Monday Monday, dah dah, dah dah dah dah ...

I think you get the point. Today was Monday and it was a really good day. I got picked up outside the ACB Hostel at 8.20, so it wasn’t too early, not exactly my normal waking hour, but still, a lot better than some pick up times! Anyway, I got on the bus, picked a seat, tried to ring home and then just sat there until we made our next stop. Our next stop was a YHA Hostel, where we picked up a girl called Sally, who I ended up sitting beside, which worked out pretty well because she’s lovely. But I’ll stop because I don’t want to embarrass myself in case she reads this!

So we had a fun bus ride, just chatting and stuff – Sally is from Australia, so being the philistine that I am, I was like “Oh my gosh, have you seen Australia the movie? It was sooooo good! Hugh Jackman is so hot! Are all the men like that?” Apparently they are not all like Hugh. Typical. I also had to do the whole, “I love Neighbours and Home and Away” thing. I probably shouldn’t be allowed out in public.
When we stopped for lunch we got some groceries (I bought apples, and I have actually eaten them. I’m a changed woman.) and went to KFC, which Sally calls “Dirty Bird” which is actually a more accurate description of the food. Kentucky Fried Chicken. No. I got a “Snack Burger” thinking it would be the same as a mini filet burger. It was not. It was gross, the “Chicken” was flat and grey. Yummy. The chips weren’t too good either – if you think the KFC chips back home are rubbish, you should try the ones here. Now after reading that, I’m sure you are wondering, did you actually eat it? Yes. Yes, I did. Because that’s the kind of person I am.

After our lunch stop we drove to Cathedral Cove. It is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Every time I go somewhere I say that it is the most beautiful place in the world and that it is my new favourite place. Well, Cathedral Cove is the most beautiful place in the world and it is my new favourite place. It is basically a really beautiful cove, surrounded by limestone cliffs and caves. If you have seen The Chronicles of Narnia; Prince Caspian, then it’s the beach they use in the film. When the children go from the train station to Narnia, it’s where they arrive. If you can’t remember it, then watch the movie again and you will see just how amazing it is. If you haven’t seen the movie, then you really should. I’m not even going to lie, the Narnia books are probably my favourite books ever. Everything about them is just great. Maybe you’re a secret Narnia fan. Don’t be ashamed. There is nothing wrong with loving a children’s book. If I could live anywhere it would be Narnia, obviously. But, for now, Cathedral Cove will have to do.

Cathedral Cove was beautiful. The scenery was amazing. The water was perfect. But unlike regular beaches, that you can easily drive to or walk to, Cathedral Cove, in all its beauty was a 30-45 minute walk away. No problem, right? No. There were problems. There were serious problems. I’m not exactly the most active person, but I’m not grossly unfit. Well, that’s what I thought. The walk down nearly killed me. It wasn’t really a walk down. It was more of a walk down and then a walk up, then a walk down and a walk back up, before another walk down. It was probably the most indirect way to get to the beach, ever. I just about made it to the beach. Then after some swimming/frolicking around in the waves (On my own. Idiot) we made our way back up. Which didn’t feel as difficult, but it wasn’t exactly a stroll through Ward Park. Because there were no shower facilities, I had to get back onto the bus, covered in sand (You never believe people when they tell you that sand gets everywhere, but really, sand gets everywhere) and in wet clothes. Lovely.

We arrived in Mercury Bay and checked into our hostel – Turtle Cove, which is a really new, really nice hostel. Its run by older people, so it’s a bit quieter and more chilled out, but it was weird seeing that they have “Rules” – in the Base Hostels, pretty much anything and everything goes! Anyway, Sally and I got our own room, which was sweeeeeeeet, it’s so much easier when you trust the person you’re staying with – you don’t have to hide everything! It was also really good because we were getting the same bus, so I didn’t have to worry about waking her up!

After getting ourselves sorted out, we went for a walk. Mercury Bay is actually really nice. The main beach is called Buffalo Beach, named after some boat that sunk there, way back in the day. What an historically accurate statement. After taking a few pictures we ended up going to a bar to use the internet – how strange, can you imagine going into Jamaica Inn and using a computer. Weird.

After our walk we went to a Spa place called “The Lost Springs”, we had to wait around for a bit, so we were quite late getting in, but they let us stay for a while extra. It was sooo nice! The water was lovely and hot, it was like having a giant bath, with about 40 other people, which isn’t as disgusting as it sounds! So we floated around there for a while, they had little man made caves to go into and everything, so that was really nice. We then got chatting to a bunch of girls from England. I think they were all from London, so we just started out with the usual backpacker chat “Where are you from, how long have you been here?”, but the conversation turned into one of the funniest nights of my life. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it was seriously funny! I can’t even describe it, but it was proper good banter. I think everyone thought we were a bit strange because we in fits, it was so funny that my seriously loud, super obnoxious laugh made a guest appearance. Some highlights include, Sally thinking that she could see the Milky Way throughout her entire childhood, she told everyone where it was and people would always believe her – until she was told that you can’t actually see the Milky Way from the Southern Hemisphere. It wasn’t just Sally’s dream that was shattered, it was millions, thanks to all the people she had told. Also, the phrase, Sally Knows Everything. Ok, so you can’t really do inside jokes justice, so I’ll stop. Basically it was a really fun night!

They eventually came round to chuck us out – we did try to hide, but it didn’t work. Getting out of the hot water was the worst – the air was pretty hot for night time, but it felt freezing, which was only made worse by the fact that some tosser nicked my towel. At the Spa they give you a towel, which I was really excited to use, but oh no. I get out, dripping wet, in my swimming suite, go to get my towel... and it’s gone! I was so mad. All my stuff was in a locker, which wouldn’t have been too bad – but if you want to get to your locker you have to walk through the lovely Spa restaurant. That was fun. Sauntering through a classy restaurant in a swimming suit – and let’s face it, I’m not exactly up to Baywatch standards, think cuddly like a Teddy Bear. So that was fun. After awkwardly drying myself with a T-Shirt, we walked back to the Hostel (probably waking everyone in the town up with our laughter).

Then I went to bed. Fantastic. I was so tired, I didn’t even care that my hair was wet – I could have dried it, but seriously, any vanity I had before this trip is now gone. I have fully embraced looking minging. Who needs straight, shiny, beautiful hair, when you can have wet, curly, sea salted hair! Which is quite strange – I spend ages looking good(ish) back home and there isn’t even anyone to appreciate it. Whereas here, I’m on a bus with several attractive men... and yet, I’m fully embracing the homeless look. Trust me to do things the wrong way round.

xx