Finally, we headed on up to Rangitata which was another of the Stray-only stops that I adored ! It was a sheep station that had been turned into a whitewater rafting center with beds & a kitchen for our use. The bunks were 3-high in each room, & it was all so clean & cozy. We had a fire going in the common area & played card games until dinner. Tutu cooked his first barbecue for our entire group but as Sina, Ian, & I already had food we needed to cook, we all did our own thing. I had gotten a grab bag of vegetables at a fruit & veg stand near Queenstown for only $5 (potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, onion, brussel sprouts), so I added prawns, coconut milk, & curry paste to make a delicious curry ! Drinks were flowing all night, & I was grateful for the liter of Jim Beam I had bought beforehand. The early-to-bedders headed off eventually, & we were left with some Irish, some Germans, a Brit, a Swede, a Kiwi, a Canadian, & myself playing Cranium & Heads Up! until quite late. Eventually, almost everyone had called it a night except Liz (England), Anton (Sweden), & myself. We were drinking whiskey straight up, talking about old & new loves & everything in between, & Liz confided that she planned to do anything & everything crazy before she turned 30 (She had just turned 29 that week). It was one of those perfect nights with the fire & rain beating down. Liz eventually went to bed & Anton & I chatted & drank down the whiskey until I fell asleep on the couch. At the time, with the fire & sound of rain outside, it was a great idea...but not so great when the fire died, & I woke up shivering under a thin sheet haha.
On 28 April, we lost most of our group in Christchurch, as many people flew out of Christchurch or were staying to meet up with friends. Sina & I said goodbye to Ian...& then there were two. :( The bus headed now to Kaikoura, which means "meal of crayfish" in Maori. The most popular activity in Kaikoura is swimming with wild dolphins but unfortunately, due to rough waters, it was canceled for our day. Some people decided to stay an extra day or two to try again but Sina decided to have a chill night. I, on the other hand, had heard lots of good things about "Fishing with Jerry," where a local takes us out on his boat to fish & check crayfish pots then we get to eat our spoils cooked up fresh at his house & enjoy bottomless wine from his own vineyard...so I signed up for the trip & was joined by Liz (also English but different from my drinking buddy of the previous night). Tutu also came out on the boat & a random backpacker who'd heard about the trip from his friends two years before. We had such a great afternoon! We went around to the six crayfish pots located just off the coast & checked them for crayfish. Although we caught several, they were all with eggs or too small to keep so we had to toss them back. Jerry had promised that he had a fresh one from a day before back at his home for us to eat so it wasn't too disappointing. We also saw Hector's dolphins which jumped & played around the boat as we moved about, which was a really cool experience. Kaikoura is a lovely town, & seeing it from the water confirmed that I would love to spend more time there.
After being on the water for an hour or so, we headed back to Jerry's house, where he played lots of oldies music, danced around his patio, chatted with us, & treated us to fresh mussels & crayfish (like our North American lobster) for dinner along with cheese & crackers & jam & delicious sauvignon blanc; my glass was never empty. It was an evening well-spent. I returned to the hostel full & quite drunk, & after a failed attempt to watch a horror movie in the hostel lounge (Sina & I couldn't stomach it), I resigned myself to a full night's sleep. On the way out of Kaikoura, we made a stop at the Ohau Point seal colony. It was a short walk from the bus to a waterfall where seal pups come in from the ocean to play. It was the cutest thing!!! There were several dozen seal pups all along the river, with most of them splashing & jumping & playing at the waterfall. Then we had an express day back to Picton & the ferry across the Cook Straight to Wellington, at the base of the North Island.
Back in Wellington, I grabbed pizza from a local pizzeria while Sina grabbed a few extra ingredients to cook at the hostel. Most of us had an early night although I, always the night owl, stayed up in the lobby until half one, writing these blog entries & playing on my laptop!
Early on Thursday, 30 April, we set off northbound from Wellington for the long express haul returning to Auckland. Although I have had a hop-on/hop-off bus pass for the duration of my trip, I had not yet used the hop-off feature, as I was limited on time & hesitant to use it too early. In total, I had two nights & one full day to spare but as time went on & I hadn't used my extra stop time, I became more & more determined to again attempt the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The Stray bus makes a stop at Tongariro National Park between Wellington & Auckland, just for pick-ups/drop-offs, so weather pending, it would be perfect to hop off & attempt the crossing. National Park was about halfway through the express trip to Auckland so I hopped off around 12:30 p.m. on the 30th, with plans to stay at the YHA for the following two nights.
After checking in & changing into my second favorite hiking outfit (reserving my favorite for the crossing), I enquired at the reception area about nearby trails that I could complete before sundown. It was a beautiful afternoon, & I was eager to just be outside. The receptionist recommended a trail that went to a lookout point (2 hours return) or continued to a waterfall lookout (4 hours return) or down to the base of the fall (5 hours return) although the full trail was rated as "difficult & for experienced bushwalkers only." I would barely have enough time to complete the trail before sundown, so I set off & decided I would stop & turn around whenever seemed reasonable. Unfortunately, the first lookout point was disappointing so I continued down to the waterfall & on to the base. It was stunning but I did end up regretting that I was absolutely & totally alone. The trail became quite overgrown & even unmarked in places. I went through several sections with no handholds, a path barely as wide as one foot, & a steep cliff face on the other side. I forded a river in several places & soon realized that I was kilometers away from any person & very at risk for injury. I took my time though & was cautious in the tricky parts, & I am glad I made it safely down & back. Next time, I'll rally company from the hostel ! :) I was rewarded with some of the beautiful views upon my return of sunset over the national park.
Absolutely exhausted after my hike, I collapsed into bed for a good sleep before the Tongariro Crossing. As it happened, I was fortunate enough to have one of the most beautiful days of my entire trip spent in one of the most beautiful places of my entire trip on 1 May. I got up early for a breakfast burger at the cafe in town, where I would meet a group of southbound Stray-ers to get set up with for the hike. The group was really friendly & after an opportunity to rent cold weather gear (I was luckily able to borrow gloves & a waterproof outer layer from the Stray driver, Papa G), we were shuttled to the start of the crossing. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is 19.4 kilometers, crossing snowy plains, volcanic craters, green lakes, & geothermal hotspots. It was difficult, & it was frigid, & it was exhausting...but it was SO worth it. I saw some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, & I again felt lucky to have a young body & young heart that could conquer it; there are so many people I would love to share the experience with who likely would not be physically able to see it. I feel so lucky that I can !
After the crossing, I was sore all over & asleep on my feet. I had a first dinner of tortilla soup in the hostel & a second dinner of a chicken burger at the cafe before crashing in my bed - alone in a 10-bed room.
On Saturday 2 May, I was lucky to have a little sleep-in before meeting the northbound bus to head back to Auckland. This time, I hopped on with Motors, who seemed great although I only was with her for four hours. When I finally got back to Auckland, I treated myself to a burrito from the Mexican place I'd found tolerable before leaving on my trip. Then, I was able to meet up with Sina at the hostel before spending a chill movie night preparing for my flight out on Sunday. It was sad to leave Auckland but not as hard as I thought since the bulk of my favorite things (& most of our bus) had been left behind on the South Island. I got to say goodbye to Sina at the bus stop, which made my trip really begin to feel over, then I took the Airbus to the Auckland airport & headed on to my next adventure: becoming a Sydney local !
More to come on the Sydney adventure so far...
Until next time xoxo,
Alli
No comments:
Post a Comment