This was half written in Wellington, and half written in Napier - one week apart.
I realise in the two
weeks since P left for the North Island, I haven't written anything.
To be honest, things did get in the way for a while but I really
haven't had an excuse these last three days. It's been wet and
miserable, just like home. I could've been going around the museums,
but instead, I was lazy and watched The Killing and hung out in the
TV room watching movies I've already seen. Sometimes, exploring gets
boring. I'm really looking forward to Napier now. Being somewhere for
more than 10 days at a time, somewhere I can settle and make friends,
not just ones for a few days. I have met some really, really lovely
people. I try to keep in touch with all of them and maybe I'll see
them again, but at the same time we're all going in different
directions. I don't feel like socialising in hostels any more. I'm
tired of it and it's getting me down. I'm usually a social butterfly,
but I just don't have any energy left. Let's hope it comes back in
Napier. So, let's rewind two weeks and talk about what I have done
and not what I'm not doing.
Kaikoura
Kaikoura was mine and
P's last stop. We got the early bus from Christchurch and so we got
to our hostel around 11am. We couldn't check in just yet, but left
our luggage there (the storage locker was an old, giant safe from the
old days when our hostel was a post office). There was a market on in
town – being a Sunday, there usually is one somewhere – selling
meats, cheeses and ice cream. We bought ourselves a loaf of bread to
use later. We settled down at a café near the market where we could
hear the music opposite too. The singer was alike to Joni Mitchell.
She was really very good. We had a big breakfast whilst surrounded by
seagulls squawking away. I would just like to find somewhere without
seagulls for once, but being a seaside town, it can't really be
helped.
Kaikoura was the town
that C and I had planned to come first, before she decided not to
come at all. It really is a beautiful town. The shore is rocky, but
with a view over the bay and towards the mountains, you really can't
beat it. P and I decided to do the peninsula walk in the afternoon,
but once we'd settled down in our hostel, we settled down for a wee
nap and didn't wake up until 4.30pm. Two people in the hostel dorm
where we were supposed to go decided to stay on longer, so P and I
were given a twin bunk bed private room instead. Pretty sweet!
Since we'd slept too
late, there was now no time to do the peninsula walk. Instead, we
booked to see the penguins in South Bay, just over the hill and on
the other side of the peninsula from Kaikoura. It was $40 each to see
them, and the walk over took a lot longer than we expected. We had
walked into town for food and there had been a bit of a wait for
food. I had forgotten to bring my ID to the bar and therefore we had
to go back and get it before we could even order. We only had small
bites to eat, but I was most impressed with P's mussels. They were
massive! Our walk to South Bay took around 30 minutes, unlike the
15-20 we were promised. We also got lost finding the lifeboat
station. When we had been given directions, we were told that we
couldn't miss the big lifeboat. Only it was now dark, and even though
we had our torch, we couldn't see a damn thing!
Finally we found the
guy by asking some locals filling up their car at the harbour. When
we got there, we were shushed immediately. We could hear the penguins
squawking. We were led under the lifeboat station, through a little
door and into a long room with benches and a viewing area. The guy, I
can't remember his name!, removed a rock from the tunnel where they
come through. He had put it there when he found we were running late.
Little blue penguins are the smallest penguins in the world and they
weigh up to 1.5kg and are not very big, maybe a foot high. There was
a light above the tunnel – more of a tube – to show when a
penguin was entering. We saw four penguins. One full mating couple
and two others – one female and one male. Each bird is tagged so
they know which ones they are, and we saw an unknown penguin. It was
really cool to see them up close. We couldn't make any sudden
movements, they could see us and we could see them. It wasn't a one
way glass. The whole thing only lasted an hour and we were shown a
little film afterwards all about the penguins. Now I can say I've
seen a wild penguin, and not just one in a zoo!
On Monday, the next
day, we had booked ourselves a little kayaking trip through book me.
Really starting to like that site! We saved ourselves about $30 each.
We were a group of 8 and P and I were the only ones who had never
kayaked before. I had done so before with my Dad, but it was over 15
years ago and although I could remember the basics, it was a lot
tougher than I remembered. I also thought kayaks were canoes. I was
chosen for the back, where I had control of the pedals that would
choose our direction and P was up front. It look us a little while to
get the hang of it and every so often we went pretty fast. We had to
be tied onto our instructors kayak twice to keep us up to speed with
the others. We saw dolphins. Dusky Blue Dolphins. So many of them!
Like 50+. There were already some people out there and we just joined
them for half an hour. There were dolphins beside my paddle, dolphins
swimming under the kayak, swimming beside us and doing amazing flips!
Unfortunately, my camera is super slow and I didn't catch any of the
flips, only the splashes when they dove back into the water. But it
really was amazing. Wild dolphins, just swimming on by and showing
off. I would've stayed there all day but time was running out, so we
went to see the seals. P and I had only seen one sleeping seal,
hardly worth mentioning, at Milford Sound. Here, we saw about 6 or 7
on the rocks, and one swum right by us, diving under our boat and
then sneaking up beside us again. It was well worth the experience
but I was truly exhausted afterwards – at least my arms were. P was
the same. To move our arms that way for 3 hours, I was aching! I kept
on catching my thumbs between the paddles and the kayak itself, so I
was a bit sore in my entire upper half. But we got really good
weather, sunny the entire time.
In the afternoon, we
changed and headed into town for a bite to eat. The sun was so hot by
this point and we spent a while just sunbathing at the pub. But we'd
told some of the hostel lot our plans to do the peninsula walk and
they walked past calling to us that, we'd gotten far. Ha. Around half
two, we slunk from our warm spot and started our walk around the bay.
The first hour or so of the walk is on the main road, and then on a
little twisty single track road that reminded me a lot of Arran. We
stopped at the Crayfish hut (Kaikoura's best not so secretly kept
secret) and tried some crayfish, even though we'd just had lunch not
two hours before. We bought half a one for $31 (it was supposed to be
$39 but the guy gave us the wrong change) and shared it on a long
wooden table by the road. Crayfish is lobster. I'd never had it
before and it was quite nice, a lot like crab and I think I still
prefer prawns (or shrimp as they call them here) more. We ended up
just picking at it with our fingers. We were full pretty quickly, but
it didn't stop us getting some ice cream – and me, sorbet – at
the other little hut there. It didn't take us long to get to the seal
sanctuary after that. The signs said not to get to close, and at that
moment in time, I really liked the zoom on my camera. The rocks were
mostly flat and apparently great for sunbathing.
From there, we climbed
a steep zigzag up to the top of the cliff edge. Such an amazing view
from the top, I can't remember how many pictures I took that day, but
I can definitely say a lot! We slowly walked along, taking pictures,
and at one point we went down the cliff face to a bird sanctuary. I
wanted to see if I could find Hutton's shearwater. It's not known how
it was named, but I found it online back when I was researching James
Hutton for our marketing project at work. I wanted to find it so I
could send a picture back to Doc Monro. ODE people may understand the
reference. Although we could hear some birds, we weren't allowed past
a certain point, so we didn't see anything. Let's just say it now,
but I really hate climbing steep steps, and there were a lot of them
leading back up to the main path. P and I dawdled a lot for the rest
of our walk, stopping to take pictures and to read signs, and
eventually got back to the hostel about 7pm. We really did have a
lovely, leisurely walk! That evening, we called every hostel on the
list for Christchurch and finally found one on the edge of town for
the next night, Avon Backpackers. Everywhere was full!
The next day, Tuesday,
we had to leave. But our bus back to Christchurch wasn't until the
afternoon, so we wondered around the town for a bit, took pictures
and went down to the beach. The sun came out briefly (before the
rain) and shone on the sea, and there were parts of it that looked
pure turquoise. I think if we'd had longer and it hadn't been so
windy, I may have gone for a paddle! We also had one last brunch-y
fry up before a seagull attached P's plate when she was in the
bathroom. I tried a flat white with soya, but it was much too strong
for me. I think I may stick to mochas or something like them in the
future. As soon as we'd gotten on our bus and the driver was about to
leave, the heavens opened up. And down came the hail. Really heavy
hail that bounced high off the ground. We'd made it just in time!
We were picked up by
the hostel owner outside the museum, and taken to our hostel. As soon
as we arrived, I could see we'd made a terrible choice. But it was
the last place with availability, and I'm not at all surprised as to
why! It was incredibly basic. The front garden was filled with junk
and rubbish. The chairs outside were tattered, ripped and due for the
dump. We paid for our hostel on top of a cupboard, and the guy
operated out of a wash bag. Cash only. Our room had a sofa – yay –
but lying on the beds, you sunk right down like an old camping bed.
The kitchen was tiny, definitely not big enough for the amount of
people staying there. There were tents in the garden, so no outside
space at all. The only clean thing was the bathroom. And the only
nice thing was the cat. DO NOT STAY AT AVON BACKPACKERS!!
We met a half British,
half Kiwi lady in our room. She had escaped NZ during the recession
of the 1980's and had fled to Britain, where she's now part of a
biker gang. She was pretty cool and she reminded me of Debs. P and I
decided not to use the kitchen and ate what was left of our picnic
instead, while I got P addicted to the first season of Gilmore Girls.
Her copy, not mine. In the morning, the lady we met gave us a lift
into town. I'd managed to book myself two nights at the Rucksacker's
again, but today P would be leaving. I left my stuff at the new
hostel and went into town with P. We wanted to have lunch before we
set off to the airport. We went back to Dimitri's at the Re:Start
mall, and even though I tried to pay for it, P very kindly bought me
lunch as a thank you for being her tour guide on our 2 week
adventure.
Soon after, it was time
for the bus and we traipsed to the bus station. It was really hard
saying goodbye to P. I stayed with her at the gate until her flight
was called. There was no security check in that part so strangely
enough, I was able to be with her until just before her flight. P was
going to Palmerston North for two weeks to see her family, and then
to Japan. I decided I would make my way slowly north. Back in
Kaikoura, before our bus, I had applied for a job in the north island
via the backpackers board. To work as a receptionist for 18 hours a
week, for accommodation only. It was a job in an old prison where
they now did ghost tours. After a few emails back and forward that
day, I got the job! I was to start on the 12th of April,
which now gave me just over two weeks to make my way there.
On my last day in
Christchurch, I managed to meet up with Mandy again. We spent the
afternoon together, just trawling around the centre, looking at books
and eating Chinese. $5 for a full plate of food after 2pm! We met up
with one of her friends and they went back to his together while I
went back to the hostel to cook the chicken I'd bought the day before
and to change as we'd decided to go out for a drink. We went to Smash
Palace, and I invited one of my roommates, Kai, along as well. We
stayed out for a couple of hours. It was really nice to catch up and
Smash Palace is one of those places where it's a mixture of types who
go there. It's really a biker bar with a mechanics shop in place, but
you also get the after work suits and the scruffier types, like me
and Mandy.
I'm not sure if I'll
come back to Christchurch. I like the South Island and it reminds me
a lot of home, and although weather circumstances stopped me from
doing a few things, I'd basically seen all I wanted to. I'd seen an
iceberg and glaciers and Mount Cook and Queenstown and Milford Sound
and Kaikoura and wildlife and had even bungee jumped. I had done a
lot in two months.
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| Greymouth Harbour (looking pretty grey!) |
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| Pukaki - Pancake Rocks on the West Coast. A stop on the bus between Greymouth & Nelson |
Although I'd been to
Hokitika, I realised I hadn't seen much of the West Coast, so with my
2 weeks left, I slowly made my way north. I took the bus over to
Greymouth and spent one night there. You don't need much more than
that, if you don't have a car there's not much to do! I then
travelled up to Nelson and met up with a friend of a friend there –
Michelle. She had worked with our mutual friend, S, an old family
friend of my Mum's, about 10 years ago up in Napier – where I was
headed. Michelle is my age and a lawyer. We got on well though and I
spent the next day with her as well. She had a gym challenge to
complete – to take as much weight as possible up the centre of NZ.
The centre of NZ is a hill, right bang in the centre of Nelson, and
so they say, the centre of NZ itself. Many aren't convinced, but it
gives 360 degree views of Nelson and the surrounding area – all the
way to the Abel Tasman National Park. I would have done Abel Tasman
if I'd had more money and someone to do it with, but as I am slowly
running out, I decided to save it for Wellington. In the end,
Michelle and her friend managed to take up 180kg of weights via a
rucksack, a wheelbarrow and a box carrier. I helped carry it down,
and 25kg was certainly enough for me, I don't know how they managed
it! That's two very strong women right there!
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| Michelle (left) and her friend taking up the first 80kg |
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| Nelson from above, with the Abel Tasman peninsula in the background |
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| Funky rocks with Mussels! |
My last day in Nelson
was spent exploring the town. I found Scotland road, I saw the
cathedral, I walked to the port and along to the beach. It was sunny
but windy all day. I had my packed lunch looking at sail boats in the
port. I walked along the edge of the bay and found a list of boats
that arrived here in the 19th century with their passenger
manifests – and a family of Powell's! I wonder if we're related! I
explored the funny shaped rocks and found masses of mussels. I
paddled in the sea and wrote a birthday message for F in the sand. I
didn't manage to meet up with Michelle again, but she's a contact I'm
glad I've made.
After Nelson, I went to
Blenheim via bus. Pronounced Blen-em. It's part of the Marlborough
region and famous for it's wine. I spent two nights there, and I was
starting to get a bit anti-social. I watched a lot of the Mighty
Johnsons, a NZ series based in Auckland about a set of brothers who
are reincarnated Nordic Gods with Godly powers. Pretty good series
actually. I explored Blenheim the first day. It took me an hour and I
walked really slowly!
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| Blenheim River |
The next day was a lot
more interesting. My roommate Daniel and I decided to rent bikes and
cycle around the wine region. A lot of places did free wine tastings
and our hostel manager had circled a ton of them on the map. We
borrowed bikes from the hostel itself and set out on our journey. It
was a really warm day and we stopped a few times to take pictures of
the vines, the views and a random plane we found sitting beside a
café. It took us about an hour with the stops to cycle the first
14km along the main road. I wrote all the wines down so I'd remember
what I'd tried.
Gibson Bridge
Vineyard
Pinot Gris 2009 Single
Vineyard
Pinot Gris 2011 Single
Vineyard
Pinot Gris 2013 Reserve
Pinot Gris 2010 Single
Vineyard
Pinot Gris Rose 2013
(very light see through pink wine)
Gewuertztraminer 2011
Reserve
Framingham Vineyard
Sauvignon Blanc 2013
Classic Reisling 2011
Select Reisling 2012
Pinot Gris 2011
Gewuertztraminer
Noble Reisling 2013
Giesen Vineyard
Sauvignon Blanc 2013
Sauvignon Blanc Organic
2013
Riesling 2013 (I liked
it so much, I bought a bottle!)
Pinot Gris 2013
Brother's Chardonnay
2012
Huia (who-ee-a)
Vineyard
Huia Brut 2006
Huia Gewuertztraminer
2010
Huia Rose 2010
Hunky Dory Tangle Blend
Botrytis Riesling 2011
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| Me and Daniel: Bike Selfie! |
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| #1 Gibson Bridge Vineyard |
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| Lunch! |
Okay, so I only had 22
now looking back instead of the 25 I claimed. But Daniel had 25 for
sure, I couldn't have any more after the last Riesling – it was far
too sweet, even for me! Also, it was closing time. All vineyards
close their gates in between 4-5pm. We had stopped at Giesen for some
food. Both previous vineyards had recommended their platter, so
Daniel and I split a platter between us. It was $24, but then we were
charged an extra $4 for more bread. The wine I bought there was $16.
I think they got their money's worth from me. There were a couple and
their daughter going around the same vineyards as us, also on bikes.
They were everywhere we went. And the bought a lot. All I could hear
was the old guy going, shall we have a few bottles of this? What
about some champagne? Oh, to be part of that family! We cycled around
30km, I was exhausted after my ride and treated myself to a small
piece of lamb from the supermarket. Only $6 for a large leg... yum!
From Blenheim the next
day, I went straight to Picton and the ferry to Wellington. I'd
booked ahead to a hostel near the centre for 7 nights, although I
later extended this to 9. It was a warm day and you could see the
North Island from the South, and all the way down to the Kaikoura
Mountain range, about 160km south! I took many pictures of the
crossing, so many that my camera battery died! I did however, find
out why so many Kiwi's walk around in their bare feet. It's to
connect to the earth, and I'm told rubber soles stop that. It also
means New Zealanders have harder soles. I tried on the path at the
botanical gardens a few days later and couldn't even last a minute
without going, ow!
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| Other passengers! |
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| The feet thing! |
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| Kaikoura Mountains in the background |
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| First glimpse of North Island |
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| Wellington! |
Wellington is amazing.
First stepping off the ferry, you can see a few sky-scrapers, but not
too high to spoil the view. I got a taxi from a side street off the
main marina to the hostel, and I'm glad I did. The hostel, the
Rosemere, was up a steep street, and then up some steep steps and
then I was on the next floor up. With a rucksack... fine! But a
suitcase? It was only two days later when I found out that the
outside area on the ground floor goes straight onto the street, so I
didn't have to lump my suitcase up all those stairs after all! I
arrived on Thursday evening, so that night I just settled in. Put
away my food, ate some leftovers from my picnic and watched some of
The Killing on my laptop.
Friday was a warm day.
After a quick shower, I headed to the shop for some supplies and then
down to the shore to eat my lunch. Most of the Wellington waterfront
is boarded walkways or boarded quays, and I didn't get around all of
it. When I go back, I'll get to the Oriental Quay and over to the
islands. I spent the day in the sunshine before heading back to the
hostel to get ready for the evening. When I found myself going to
Wellington for more than a few days, I decided to join the local Meet
Up group. After having such a warm welcome in the Christchurch one,
even though it was only for a few days, I decided to join the 20s+
Social Group in Wellington. Friday night was the first event I could
make, drinks at a bar at the bottom of Courtney place, one of the
main streets in Wellington.
On arrival, and for
once I was 5 minutes early, I couldn't see anyone at the bar. I
waited outside in the sun for a few minutes before plucking up my
courage and going to ask at the bar. Two girls were there already,
Vicky and Maeta, the organisers. Both amazingly friendly girls, and
also best friends, they gave a good welcome into the group. I made
some good friends that night. Sophie (lovely, lovely Kiwi), Simon, half Kiwi-half Liverpudlian, Eva
from Ireland and David, Chinese but has lived in New Zealand most of
his life. All really great people. Our drinks ended up being dinner
and drinks and then dancing! With David, Sophie, Vicky, Ross (from Scotland!)
and Simon. I got back to the hostel at 3am!
On Saturday I went to
the market down by the waterfront; in an underground car park with
doors right onto the quay. It was a craft market and there was a lot
of things for sale. Jewellery, fancy dresses, home ware... all sorts.
I found a certain something for my sister for her birthday. I also
found a fantastic tweed jacket for when I get a proper job. It was
from a stall called Dress for Success. It's a kind of charity shop,
which collects clothes for women returning to work, dressing them up
smartly for interviews. I really admire what they're doing and would
love to work for them. I think it's a great idea. I got a lovely,
almost new tweed MaxMara (Italian) jacket. It fits me so well, and
even buttons properly in the chest area. I don't know about you, but
I usually have to go a size up to find something that fits. But it's
official... I'm a 14! I've found out that NZ sizes are the same as
the UK, whereas shoe sizes are +2. I looked up similar jackets
online. I got it for $40... and they can go for more like hundreds of
dollars. Deal :)
During the afternoon I
took a walk a bit further around the Quay, and sunbathed on a little
triangle near some boats. There I met Ellen, a thirty-something
searching for work in Wellington. We ended up going for a stroll
along the quay and then up to the Botanical Gardens. I say stroll...
but in Ellen's case it was more like a quick paced march! It was a
beautiful day and we ended up walking all the way to the viewpoint at
the top of the hill. I took the cable car back down, a cheap $3.50
single, while she went off to meet a friend. Just walking around
Wellington feels nice to me. Everyone is friendly, they don't mind
giving directions, the streets are clear and occasionally the weather
is good. I'm looking forward to wearing wellies in Wellington though!
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| Padlocks on the bridge like Paris, looking towards Queen's Wharf |
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| The piano that anyone can play on the shore |
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| I found a Doctor Who exhibition! |
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| The Rosemere |
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| Sophie and Me with the Thor lookalike! |
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| Candyfloss for $3 after the market. Of course I did! |
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| The architectural amazingness that is Te Papa! |
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| Old mixed beautifully with the new |
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| View from the Botanics |
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| Cable Car! |
Saturday night was a
visit to Wagamama. I was so relieved to find the restaurant in
Wellington – it's my favourite! I found one in Christchurch – but
it was still underneath the rubble. I had the same as always – a
Pad Thai with chicken and prawns – Nom, Nom!! The RSPV's had
already closed for the event but Vicky, as organiser, had said it was
fine to just come along. I dragged Simon along to crash with me.
There was supposed to be 25 coming, but a few didn't turn up. We were
along two huge tables. I still don't know everyone's names, but
there's plenty of people out there to get to know. The group has 160
members. I think I got the names of about 20 odd people. I recognise
them at things, but I don't know all their names. But it's good to
know people. Ice skating was after. I haven't skated for about 15
years and the last time I did, a got hit by some guy showing off,
hurt my coccyx and ended up in the centre's emergency room. I wasn't
looking forward to it, but decided to face my fears. Even my Dad
wished me good luck!
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| Ice Ice Baby: Sophie, Maeta and me |
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| Me, Sophie and Maeta with the Bingo Queen |
The rain started up on
Monday, but it wasn't going to stop my plans. I didn't go out much
during the day, but I did go out at night. On Tuesday, I went to see
Captain America with Megan from Meet Up, on Wednesday there was a
free beginner's Line Dancing class at a wee bar called Dakota, where
we all got to wear Cowboy hats in which to dance. I wasn't entirely
successful with every dance we learnt, but I managed! Thursday night
was supposed to be active Thursday's. We were supposed to climb a
nearby hill, but since it was still torrential downpour we went
bowling instead. We didn't think of booking ahead, so played a couple
of games of pool until their was a lane available for us. We shared a
couple of pizzas while I had a BLT with avocado. Love how they
include avocado with everything. Yum! I made two more friends that
night in Rachel and Vanessa. I don't know if I can say “fun”
more, but my 9 days in Wellington were a TON of fun!
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| Sophie, David, Me and Vanessa (Vicky was taking the picture). And there's my missing camera! |
Friday was my last
night in Wellington. I made a picnic for my bus the next day and
dressed for the night. It was another set of drinks, dinner and
dancing. We moved on quite early to the dancing part. I made more
friends that night, even some random girls I made friends with when
we were by the sinks in the bathroom. We were back in Dakota, where
the Line Dancing was. We were all given hats again, and Rachel and I
were fooling around, taking lots of pictures. And then here's where I
was a complete eejit. I took my camera to the bathroom with me, for
safe keeping. Left it on top of the toilet roll dispenser... went
back for it after getting a glass of water (I was preparing to go
home), suddenly remembering, 5-10 minutes later... and of course,
it's vanished! I asked at the bar, I asked random women... but it's
gone for good. I left my name and number with the bar staff and I've
made a police report. I'm just glad I'd uploaded most of my pictures
only a few days before this, otherwise I'd be a lot more upset. That
camera was my Christmas present to myself, my lovely Olympus, £130.
My Dad has kindly said he'll go half with me if I get a new one, he
says I should have a camera while travelling. I feel like a part of
me is missing. I'm constantly wanting to take pictures, but can't.
I've found a way to take pictures with the webcam on my laptop but
it's not the same. I'm going to see if there's anything going in the
Easter sales. But I still feel so stupid. I just wasn't thinking
straight. So, a sad end to my time in Wellington. Rachel and Simon
were really helpful right after I lost it. Helping me look, talking
to the staff and the DJ, calming me down. I think I've found some
good friends in those two. And a load more for sure!
