There (Wanaka) and back again (to Christchurch)

It occurred to me the other night that most people don’t know the lay of the land here, and when I talk about certain places, you have no idea where on God’s green Earth I actually am.  So here’s a snapshot of where I’ve been over the past six weeks.

So, if you’ve interpreted my little map correctly (or if you’ve read the handy little title above), you’ll have deduced that I’m back in Christchurch. 

It was with a bit of a heavy heart, and a heavier bag, that I left Wanaka Saturday morning.  Over the course of the six days I’d spent at the filthy house, it had gotten steadily cleaner and cosier.  It really was nice having my own room, even if sound travelled through the paper-thin walls with surprising efficiency (I shared a wall with a Swedish “goth” couple, the female half who, if she wasn’t watching episode after episode of Two and a Half Men, was jabbering incessantly). And I doubt I’d ever get enough of looking at those mountains.

Lucky ducks

But leave Wanaka I did, hopping on board the 10:45 naked bus with no real idea of how long of a journey it would be.

I wasn’t bothered though.  One of my favourite things to do in this country is to just sit back and watch the invariably gorgeous scenery glide by.

This particular journey brought me through Otago’s Lindy’s Pass, with its kilometre upon kilometre of tussock-tufted hills and snow-dusted mountains.  The Southern Alps snuck into view around midday, and thankfully stuck around for a few hours. 

Mmmmmmm....tussocky.

At near 2:00 we had a rest stop and bus changeover in Lake Tekapo.  This delightful little town had charmed me and my travel companion last trip, and in the half hour I was there on Saturday, it had nearly convinced me to ditch the rest of the ride and make camp there for a few nights.

The main draw of the town of Lake Tekapo isn’t the, admittedly stunning, views (more gorgeous mountains? Ho hum), or the nice walks (Another amazing treck?  Yawn).  No.  The name of the place says it all.  The lake is what sets this place apart.

Just look at that water:

Have you ever seen, even imagined, water that colour?  Though it looks like the result of a chemistry experiment gone wrong, or some kind of awful environmental disaster, I can assure you, it’s not.  That’s all natural baby.

Well...that camera angle's not so natural.  Nor is my hair colour.  But the water is all natural baby.

I might mess up the science here a bit, but here’s what I remember from the explanation I got last year.  The rivers that feed into the lake flow down from glaciers in the Alps.  As those glaciers move subtly about, they grind against the mountains and create this rocky powder that gets carried downstream towards the lake.  This “rock flour” is so ultra-fine that it’s suspended in the water, and the light reflects off of it in such a way that we see that brilliant turquoise.  Pictures really don’t do it justice. 

The rest of the journey was rather uneventful.  The only thing of note was the interminable chatter of two Spanish girls sitting in front of me.  Good golly could those chicks yammer on.  In six hours of travel they were quiet for all of 45 minutes I reckon.  Most of you likely know that I’m quite the introvert, and I cherish those relationships where silences are comfortable and not infrequent.  When I’m thrust into a confined space with people who have never met a silence they didn’t fill, I get antsy.  Thank goodness for my ipod.

**Little tangent here: as I sit here writing this, the girl next to me has removed her shoes, unleashing a foot odour of a potency which defies description.  It’s distracting, and disgusting. Thank you for allowing me to share my pain.  And now back to regularly scheduled programming**

So, here I am back in Christchurch.  A few things have brought me back here, and only one is actually fun.

·        I’m slowly making my way north so I can be sure to be in Wellington for my interview with the University of Victoria on November 16^th.  (not fun)

·        My laptop battery has stopped functioning properly.  It won’t run unless it’s plugged in, won’t take a charge, and is steadily losing power.  I’m hoping to find a replacement in town, but given that it’s a Sony, things aren’t looking promising (definitely not fun)

·        I have to peruse the library to do some research for this stupid essay I’m expected to write for this course I’m enrolled in against my will.  A course that’s a prerequisite for a program I’m not even sure I’ve been accepted into yet. In other words, I might be doing this work for nothing!  Yay! (decidedly not fun)

·        The Black Seeds had a show in town Saturday night (fun!) and I went (double fun!). 

There’s a very good chance you’ve never heard of the Black Seeds, but they’re a big deal here in New Zealand.  They’re an eight-piece “dub” band I discovered during my last trip here.  On a whim last week I went to their site (and now you can too!) and looked up their upcoming concert schedule.  To find out that they were playing a few days later in an accessible location was quite the thrill.  The show was lots of fun, even though I was on my own.  I’d go see them again in a heartbeat.

It’s interesting being here during Halloween.  When I first came here in 2004, it wasn’t celebrated much at all, but in the years hence, it’s started to take hold.  Last night there were some disguised revellers out on the town, but not many.  Apparently some trick or treating took place, though most households didn’t have candy (or “lollies” as they say here) on hand. And no pumpkins  or jack o’ lanterns are to be found – not surprising given that it’s spring. 

So that’s about it for now. I've spent the last two (sunny) days at the library. I'm supposed to submit an essay on the 12th, and I figured I'd get it out of the way as soon as possible. Hopefully I'll have a first draft done tomorrow.

On Thursday I'm taking off for Picton and the next morning I'm starting a scuba diving course.  Huzzah!  I've been wanting to get certified for years and have never taken the time to do it.  I've tried to work something out a few times since I left Canada, but timing was never right.  Looks like it'll work out this time though, so I'm thrilled.

TTFN!