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Published: March 21st 2016
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It seems my whole dorm, bar one annoying girl, is on the move today as various alarms go off in the dark room and torches start flickering. If she'd been moving on too we could have put the main light on! Something New Zealand hostels don't do very well is lighting. None of them have the little individual bunk night lights that are a godsend in such situations. Actually one did, but they were so bright as to render them useless.
I give myself loads of time to walk down to the Intercity bus stop and it's just as well I do as I'm able to spot my Dunedin bus go sailing past the end of the road I'm waiting on and drive at least three blocks further down the main road. Shit, they must have moved the stop due to roads being blocked off for building work. I should've realised that in an ever changing city it might have been wise to re check the Intercity bus stop.
I hot foot it down the main road my poor case dragged bumping and scraping along behind me. I flag down a local bus driver who confirms the stop HAS
been moved to the new central bus station. Luckily, because I was so early, I get there in time and can relax after a panicky few minutes wondering what on earth I'd do if I missed my bus. This would've been a really bad bus to miss too as it's a 6 hour drive to Dunedin! PHEW!
We are welcomed on board by driver Al with a white beard, and I'm sorry Al, a bit of a pot belly. As with all previous Intercity bus drivers he is extremely polite and tells us all the rules and how to access the WiFi. Yes I'm writing this blog on the bus! He also tells us a little bit about the journey. We are to be travelling across the Canterbury Plains, flat farming countryside that used to be mainly sheep country, but now the farmers have diversified into cattle and some cereal crops. I also learn that we'll start to see the foothills of the southern Alps on our right hand side - I move seats to the right hand side of the coach quick smart!
Al's description of the landscape is really good. As we get out into the
countryside proper on the left hand side it looks just like Norfolk, but on the right hand side is the 'long white cloud' the first Maori settlers spotted hanging over THE longest mountain range off in the distance (the foreground being completely Norfolk flat).
Our first stop is at Ashbarton, a farming town of about 13,000 population. We are allowed off the bus for a very quick 'comfort break' or going for a piss as it's otherwise known. I really, really don't want to be left stranded here so am one of the first into the public loos. I needn't have worried, Al has counted us all out and counts us all back in again.
We drop some people off at a place called Timaru which sounds familiar. I think it may be the home town of New Zealanders Rah and Tom, a couple I shared my fab China tour with. I've been snapping photos of some of the pretty houses as we drive through the town. How funny if I accidentally take a pic of their house. Al tells us it's a popular place at Christmas and New Year. I'll just have to take his word for
that.
As we get further into the journey it's very obvious we're in farming country. As we pass through small towns there's displays of brand new Massie Ferguson tractors and the retail outlets are for things like farm machinery, health and safety gear, seed supplies, hunting and shooting and vetinary surgeries.
We eventually pull into Dunedin pretty much on time. We're dropped at the Intercity depot which is on an industrial estate, deserted as it's Sunday. I can see my hotel/hostel and realise I'll have to lug my case up and over the railway pedestrian bridge. When I check in I find I'm in a four bed dorm but I'm the only one in there for the night yay.
I quickly sort myself out and go to wait for my wildlife tour.
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