Tripping it Alone

Friday 30 July 2010

I got up and got ready. I had a big breakfast and did last minute packing. Then we all went into town. Anne and Alister dropped us off, then Alison and I walked around till the bus arrived. I waited until everyone boarded, then I went on. It was a nice send off.

The day was beautiful. Clear, cloudless, sunny, amazing. We had a couple stops in the Canterbury Plains. The Southern Alpine was phenomenal. The snow was glistening. We had a 30 minute stop in Lake Tekapo. I was the first one off the bus. I started walking around the lake. It was absolutely beautiful. I walked fast, but enjoyed the sights thoroughly. I even saw the Church of the Good Shepherd. I met a girl as we waited for the bus driver switch. She was from Seattle. Anyway, we got on the bus and the bus driver mentioned a couple things along the way. He told us where Mt. Cook was from Lake Pukaki. Mount Cook is the biggest mountain in New Zealand. There are many tours that go there. The main tour that I was looking at involved seeing Mt. Cook, Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, and the Church of the Good Shepherd. Basically everything I was seeing. I had planned to go on Sunday, but the forecast was not good. So I just saved myself a lot of money! The driver even stopped so we could get out and take pictures.

We arrived in Wanaka just after 5:00 pm. I saw some of my roommates as I checked in the hostel, but I hurried to get food out and ran out to see what I could see before it was too dark. I walked around the lake and found a walking track. I went a little ways, but it was getting really dark. I stopped and ate dinner, then headed back to the hostel. My roommates were playing games, but they were drinking alcohol with the game. For example, if someone rolls a 4, the person on the right has to drink steadily for 4 seconds...I just declined. For being in a room of 8 and having heavy drinkers (they hit the bar afterwards), they were quite considerate when they went to bed.

Saturday 31 July 2010

I got up a little after 8 and left. I wanted as much time as possible to go tramping. I first took a couple pictures of the mountains and lake. Lake Wanaka is really pretty. The clouds were looking a bit ominous. I stopped first at the i-site to pick up a map. Then I started to walk toward Puzzling World. I found the walking track Anne had mentioned. It was called Mt. Iron. I started up one side. Most people were going to the other side. I was glad, because I wanted to hear nature instead of people. There were some people behind me, but I let them pass. I felt like the track was vertical. My calves ached and my heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest. I had to stop a couple times. The sights were absolutely brilliant. The only downside was that it was sprinkling a bit. When I got to the summit, I ate a snack and caught my breath before heading down. The way down was quite muddy and slippery. I was sliding every which way. So I had to go down slowly.

Then I went across the street to the Puzzling World (I actually had a good view of this place from the top of Mount Iron). It is a place that has a maze and weird stuff in it. I can't really describe anything, because it cost $12.50 to go in. I just peeked in a couple windows and walked around it.

Then I walked to the lake and went across one side all the way to waterfall creek. This was the end of the map, so it ended the walking track for me. It wasn't a waterfall at all, but an area of sand and water. It was pretty. Then I went along the water to the other side of the lake. This is what I started to do yesterday, but it got too dark. I went to Eely Point, Bremner Bay, and headed toward Beacon Point. I never got to a sign that said Beacon Point, but I think I was there, because I went to a place that looked like it was past Beacon Point on the map. I kept walking, but I had to turn around to catch the 5:00 bus to Queenstown. On my way back, I saw a pretty rainbow. The rain was pelting down at times, but there was nothing to do. The annoying thing was it was warm. I had to wear my jacket for the rain, but I was HOT!

I made it back to town and got the bus. My shoulders hurt from my back pack. Since I checked out, I had to take everything with me. I had been tramping all over the place, so everything in my body hurt, but I had a great time. I got into Queenstown at 6:30 and checked in. I looked around for a bit, but I was so tired, I just crashed. I was with several other girls. They took showers and had their pyjamas on. I thought they were going to bed, but they were actually getting ready to go clubbing. They used a ton of hairspray. I was having a hard time breathing with all the toxic fumes, after they left. The girls were so noisy when they came back, but even they weren't as loud as the obnoxious boys outside.

Sunday 1 August 2010

I got up, checked out, and headed to the bus. It was really raining by now. We made our way to Wanaka. This was a different driving experience. When I came down, the sky was clear and you could see everything. The way back to Christchurch, it was cloudy and misty. The cool difference is, you can see the glacial water better. The colour really shows up an amazing blue colour when it is cloudy.

Our bus was having problems, so the driver called in for another bus. We stopped in some remote area to wait for the bus. Then we had to transfer all the luggage from one bus to the other. When we got to Lake Tekapo, we had to transfer all the luggage again, because that bus had to go back to Queenstown. We had a really long delay, but we actually arrived in Christchurch only 10 minutes late. So not too bad.

I arrived and went to see Alison first. She was working, and gave me a hot chocolate. It was amazing. Then I went to Church (there was a night service). I came in as they were watching a video. It was a really small group, but I got to talk to a couple people afterwards. That was pretty cool. Then Anne, Alister, and I picked Alison up at work and went home. I really had a great time. I think I can do this again for my next trip!