The Beginnings

First off, please ignore any typos as some Kiwis bought me a beer as my first beverage after my tramp. A very nice group, I was given two invitations to stay with them in both Wellington and the Blue Mountains, and their wives were quite motherly about my travelling alone and all.

So, shall I brief you all on the last few days? Here goes....



Aside from the minor flight delays along the way, it took over an hour and a half to get through customs. I seriously thought I was going to get denied access. We stood in a line for about fifty minutes to get our passports checked and declare anything we may have brought into the country with us. After this point, I was sent to pick up my backpack from the luggage carousel (I'm surprised it didn't explode with all it contains), and was then directed to to yet another check point. Here, I had to specify exactly what items on the list that I had in my possession (they scare you by saying that you'll get a $200 minimum fine if you don't declare something and are found out--but it's working for them, it looks like). Here I declared some energy bars (concerns were the egg and butter they contained), dried fruit, and my hiking boots. I was next, sent off to another check station where my boots were closely examined, and the woman there rummaged through some other things to ensure I had nothing that wasn't declared. Finally, I headed over to an X-Ray machine and pushed my luggage through. It was here that I met Ellie, a girl about my age, who came from Pasedina to do a 12 day cycling tour of the South Island. By this time, I had pretty much lost my car reservation for the day, and was told to return today. This foiled my plans in two ways: (1) no car, lots of luggage--crap! (2) no car, no camping park, now I have to find a hostel.



Ellie was quite a God-send as we intially planned to share a cab, but then hopped on the bus to head to Downtown. From here, we both hopped off, and I checked out a couple of hostels, both of which were full. My third attempt proved successful, and I think that with this being the first hostel where I've stayed, others may have a difficult time living up to my expectations--especially Aussie hostels. Anyhow, I headed out for dinner with Ellie after walking about two miles through town that afternoon, and had some fried Brie with some other finger appeteizers, which proved to be more than sufficient for dinner. Later on, we strolled on over to Victoria Square and caught a show that was part of the Buskers Festival (a week long gathering of entertainers from stand-up comics, to jugglers and acrobats). Upon returning to my room, a woman, Rebecca, who lives outside of Christchurch, told me abuot her travels abroad and was kind enuogh to offer up a ride to pick up my car. What sucks the most about this night is that I accidentally deleted ALL of the awesome photos that I got, from the food, to the walk in the park, to the show. Dangit!

The hostel I stayed at (Charlie B's for anybody who might visit CHC) was wonderful! I was really impressed. Anyhow, the next morning, I went off, got my car, and headed out to Akaroa for my tramp. The first night we stayed in a very nice "hut". It had a kitchen with dishes, knives, etc. , bathroom, and was just very accomodating, along with the other huts on the track....made me wish I'd taken the 4 day option rather than the 2 day. The tramp was amazing, and the various geographical ecosystems encountered along the way were all very impressive. The track, which is the first of multiple privately owned tracks, run by landowners who let hikers utilize their property for the hike, was a total of 35K, roughly 21 miles and had two ascents of 699 m and 600 m on the first and last portions, respectively. Anyhow, I have to say that I was NOT at all prepared for that tramp. It was not going up hill that bothered me so much (although it was very exhausting), but it was going downhill for which my sad little knees were not prepared. I was ready to lay on the ground and just roll the last 3 K down, when I resolved that I would simply walk it backwards. Yes, I imagine I was quite the silly sight, and even the sheep were staring blankly at me. But it was worth it. At the end of the track, I met a man who was parking his car to start the tramp. Originally from CA, but married to a Kiwi himself, he and his hiking companions bought me a beer (which resulted in me thinking I lost my keys--they were in my pocket), and they all gave me some suggestions, so now I DO have to revise my itinerary. I'm just grateful that I didn't lose my keys, especially after I lost my night guard somewhere along the track. I love you, Brian.