canuckkiwi: April 2011

There are so many wonderful things about travelling – visiting beautiful places, having new and exciting experiences, learning about other cultures, discovering foods you didn’t know existed (what the heck is a feijoa?) – but one of the best things has got to be the great people you meet. The worst part of travelling though, is that inevitably, you end up having to say goodbye to these people.

When I first arrived in Blenheim six (SIX!) weeks ago, and walked into Koanui Backpackers, I was underwhelmed. Though kept very clean, its amenities are somewhat lackluster – the kitchen is a bit cramped and rather lacking in cooking implements, the toilets in the main building don’t have sinks in them, so you have to walk all the way back to your room to wash your hands, the couches are frayed and stained. Nothing major, but it’s hardly the Shangri-La.

I was also afraid that I’d get annoyed with living with so many people – the thought of sharing a small space with the same folks for so long was frankly terrifying. I seriously considered renting a room in a house or a flat after my first week.

Imagine my surprise when about four weeks ago I realized that I was having the time of my life here. It honestly snuck up on me; One day after work rather than feeling like I was returning to a hostel full of random strangers that I vaguely knew, I was coming home to my Koanui “family” (as cheesy as that sounds).

I don’t think I’m alone in that sentiment either. I’ve heard others here say how they feel like this place has become home, that they wish it were the middle of March again and that we all had weeks together ahead of us. There’s even one Canadian dude who was meant to leave twice, but couldn’t bring himself to.

Alas, it’s the end of the grape harvest and everyone is starting to move on. Everyone but me, that is.

My contract at Makana goes until the 30^th, so I’m going to be sticking around here until at least the 1^st of May. I’m glad for the work, but it’s going to be so difficult watching everyone I’ve gotten to know and like leave over the coming days. Yesterday the exodus began, and as (bad) luck would have it, it was the three first people I met here who took off – two for the North Island, and one for Canada (third time’s a charm, eh Mike?). It was emotional. I won’t lie; I cried a little when each of them left.

It’s embarrassing how nostalgic I’ve been since yesterday. I find it incredibly sad that the new crop of people who will be arriving shortly for the pruning season won’t know why there’s a rubber snake in the TV lounge, or why there’s all this neon orange paint dotting various surfaces around the joint, or who this “Kim” of the “Kim Style Says” scribble on the fridge is. I’ll miss the ribbing between team Canada and everyone else (especially the Irish and the Southern Canadian). I’ll miss our yoga sessions which started as a trio but ballooned into a group of seven last week. I’ll miss the BBQs, the games of Ring of Fire, and the easy conversations we had.

I’m dreading having to make daily decisions – it’s been so nice to not have to decide where to go, where to stay, or what to do every day – and having my conversations with others reduced to the standard “backpacker small talk” (where are you from? How long are you here? Where have to been? Etc.). Ugh.

Oh well. It’s all part of the traveller’s life, and I just have to keep telling myself that there are many more wonderful experiences ahead of me, and wonderful people out there to meet. Right?