Dec. 7th. Stewart Island

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So i've made it down to stewart island where it is FREEZING COLD. I'll be tenting for the next three days and well, of course, it rained last night, yuck! I arrived to the island at about 4:20 pm yesterday after a long day of rain in INVERCARGIL (my stop from Queens-town and my wait for my flight out to stewart island)....the bus from queenstown had dropped me off at the invercargil Information center/Museum....and I had to wait 4 hours until my flight. But one thing, I had to get to an ATM fast bc they have none on the island....so forgetting my much needed rain jacket at the info center, I walked stupidly in the Sparse town of Invercargil, yes, getting drenched, looking like an idiot and feeling like one too, at some point i felt brave and stuck my thumb out as i walked the streets in hope that someone would feel pity for me and give me a lift to the nearest ATM....but to my dismay, my planned failed. After 20 dumb soaking minutes and not finding an ATM, i walked shamelessly back to the Info center, where i stood wet, in a red telephone booth trying to call my parents. After a few minutes on the phone with them, i braved myself to go into the center, thinking i was going to make a dash for the bathroom where i hoped to be met with the bathrroms hand dryer....but shit, when those things are usually in ever single bathrrom and i hate them most of the time bc they really dont ever dry ur hands fast enough and this time i needed one and NONE APPEARED...it was those damn, towel stalls, u pull to get a clean bit everytime! Shit i thought, oh well, took off my wet sweater hoping it would dry fast but it didn't. So for 4 hours, i toured the info center/museum looking like a wet duck (but i wasn't the only one, everyone else too was wet but not as much as me)....well...3 pm and it was time to phone a shuttle to take me to the airport, well, the ones that cost 6 NZD was no where to be found, the phone always went straight to voice mail, so i was left to taking the local taxi which was charging double the price...oh well, i took it. Arriving at the barren airport, I waited for 1/2 an hour for my 20 min flight. The plane was tiney and fit 10 squished, including the pilot (mind you, this was the same cost for a 1 hour ferry, i opted to fly)....the plane ride was not the least uneventful...anyone how has done the dungeon drop at the late Astro world, well, thats what it felt like most of the time! YOu see i dont need to pay shitloads of money for a bungey jump when I got it on this plane ride, up down, up down, at one point i screamed out loud, "SHITTTTTTTT', it was by far the scarriest plane ride...the whole time i keep thing, we are flying over a body of water and if we crash the damn life jackets are two seats up ahead, tucked away in the wall, i'm gpoing to ghave to climb over four people to get to them, I was doomed it it were to happen, i thought....but alas, we arrived safely much to my worries, and to think that I have a return flight on the 9th, jejeje! Ready for another adrenaline packed ride?
Well, after that ordeal, i got to my booked out hostel on the island, the steart island backpacker hostel. Tent site #41, quickly i tried setting up the tent, Tim (the german from auckland), had let me borrow. This darn one person tent was so freaking hard to set up, took me probably 20-30 min or more to set up.....i looked hilarious, as people walked by they just hgave me these stares of "poor girl"....it was funny but in the end i managed. After that I went to the only grocery store to buy myself my food for the next three days, which consisted of, one froxzen funny looking mini pizza, one pre-packaged uncooked cheese pasta thingys, i thing of ham packet, wierd looking chips and the prize (one thing of Sun dried cream cheese spread, YUM!!!). Arriving at the hostels kitchen, I tried turning on the old oven and i couldn't, it took 4 people to help me...finallly, after 8 min. it was ready, bynow the kitchen was full of chatting people....managed to talk to this nice lady who appeared to be serving herself two difeferent kinds of bottled water onto a glass, looking at my funny looks, she smirked and said, "dont worry dear, they are not both waters, one is GIN".....LOL< GIN and tonic....aw!!!!! She turned to be one funny lady and i had promised to meet her at 9pm to go looking for pengiuns on the island....but failed to do so, bc i fell asleep by 8pm in my brightly lit tent and not bc its an orange tent but bc the sun does not set till 11pm!!!!!!!!!!!!! So i slept, yes, did not wake up until 7am!!!! So what, its my HOLIDAY, remember, i can be lazy!!!!!! It rained most of the night, and i was freezing but oh well. This morning i had a lovely guided hike to Ulva island where i saw lots of RARE cool Birds! Claudia was happy!!!! Stewart island robin, saddleback, ect.
ok, gotta go.
Love yall
Jazmin, take lots of pictures! I miss you. PS---im not traveling w my friends anymore.

-CC

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