Transmissions from the South Island

Well, it's been an action-packed six days since I last posted. Here's the rundown on what's been happening with me in NZ:

Tuesday, January 25: Being thoroughly sunburned and sore from my ascent (and descent) of Rangitoto, I took it easy for most of the day. Later on, though, it was all business. I headed over to Turner's car auctions to see if I could scare up a car. It was a pretty crazy experience. Basically, they had about 75 relatively junky-looking cars in a big warehouse, all of them with the keys in the ignition. You could inspect the cars from bumper to bumper and take them out for a quick test drive. Once the auctions actually started, they only spent about a minute on each car, from the start of bidding to the final sale. In the end, I came away with a heavily-worn '91 Honda Civic. It's not much to look at, but it does run, and hopefully will continue to do so. I decided to christen it Blue Steel, after the classic Zoolander "look." Oh, and the car is blue. And made of steel. Very apropos.

Wednesday, January 26: Got up at 4:30 in the morning to make the drive from Auckland to Wellington. Thankfully, I was able to miss Auckland's rush hour by about 30 minutes, and the rest was smooth sailing. The North Island (or at least what I saw from Route 1) is incredibly geographically diverse. I drove through lush forests, mountain passes, and scrub brush deserts. Once I got to Wellington, I drove Blue Steel on to the Interislander ferry and took the 3 hour trip across Cook Strait, the body of water that separates the North Island from the South. In Picton (the ferry terminal on the South Island), I stayed at my first hostel, or "backpackers" as they are known down here. It was called The Villa, and it was a collection of 0ld houses that were converted into budget accomodation. A really cool place...it was amazing to be among so many other travelers of so many different nationalities going so many different places. I didn't get much chance to settle in, though, since I had to wake up early the next morning, which brings me to...

January 27-28: I took a ferry to the start of the Queen Charlotte track in the Marlborough Sound region and met up with Hopie, my ex-girlfriend, who is visiting NZ roughly the same time as me. We spent the next two days hiking the track...about 40 km. For the first day, the track climbed through several exposed peaks and saddles, which made for some spectacular views of the sounds. Unfortunately, we were constantly bombarded by the sun's harsh rays, and we hadn't brought nearly enough water, so we were forced to drink the water at the campsites along the way which, according to the NZ Department of Conservation, should be "filtered, boiled, or treated." Well, we didn't have the implements to do any of those things, so we took it straight up. Apparently giardiasis usually sets in 7 to 10 days after exposure, so I guess we'll be in suspense for a while. The second day was much better...most of the track was was covered by dense, primordial-looking forests which provided ample shade. When we finished the track, there was an ice cream stand conveniently located just down the street. Needless to say, we each splurged on an ice cream bar.

Saturday, January 29: We drove South on Route 1 to Kaikoura, which is famous for the colonies/pods of seals, dolphins, and whales which live nearby. We settled in at the Top Spot backpackers and then headed out to do a seal swim. We suited up in full neoprene garb and headed into the surf, accompanied buy our guide. It wasn't too long before we had our first encounter with the seals. It was really something to see them face to face. They like to float on top of the water and crane their necks around under the surface, giving them 360-degree views. They'll let you get within a few feet of them, and then they usually dart right underneath you (sometimes as close as 6 inches) or jump over you. I really got the impression that they were as curious about us as we were about them. Later that night we barbecued sausages and veggie-kebabs at the Top Spot. This was where we met our first "ugly American" of the trip...a loud-mouthed East Coast girl, probably about 21 or 22, who would NOT SHUT UP about, like, how in America, like, everything is, like, so different, it's like un-believable! Guh. Now I know why people hate us. The low point was when I overheard her say, "honestly, compared to the average American, I'm not even that loud!"

Which brings me to today. We left Kaikoura in the morning and drove to Christchurch. The drive was spectacular, if a bit treacherous. Lots of windy shoreline roads with great views of the ocean. Christchurch itself seems pretty cool. We took a walk around the city center to see what was up. There just happens to be a big busker (street-performer) festival going on here, so we got to see "The Brothers Juan and the Incredible Bull Circus" and "The Jim Show." We also took a look at the local botannical gardens, for which Christchurch is famous. Christchurch is supposed to be the most English of all NZ cities, so we are planning on continuing this theme by having fish and chips for dinner tonight. We'll probably hang around the city for another day tomorrow, and then Hopie is planning on taking the trans-alpine railway to Greymouth. I will probably drive South to Dunedin, Invercargill, Stewart Island and, eventually, the Fiordlands. I'm really looking forward to it.

So there you have my stream-of-consciousness summary of the past week. I'm thinking things will slow down over the next week or so, so hopefully I'll have more time to keep the blog updated. Also, I plan on posting some new pics soon. Keep your eyes peeled!