3/18/14
So, where have I been? It's been a while! I ended up staying at the Tamara lodge for about a month and there I met a great many friends, including a great British couple Tim and Jo, a couple of German roommates Stephan and his friend, a German girl named ester stayed for quite a while as well, and of course Venus was there the whole time being excellent company and helping me through being completely useless with my right hand.
We had some adventure, but there are limited things to do in the town of wanganui and we sat around for most of the last half of the month relaxing healing up and watching a lot of the west wing. It was good for a while to relax, but soon enough I was yearning for the trail.
I got a ferry ticket down to picton, said goodbye to Venus and headed south to Wellington. I boarded the ferry the next evening and met a nice Aussie bloke who goes by the name Burkie. He is a commercial diver and we spent time talking about diving locations is Australia among many other things. After a while I got up for a wander around the ship for a bit. The sun was setting over the ocean with a resplendent Fiery glow. The light of the sun gave way to the velvet black of the night in a way that I don't often see.
The endless expanse of slow rolling waves helped to highlight the immense scale of the ocean around me. As I looked out over the bow I saw the South Island emerge from the darkness. I felt a sense of adventure return once again. Unexplored new lands lay ahead.
I've been walking towards this Island for months and finally here it is in front of me ready to be experienced. I went back inside and shared a few beers with Burkie as we talked about life and adventure, and I was glad to be moving again. We got into picton around 10 that night and I walked to my hostel where I quickly went to sleep.
I awoke the next morning to explore beautiful picton. It is an idyllic little harbor community with several parks and short walks around it in the surrounding mountains.
I made a few friends in the hostel and we walked around and did a short walk to bobs bay for a little outdoor time. It was a great first day on the South Island and a nice place to stay a night. The next morning I decided I would hitch to havelock where I would meet a couple that hosted Gary for a night named Greg and Jenny. I went to bed and was awoken around 1:30 by a girl whose ferry was 6 hours delayed entering the room. I quickly went back to sleep, and the next morning I woke up and we were the only 2 remaining in the 10 person room, so we decided to go get breakfast. This is how Martina and I met. She was hitching south that day to meet a friend and all I had to do was hitch to havelock, so neither of us were in a rush. After breakfast we went to our separate roads to begin hitching but stayed in touch texting. We both quickly got rides, and I went to havelock with a couple of nice German guys. Me and the guys had lunch in havelock and they continued on. I waited at the cafe for Greg and Jenny to get off work, and chatted with Martina who told me about her plans to rent a car in Christchurch and go visit edoras. At the time I was thinking I was going to have to wait for Gary a few more days, and it sounded like an awesome trip so I decided to go with her.
All I had to do was get to Christchurch the next day. I figured I would hitch in the morning and it would be fine. Then, all of the sudden, I hear someone call my name on the street in this tiny nz town I had never been in before. It was Alex, a fellow Eph that I met several weeks ago in Wellington. She was in havelock for lunch with some friends. I told her that I was trying to get to chch the next day, and she said she was going right after lunch. It was perfect. I sent an e mail to greg and Jenny thanking them for their kindness and apologizing because I couldn't stay and got in the car with Alex on the way to Christchurch. It was a long drive filled with good conversation both about the past and the future, and I'm happy to say I came out in Christchurch with a new friend. She dropped me off at gabe Lewis' house (another fellow Eph) where I stayed the night. Gabe is ta for a geoscience abroad program in Christchurch and he lives with the other students in a great house near campus. Martina came in the next day and they even graciously offered to let her stay there as well. We stayed there that night and the following morning went to go rent a car and take off for edoras.
We went towards edoras listening to lord of the rings music and chatting. We approached mt. Sunday and watched as the scenery transformed to a massive valley with rolling hills of grass and talked about how perfect it would be for horse kingdom.
We made a final turn around a mountain and there it was spread out under us. A huge valley with a small peak in the middle where we both knew there should be the throne castle of a king. It was a perfect place, a jewel set in the middle of a valley carved out of massive mountains by crystal clear turquoise streams carefully braided throughout.
We got out and hiked to the top where we stayed for an hour or two marvelling at the wind and the view. The seeds of the thistles blew in the air like dandelions, just as on film in the movies, it felt like we were in edoras.
We left after enjoying ourselves thoroughly and made our way into Springfield, New Zealand. We found a small hostel for the night and made dinner. After dinner Martina proposed a late night walk before bed, I figured why not. We walked about a mile out of town and stared at the moon and stars in this remote hamlet isolated from light pollution by surrounding mountains talking about space and our place in the universe. When we got back we both fell asleep instantly. It was an incredible day.
We woke up the next morning late and well rested. The host was upset we hadn't left by 10:30 as check out was 10. We got back in the car and made our way towards Arthur's pass. On the way we saw an incredible place with massive boulders scattered in the middle of a golden field. It looked like climber's paradise, and I knew I had to take some pics of the rock to show teancum.
We played around in the boulder field and found a really cool formation someone made.
I was really glad we decided to stop when we saw the formation, it was definitely one of the more unique areas I have been in on this trip. We left after climbing around for a bit and went towards the pass. We decided to do an easy hike up to the devils punchbowl, a 130m waterfall. We got up there and there was a viewing platform. It was spectacular, but we couldn't see the pool under the falls, so I decided to climb up to it, and it was worth it. The falls cascaded into a shallow pool that was radiant blue.
We walked up to it and a nice French guy took our picture. It was nice up there away from most of the rest of the tourists.
After that hike we were going to go for a few others but decided to turn back as the weather turned sour. Our turnabout had a 500m hike to something called the turquoise pools. We decided that was more than worth a look and set off down the path. We arrived at a beautiful small waterfall lined with deep eddies of turquoise and emerald. It was quite a serene place. As we left, I reflected on another great day. We drove back to Christchurch and spent another couple of days with gabe and the geoscience group. We even got to have an American themed college house party, it was a blast. After a couple of days Martina departed for the Philippines, and I spent another couple of days in Christchurch waiting for Gary as a tropical depression passed over nz.
The day I was supposed to hear from Gary came and went and I decided to go check on him. I began hiking to Boyle village and it took me most of the day to get close. I was in the remote town of waikari, and it was about 5:30. I was about to give up and began walking to a hostel. I decided to toss my thumb out as a truck passed which I usually don't even bother trying and the truck stopped for me instantly. I clambered up into the cab and met Daryl. He is the owner of a trucking company who was covering for one of his drivers who couldn't make his normal run. We had a couple of hours to get to Boyle village and on the way I was talking to him about meeting Gary and being out for a few days. I just needed to shop in Boyle. He laughed. Little did I know that Boyle is a group of small usually empty baches with no services. Shit. Little did I also know that Daryl is incredible. He told me that he had to make this run tomorrow as well, and if I just wrote down what I needed he would go shopping for me. I was incredibly grateful, and wrote down some crucial things I was missing. I resolved to meet him where he dropped me off the next day and he headed off. I walked up to Boyle village where I met a school etcher and some leaders at a retreat lodge. I asked them if they had see. Gary but they hadn't, and said that maybe the manager would have seen him. I figured I could wait and figure it out the next day.
I set up my tent in a light rain and went to bed for a poor night's sleep. When I woke up in the morning I looked around and asked about traces of Gary but he hadn't been seen. Boyle has no service, so I thought maybe he just booked it through and was already on the next section.
I figured I would get a ride out and back to Christchurch where I would wait for his call. Luckily I already knew a guy going there! I waited for Daryl to return that evening and asked him if he wouldn't mind me tagging along on his route back to Christchurch overnight. He agreed to take me, and the second I got back in service I got a text from Gary. I had missed him the previous day by about an hour at Boyle, and he was in the town right behind me. I decided to continue on with Daryl on his route and he could drop me off by Gary on the way back, leaving a small hitch the following morning. Daryl and I drove through the night delivering bread for the entirety of the northern South Island and talking about life. I learned a great many things from Daryl, not only about trucking and power napping, but also about myself. Our conversations ranged from jet planes to life goals, and I had a great time.
I was dropped off in waipara at around 3 am and climbed into a bunk I had booked for a few hours sleep before heading out to find Gary. I started hitching around 8 and got a ride with a great guy in construction who offered me a job and told me about a great pie shop In the town where he dropped me off. I got a delicious breakfast pie, the best I've Had in nz, and continued hitching. I got a ride straight through to where I would meet Gary and waited. And waited. And about 5 hours later Gary came through. We shared a few beers given to him on his hitch and bit the road. Right as we left, Daryl passed me one last time, beginning his nightly bread Route, it was great to be able to wave to him as he passed so he knew i was finally on my way.
In all of these adventures one thing has stuck out to me the most. In just the last week I've made several friends that I hope to keep with me for years to come, and we met because I took risks. I was spontaneous. Martina mentioned to me as we talked about going to Edoras that my spontaneity was refreshing and unusual and I've been thinking about the broader truth present in that. For me, this entire trip has been based in spontaneity and seizing moments. This has been crucial to everything I've done and lead to some of my best adventures. It introduces me to new people places and things. One of the most important reasons to be spontaneous I think is that it implies courage and faith. To be spontaneous we need courage and the faith that whatever comes next will work out. I stayed in wanganui for nearly a month and met Venus and had a great friend and support that whole time. I picked up and left and found Martina within a day and decided to just go on an adventure. That let me meet Alex and gabe and cc and Kelsey and everyone in Christchurch. I decided to hitch and meet Gary, then randomly tried to get a hitch right before bed from a trucker which introduced me to Daryl. I decided to stick with him on an overnight truck route and learned a ton and had a blast. The spontaneity of the last week has introduced me to some great friends and adventures, all because I knew that whatever came my way I could make it work. I had faith in myself, my path and the people around me. I'd like to thank everyone for helping to make this adventure so epic, and especially Gary for letting me traipse around the South Island for a week or so before coming to meet him. Now, back to the trail. Let's see where it goes next!
