyone who was going was standing outside in confusion because apparently no bus was coming for us. After having to sort things out with a few bus drivers, our group of 35 had to split up and squeeze onto two buses. We made several stops along the way and we realized at the second stop, the boat company could no longer provide us lunch like they promised because they weren’t expecting us. This made everyone very frustrated and on edge especially since we paid a decent amount for this trip and planned it well in advance. After a few phone calls, our group got the price reduced and boat food to eat on the boat. I was annoyed by the plans falling through, but as soon as we got into Milford Sound it was so beautiful that I was just happy to get to experience something so amazing even if there were challenges. I learned that day that you have to be flexible with your plans when traveling because things might not work out the way you want them to and that you shouldn’t give up on something you want to do just because it isn’t easy or what you expected. You just have to go with the flow and enjoy yourself!
