Back to Real Kiwi Life (NZ Part 7)

My South Island trip began (apparently) and ended with quite a fiasco. I'll tell you about both.

A week prior to this past Sunday, Bec drove me down to Wellington, as you may already know, where we stayed at a backpacker hostel for the night. Normally, Bec is very responsible and calls her Mum to check in. However, we were quite forgetful at this time to do simple things like, bring the phone in from the car. So around 11:30, while Bec and I were enjoying a movie and microwaved Pineapple Lumps, her Mum was having a panic attack because the hostel called her to inform her that Bec and I had not arrived at the hostel. Naturally, Mrs. McLeay called the police to send out a search party. Her and Mr. McLeay then decided to take a slow drive to Wellington to see if we had gone off the road anywhere. First they called back the hostel to see if we came in. The new person on the phone then assured her that we had checked in at 6:00 that evening. Mrs. McLeay got very little sleep that night, and in the morning we found her texts on Bec's phone, along with a parking ticket. Woops...

Ten days later I returned to Wellington by Ferry to take (yet another) bus up to Palmy. In Picton, before getting on the ferry, I met a guy from California, Nick, who was WWOOFing around NZ (Willing Workers On Organic Farms - works for room and board in different places). We hung out on the ferry, then went to the railway station to get a bus, though he wasn't going to be on a bus until the next morning. So he booked into the only hostel I knew about, which was across the street, the same backpackers we had stayed at before. I stuck around to wait for my bus, which was supposed to leave at 7:50 that evening. I didn't even see a bus until 8:30, at which point the driver told me that no more buses were leaving that night. He had barely gotten through the roads because of the weather. So I was stuck. I went over to the hostel and booked a night there, where I ran into Nick again. Stayed the night, radda radda ra, booked a bus in the morning, and headed back over to the station to wait. Oddly enough, Nick shows up to get on the same bus north. He was headed to Auckland, however, so we said our final (or who knows?) goodbyes (again) when I switched buses to get to Palmy. Whew. So I reach Palmy, a city I fortunately know my way around in, at least partly, and there are no coin operated pay phones. So I walk to the square and hope that there's one in the mall. No such luck. I decided to eat first, then decide what to do. After the most unhealthy meal I've eaten since Bec and I made dessert for dinner (Burger King... I am ashamed), I remembered that Mrs. McLeay works downtown. I walked to her office to find her gone at lunch with Bec. Another guy in the office rung her up and told me where to meet her and Bec. I left my gear and made my way up the street, greeted by Bec running down the sidewalk. It was an excellent homecoming. :)

Well, this is Bec's last day of school, and on Sunday we are headed north since Bec has to be in Auckland at the consolate on Monday to sort out her visa. Only 2 more days with my Kiwi family. :( Tonight we are all going to the movies together to see "Prince Caspian." Tomorrow I think we are going to see the glow worms. They know a little spot that most people don't know about, so we can just walk in. This is cool, because when I was on the South Island they were charging people to go see them. I thought, no way, I can go for free with Bec! Anywho, no pictures today, sad to say, but I may not be on for another week or more - who knows? We'll be doing a bit of traveling, so I may not be able to get online until Los Angeles, or even NYC, which is a week away.

Take care, all. And happy early birthday, Auntie Rie!! I hope you have a good one!! :)