On the Road: Traveling Solo

Picking up where I left off before Blog4NZ, Kaikoura (where we swam with dolphins) was one of the last stops on my road trip with Louise. That was the day before the earthquake, and Louise was meant to fly out of Christchurch the day after. After testing the runways, it was announced that international flights would begin again midday on Wednesday (a couple hours before Lou’s scheduled flight to Australia). By the time we had confirmation on this, we had to rush back to camp and pack up everything (making sure to sort through and divide our belongings after 10 days in a wee car together!) We managed to get her to the airport in time for her flight and I sorted out the juggling of rental cars.

Lou and I part ways... sad day!

I had arranged to “relocate” a car from Christchurch back to Nelson after our trip. That way, I would be able to see some Nelson friends and join the Flying Kiwi bus again from there. Rental car relocation is a nice opportunity to get from point A to point B with a free rental car. There are some stipulations – you have to pay for petrol, and you have limited mileage in a certain time frame – but it seemed ideal for what I needed! In retrospect, it may have been cheaper to take a bus, but I wouldn’t have had the freedom that comes with driving.

I checked in to pick up the new rental, transferred my belongings, and then returned our “Rocky” at another agency. While standing at the counter, the agent seemed a bit agitated. At one point he froze, interrupting his sentence, then looked at me with concern and confusion. “Did you not feel that?” “Oh, no… I guess not.” The fact that I was an outsider, unable to relate to him about the reality he was experiencing, seemed to be uncomfortable for him. I assured him that my friend felt the aftershocks all night and for some reason I could not feel them. He did not seem at ease by this, and instead rigidly finished finding my paperwork and led me to my car.

During the time Lou was waiting for her flight, there was a serious aftershock.

A Picture Story... My Birthday Abroad!

Louise and I returned to Nelson on the 16th and we spent a few days trying (once again) to figure out plans for what was next. We headed to the library to use their free wireless and were surprised to find heaps of people lined up, waiting to get in when the library opened! I was intrigued as you would probably not encounter this in the states, but then we realized they were all lining up to put their name in for a computer slot!

It was too nice of a day to spend indoors, so we took a walk to a local swimming hole and encountered a good ‘ole California Redwood along the way! Yes, I realize Pennsylvania is a long way from California, but it still gave me a bit of nostalgia for home!

We tried to go climbing but apparently had the gym hours wrong (school was not back in session yet) so ended up on a long walk with Lou’s friend who had met up with us.

A Picture Story... Nelson Lakes National Park

Around the time I moved hostels and was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my traveling self, I heard from Louise. She was in a similar place – needing a friend and some inspiration – and she was on her way to Nelson! We spent a day catching up and discussing possibilities for our next adventures, then decided to head down to Nelson Lakes National Park for a long weekend before she continued up to the North Island for some traveling. We hoped some time away would allow us to collect our thoughts and revitalize our passion for traveling.

We initially planned to do the Travers-Sabine Circuit (a 4-7 day tramp) from St. Arnaud, but decided there was not enough time before Lou wanted to head north. We instead planned a route that would include a day with a bit of alpine climbing/scrambling up to one of the peaks (either Mt. Hopeless or Mt. Cupola), a visit to one of the more popular (and supposedly beautiful) spots next to Lake Angelus, and a return route that included a long walk along Robert Ridge. We were advised to be cautious about the weather in terms of what day we were on the ridge, because Sunday was expected to produce gale force winds which would knock us off out feet.