So, this is blogging, huh? Nifty. Thought it would look different from the inside, but it’s basically just me writing my inner monologue aint it?
Anywho, been in NZ for 7 days now, I think. I say I think because I’m technically 18 hours ahead of Denver, so do I count the time difference day as a real day or must I subtract a day in order to-annnnnd I’ve gone cross eyed. We’re calling it 7 days. Correct me in the comments if you want to (sucker, there aren’t any comments!).
My first days in Christchurch (abbreviated CHCH by the kiwis) were used to get my affairs in order. Got a phone, rented the car, got some info from locals, and visited a lil museum. CHCH is a pretty massive city, but lacks the compelling aspects of other cities (nightlife) due to the fact that 4 earthquakes from 2010-2012 leveled 75% of buildings. The city is in the middle of rebuilding itself, and the only appealing aspect of this ongoing construction is the abundance of street art murals that are spread across the city. These murals are hopeful and give the otherwise desolate city a touch of charm, edge, and optimism.
The moment I rented my car, the mountains were calling. Fortunately, 15 minutes outside the city is Bridle Trail, which climbs several hundred meters very rapidly (read: steep), revealing spectacular views of all of CHCH and the Lyttleton cove down below.
I had a hunch that more fascinating countryside wasn’t far off, so I picked a random spot out on the point of a peninsula on Google Maps and followed the demanding yet accurate instructions of the GMaps lady. My hunches are pretty good (so far). The drive took me along the coastline to a charming little town called Sumner, where I would totally settle down with a kiwi wife and a couple little tykes, teaching surfing and tending bar in the evenings. I rose up up up on steep switchback roads, cruising down towards the water, calling out the window the to oodles of sheep mawing on the grass.
Turns out I was on Godley’s point, an old WWII lookout installation used to protect CHCH from the pesky Germans. I sat on top of the hill for almost an hour, the only person in sight amongst the green grass and skittish sheep. It was unbelievably peaceful. My inner hobbit relished the warm, green surroundings.
After this, I knew I had to get the hell out of CHCH and in to the amazing NZ countryside. As I left the cement colored ambiance of the city Thursday morning for the lush green of country roads, an overwhelming excitement and giddiness took me. I blasted my tunes and sped Big D, my little white Mazda Demio, up to 140km/h.
Thanks to my trusty friend Scott Cook and his NZ Frenzy book (thanks Mary & Kyle!!), I found the Rakaia Gorge Walkway an hour twenty outside CHCH. I was literally the only human on the path for 2 hours, until a few girls passed me on the end of my return trip. The wind was unlike anything I have ever experienced - nearly 50mph I would guess. The path wound along the Rakaia river, which is a bright blue from the rock sediment that is suspended in the water. Gorgeous stuff. I felt compelled to run along the path for about 2 km, trying to beat the wind and hop over obstacles as I cruised along.
It was only 11:30/noonish when I finished, so I reset my GMaps to Mount Sunday, also known as Edoras from Lord of the Rings. The drive here was wild fun. The 25km segment of road that leads to the Mount is rip roaring dirt road, so I flew down it with the music blaring as I was once again the only human in sight for quite a while. Poor Big D took more than a few massive clonks to the undercarriage as I did my best to push her to her limits.
The mountains grew before me, looming more and more with each passing minute. Ooo they are cool. Eventually, I come to an overlook where I have sweeping views of the valley below, which includes little Mount Sunday in the middle and more massive mountains in the distance.
The wind was even more powerful out here in the exposed valley. As I summited the top of Mt Sunday, the wind literally blew me back. I was leaning 45 degrees in to the wind and it was holding me up. I couldn’t help but laugh maniacally at the beauty of the sight in front of my eyes and the violent persistence of the wind against my body. I screamed out “FOR FRODOOO” a few times, took a tricky pee with the wind at my back, and plodded my way back down the hill.
After 2 days of amazing view tops, how could I top it?? By visiting Lake Tekapo, of course. NZ Frenzy guided me to a little-known aspect of the peninsula trail- the white bluffs. Most people just do the regular walk but fail to wander down to the shore and along the shoreline back towards the town, where massive white bluffs tower over the freakishly blue water. Since I’m on my own I started using the wifi-phone link of my Sexy6D to take photos of myself, instead of just a bunch of landscapes without any humans in it. Success has been mixed, but it’s sure fun to play with when no one is around to see my use what I have dubbed “no friends function.”
Since it was horribly rainy on Sunday, I slept in Timaru thinking a larger city would have more going on and people to meet. I was wrong. Enjoyed the city but it wasn’t worth backtracking 1.3 hours, only to re-backtrack again today for 2.5 hours. Oh well, lesson learned. Thankfully I’ve been listening to Into Thin Air, which is both scaring the shit out of me and piquing my interest on climbing the Himalayas, and it makes the time fly by.
After waking with extremely sore ankles that morning, I decided it was important to get real hiking boots, along with a few other layers and nifty things to deal with the winter hikes I’m facing for the next monthish. Ol’ Sue at Kathmandu did me well by helping me pick out these new nifty nickers. Thanks, Sue!
Since Monday was cold but very sunny, it was the perfect day to wake up super early and catch the sunrise hitting Aoraki (Mt Cook). I’m SO glad I did. The light was absolutely fucking perfect. So beautiful. And I was once again the only one on the road, as you can see from this shot:
The Hooker Valley trail is incredibly popular, and I encountered the most people I’ve seen my entire trip. Oddly, being surrounded by so many people made me much more lonely than being the only person on the trail. Thankfully I had Jon Krakour reading me Into Thin Air while I tramped, and didn’t pay the peeps much attention. Managed to snag this shot along the way, which is why this place is so damn popular.
After these spectacular views and over 35,000 steps on my Fitbit, I found a hostel on Google in Oamaru and headed that way. Turns out the owner of this hostel where I stayed last night is the COOLEST lady ever. She’s the ultimate hostel mum, extremely hospitable, friendly, helpful, and hilariously kiwi. This morning I took her dog, Liker, named because all the backpackers like her, on a run. Here's the two gracious hosts outside the house.
Made friends with a Canadian, Shantel, who showed me around Oamaru today. Turns out it's the most interesting, hip town I've come across yet. I foresee big things for this place.
Okay, that’s about it for my first week. If you made it all the way to the bottom here I’m very impressed. Tune in next week for more Keegan adventures!
-K