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Published: November 2nd 2009
18 days, 17 nights, 3400kms, 1 island, buckets of rain, 12000 foot skydive, 43m bungee jump (Ralphy did that not me), 1000's of scared sheep (blowing the car horn makes sheep run and was a favourite past time of ours), 1 injured foot, 1 Toyota van and one lifelong friendship was made. Thats the numbers of the trip. Lucy in the Sky is back to her home in Christchurch, Raphael is in Europe and I am sitting in a treehouse in Picton awaiting my journey to my job site tomorrow. All I can say is “things do change quite quickly”.
Our last day on the road we drove out to Springfield to see the donut from the Simpsons movie. I was excited to get my picture taken with this famous piece of pastry. It turned out to be a disappointment as the donut had been badly burned a few weeks back. We checked out Castle Hill which is home to a weird array of large rocks of all shapes and sizes. It happens to be a very popular place with rock climbers. This was on day 16 of our trip and to be honest I had enough. The night before
had been cold and I had a very bad sleep> I was in need of a shower and maybe some time alone. So I was keen on sleeping indoors that night. So we drove to Christchurch. It wasn't so far and we had to go there anyway.
It was late afternoon when we arrived in Christchurch. We decided to check out some suburbs of the city. We checked out Brighton which is home to a big pier, a nice beach and even had some surfers out catching some waves. That night we spent the night in the city and had the pleasure of sharing the room with the most consistently loud snorer I have ever encountered. We switched hostels the following morning.
Now Christchurch is a place I have visited before and not enjoyed my time there. But over the next 4 days I had a blast. I met some great people, and even randomly met a number of people that I already knew. We even found a party that we joined and got free pizza and many free drinks. It was a backpackers dream, we would finish our drinks and choose the prettiest girl in the group
to go ask the bartender if we could have more free drinks. Went on a pub crawl on Friday night and seen many different pubs and clubs.
Saturday I caught a ride to Kaikoura with a German girl named Caroline. We went on a little hike in Kaikoura, seen some seals, enjoyed some sunshine. Spent one night in Kaikoura then caught the bus to Picton. Today I had to pick up some things before I catch my boat out into the sounds to start my job. I am having a very relaxed day, partially because I have no money in my New Zealand bank account. I spent it, I had fun. I start my new job and I am already planning my next adventure.
Saying good-bye to Lucy in the Sky was not so difficult. Living in a van is fun and the great days are great while the rainy days the need to shower and not having one were not so great. Saying good-bye to Raphael my partner in crime for this adventure was much harder. I must say this has been an experience well worth the bother. I enjoyed the freedom to explore at my own
pace, see what I wanted and do what I wanted (weather permitting). I learned many things about myself on this trip and this was one adventure I will not forget. So now I sit here in my treehouse at the hostel, mentally spending my future pay cheques on future adventures. This travel bug sure has gotten me.
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Colombian Scobar
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Cool Mec
Hey.. your blog is great, man!! You described perfectly our unforgettable trip. Lets keep in touch!! C U next life!!! lol Raphael .