Wednesday 1-27-10
I don’t know if last night was louder than normal or what, but I felt the sound reverberating around the room. I really didn’t sleep more than a couple hours. At 5:30, we got up and packed the remaining things left out. Then we went down the elevator , checked out, and tried walk down the wharf.
Well, I tried to cross this really bumpy bridge and was failing miserably. I kept changing hands, put one bag in front and one bag in back, switched, had both bags in back…anything to relieve the pressure from my hands. My bags kept hitting each other when in back. The big bag is not compatible with carrying for a while and would constantly hit the back of my legs.
An older lady took pity and grabbed the smaller bag to get over the bridge. I was already embarrassed, but I let her carry it. The big bag was a major problem though. I still walked WAY slower than her and Alison. She asked, “Are you going to the train station, because I am headed in that direction and would be happy to help you. I will walk a little faster, but don’t worry. I am not leaving with your luggage.” Like she would want to.
I started walking backwards, which was a lot easier. People would stop whatever they were doing to watch me. A guy looked through the window of his shop; guys would turn around and watch me. I was mortified. Plus, the lady and Alison would stop and wait for me every once in a while. They wanted me to rest a bit, but my pride was hurt so I said, “okay” quickly to keep going.
She really did drag that luggage all the way across from the train station. She said she was taking the scenic way, although I wasn’t paying attention to the scenery. A guy told me to pull the other way, (as I was walking backwards) like this was a brand new idea. Then he offered to help me, which I declined, trying to save what dignity I had left. Right across from the train station, the lady was walking back and told me where to find Alison and my suitcase. I thanked her profusely and she just said “Oh I was happy to do it!” What an angel! Then she blew me a kiss and walked away.
So I got to Alison and waddled across the street to the train station. We had to go up a couple steps and a guy immediately took a suitcase and dragged it to platform 9. Another guy took my other suitcase and dragged that over. I thanked both of them, plopped down in front of my luggage and tried to keep myself from crying! I have several blisters on my right hand and I could barely move from exhaustion.
On a side note, this train station actually put a platform 9 ¾. I showed Alison this, but I then realized she does not know anything about Harry Potter and it was meaningless to her. What a pity.
So we were able to rest for an hour before we had to move. I noticed a ticket kiosk thing for the shuttle, so we purchased our tickets. The shuttle came and I had to carry the luggage up the shuttle stairs. Amazingly, the lower shelf for luggage was empty, so I filled it up quickly. There were no seats left, so we stood in the aisle and tried to keep from smashing into people.
We got to the ferry terminal. We were one of the last on the bus, so we were one of the first off. So we got our luggage, went down the stairs, and got in line to check in our baggage. We would get the ferry to Picton and pick up the train to Christchurch. When we checked in our luggage, we asked if we had to get our luggage at Picton, check it in the train station and pick it up in Christchurch. He said no, that our luggage would be waiting or us in Christchurch. What a miracle!
Last night, I continuously prayed that we would make it to the train station without a taxi, and that we would not have to worry about our luggage once we checked in. He really provided with wonderful people and gifts…and I got to be humbled!
So we went up on top of the ferry and it took us a long time to find seats. There were only 2 seats that were next to each other. We just plopped down and didn’t move for over an hour. It was hard for me to even lift my arm to scratch my nose! After a while, we got up and looked around. The scenery was unbelievable. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. Alison and I just talked, looked around, and watched our stuff.
Then, after 3 hours, we got our stuff and walked down. We went all the way down and asked about a free shuttle to the train (as we were told in Wellington). She said there was no free shuttle, but we would have to walk to the train station. It wasn’t far, but we were so glad we didn’t have our other luggage!
We stood in a long line for the train station, but we got there and got our seats. We then went to subway (which was attached to the train station) and ordered a sandwich. We were just about to sit down when the train arrived. I went to the bathroom to fill the water bottles. The bathroom was tiny and…interesting. I got right in, but a big line formed behind me.
Then we got our stuff and boarded the train after a few minutes. We saw a guy with a t-shirt saying ACDC. Alison and I groaned. We have harsh feelings toward ACDC as they were the cause of us leaving Wellington. We heard there were a group of guys that did a lot of drinking on the train and created quite a mess, so they had to clean it, which made a huge delay.
We got to our seats, which were in front of a table, and two other seats sharing our table. Two guys occupied those seats. We kept dozing off. The scenery was beautiful. At Kaikoura, the train stopped for a couple minutes. It is a place for great whale watching, for Sperm Whales.
Then we went to the car that was open to take pictures. The train goes through 22 tunnels in over 6 hours. As soon as we stepped out, we went through at least ½ of the 22 tunnels. They were long and smelled awful. We did get great views of the beach, farms, sea lions, birds, and birds that looked like penguins. Then we went back to our seats. The sun was blaring and of course I didn’t have or find sunscreen, so I got roasted. Even my lips burned. I had my sunglasses on, so I look like a red raccoon!
We got off the train, got our luggage, and went down to get a taxi. It cost just over $15. Then we got in and had to pay in cash (which I am running out of). We were told we had to pay $2 for linens, but we told them the website said linens included. So they gave it to me for free. Then we went upstairs to put our stuff down. Then we went for a walk.
We already like this city. It is considered the most English city and is a sister city to Seattle. It also has a river running through the city and has bridges to cross over it. There are many old looking buildings around. We also saw a band of people in rows. There were drums and bagpipes. When we walked a little further, they started playing. Oh, I loved it! It is also much quieter. All our roommates were over 40 (which we loved!)
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