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So, surprise! I'm now over in NZ!!!
When my mom called me yesterday morning at about 9:30 am local time to chat, she asked me what i had planned for my day and i honestly told her that i had absolutely no idea. Which was the honest truth. i was mucking around the the net, with ideas of still going down to tasmania despite the ferry and websites being unagreeable. I looked on jetstar, which is an airline down here, as Lauren had told me that they have friday seat sales. Well, when she got up i made a bad joke about going to NZ, and she said go for it. we looked into it, and the two days to go were either that day, on a 5:50 plane, or on sunday with the plane leaving at the same time.
Lauren say "why not today" and so i booked the ticket and a night at a YHA hostel in christchurch, and we started to pack and get ready. This involved playing with my new bellydancing skirt, and trying to convince gregg to wear it. which failed, but it was a good time. Then having one last meal, planning out how
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oh no, its the giant rubuix cube of DOOM! i was going to get to the airport in time, and departing. I managed to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare, but because of the type of my visitior visa i was told that i would not be allowed into the country unless i had proof that i was going to return to aussieland after (i guess they have a problem with people trying to immigrate illegally). so i ended up having to book a ticket (which was about $300 canadian, but i was assured that i can refund it for all but $30 now that i'm here). Anywho, after running around and throughly amusing the Hilton hotel staff (apparently none of them fly with Jetstar because they always pull this on their passengers, leading to some not getting on the plane).
Once i got everything printed off and sorted out, i stood in line, got everything weighed and checked in, and then moved towards my gate. there i met two elderly ladies, both of whom were traveling together and had been born in NZ. we sat and chatted for about half an hour before i got absorbed into finding nemo (it started out with the
shape fish, right before the jellyfish scene. i didnt have a chance...)
On the plane i ended up having a window seat, but couldnt see much due to the fast falling nightfall. I had three seats to myself, which was rather odd but it allowed me to get some reading done which was a nice change.
I got into NZ at about 11pm (local time, so it was 9pm aussietime, but theres something about travel which just tires me out...) and after going through cutoms, being asked the same quarentine questions, getting my stuff exrayed and finally making it to the shuttle to the YHA i'm staying at, it was after midnight. I managed to stumble into my hostel, get to my room, and when i curled up to fall asleep, i just couldnt. which i thought was a pretty big rip off. i managed to fall asleep, but i set my alarm for 8:30 am because checkout is 10am and i was a nube and only booked the one night. i woke up and booked two more days, and then booked a free walk around tour for 10am.
The walkaround tour was great. it ended up just
being me and my ;guide', who was a university graduate who spent her early days in orighan. She was really fun to talk to, and knew lots about the whole of christchurch (which is a good thing in a guide). she thanked me for not being crazy at the end of the tour, as she said she gets some coocs when she does it. so i thought that was nice. She took me to a place which was a converted uni, which now housed a ton of shops. I went to the fudge shop, and got free samples and there was this local store which had brandy with gold chips in it, which we got to have a taste of. i can now say that i've eaten gold. We also wandered around through the botanical gardens, i learned some history, learning about some plants (theres this crazy one called Buddah's Hands, and its apparently citrus. it was wild, like a lemon explosion within its skin, with the bits going off in pepper like shoots). We also walked along the Avon river, which you can hire or rent a boat to take you along it.
We also saw two ducks do
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these are outside the local art museum, and they swayed in the wind. it.It was odd, they started to bob their heads in unison, and then the male duck tried to drown the female duck (thats what we both first thought when we saw it, and then about a second later realised what was going on). Theres a type of duck here which is monogomous, the female having a white head and the male witha black, and they didnt really like the 'imported ducks'. and apparently somewhere there isa duck expert who claims that ducks from different areas have 'accents.' which is an interesting idea.
Once we said goodbye, i wandered around a little bit. i ended back at the converted uni, where it started to pour and i met a nice California grandma named Grace. we ended up sitting down in a small cafe, and she bought me a hot cholocate. we were joined by Dan in her travel group, and spent about an hour just sitting and talking. I have her email, with her telling me that if i'm ever in California and want to visit or need a place to stay, i can contact her. Which is really nice.
I ended up wandering around for quiet a bit,
and ended up going to the aquarium. I am pretty much a sucker for aquariums. At this one, there were these little kiddy books where you could match up the image and do brass rubbings. the guy looked amused when i asked if i could do it, and he let me. they were scattered throughout, and so it took a little while to find and match the ones i wasnt familiar with. I was hopeing to see some little kiwi birds, but they were unforunately in their burrow, so we just got to watch them on the tv screen (they had a live camera feed). I got to learn alot about them and the marine life in S NZ which was really nice.
I kept wandering around and came to a 'USED CLOTHING STORE' (thirft stores are seen to be part of the Thrifty's line, which are not used clothes. note for future travelers). There i ended up meeting a fellow travellers staying at the same YHA as me, as i pranced about to see if the wetsuit i had found fit. which is did (nick, 1 female wetsuit like the one sophie has, $28 NZ. your shopping in
the wrong place buddy. if you get back to me with your size while i'm here, i can check for you if you'd like). I also got a longsleved shirt which allows for layering.
And then, to complete my day, my roomie from onterio is leaving tomorrow and gave me her cheese noodle things. There is a freefood bin in the fridge here, which i ate my brekki outof (random gingersnaps, someof which stuck to the bag and a bag of tea) and then i gotan almost free dinner (i paid $1.4 for milk to put into it). And it ate it all, which was actually hard but there wasnt much in it. Its amazing how pasta can fill you up.
Well ,thats about all for now. my travel plans are up in the air, and tomorrows mainly going tobe working on essays and planning loosely my trip (aka looking into what there is and any deals i can find). Its been rainy all week, so it will be nice to curl up and just tap away on my laptop/computer for awhile.
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monica coulson
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You crazy canuck!! Country hopping on a whim!Way to go! That is how to travel- just get up and go!! Once you finish your essays you are going to be able to really have a blast!