The end of the backpacker journey, for now...

---

We arrived back in Queenstown, me as usual, on a very full bladder. As soon as those bus doors open, I shot out of there like a canon in search of the nearest loo, and left Marielle to figure out where we were going to stay. With no options to speak of we stayed at Base - possibly the worst hostel in Queenstown. We went to the internet to catch up on emails and I called Steph. We were tired, I was feeling homesick after talking to my favourite person - just felt like a movie and bed. But then I decided, nope this is my last night out and I'm going to enjoy it. So we got a few drinks, had dinner, showered, and made it to the bar (luckily just downstairs) and showed up just in time for free shots. Shots seemed to be the theme of the night and I finally wandered back to the hostel at about 4 am, only to be up at 6 to catch yet another bus.

We made the bus but were fast asleep once on it. I managed to wake up in time to catch the impressive Mt Cook and Mt Tasman in the Southern Alps and was met in Geraldine by the rafting company and bid farewell to Marielle who would be flying to Brisbane the next day. As for me, it was a day of rest, then white water rafting down the Rangitata River. I was a bit nervous after my first experience on the Tully with Jenny and Katherine when our raft flipped on a Grade 4, they said it was me who jinxed it, but I proved them wrong this time, as I made it through two Grade 5s unscathed! The water was less warm than the Tully and the Tussock grass and sheep a bit different than the dense jungle around the Tully, but it was just as fun, minus the near death experience!

I made it to Christchurch at about 7 where I was able to catch up with Anna-Marie again and fill eachother in on the last couple of weeks. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurand and had a beer at an Irish pub (you can take a girl out of Ireland, but you can't take the Irish Pub out of the girl)! We said good-bye, I spent one more night at Chez Christchurch Airport, and then back to Wellington and off to Gisborne to start work. Feel a bit like the dorky kid who looked forward to going back to school after summer holidays... Ya, that was me... Only its been an 18 month holiday and its time to dust the cobwebs off the old think tank!

---

Photos

Mt Tasman
Absolutely beautiful scenery, at least it will be close to visit again.