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We were up early and waiting in the FREEZING cold for the 'Magic Bus'. Seriously, I can't even explain how cold it was. Then we started our journey to Lake Tekapo.
On the way we stopped at 'Baldwin Street', the steepest street in the world. It didn't look very steep so we were all pretty confident about climbing up. Well........ talk about feeling the burn!!!! My legs were aching and my calf muscles were killing for days! We made it to the top and the view was lovely. I couldn't believe that people atually lived on that street, there was no way a car could go up or down that street if it were to snow! I honestly don't know how someone would walk up it if the path was icy!
Anyway, we carried on our journey and stopped at a few Dams, pretty cool to see. The Dams were all full because of all the rain recently so they were all releasing water.
Our next stop was at the 'Moeraki Boulders'. What a sight! The sun was shining and we made our way down to the beach. On the sand and in the water there were lots of massive round boulders - there because of erosion and some other scientific stuff!! It was really amazing to see and because the sun was out we got some wicked pictures. After a pot of tea and some caramel shortcake it was time to get back on the bus.
We arrived in Lake Tekapo and it was such a gorgeous place. Our hostel overlooked the lake and the mountains and the hostel itself was amazing. State of the art kitchen, beautiful wooden chairs and tables, massive area with loads of sofas, beanbags and tv etc. You would never think you were staying in a hostel!
Again, it was absolutely freezing so we decided to head to the hot pools. On the way I met a guy that I was on the 'Fraser Island' trip with - how bizzare!
The hot pools were immense!!!!! They were set on top of a hill looking over the lake and mountains and we couldn't get our clothes of quick enough to jump in. There were 3 pools altogether, each with a different temperature - 36degrees, 38degrees and 40degrees. As we jumped into the first pool guess what happened?.......it started to snow! It was unreal. Picture this.......Lying in a hot pool with your bikini on all nice and toasty, looking over a clear blue lake with snow capped mountains in the background, then it starts snowing! Was an amazing experience.
We didn't want to get out of the pools but unfortunately we were starving and our skin was all shrivelled up since we had been in the pools for around 2 hours! So it was time to head back to the hostel for some grub.
We met our roommates, 2 irish guys and ended up chilling in the louge area with them for a bit listening to all the travel stories. The lounge area was set out so well that about 25 of us sat together and watched a DVD, felt like you were in your living room at home with all the family! As usual, wine was involved in the evening!
I thought I was going to get a great sleep since I had filled myself with wine but no! The boys we were sharing with snored like bears and kept making 'smells' all through the night. It was awful!!! I slept under the duvet just so that I wasn't gassed with the fumes!!!!!!!!
The next day it was an early start again as we were getting the 'Magic' bus to Christchurch. We only stayed in Christchurh for one night as we had been there before. We did want to just keep going to our next stop but there are certain places that you have to stay overnight at when you are on the 'Magic' bus. Just like our last visit, it was pouring with rain!!! So, we decided that getting a tattoo would be a good idea!
We went to this gorgeous tattoo studio. It was pretty new and they specialised in 'Mauri' designs and that was what I wanted. They guys that worked there were great, they chatted to us for ages about all the mauri symbols and their meanings and told us that there were certain designs we couldn't get done because we were not mauri. Supposedly, if we had them tattooed on us then we would have bad luck and fortune for the rest of our lives.
So, I decided on a mauri tattoo that represents family. I told the guy what I wanted and he drew it on me. I then asked him to change bits of it until I was totally happy with it - was ace, he just rubbed bits out and drew what I asked! Once I was sure the tatto was right for me, he got started! He did the tattoo 'free hand'. No transfers like at home!
The tattoo is on my left arm, just above my wrist on the outside of my arm (facing away from my body). It has four 'swirl' symbols in it. One large one, another one slightly smaller and then two smaller ones together. The large one represents my dad, the smaller one is my mum and the two small ones together are my sisters (he joined them together since the girls are twins and the same age). I absolutely love it and am so happy with how it turned out. It is also fab to say that my mauri tattoo was done by a mauri whilst I was in New Zealand. Will put up some pics of it. Daisy also got a mauri tattoo on her foot.
We then both headed to the pub for some tea and a few drinks. Another early night, as it was an early rise to head to 'Kaikoura' in the morning.
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