The Past Week

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Well, its been about a week since I've updated... we've been doing quite a bit recently to fit everything in before I head back home. Only a few days left now...

Last Friday was my last day in Christchurch, also my last day backpacking on the South Island. I finished off the last day by visiting the Air Force Museum, and learning about some history from the wars. Was quite interesting. Shortly thereafter, I had to head to the airport to check-in for my flight. This one actually did depart on time, and had a very smooth flight back into Auckland. Uncle Stephen and Auntie Lyn were leaving for a vacation the following day, so we went straight to their house from the airport so we could have a few drinks and say goodbye.

On Saturday we enjoyed a relaxing day... I really needed it after a full week out on my own. That evening Ria had booked us a spot at the Stardome, the local observatory/planetarium. It was really interesting to learn about the Southern sky, as its absolutely different from home and wouldn't be able to recognize any major constellations. We were able to look at Jupiter and the moon through some of their telescopes as well, and saw some of the latest images from the rovers on Mars.

Sunday was a day dedicated to spending time with my cousin, Ria. We did some shopping in the morning - mainly her shopping for shoes. She was quite surprised how patient I was while shoe shopping, so I had to explain that with a mother and many female friends, you quickly get used to it!!! We then traveled an hour towards the airport and played a few rounds of mini golf. She kicked my ass the first game, and then I beat her on the second game. Then we headed over to Mission Bay for some reeeeally nice ice cream - I had a flavour with chocolate chunks, a bit of coffee flavouring, some cream, and more chocolate! Then we came back to a big dinner prepared by grandma. It was really nice to have the whole day to spend with Ria, I'll definitely miss having this time together.

Monday we relaxed again - we were looking through some tourist magazines and brochures figuring out what to do the rest of the week before I left. The day started off with some heat... literally. Grandma had bought a new toaster the past weekend and tried it out but had the toast burn quite a bit and it set the smoke alarm off. Their smoke alarm is attached to their house alarm and is monitored by the company. The company didn't phone to see if everything was okay, they just dispatched the fire fighters. So about 5 minutes after I got back into bed after checking to see that everything was alright after being woken up by the alarm, I heard a knock on the door and found 2 guys standing their with axes in yellow uniforms with a big truck behind them with all the lights going. Was quite humourous actually, we will never let grandma live this one down!!!

Tuesday - yesterday - was the big day for me. I had been debating having something done while I was down here, and decided to go for it. I got a tattoo. Nothing big, its small, you'll see when I'm back. If you know me well, you'll know that I've tried really hard to donate blood, but everytime I psyche myself out and can never go through with it. I always get dizzy and lightheaded whenever there's some sort of needle near me or in me. So yes, it happened this time too. She had to stop a few times to give me a break and get some colour back in my face, but all went well. I walked out satisfied, and now its healing. So far so good. I went to the local mall afterwards and picked up a few new shirts for work. With it being winter here, and us going into winter soon back home, it was easy to get some nice long-sleeved shirts for cheap! I got 4 decent shirts for $70 NZD - about $55 CDN. Sounds like a bargain to me! Last night was also the lunar eclipse, we had a great view. It had been really windy and rainy all day so we didn't think we were going to see anything, but after dinner, it totally cleared up, and we saw it all. Quite neat.

Today we headed to the zoo. When we went 4 years ago it was one of the worst days weather wise. Pissing rain, and really windy, so we didn't get to see much that time. Today was great though, a bit windy, but dry. And that takes me to here, where we are now.

I only have 2 days left, and then its back home to reality. Tomorrow we are going back into Auckland to do some final shopping - I have a few more things I need to pickup before leaving on Friday. Also, tomorrow night, myself, my grandparents and Ria are going out for dinner to the Orbiter - a restaurant in the Skytower (largest building in the Southern Hemisphere) which revolves so you get a great look at the city. Then heading down into the casino for a bit. We'll see how much is actually spent though haha. This will probably be my last post before I leave, if you're still around reading, wow. Haha. Thanks for letting me share my journey with you, I've had so much fun this past month, its been quite the experience for me. Give me a shout soon, and I'll be happy to share some photos and more of my experiences with you!!!

Final cheers from New Zealand!!!

Kyle 😊

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