Leaving Christchurch...

... is very different than leaving Las Vegas. Speaking of which, my friend Olivia is getting married there today, perhaps as I write. Congrats! Hope everyone there is having fun. I wish I could have been there.

I got to Christchurch after a 7 hour bus ride from Dunedin and checked into the Base Backpacker hostel, literally next to the cathedral. (Which I still haven't visited yet. Should probably get there today...) On the way I passed a Dutch guy who had stayed in my hostel in Queenstown and walking from the reception desk to my room I bumped into two Danish guys I had met through other people in Queenstown. Apparently this is very common, but because I'm doing a bit more of the independent route, it's new for me. A lot of people travel on the "hop on hop off" buses that loop the country and they all meet up with each other here and there. I purposely didn't select this method of transportation, both for cost and for the fact that I'm easily 10 years older than the oldest person on those buses!

I settled into my room, which was the nicest by far. I was able to get into the "Sanctuary" area, which is women only, and only costs an extra few $$. The beds and linen are nicer, there's a lounge area with leather couches and we get free Aveda shampoo/conditioner and use of hair dryers. Oh, it smells quite a bit nicer too! And luxury of all luxuries, there's a big drawer under each bed so I was able to unpack for the first time in weeks. When I get to Wellington tonight I'm staying at the same hostel chain!

My 3 roommates in Christchurch were Kiwis - probably the only ones I've really met since I got here! Really nice women, and actually my age! They were in town for a friend's wedding.

That night I met an eclectic group of people in the hostel's bar (a Canadian living in Sydney, an Aussie and a Californian living in NZ) . They twisted my arm to stay out with them all night because the Canadian had to get on a shuttle to the airport at 3:30am and figured there was no point in going to bed. So it was our job to make sure he stayed awake! We ended up going to a bar with a live cover band that was fantastic, so the job was bearable, I suppose.

The next day I was invited to visit the hot springs about 1 1/2 hours outside of town by my 3 roommates who had rented a car. So nice of them!!!! We had a great time at the springs and the view along the way was amazing. On the way back we stopped at a winery for a few samples.

The next two days I spent wandering the city, at the International Antarctic Center and at a local rugby game. The game was Canterbury (Christchurch's county) vs. Auckland. Unfortunately, the home team lost but watching the interaction between the Auckland and Canterbury fans was perhaps more entertaining than the game anyway! Today I'm going to the local craft fair they have on weekends and then I catch a 5 hour bus to Picton and then a 3 hour ferry to Wellington, on the North Island. Whew. This is where budget travel is a pain. I could fly for NZ$209 (approx. $160) and get there in 45 minutes, but my budget is a little to tight for that, so I'm taking the VERY LONG $50 route. What's frustrating is that I actually found a $50 flight, but I needed my mobile number to book online and I didn't know it so I went back to my room to get the number. When I came back, all the computers were in use and by the time I got online again, the fare was up to $209. UGH. I wish I'd never known that option was available! Or that I had just made up a number. To make it worse, I just realized I had sent the phone number to my parents, so I could have gotten it from my sent email folder. Grrr. Oh, well. Hopefully the scenery enroute is good!

Sorry for the long post.... I haven't written much lately. I just checked out and the hostel messed up my reservation and only charged me half of what they should have. I kept trying to rectify it, but I'm only going to argue for so long in their favor. So I ended up paying US$10/night. Can't get cheaper than that!!! Makes up for the fact that someone rummaged through my food and stole my crackers and fruit! Now if I can just shake this terrible cold! I have almost no voice, so needless to say email and text messages are my friend right now. I'm hoping the sun of Sydney will cure this cold, if it's not gone by then.