Well as you may have already guessed, the last blog I posted actually occurred a couple of days before I posted it. It's harder than one would guess to aquire internet down here, especially if you're looking for the free or cheap variety.
Anyways, much transiting has occurred since my last update. As expected, the ferry ride was absolutely beautiful, and it turned out to be a gorgeous 25 degrees day. The ship itself was nothing spectacular, but us passengers were blessed with many fantastic sights along the cruise. Besides the scenery, we were extremely fortunate to witness dolphins jumping and playing alongside the bow of the boat.
The Arahura docked in the small seaside town of Picton right on time, and we were immediately presented with a setting so quaint and quiet you'd think it was straight out of a novel. A small marina housed several sitting boats at the far end of the bay, while towering palm trees graced the beach seawall. Ducks waddled after us while quacking hungrily for leftovers, and brilliant flowers bloomed in every corner of dirt.
Picton Lodge Backpackers was easy enough to find, as all the hostels in this small town are situated only minutes from the ferry terminal. The hostel was much as you'd expect - small, quiet and run by an old lady with a yappy poodle named Fifi. (Better known as "Lamb" by the hostel drunk.) Our room was a 7 bed dorm, and it was a full house at night. After a much needed dinner, we embarked on a 10km trek up to Waikamo Bay. It was a beautiful evening, and the noisy bugs were in full swing. These insects are unlike anything you've ever heard.
We boarded another bus the next morning, and by 9:45am it was already shaping up to be another fantastic day. The drive to Christchurch was unlike any road I've ever traveled. People are right when they say that NZ is extremely diverse in its landscapes. The road ranged from coastal cliffside beauty, to winding jungle s-bends. Closer in to Christchurch the landscape began to look strikingly similar to that of Kamloops. Wineries dotted the countryside, and the temperature rose even higher.
After arriving in Christchurch we decided that we would walk to our hostel. After all, it was a glorious day outside, and accommodation was only about eight blocks away. First lesson of the trip: always anticipate that the city blocks will be much larger than the ones you are used to. It took us close to an hour to reach the hostel, and we were sweaty and starving upon finally reaching it. By comparison, the Avon City Backpackers was probably one of the worst hostels I've stayed at. The kitchen was barely big enough for one person to work in, and the lack of available cooking tools was extremely frustrating. The "tent site" portion of the hostel was literally just wherever you could fit your tent in the backyard. The female washroom was nice however, even though it had absolutely no outlets. Thankfully, the hostel was close to several main stores, including Countdown and The Warehouse. (which are the Canadian equivalents to Save-On Foods and Walmart)
Countdown served as an ideal place to grab food for the upcoming Kepler Track, and we later pinched free wi-if from the nearby McDonalds. Then it was off to bed, as we had an early bus to catch the next morning. 5:45am dawned early, and it was an entertaining challenge packing up the site in the dark while trying to be quiet. We were on the city transit by 7am, hoping to catch another bus from the exchange that would take us to the actual Intercity (Greyhound) bus terminal. Second trip lesson: assume that the bus exchange will have close to a million buses running out of it and it will not be apparent which one to take. By the time we finally found someone to point us in the right direction, we were in danger of missing our coach, and all the city was buses had departed. We ended up calling a cab, and then Intercity to let them know we were running late. The woman on the phone apologetically told us that they could not hold the bus for us, but that if our cab could get us there on time, there was another stop we could catch. Thankfully, the taxi arrived shortly afterwards, and she raced us to our destination. I felt a soaring sense of relief and elation when we saw another young man waiting for the same bus. It arrived 5 minutes later, and the driver went on to reprimand us about how he had wasted time waiting for us at the other terminal. I told him that Intercity had directed us to this stop, and he continued to grumble about "how lucky we were that another person had been booked in for pick-up at this location." At that point I just decided to shrug it off and board the bus, leaving him still griping at the luggage dock. I settled into the seat, thanking karma for our good fortune.
The bus driver continued to hint at the time delays over the intercom in his welcome announcement, but I was so content that I couldn't even be bothered by it. He finally quit complaining and then launched into a full tour guide explanation of our surroundings, weather patterns and local farming methods. It was neat to hear a bit about the local landscapes.
So now here I sit on what is hopefully the last bus for quite some time. The coach should arrive in Te Anau around 7pm tonight, where I'm looking forward to getting my hiking gear in order. Tomorrow is the much anticipated Kepler Track! I imagine I'll have tons to write about after the completing it. In the meantime, I thought I'd sign off with some interesting things I have learned so far in New Zealand.
1. Being a pedestrian means to risk becoming an endangered species. There are very few crosswalks, and even then drivers rarely yield to you. It's somewhat frightening!
2. Speeding is taken very seriously. Back in Canada a driver can drive comfortably up to almost 20km beyond the speed limit without much fear of a ticket. Here in NZ, there is a mere 4km/hr tolerance above the legal limit.
3. It is waaaaaay harder than you'd think to get used to having traffic on the left side of the street. You soon realize that the probably of becoming tourist soup is extremely high when you're looking the wrong way down the road.
4. None of the coaches here have washrooms onboard. It's the shits.
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