The Kiwi, the Aussie, and the Canuck

And then there were three. Jamie wasn't able to join us on our trip, something I found out 20 minutes after posting my last blog. We completely understood, as he wasn't intending on going in the first place until we all ended up at Christchurch Idol, aka the local karaoke place, and in a drunken state Jamie said he could come.

I also had to go and take care of my cell phone issues. I'd run out of money on my plan and usually am able to go to any Vodafone to top it up. But in New Zealand, you can't top up an Australian phone, so I ended up getting a NZ SIM card, with a new number. Mum, Uj, I'll email it to you.

Either way, Mike (the Kiwi) met Zoe (the Aussie) and me (the Canuck) at the Base hostel around 10:30am yesterday (Wednesday) and we headed out on the open road. We were really lucky with weather even with the 2.5hour journey through the mountains looming before us. If you look at a map of New Zealand, you can see Greymouth, our destination, on the mid-north, west coast side of the south island, so we literally drove across the entire country in half a day. The mountains usually dictate erratic weather but we left in the bright sunshine, 25 degrees outside, with a good feeling it would stay that way.

Our road trip was amazing. Pumping the tunes, we had flat country for the first 45 minutes and that's just when you start to see the first of the mountains on the horizon. They looked like really defined clouds, but you soon realize that's where you are headed. It's so different from Ontario where the only excuse for a mountain is the escarpment (sorry Milton, but it really can't compare). Suddenly, the hills grow all around you and the car goes from driving on a flat plain to winding on sometimes-precarious roads. Mike knew the best places to stop for pictures, so we'd pull up, be the only car on the road for miles, and score these amazing shots of the landscape.


We made it to the landmark of Arthur's Pass, a town on a road that winds between two very high peaks. It's the only place for miles where you can get food and go pee. It's also one of the only places along the route where you can get cell phone reception! I took a photo of myself in front of the weather camera for Arthur's Pass - you can Google pics but while you won't see me, you'll see the views.

Stopping in Arthur's Pass for a meat pie, I had a steak and cheese one, we sat outside admiring the views but were suddenly weary of unwanted guests. These guests are Keas, birds that are so ruthless for food, they'll jump on the table and steal the food from your hand (or worse)! They are giant, parrot-like birds and are in constant attack mode. Under no circumstances can you feed a Kea. They bothered us for a bit but then went off to look for more generous scavengees.

Shortly out of Arthur's Pass we stopped at a lookout just above a river tucked in deep beneath the mountains. The beautiful red trees amongst the green foliage swept up the hills, giving it a Canadian fall-like feel. The pics speak for themselves.

We arrived in Greymouth at around 4pm and headed south down the coast about 20 minutes to a place called Hokitika, famous for jade stones. We went to a store/manufacturer that sells and carves the jade. Jewelry is quite pricey, but the pieces are gorgeous. I bought a little necklace and so did Zoe.

We then headed north up the coast to Greymouth where Mike's sister and husband live with their two kids. We dropped off our things, said hi to the family, and then headed even farther north. This drive was incredible. It was so scenic and we each thought about how it looked very Hawaiian. It was entirely along the ocean coast, with the water going on for thousands of kms before reaching Australia. The sun was setting along the water and it was a beautiful day, still. We drove to Punakaiki, a coastal lookout famous for its pancake rocks. What a place! It was like traveling back millions of years to these huge rocks that formed gradually over time, creating blowholes for the ocean to spew out of in giant bursts. The rocks stand like pillars coming out of the water and long, dark, flowing seaweed grows out of them at the bottom, floating grimly in the water. Zoe so aptly noted how the seaweed resembled the Harry Potter dementors and we all concurred. I could also compare the seaweed to the dead girl's hair in The Ring - creepy.

We stayed and took photos and enjoyed the sights (and ocean smells) for at least 45 minutes before heading back into Greymouth to grab some food. We ate dinner at a pub called Speight's, named after a New Zealand beer. I had the best garlic-thai shrimp. It was a great dinner. We headed back to Mike's sister's and watched some tv, chatted, and Zoe and I went to bed around midnight as we had to leave early this morning to get back to Christchurch.

An interesting thing happened. While quickly checking my email at Mike's sister's place I get a Facebook message from one of the guys who was at the Lord of the Rings tour. Remember how I said I bumped into a group of six people my age? Well I gave the one guy my Facebook info. So, it turns out I got a message from him saying they'd love for me to join then in their van! They said they have one free spot because the British dude is leaving to go home early. But then, I get another message from the Ben guy saying that the British dude is actually sticking around and that they don't have room. Then, I get a third message from Ben saying they figured it out, they can put the luggage on the roof, and that he feels bad for offering a seat to me and taking it away so they are trying to make it work now! Either way, I'm a bit skeptical so will fill you in on that if anything happens.

The drive back to Christchurch was much quicker without all our photo stops, but it was also gloomier with the rain and low clouds. We dropped Zoe off at the airport at noon - we were so sad to see her go! She's been my Christchurch companion this whole time and with such a fluke-y way to meet, and for all we ended up doing, it was so great to meet her and get along so well.

What an amazing road trip we had. Now I can say that I've seen the northwest coast. I've bought my bus ticket to go down to Queenstown already and I leave tomorrow (Thursday) morning. I arrive there at 4:30pm, so it'll be another long day of journeying ahead.

Bye, Christchurch and everybody, I'll really miss it here and remember how amazing it was for the rest of my life. We all made a pact that in 2012, we'd meet each other somewhere for a reunion. While it would be cool to make that spot Greymouth, we decided, for convenience, to make it Vegas.