So at the end of the last post I had just had a busy few days with some lovely young ladies. That wasn't exactly a precursor of what was to come, more like a high before the low.
Christchurch is a lovely place, it's just not the place you want to end up in for 10 days on your own. I have really been trying to drag out the last few days.
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| Skating Kiwi style |
The next morning I woke up to rain and wind so decided to do a few menial tasks, bank account was set up, some food bought. Then came my first cinema trip in New Zealand, I'd forgotten how expensive it was to go to the cinema! After taking out a mortgage I saw Interstellar which was pretty stellar until the 5th dimension, then it went to far, literally, or figuratively depending on where the 5th dimension is.... I have now confused myself. I then went to a skatepark and made friends with some of the local youths. I have just impressed myself with how boring that sounds, don't worry, it was worse to live it.
The next day I went to find a car to buy, fortunately I was able to find the car/van/mobile home of my dreams, mainly because it is called Sinbad. Unfortunately however, the next day was a public holiday followed by the weekend so I wasn't able to get a Warrant of Fitness until Monday at the earliest. So another weekend in Christchurch for me.
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rush hour in New Zealand
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With this in mind I booked an adventure, a whale watching tour in Kaikoura! They didn't lie, we saw 1 whale and not a lot of it at that. One thing I learned about Sperm Whales is that they only show about 5% of their body above water, not the most exciting for spotting. Fortunately there were many other things that I saw, like a shag and some tits. They were little birds, when the photos go up someone can tell me what they really were. I also saw my first albatross, not as exciting as seeing my first whale though. My favourite part was when I wandered onto a beach covered in seals! Including a baby seal in a tree, it looked like a leopard chilling.
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| It's a whale, promise |
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| A seal in a tree, why not! |
There were some awesome views, a few of which are below, feel free to go ooo and aaaaah.
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| ooooooo |
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| aaaaaahhh |
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| artyyyyyyyy |
I met the Big Bang Theory cast. Listened to a guy have a conversation, trying to work out what it's about, someone bought something online without permission and now regrets it. His friend found out that his child wasn't his after 18 years, just taking his money. The things you learn listening to a phone conversation. He is divorced, on the phone to new girlfriend. Brought children on holiday. They brought their own money, the mum didn't give them any. Going on a trip and the kids won't appreciate the views. He's also mean to sheep, hooting at them in the car to make them run away. He's Australian and is doing a long distance relationship.
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A traditional Greek dish in NZ,
shout out to Sivota! |
On one of my adventures to the RE:Start Mall I was having lunch with a mother and daughter, feeding the little birdies as you do. The people reading this that want a bit more smut are going to be disappointed because it’s nothing exciting. A lady was walking along and didn’t even break stride but stooped down to pick up a hair tie and pocketed it then carried on walking. We all looked at each other in amazement! Who does that?
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| Looking down on Christchurch |
On what I hoped was my last full day in
Christchurch I met up with a friend from camp, Abbie. She grew up in Chch (down with the local lingo because it’s a bugger to keep writing out. She took me on a tour and I got to see all the things that I would never have found. We had lunch on a beach, went up a hill and visited Taylor’s Mistake, a place when an Englishman made an error in mapping. I believe this to be a Maori myth because Englishmen do not make mistakes! It was awesome catching up with her and the gossip from the last 5 years. Basically what we learnt is that we are getting old! After the excitement of the day I popped along to a special windsurf beach, for those that have been it is a better version of Poole Harbour. There were a lot of kitesurfers out so snapped some snaps.
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| A memorial in Chch |
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| This is kitesurfing btw |
The next morning I was really excited about grabbing Sinbad and getting on our way. Unfortunately not only was the car in need of some work but the current owners hadn’t accepted my offer. So I spent a day in the Backpackers Car Market, it was very pleasant and met lots of people. If you ever have a day to kill that’s the place to go, lovely people and entertainment in the bucket load. I had to extend my hostel and my car but ended up sharing a room for the first time. It is like an episode of Faulty Towers! Two French guys called Jeff and Charlie, obviously, a quiet and efficient German, let’s call him Hans. A Kiwi called Marv who got kicked out of his house in Auckland and moved down to stay with his friend in Chch who then also got kicked out so is now staying in a hostel and trying to find a job. The last guy showed up at 11pm in fishing gear so god only knows.
Tomorrow I’m going back to the Car Market with my fingers and toes crossed that I have a car, I really hope that I get out of this place and that there isn't a Christchurch part 3. Then my stories can get more exciting.
Wisdom: Don’t stay in Christchurch for longer than a couple of days, that’s all.
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| New Zealand road sign |
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