So I left off with us finishing the hike and arriving in Karamea (the town closest to the end of the Heaphy). Basically we had to get up to the car (430km away) in the next 2 days to make it to the Heaphy start and down to our friend Markus in Greymouth (all the way back past Karamea). It didn't go quite as planned.
The first day we got lucky enough to be picked up by Steve and Laurie (The American couple we met on the Heaphy) outside of Karamea, and they took us all the way to Nelson (approx. 5 hrs)! After that it took 2 more days and 6 more hitches to get to the car at the start of the Heaphy. It wouldn't have even helped to get there any earlier though because for the 3 days we were hitching it was pouring rain, and in the last 10km of the road to get to our car there are 3 water passes (basically a flowing stream with a cement road under it to drive through) that were over a meter higher than normal, so even if we got to our car during the rain we couldn't get out of the lot.
Our last hitch was on New Years Eve, around 1pm, and about 5 hours after the rain had subsided, after hitching 2 times earlier that day and walking about 15km already we only had 15km to go and a German kid stopped and picked us up, claiming to have been looking for a waterfall. We were so hopeful we would end up at the track start before he found his waterfall, but only 3km away from the pickup point was the intersection for the waterfall. We were discouraged, but the boy, Metaius, was insistent on taking us to our car despite our warnings of the possible high water passes. We drove through the first one fine, and warned him that the second one is the worst of the 3. We urged him to drop us in front of the second, but he claimed his brother told him his Subaru could drive through knee deep water and he and Jeff tested the water to be a little below the knee. Metaius was excited to drive through the water pass! (and we were excited to be getting a ride). We kicked it into 1st gear and made it through all 3 no problem. We found our car right where we left it! We thanked Metaius and wished him good luck on his travels.
So it was 2pm on NYE and we were supposed to meet Markus, and we had no phone on the Heaphy so he still didn't know if we were coming or not. We decided that we were too tired to get to Nelson (2 hrs) and grab the motorcycle then drive the 4hrs it would take to Markus (possibly in the dark on some really windy roads). We charged up the phone and told Markus we'd see him the next day, then drove into Nelson, cooked and ate Cup Noodle in the car, grabbed some drinks, discovered this neat outdoor concert they had set up in town, watched some live music, greeted the new year with open arms, and slept in the car. :)
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| Sunset in Nelson on NYE |
The next day was a long day in the car, and on the bike, but we made it to Greymouth in a little under 5 hours. Markus gave us an awesome rate on a couples room and we just cooked up some amazing dinner and headed out to the pacific to watch the sun drop off the side of the earth... so beautiful. The next day he took us to Lake Brunner, where we grabbed a tan and a jump of a bridge! We decided to stay one more night because we were really exhausted from the constant go go go we'd been doing, but on the 3rd of January we were off to Queenstown! Unfortunately the windy roads and the constantly changing weather wears on a lonely driver and the biker following her so we stopped to sleep in the city Haast, about 2.5hrs from Queenstown. It was Jeff's birthday so we grabbed a nice dinner and a few drinks.
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| Sunset in Greymouth |
Finally the day had come! We arrived in Queenstown. We instantly stopped at the McDonalds for their $5 coffee and muffin deal (and free internet) so we could start calling places to rent. We were able to see 2 places the first day, but the first was too expensive and the second was smelly... That night we met up with Dan (our British friend we lived with in Nelson for a short while), and grabbed some drinks and live music. It was great seeing Dan, but sad to hear he might leave Queenstown soon! The next day I had an interview at the hotel at their pub (I had already had a phone interview in Nelson with the manager), and we were able to set up 2 rooms to look at to rent. The interview went great and she offered me a trail night the next day and the first place we saw that day we loved, but wanted to hold out until we saw the second place. The second place wasn't even available until 2 weeks later, so we left and called Lucy in the car asking if we could move in that night.
That brings us right about to reality (although I have a few more stories about Queenstown to add later), but we live with a woman named Lucy, who owns the home we live in, and who is a painter/designer, so the house is beautiful and tidy. She has an adorable French Mastiff named Marley, who we love. We also have another guy at the place who rents a room, but keeps to himself. They are both very nice and we pay a little under a $100/wk (which is less than our last place). It is in Fernhill (approx. 4km from the center of the city), so it is up a huge hill, but it is great exercise, and Dan lives on the street next to ours, so we have some company close by. As for employment, my trial night went amazing. I loved the atmosphere and the people I work with, and they wash my uniform every day and I get to wear jeans, and if they have a hole they fix it, they feed me for free, among other neat thins. They checked my NZ references and I should be starting at the end of this week! Jeff has been applying all around town and should have no problem getting a job, and there is certainly no shortage in people who say "there are tons of jobs in QT". I think I just got really lucky with mine!
I may have left a few things out, but i'll check my notes and fill in any blanks ASAP, but I feel better to be somewhat caught up on the blog, and feel like i'm writing about reality.
Really missing everyone at home, especially around that holidays. Hope all is well!
Cheers!
ps. will take QT pictures soon and post them... it's beyond breathtaking!
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