Remember how I said in my last post, 'we'll see where meeting up with Mike leads?' Well, you have no idea! I left off in Melbourne, so picking up from there, I woke up on Wednesday to go and catch my 5:50pm plane to Christchurch. Philip drove me to the train and it was sad to say goodbye to them, as I'd had such a great 3 weeks staying there. I'd wanted to do something for them so I went to a gift shop and bought them a butterfly made from metal - a really cool decoration that I thought would fit into their home perfectly. I would have liked to do more, though. I also picked up wine and dinner for our last supper and we had vino and tacos. What a great time in Melbourne, sigh.
So, the day of my flight I stopped off at the post office to mail home some items I couldn't carry with me to New Zealand - it wasn't too big of a cost, I think it's worth it rather than facing the hassle of bringing books and souvenirs with me. I sent off my items and they should arrive in Waterloo in three weeks. I had the option of doing the 'sea' service, but that would've taken 3 months!! I'd have been jealous of my possessions still on holiday when I return home in March!
It was very easy getting to the airport and I arrived in plenty of time for the plane. I'm certainly an experienced traveler now, heading off with my backpack, my baby pack strapped onto my chest like a real baby carrier, and my new purse. I love the journey, of having to get somewhere on time and make it there on your own. So, once checked in for the flight I bought a few magazines and waited in the cute, quiet Melbourne airport. I was feeling a bit apprehensive, as I tend to feel before heading somewhere new where I don't know anyone. One good thing - I'd met a new tennis friend named Mike from New Zealand and he lives in Christchurch, so he said we could meet up Thursday. Little did I know!!
The plane ride was great. It was awesome watching the sun set in the distance, and the horizon turned so red as the plane made its way into the night time "The daytime of the night" - Jemaine, Flight of the Conchords haha.
We landed and I had no idea what to expect. I hopped onto a shuttle going into the city. Sitting next to me was a girl also traveling alone. We soon struck up a conversation and I found out that she was Zoe, traveling alone in NZ for a week before heading back to study/her job as a Microbiologist. She's from Melbourne, she was on my flight, and she's going to the same hostel as I am, and I later found out that she was staying on my floor! I love traveling!
So, Zoe and I hit it off right away. We checked into Base and went down to the bar - it was packed- for a beer. Then, the craziest thing happened. I noticed this guy in the bar and thought he looked familiar. He looked at me and we both kinda did the 'I know you but don't know you' thing. He came up to me and asked if I was from Toronto, and I said yes, and it turns out he knows Kate (his name is Andrew T. - forget his last name) but he went to high school with Kate and he was at Base in Christchurch. What a coincidence!!
The next morning Zoe and I went for a walk in town. Our hostel was right downtown. Christchurch is the nicest place. It's so quaint, really easy to walk around in, and lots of sights to see all in one central place. It's very clean and well kept. There's a cathedral, which we went into briefly, and we also went to the botanic gardens. We walked in the small market where they were selling jewellry and trinkets when I got a text from Mike. I thought he'd just be sending some details about that night's dinner but he mentioned he had his car and that he and his friend Jamie were going to drive to Akaroa, the coast near this peninsula and that we should come.
We'd just finished saying how amazing it is to hang out with locals, and now we had some locals who wanted to hang with us! Within 5 minutes we were driving in Mike's car, heading for Akaroa, an amazing little village by the water. It was about an hour's drive of beautiful hills and scenery, and so nice to catch up with Mike, who worked with me on the tennis website, and with his friend Jamie, really awesome guy as well.
We stopped for icecream and to take in the scenery, and drove to the coastal village. What a marvelous spot. There is a salt-water bay in the middle of giant hills, with a long pier and shops along the water. We walked down the pier and I was lucky enough to film a movie of the dolphins swimming! Dolphins, in February! Dolphins, at all?! I couldn't believe it. We then went for fish and chips and beer on the beach. All I can say is 'wow'.That night the four of us went out for beer at a bar called Dux de Lux, a local pub that was hosting a special evening called PechaKucha night, where speakers get to show the audience a series of 20 photos on a PowerPoint, but the catch is the photos can only be up for 20 seconds each. It's really interesting to learn about the Maori culture (pronounced Mau-ree, like Maui). We heard from 10 people, some were funny, some told really interesting stories about what they do. It was such an amazing thing to listen to. I had one of those moments where you're thinking, am I actually here? Am I actually in New Zealand with these strangers who are now friends listening to this? Unreal moments like that are such treats.
If that was amazing to listen to, then what we did next wasn't. We all went out to sing Karaoke at an Asian Karaoke bar! The way they do it here is there are about 7 rooms and you rent out a Karaoke room so you and your group can sing as much as you like. We had a ball belting out our favourite tunes and by the time Zoe and I got back to the hostel, after KFC and 7-11, it was 3am! But what comes next is even crazier... it needs a new post to describe it.
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