Trip Down South

Last weekend, I had the urge to get into the mountains. I could have gone to this beach to drink margarita's for four days, or lounge around in a small quaint town, but I really felt the need to get into the hills. So Thursday Anna, Eva, and I caught the 6pm ferry out of Wellington. Our plan was to eventually get to Arthur's Pass on the South Island and spend a day or two there. We enjoyed not having an exact set plan so we just went with the flow. We got into Picton around 9pm, quickly checked into a hostel and went for a walk around town. We ended up at an Irish pub that just got awarded the best Guinness in New Zealand! We went home pretty early to get ready for our big weekend. Friday morning we went in search for a car to rent. This is kind of a big deal as in New Zealand you drive on the left side of the road and none of us have ever rented a car before! I put it in my name and gave driving on the wrong side of the road a shot. It was great, I did fineand ended up driving the entire time. I only messed up once driving, when no other cars were around but I did turn on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker many times! Another funny thing about the car was that we couldn't get the radio to work. There was one tape in the car, China Paradise. It was like 80's pop rock to the fullest! It was ridiculous. So we headed out of Picton feeling free and open to whatever came out way, even really bad music.
We drove for about two hours and stopped for a picnic lunch in a nice wooded area. After that, we drove for another two hours then came to the ocean. It was an amazing view from the road and the beach was awesome. We got out and played on the beach and crawled all over these boulders. We all got soaked and had to change clothes in the parking lot. Our attitude for the weekend was so relaxed and carefree we all had fun stripping in the parking lot then heading on our way. We ate constantly on the ride, stopped to buy an adaptor for an Ipod then headed into the mountains by evening time.
We got to Arthur's Pass around 7pm, checked into a hostel where we shared a 8 bed dorm with one girl and the rest guys. We headed over to the one restaurant/bar in town and ate pizza, drank beer and listened to live acoustic music by a guy named Panda! It was a fun night and we became pretty good friends by this point. We laughed a lot at the hostel that night and eventually went to bed at about 12am. We got up at 8am ready to find a hike! We talked to a lady at the DOC (department of conservation) office about what hike we should do and what hutt we should stay in for the night. We settled on the Avalanche Peak/Crow Hutt tramp. It was a pretty serious set up: we had to make sure we had enough food and warmth to last us a week in the wild, we had to cross rivers multiple times, and had to tramp for about 7 hours each day. When we were set with souvenirs and maps we packed our packs and headed for the woods! It was such a great day. The first two or three hours of hiking was in the bush, with great views. Then we got to the tree line and it became so open and broad. It got to be a little scary as we got to the ridge line to make our way up to the peak of the mountain. After many breaks and snacks we got to the peak around 3pm. We ate there and took in the 360 panorama of mountains. There was a glacier to our right and wide open to out left. The mountain was just over 6000ft. Someone said the first days hike is about a 1000m gain. I'm not sure but towards the end it felt like every step was another foot higher.
So we were not entirely sure where to go from the summit but with my expert directional skills I lead the way. We walked along the ridge line for an hour or so until we got to the Scree Slope. This thing was the vain of our existence by the time we were down. It was a high, steep slope made of rocks of all sizes that feel from under your feet as you tried to walk. It was intense, it hurt, but it was funny! It took us about two hours to get down to the river bed that led us to our hutt for the night. We reached the hutt around 7pm and were dead tired. We ate dinner of pb&j and drank the bottle of wine we carried in with us! I was asleep by 9:30 and awoke early by the other 6 trampers in the hutt. We headed out by 8 or so and got ready for our river crossings. We walked along the river bank for two hours and came to a couple of ladies that had stayed in the hutt with us. One was laying in the ground and didn't look good. She had suddenly gotten sick and was too dizzy to walk to move. She was vomiting and had been laying there for two hours. We were told to let the police know as soon as we were out, and they did eventually get air evacuated out later in the day.
So the river we crossed was ice cold and the current pretty strong. We figured we would cross at the least amount of white water and the most shallow possible. It was definitely an experience and we did it! The day ended up being a lot longer than expected. We walked along the low river bed for most of the day. By 2pm or so we found this great spot were the river went along these beautiful cliffs. We decided it was time for a swim. I forgot to say the river was extremely clear. It didn't even look like water was there. When it was deep, it turned to this beautiful blue green. So I had my bathing suit on for the day but the other two stripped naked and went swimming! It was a blast, and went with the whole free atmosphere for the weekend. We finally got to the road around 4pm and tried to hitchhike. It didn't work so we had to walk another 2 hours! By the time we reached the car, I felt like I couldn't life any muscle in my body. We were so tired, so tired. I had blisters all over my feet and was so hungry but had to energy to move. I changed clothes and got behind the wheel and turned up Dave Matthews and was back in action.
We drove for 2 hours to a hostel, had a quick unsatisfying dinner and went to bed. The next day we drove back to Piction, and reluctantly gave up the car. Ten minutes before parking it, we realized we could pull the antena out and make the radio work! Duhh. So we got on the ferry and had a corona to celebrate our great weekend and headed back to Wellington. For the first time in New Zealand I feel like I made some true friends. We all got along so well and feed off of each other. We are all planning on doing another trip sometime soon. The car, the mountain, everything was unbelievable. I felt so great about climbing my first large mountain, I can't wait to do it again!

Catching Up

What a better time to write than a cold and rainy Monday morning with no classes! I have a bit of catching up to do as it's been two weeks since I have written on the blog. The weekdays go by quickly because I'm only in school 2 1/2 days a week. The rest of the week I'm planning or out of town. Two weekends ago, I have a eventful weekend in Wellington. A band that I really wanted to see played Thursday night, they're called Old Crow Medicine Show. They are from the US and spent a lot of time in Boone, so I know a lot of their music. Their song Wagon Wheel is very popular. So it was a pretty big deal that they were all the way in Wellington, New Zealand at the same time as me. I couldn't figure out how to buy tickets so Anna and I just showed up an hour before the show. It was completely sold out. So we figured we would just go have a beer, come back when the door opened and try to pay the guy at the door or buy tickets off someone else. We did that, and it didn't work. No one had extra tickets to sell and we just couldn't get in. We stood outside for about an hour when this guy sitting in the sidewalk eating started talking to me. He was like 'Not having any luck are you,' and we talked from there. I told him I really liked the band so I was willing to wait a while a pay a bit of money. He also said he had spent time in Boone and that maybe he could get us through the back door. He left and came back 5 minutes later and took our names down. He told us to go to the front door and we would be on the guest list. Sure enough, that's how we got in! We grabbed two beers a piece and went to the front of the jam packed crowd. The band came on...the guy I was talking to was the lead vocalist/violinist! Crazy! It was a great show, we were so excited! It was definitely a once and a lifetime night.
So Wednesday the day previously, I was hanging out with some friends at my flat. One girl, Eva, asked if I wanted to do this Run/Swim Event with her. She said it was only a 3k run and either a 100/300/750 meter swim. I'm like well OK I can do that, it'll be fun. Then she told me it was the following Saturday. I was still optimistic like yeah sure no problem. I'm not in the best shape but it would be fun! So then I was like that's only there and back in a pool a few times, and she was like noooo it's in the ocean! Whoa. A little scared now, but I agreed to do it.
Saturday morning we left our flats at 9:30am, to register for the race starting at 11am. We got there and there wasn't anyone around. There ended up being about 25 competitors. The swim was marked off in the bay and the run was along the boardwalk. I'm not a runner but that wasn't the part that scared me I'm a great swimmer but it was cold, windy and very choppy. Eva signed up for the 750m swim which looked completely crazy, but she did it! I did the 300m swim, and I was super glad that was only it. It was pretty neat, we all lined up at the water edge and the guy blew a horn and we all jumped into the water. The water was so choppy you couldn't swim normally. Every time you brought your head out of the water a wave would splash in your face. It was intense and I had to swim on my back a bit to get enough air but I did it! I ran out of the water, not feeling my legs because I was numb from the freezing water. I threw on my shorts and shoes and went running. The run was fine compared to the swim. All that mattered to me is that I finished my first ever biathlon. It was great! Eva ended up getting 2ND over all for the girls, she did awesome. It made for another once and a lifetime experience.
Sunday I went to church and to lunch at a couple's house. They are from Seattle and have three daughters here with them. They moved here permintely about a year ago. It was a great meal and great company. She said she would be my home away from home mom! Very comforting. Overall for staying in Wellington for the weekend I had a blast!!

A Very Friendly Kiwi

School started about two weeks ago! The first week was basically just getting classes straightened out and figuring out where to go. I worked out my schedule so that I only have classes on Tuesday and Wednesday mainly. I finish for the week Thursday at noon and go back Tuesday. I have a nice long weekend, every weekend! Before diving into school I figured it would been good to get out of town once more. I arranged for four friends and me to go stay at a hostel for a night in Paekakariki. The town is very small with one main street. It has a small grocery store, cafe, bar, pizza place and that's about it. So we took the train 45 minutes out of Wellington Thursday afternoon. We were really excited about our weekend not having a plan and just wandering around the town for a few days. The train ride was beautiful and the hostel even better. The owner was a nice man in his 50s that enjoyed talking to us travelers and helping us get situated. Once settled, we had afternoon tea on the porch over looking the ocean! Our dorm style bedroom was kept open the entire stay, with bug nets over our beds while we slept. That evening we shopped for food and wine and eventually made a gourmet dinner. We ate outside as the sun went down, it was pretty perfect. We had a great night walking all over the beach and getting to know each other.
The next morning we said good bye to our new friend at the hostel and made our way down to the cafe. We had a great breakfast and got ready for a day on the beach. When leaving from the cafe, we talked to a man in his 60s. He was really nice and told us about a music festival the next day in the town. We actually ran into him again later the same day when coming off the beach. It was windy and kind of cold so we came back early. This same man, Francis, said he had come up with the great idea of letting us stay at his house for free! We hesitated at first but then decided that it could be fun and a really great experience. Francis took us to his house, showed us where we would stay the night, gave us a key and said see ya later. His house was amazing. He had everything from pumpkins to lemons to grapes growing in his yard. We hung out on a swing and read while eating grapes off the huge vine hanging above us. What an experience!
We went to the one bar for the night and saw some local music. Basically it was an acoustic jam session and a lot of fun! The next morning we were going to head out early and get out of the way but Francis and his wife insisted we stay for tea and breakfast. They even played us their son's CD and burned us a copy to take with us. It was a blast! Sadly, we didn't make it to the music festival because it rained hard the entire day.
I really learned so much from this experience. The others were a little worried but I wasn't. While I wouldn't do this by myself I felt perfectly safe and fine with the four of us. People say Kiwis are really friendly and I feel like I can totally agree now, I understand what they're talking about. Paekakariki was beautiful and I really enjoyed our stay to the fullest.
By the way- they had a place you could go and yard bowl! It was like a bowling alley and a golf course mixed together!