Saturday 2nd May
Today I bought a suitcase. I’m one of those people that likes to be well informed when making a decision or a purchase, so I informed myself. Can you do that, inform yourself? Anyway, I did my research, went to loads of different shops, measured and weighed dozens of bags and eventually bought a suitcase. It’s about the same size as my big, broken bag and its lighter! I then went back to the Hostel and met up with Mike and Shane. The plan was to have a quick lunch, but that didn’t happen. Instead we sat in the kitchen for about 3 hours, just talking. I gave them some stuff that I was leaving behind and we consumed vast amounts of tea and hot chocolate. It was actually really fun to just hang out with boys. I really do love boys. I love boy humour and I love that there isn’t any bitchyness. Obviously there are a lot of stupid boys out there, but I love when you find a nice, down to earth guy that you can just be yourself with. I found two of those, in the one place! Hanging out with Mike and Shane was just like hanging out with boys at home – I could just be myself, I didn’t have to worry about what I said or how stupid I sounded and I we had the funniest flirty banter. Poor Mike, he thought I was joking, but I really do plan on marrying him. Mike, if you are reading this, you did agree to marry me and I’m using Shane as a witness!
After hanging out with the boys I went back to my room to pack. That was a fairly traumatic ordeal. I hate packing so much. It’s even worse when you haven’t got scales – I didn’t know how much my bag weighed, it could have been over or under the weight requirement, so I decided to pack lightly and I got rid of quite a lot of stuff. The only thing that I was really sad to say goodbye to was my Baby Cham Shoes. I got them in TK Maxx for £3 and they are the greatest shoes I have ever had. They were slip on shoes and they were pointed at the front. If you know me then you have definitely seen them – they are black and they have little coloured shapes and pictures on them. They also have holes in the bottom, so my feet always got wet when I was wearing them, which led to a questionable smell. I love those shoes. But I left them behind because I thought my bag was over the limit. It was actually under, so I could have brought them, which makes it even worse, but I have a picture to always remember them by :(
Once I had packed my case I went and got some dinner... I ended up getting a Subway, a good old Chicken and Bacon Ranch foot long. A foot long is the only way to do it really, the six inch subs are just pathetic. I took it back to the Hostel, to the TV room and I sat there and had a munch. Mike, Shane and I (along with a room full of other people) sat in and watched “The Other Boleyn Girl”. I actually really enjoyed it! I do love my movies and I do love Eric Bana, so what could be better? He was such a good looking King – he puts Charles (and if we are being honest, William and Harry) to shame. I also think that Natalie Portman is just beautiful. Scarlet isn’t too bad, but I can see why he picked Anne! Again, the ending was a difficult one for me – I knew what was going to happen (we learnt about Henry in junior school with Mrs Dyer/Mrs Atchison/Miss Trelford, those were the days 8/9D) and yet I didn’t want it to happen. I was hoping for a different ending, but it never happened. Still, it was worth the watch. When the movie finished we had a wee chat and then I had to say goodbye to Mike and Shane. It was quite sad – it’s like the end of an Era. Tomorrow I leave New Zealand and my two month Kiwi Experience is over. Tear tear. After our goodbyes I just went to bed, made sure I had everything packed and fell asleep... My last night in New Zealand was spent in a Base Backpackers Hostel, in a Sanctuary Room – exactly the way it started, but so much has happened in between. I’ve seen some amazing places, done some amazing things, met some amazing people and I think that I’ll leave New Zealand a better person because of it.
Xx
Showing posts with label Christchurch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christchurch. Show all posts
Monday, 8 June 2009
Adventures in the Town of Christ(church)
Friday 1st May
Today was Mairead’s last day in New Zealand so we decided to actually see some of Christchurch. I got up quite early, got ready and then called for Mike and Mairead (Remember how you used to call for your friends, to see if they would come out and play?) Everyone was asleep when I arrived but they all got up and we had a nice, early morning chat, about underpants and how we will need to buy some new ones when we go home. After that great chat, we got ready, messed around for a while and then went into Christchurch.
We ended up going to the Botanical Gardens which was really nice, just walking around, looking at the foliage (such a great word). There were also a lot of Ducks, which made me happy, I love Ducks, there just so cute! Once we had seen everything there was to see we went back into town, found a Sports Pub and got some lunch. I got Fish and Chips and the Chips were yum yum yummy! We also managed to fit in a trip to The Warehouse, where I looked at suitcases, again, and ended up buying a wide variety of junk food, again. We then walked back to the Hostel and Mairead put on some washing. We also met Mairead and Mikes roomie. He had been in the room when we were having out underwear conversation, but we had all thought he was asleep, but he heard the bit about the knickers! How embarrassing, a stranger knowing about your pants from Primark!
He was actually a really nice guy and he was travelling with another guy who was from Fermanagh, so that was nice, doing the old, “I’m from Bangor” thing... It’s always nice when people know where you are from. I don’t really know why, I suppose it’s just nice to meet someone from home. The six of us (Mike, Mairead, Shane, Matt from London, Steven from Fermanagh and Gina from Bangor) ended up sharing a few Pizza’s and then we headed down to the Hostel Bar. I can’t remember the name of the Hostel Bar, but it was quite small. I actually ran into someone I knew – a guy called Ben. Now Ben and I met in the Bay of Islands, at the very start of my trip. He was on the Stray Bus and I was on Kiwi, but we met on the beach, had a chat and then that was that. But we just kept bumping into each other at like every stop, from North to South Island! It was really strange, but also quite nice because he was a really lovely chap and we developed a nice wee friendship. So to see him in Christchurch pretty much the day before I left for America was really nice!
After hanging around the bar for a while, we played a few games of killer pool, which I’m still pretty rubbish at, but it was really fun! After an hour and a half of that we went back up to the TV room and everyone headed to bed. Matt and I actually stayed up for a while, just having a chat. It’s funny how easy it is to make friends when you are travelling. Everyone is just so open and friendly – like obviously you get some idiots, but for the most part, people tend to be really genuine and really nice. You can actually have a decent conversation with someone you have only known for a few days or a few hours. You can be anyone you want to be and I found it very easy to be myself, which I think is a good thing, especially if you like yourself, which I think I do. For now anyway :)
Xx
Today was Mairead’s last day in New Zealand so we decided to actually see some of Christchurch. I got up quite early, got ready and then called for Mike and Mairead (Remember how you used to call for your friends, to see if they would come out and play?) Everyone was asleep when I arrived but they all got up and we had a nice, early morning chat, about underpants and how we will need to buy some new ones when we go home. After that great chat, we got ready, messed around for a while and then went into Christchurch.
We ended up going to the Botanical Gardens which was really nice, just walking around, looking at the foliage (such a great word). There were also a lot of Ducks, which made me happy, I love Ducks, there just so cute! Once we had seen everything there was to see we went back into town, found a Sports Pub and got some lunch. I got Fish and Chips and the Chips were yum yum yummy! We also managed to fit in a trip to The Warehouse, where I looked at suitcases, again, and ended up buying a wide variety of junk food, again. We then walked back to the Hostel and Mairead put on some washing. We also met Mairead and Mikes roomie. He had been in the room when we were having out underwear conversation, but we had all thought he was asleep, but he heard the bit about the knickers! How embarrassing, a stranger knowing about your pants from Primark!
He was actually a really nice guy and he was travelling with another guy who was from Fermanagh, so that was nice, doing the old, “I’m from Bangor” thing... It’s always nice when people know where you are from. I don’t really know why, I suppose it’s just nice to meet someone from home. The six of us (Mike, Mairead, Shane, Matt from London, Steven from Fermanagh and Gina from Bangor) ended up sharing a few Pizza’s and then we headed down to the Hostel Bar. I can’t remember the name of the Hostel Bar, but it was quite small. I actually ran into someone I knew – a guy called Ben. Now Ben and I met in the Bay of Islands, at the very start of my trip. He was on the Stray Bus and I was on Kiwi, but we met on the beach, had a chat and then that was that. But we just kept bumping into each other at like every stop, from North to South Island! It was really strange, but also quite nice because he was a really lovely chap and we developed a nice wee friendship. So to see him in Christchurch pretty much the day before I left for America was really nice!
After hanging around the bar for a while, we played a few games of killer pool, which I’m still pretty rubbish at, but it was really fun! After an hour and a half of that we went back up to the TV room and everyone headed to bed. Matt and I actually stayed up for a while, just having a chat. It’s funny how easy it is to make friends when you are travelling. Everyone is just so open and friendly – like obviously you get some idiots, but for the most part, people tend to be really genuine and really nice. You can actually have a decent conversation with someone you have only known for a few days or a few hours. You can be anyone you want to be and I found it very easy to be myself, which I think is a good thing, especially if you like yourself, which I think I do. For now anyway :)
Xx
Hello Christchurch.
Monday 27th April
Today we drove from Queenstown to Christchurch! Tiggs, Gemma, Shane and I were all able to get on the same bus which was nice and we had a girl driver, who was very nice and only slightly crazy! It’s a pretty long drive to Queenstown so we only made a few stops for food and pictures. It wasn’t an overly exciting drive so I just listened to my iPod – although I swear I saw a dead Kangaroo at the side of the road. I know they don’t have Kangaroos in New Zealand – but I swear that’s what it looked like, a small Kangaroo, maybe even a Wallaby. I know that you people don’t believe me and you are probably right – it was probably just a sheep, but I swear that it looked like a small Kangaroo! To go slightly off topic - this is for anyone that was on my Geography Field Trip down the Peninsula – remember when I saw those Elephants in the garden in Greyabbey and nobody believed me? Remember how I went on about it for days? I actually had nightmares about it – I thought I was going crazy and that I had imagined them, but I was so sure I had seen them. I even made Esther drive through Greyabbey so I could see them again. Well, it turns out that I wasn’t imagining things. There is a lady that lives just outside Greyabbey and she has two life-sized Elephants in her back garden. Yeah. And everyone thought I was the crazy one. Why exactly would you need life-sized model Elephants in your garden?
Anyway, the drive was long and I just listened to Mr iPod. The queue for the Base Hostel was so long that we were waiting for over an hour before we got our rooms. I ended up in Sanctuary again, which was fine – there were only two of us in a four bed dorm, so that was nice! Once I had checked into my room I went for a dander – bought some food, cooked some diner (I put it in the microwave) and then I went to bed!
Xx
Today we drove from Queenstown to Christchurch! Tiggs, Gemma, Shane and I were all able to get on the same bus which was nice and we had a girl driver, who was very nice and only slightly crazy! It’s a pretty long drive to Queenstown so we only made a few stops for food and pictures. It wasn’t an overly exciting drive so I just listened to my iPod – although I swear I saw a dead Kangaroo at the side of the road. I know they don’t have Kangaroos in New Zealand – but I swear that’s what it looked like, a small Kangaroo, maybe even a Wallaby. I know that you people don’t believe me and you are probably right – it was probably just a sheep, but I swear that it looked like a small Kangaroo! To go slightly off topic - this is for anyone that was on my Geography Field Trip down the Peninsula – remember when I saw those Elephants in the garden in Greyabbey and nobody believed me? Remember how I went on about it for days? I actually had nightmares about it – I thought I was going crazy and that I had imagined them, but I was so sure I had seen them. I even made Esther drive through Greyabbey so I could see them again. Well, it turns out that I wasn’t imagining things. There is a lady that lives just outside Greyabbey and she has two life-sized Elephants in her back garden. Yeah. And everyone thought I was the crazy one. Why exactly would you need life-sized model Elephants in your garden?
Anyway, the drive was long and I just listened to Mr iPod. The queue for the Base Hostel was so long that we were waiting for over an hour before we got our rooms. I ended up in Sanctuary again, which was fine – there were only two of us in a four bed dorm, so that was nice! Once I had checked into my room I went for a dander – bought some food, cooked some diner (I put it in the microwave) and then I went to bed!
Xx
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