Now I am in the kitchen and eating area of the hostel. I am watching everyone cooking. The sun is coming in and I am listening to some music and drinking my diet Coke. Life is good.
March 28, 2003
Stayed in bed this morning and read a bit. That is what happens when I get into a book. Don't feel like doing anything else.
Laurie and I cooked a big breakfast this morning, french toast and eggs. We packed and were on the road by 9:30. We picked up a female hitchhiker right in town. She was a young German girl. She had finished high school and was spending a year in New Zealand. She said that they finish high school later than most countries, but when they go to "university" they have had all their core courses. She worked in Auckland for five months. She said she didn't have a problem getting a work visa. Leslie, the Canadian that we met on the Milford Track, told us that there is a point system on who gets work visas or residency. The young start off with higher points. You also get better points if you are a nurse or a teacher, occupations that they need. I guess I wouldn't have a good chance of getting residency. My age and occupation would not get me a lot of points.
We dropped off Francesca, the German girl, in Okanta and we headed to Harihari. I read that there was a good coastal walk. It took about 2 1/2 hours. The first part was in the bush. There are times when I am hiking here that it doesn't seem different than home. There are other times I feel like I am in a jungle. The bush was dense with lots of ferns, Nihau, which are like palm trees, vines and many other kinds of trees. The trail took us to the ocean. Along the ocean there were small fishing shacks. I think the people fish for whitebait in this area. The tide was out and it was a long way from the trail to where the ocean was at that time. We walked down to the ocean. The sand was filled with driftwood scattered all over. It looked like a desert of bones.
From the ocean looking where we came from, we could see the Southern Alps. We walked along the coast and got to a part that was pretty rocky. Some were the small rocks that were rounded smooth from tumbling through the oceans waves. There were larger rocks, say cow size, that were gray and smooth and they looked like smooth wet clay. There were these other rocks that had raised white markings on it and it looked like yarn was sporadically wrapped around it.
Laurie and I were the only ones there. It felt strange because every where we go there are people.
We got to this tall mound that stood on the edge of the water all by itself. There were actually steps up to the top and it gave us terrific views of the ocean and mountains. It was called "Doughboy Lookout". I was looking for some biscuits up there with that name.
We headed back to finish the loop. On the way out we saw a white heron peacefully sitting in the tidal waters. After we were done we were back on the road. We were headed for Arthur's Pass. This pass was created to get from the east of the South Island through the Southern Alps to the west side of the island. There is hiking there so we were planning on spending the night in Arthur's Pass Village. I expected it to be a larger village. The only thing I saw were two hostels. We stopped and they were both full. One place recommended another place. It had started to rain so I didn't really want to set-up my tent, but if we needed to, I would. We could camp for $4.00 at a DOC park. We ended up finding the place and there was room.
The name of the place was "Bealey's". It was very nice. Quiet, there were only six of us here. No one was fighting over kitchen space. Watched TV and went to bed.
March 29, 2003
Woke up and it was still raining. I really can't complain about it because we have been very lucky with the weather. We decided not to hike due to the weather. Not because we didn't want to get wet, but because there would be no views. Well, we didn't like the idea of getting wet either.
We were on the road about 8:30. We made one stop on the way to Christ Church. We stopped to get something to eat at the bakery and to use the bathrooms. I am still amazed at the public restrooms. They are all over the place and they are pretty clean.
I was driving and I could tell we were getting to the city. A lot more traffic. It was a little nerve racking driving in the city, with lots of cars, driving on the opposite side, not knowing the roads or where we were going, and then when we found the streets we wanted, we found out that they were one way.
I was about to break the windshield wiper and blinker because I kept using the wrong one. It was still raining so I needed my wipers. They didn't have the intermittent wipers which was also frustrating. I hated the sound of the wiper on the windshield when they would scrape against the glass because it wasn't wet enough. We made it to one hostel in one piece but found out that they were full. They let us use their phone to call around. We found one after three calls. We took it sight unseen because it looked like Christ Church is a very busy place. The place wasn't too far from where we were parked, but it took a while going in circles to find the correct one way street to get us there. I did get to practice my U Turns from the opposite way.
The hostel was called "Around the World Backpackers". It wasn't the best we have had, but the people were nice. The TV room was outside under a few tarps, but had couches, chairs, and rugs. Looked cozy for being outside. Used the internet to check messages. I had quite a few and it was good to hear about what is going on with everyone. I hadn't used the internet for a week. I was trying to lessen my contact because I will have less opportunity when I am in Nepal. So if people get use to not hearing from me they won't worry about me. I know many people are concerned about me traveling during these bad times. Some have told me to say that I am Canadian because there are places that aren't happy with America, but I can't do it. First of all, I am not a good liar, second, I would be afraid that I would be caught lying and that would be worse, third, I don't want to be ashamed for being American. I may not always agree or like everything that is said or done, but I have the freedom to say that.
I see some of the news on the one or two stations we were getting on the west coast (I don't know if they know what cable is). I see list of places that the New Zealand people are protesting against the war, but it is the same back home.
