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Notes on New Zealand
Back in Christchurch after a fleeting 7 day tour of New Zealand's south island, my main impression of this vastly underpopulated country is just how beautiful it is. Ranging from sandy beaches to flat plains, vast mountains and gorgeous blue glaciers, there is a whole lot to see, explore and experience. The weather can sometimes be off-putting: we had a joke on the bus that there was a rain cloud that had fallen in love with the blue Connections logo; but you can still do a lot despite the rain.
Missing out on skydiving in Queenstown was really sucky; but as I kept telling my new friends: you can jump out of an aeroplane almost anywhere. Milford Sound in the rain was also a rather nice, calm experience – the rainfall makes more waterfalls appear out of the rock and gives everything a very misty, ethereal look. Not being able to see the peak of Mount Cook was a bit of a bummer, but the surrounding scenery was still pretty spectacular and what would you know, but when we finally arrived back in Christchurch it was sunny.
Not for long...my final full day here has been a massive rain fest. Not a rain storm that blows over, but one long, dreary damp day when everything gets wet – shoes, coat, bags.... Thankfully I have a rain coat! Sometimes it looks like it's letting up, but as you adventure back outside you realise it is just raining slightly less than before and there are more unfortunates passing without umbrellas than about 10 minutes ago. Christchurch, as I mentioned before, is quite a small little town. I had thought it economically depressed until I went out for a few drinks last night. The place was thriving! There are quite a few bars, pubs and clubs and after about 11pm the streets were busy with revelers from different parts of the world. The one thing that struck me the most, however, was how...uncomfortable I felt. I was not scared, nor did I feel threatened, but the overall feeling or vibe of the place was of people hunting. Mainly men. Unlike Queenstown, there were men everywhere: old, young, drunk and slightly more sober. All seemed to have one goal in mind – to kiss (or more) a girl. My friend Dewi & I even saw one gaggle of men carrying a cardboard cut-out, much as you'd see promoting a movie – of a woman in the streets. She was probably a famous actress but I didn't recognise her.
New-found friends... one of the best things about traveling, after or maybe joined with seeing new places (often ones you have thought of visiting for a long time), is meeting new people. Admittedly this can sometimes be a tiring experience, but there are many benefits. I primarily chose to do a tour of the south island because I knew it would be easier than me trying to find my way across and around the country, organising places to stay and eat along the way. (I am even happier with my decision now that I know how expensive internet access is here. I still can't really work it out, other than to think that you are pretty far from anywhere.) The Connections tour had another great advantage though – traveling with other (hopefully) like-minded people. It's always interesting to be thrown together with a group of strangers, and little did I realise when I joined the tour in Christchurch that many of those on the bus had actually already spent 8 days together in the north island. I met many fun and interesting people and got to appreciate them all to different extents and for different reasons. Some I wasn't so sure on at first meeting, others I got to know quickly, some slowly, some barely at all. However all were friendly, approachable, and cheerily said good morning to one another when we'd meet, invariably around 7:20am, to eat breakfast before packing ourselves back in the coach for a long journey to another spot to stay. So, my memories of New Zealand will be of endless, arresting scenery (as my photos attest to) of mountains, lakes, green plains, rolling hills, sheep, snow and ice, and a whole bunch of new friends and acquaintances whom I wish all the best with their further travels, returns home, exams, love lives and general life. It was great to explore the south island with you all and share different experiences, not to mention learn more about myself in the process of getting to know you and reacting to different circumstances. Thank you all, and thank you New Zealand. I wish I had learned more about the Maori (there was a stay with them on the north island tour) and I have no idea how to say goodbye in their tongue, though I am sure Google would help if I could afford the internet right now, but that is what I say. I am not sure when I will be back, but I hope that when that does roll around I have a bit more sunshine and as great friends and encounters as this time.
Back in Christchurch after a fleeting 7 day tour of New Zealand's south island, my main impression of this vastly underpopulated country is just how beautiful it is. Ranging from sandy beaches to flat plains, vast mountains and gorgeous blue glaciers, there is a whole lot to see, explore and experience. The weather can sometimes be off-putting: we had a joke on the bus that there was a rain cloud that had fallen in love with the blue Connections logo; but you can still do a lot despite the rain.
Missing out on skydiving in Queenstown was really sucky; but as I kept telling my new friends: you can jump out of an aeroplane almost anywhere. Milford Sound in the rain was also a rather nice, calm experience – the rainfall makes more waterfalls appear out of the rock and gives everything a very misty, ethereal look. Not being able to see the peak of Mount Cook was a bit of a bummer, but the surrounding scenery was still pretty spectacular and what would you know, but when we finally arrived back in Christchurch it was sunny.
Not for long...my final full day here has been a massive rain fest. Not a rain storm that blows over, but one long, dreary damp day when everything gets wet – shoes, coat, bags.... Thankfully I have a rain coat! Sometimes it looks like it's letting up, but as you adventure back outside you realise it is just raining slightly less than before and there are more unfortunates passing without umbrellas than about 10 minutes ago. Christchurch, as I mentioned before, is quite a small little town. I had thought it economically depressed until I went out for a few drinks last night. The place was thriving! There are quite a few bars, pubs and clubs and after about 11pm the streets were busy with revelers from different parts of the world. The one thing that struck me the most, however, was how...uncomfortable I felt. I was not scared, nor did I feel threatened, but the overall feeling or vibe of the place was of people hunting. Mainly men. Unlike Queenstown, there were men everywhere: old, young, drunk and slightly more sober. All seemed to have one goal in mind – to kiss (or more) a girl. My friend Dewi & I even saw one gaggle of men carrying a cardboard cut-out, much as you'd see promoting a movie – of a woman in the streets. She was probably a famous actress but I didn't recognise her.
New-found friends... one of the best things about traveling, after or maybe joined with seeing new places (often ones you have thought of visiting for a long time), is meeting new people. Admittedly this can sometimes be a tiring experience, but there are many benefits. I primarily chose to do a tour of the south island because I knew it would be easier than me trying to find my way across and around the country, organising places to stay and eat along the way. (I am even happier with my decision now that I know how expensive internet access is here. I still can't really work it out, other than to think that you are pretty far from anywhere.) The Connections tour had another great advantage though – traveling with other (hopefully) like-minded people. It's always interesting to be thrown together with a group of strangers, and little did I realise when I joined the tour in Christchurch that many of those on the bus had actually already spent 8 days together in the north island. I met many fun and interesting people and got to appreciate them all to different extents and for different reasons. Some I wasn't so sure on at first meeting, others I got to know quickly, some slowly, some barely at all. However all were friendly, approachable, and cheerily said good morning to one another when we'd meet, invariably around 7:20am, to eat breakfast before packing ourselves back in the coach for a long journey to another spot to stay. So, my memories of New Zealand will be of endless, arresting scenery (as my photos attest to) of mountains, lakes, green plains, rolling hills, sheep, snow and ice, and a whole bunch of new friends and acquaintances whom I wish all the best with their further travels, returns home, exams, love lives and general life. It was great to explore the south island with you all and share different experiences, not to mention learn more about myself in the process of getting to know you and reacting to different circumstances. Thank you all, and thank you New Zealand. I wish I had learned more about the Maori (there was a stay with them on the north island tour) and I have no idea how to say goodbye in their tongue, though I am sure Google would help if I could afford the internet right now, but that is what I say. I am not sure when I will be back, but I hope that when that does roll around I have a bit more sunshine and as great friends and encounters as this time.
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