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Wow, ok so firstly i apologise for the delay in my second entry, but it's been fairly challenging the last week or so, so just bear with me and i'll talk you through it!
So Queenstown was certainly different from my expectations (which were ludicrously high to be fair!) basically it is a very small town and when you remove the adrenaline activities there isn't a lot else going on apart from night life which is expensive! My hostel was the Black Sheep where i was sharing a 6 bed dorm with a few lads who seemed nice but i didn't really hit it off with immediately. After my flying start and the incredible friends i made in Auckland, this was a bit of a shock and i did panic a little. I think it just really hit me that i was on my own, and how long i'm over here, and how far i am away from all of you. On top of this there were a lot of people looking for work in Queenstown and very few jobs. Being me i just assumed bar work would be plentiful there and it certainly wasn't, basically everywhere gave the same answer "not for another couple of months". I realised this wasn't somewhere i wanted to stay without a job for two months, neither could i afford to, so the best idea seemed to hop on the Kiwi Experience bus and travel a little while i had the money saved. I booked myself on for Friday 10th, which made me feel better and consequently the last few nights in Queenstown i hit it off with the lads and began to feel like i could settle here with some work. One note to all travelling to Queenstown, have yourself a Fergburger, burgers the size of your head that are the best you'll ever taste! You cannot get them anywhere else on Earth, and they are shere heaven!
So i got on my Kiwi Experience bus, and soon realised that the buses combine people on different tickets on single buses, whereas i was under the impression each ticket had it's own bus. This meant a large amount of the passengers were finishing their journey at the next stop, Christchurch, meaning there were already a large amount of tight groups, making it fairly tricky for me to meet people. None the less i enjoyed the journey from Queenstown to Christchurch where we were treated to undoubtedly the most spectacular scenery i have ever seen. We stopped at Lake Pukaki which is a glacial lake and so is a vivid blue colour, this lake is also set against the terrific Cook mountain ranged, enormous and snow capped. I could barely believe what i was seeing, and soon forgot any worries about meeting people, or being part of large groups of young english louts, as i remembered i was here for New Zealand and nothing else.
I arrived in Christchurch and was in a dorm with a group of girls from the bus who were, to put it lightly, fairly stuck up. This didn't really help my frame of mind, but soon enough a couple of lads moved into the room and we headed down to the bar for a few. Morry and Nick were up to pay for damage to a rental car they had written off, and to get a new vehicle! After a few beers we began discussing the possibility that i head back down with them in the car and travel around the very south of the south island with them and there two mates for a month. It was a good idea at the time (beer perhaps...?) but in the morning we realised there just wouldn't be room so the idea went a little down the pan. So i got out of the Base hostel in Christchurch which is horrendous and moved out to the Jailhouse Accomodation, which is a converted prison, still with the same cell layout and decoration. I was shown to my 'cell' and loved it, the manager had spliut the cost of a twin assuming she would put someone else in there with me, but no one ever came, so i enjoyed a night in my own room for the first time. Chilling out in front of a prison in the sun with a good book is a leisure i invite you all to sample, quite unique!
Next day was the leg of the bus from Christchurch to Kaikoura, just up the coast. The good thing about the east coast of the South Island of NZ is the Southern Alps act as a barrier against the rain clouds coming in from the West, so the East Coast gets fantastic weather and the West Coast gets constantly p****d on! I met a girl Kate who i shared a cab with to the bus, she seemed nice enough but everyone on these buses is so young, i have never felt as old as i do with some of these young'uns!
The bus journey was fairly short, just a few hours up to Kaikoura (In Maori 'Koura' is Crayfish and 'Kai' food, Kaikoura is NZ's main source of crayfish) It's a gorgeous town set against more ridiculous scenery that to be honest i was struggling to get my head round! You have a beautiful town by bright blue sea, but against the sea you also have colossal snowy mountains, i have never seen anything like it. i had two nights here, again split across two hostels, the Kiwi Experience choice (top spot) and BBH choice, Sunrise Lodge. Both were fine, the reason i split is there was due to be a big barbeque at Top Spot, so i thought i would stick with the group, and i'm glad i did. Unfortunately on Easter Sunday in NZ, you cannot buy alchohol anywhere in the country, not a good thing when you want to have some cold ones with your BBQ! So we all cooked a bit of food, and i got chatting to a couple of girls taking a gap year before heading off to Manchester Uni, we were then joined by another couple of lads (one armed with a guitar) and a guy i only remember as 'The Texan', a nice american. We all decided to head to the pub for a steady few, as it was the only booze we could get! We didn't stop out too late as several of us (including moi!) were booked in on the dolphin swim at 5:45 in the morning!
I was up for 5, we headed over to Encounter Kaikoura, to get into our wet suits and headed out on the boat to catch the sunrise. It was incredible, the sun rose giving the snowy peaks a pink glow, with the sun reflecting on the water, i can't to it justice, but my pics might come close. We were in the boat for a while before we found the Dusky dolphins. As this was a swim with wild dolphins we were told the way you need to think about it is that you are there for the dolphins entertainment and not the other way round, incidentally you are expected to make an array of clicks, squeaks, and whistles, or even sing a song, in order to keep them interested and get the most from the experience. We soon found them, and there had to be 100 wild dolphins swimming towards the boat, we heard the horn and dived in and there i was, swimming in the pacific ocean surrounded by wild dolphins swimming around me, racing me, LOOKING at me! it was incredible and an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. We were then back on the boat for hot choccy and gingernut cookies, which was helpful as the water was freezing!! we then had a chance to take some pics of the dolphins as they leapt and swam, again look at the pics and i took a couple of videos as well!
The rest of the day was spent lazing around on the beach and reading in my hostel. i have developed a habit of afternoon napping, which i will not apologise for and is extremely helpful, i blame it on the jet lag!!!
After two nights in Kaikoura the next leg was up to Nelson via Picton. On this journey some passengers were heading to Picton to get the ferry to Wellington and others were staying on the bus, to be joined with a new driver and passengers to head up to Nelson. We got to Picton and people got off and we waited for the additional passengers to join the bus, who did i see coming round the corner but Holly and the 3 Rowsells! i was so pleased to see them ,but a little gutted that Rich had stayed longer in Taupo and so wasn't with them. Unsuprisingly the girls were in the midst of a terrific hangover, as they had partied their way around the north island in a matter of days. i was slightly envious until i asked them what they had seen of NZ which seemed to be bars and little else! it's just a case of reminding myself i'm not here to party constantly i think and more to see NZ. The girls had come from Taupo and told me they heard there was work at the Base backpackers there, i rang the hostel as soon as i got to my room and they confirmed there was some housekeeping work, a few hours a day for a free nights accomodation. I decided to go for it, i went to the information centre, and booked a bus back to Picton (if only i had known before!!) a ferry to Wellington, and a bus the following day from Wellington to Taupo all for about $130 which was great. Sadly the girls had plans that night, but they weren't back too late so i got a chance to say goodbye as it's unlikely i'll see them again in NZ.
You still with me....? sorry not long till we catch up to the present :)
So the next day i got my bus back to Picton at 10, very picturesque and the same bus ride i'd had the previous day! one thing with journeys in NZ is that you don't want to read or listen to an ipod or do anything but look out the window. Journeys just fly by. The ferry ride through Marlborough sounds was incredible, and i was soon in Wellington which looks like a great place. I booked into my hostel and headed to the bar where there was a free BBQ, i sat at a table with a stranger, got chatting, his mates showed up and i ended up spending the whole evening with them doing a quiz! Nowhere else but here!
So the next day i got the bus to Taupo, and here i sit in Taupo writing my blog to you now. I started my housekeeping tomorrow morning! hopefully i can find a bar job to give me some income, and i can then hopefully settle here for a month or so, as it is a beautiful place.
yeah so the last week or so has been difficult, but i am slowly figuring out why i'm here and am getting used to the idea of being alone some of the time. it's just difficult, the constant cycle of meeting and leaving people can be exhausting so i am looking forward to stopping here in Taupo for the next month.
So that's where we are now, i hope that didn't drag too long! Please keep leaving me messages, they help more than you know. I love you, i miss you, i'll see you soon.
Ben xxx
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