Making My Way Into New Zealand

After leaving Townsville I had basically 1 day to spend in Cairns before I caught a flight down to Melbourne and then, 1 day later, jumped on a plane to Christchurch, New Zealand. Unfortunately I did not get to see much of Cairns as time was of the essence but from what I did see I can say that it would have been a place I’d of stayed longer otherwise. However, my stay consisted of preparing to leave the country (confirming flights, repacking bags for the plane, getting the appropriate documentation ready, etc.) and hanging out with the stragglers from previous towns who managed to find themselves in Cairns at the same time I was. So, after several pre-emptive goodbye parties I met up with Jared, Lisbeth, Merete, Rachael and Fiona (two Brits from the boat) and had a FINAL goodbye drink.
The next morning I boarded a plane to Melbourne and, after landing, I got to experience the feeling I’d had 6 months ago when I first landed in Australia. It seems so long ago and what a strange feeling it was. I remember asking someone where a CVS might be and they looked at me like I had two heads. The same streets, the sights, the same hostel even. I was to stay two nights which gave me some time to get my snowboard and golf clubs from Chris, who I’d worked with at Greco when living in Melbourne, and see Andy and Oscar, two English guys I’d worked with as well. After some headache determining what to do with my clubs I decided to leave them with Chris for a later date of departure.
Later that night I went down to see good old Andy and Oscar at their flat in St. Kilda. Since Oscar would be taking a night off Andy and I went out for drinks and did some catching up. I, once again, ended up sleeping on their couch since the trams stopped after a certain hour and even though it had been about 4 months since the last time I had slept on it, sleeping on a couch is something like riding a bike, you never forget how to get comfortable.
And so, after one more night I said my goodbyes and went to my hostel this time to sleep a bit before getting on yet another plane. The feeling of something totally new seems to be, for me at least, exclusively related to Melbourne as it came right back to me as I lugged my bags to the airport. Once I got through security (they made me give up my nice pair of scissors!) I relaxed a bit before boarding. And although I was about to leave a place of familiarity for one of uncertainty I was not so much nervous rather than excited. And the view from the window as we cruised over the mountainous terrain of New Zealand’s west coast made the excitement that much more palpable.
Snow capped mountains, jagged landscapes and, after 10 minutes, the patchwork fields of pastures filled with crops and grazing sheep filled the view. It was just an amazing sight to see something that I’ve only heard of for quite a while. I landed in Christchurch and made my way into the city. Right away I noticed that it was cheaper here than in Australia and, with the exchange rate, very agreeable. The city of Christchurch is said to be more European than Europe and I can see why. An old Cathedral stands at the center of the city in a square of granite bricks. The architecture seems like something out of a Charles Dickens novel but with a touch of modernity. Old trams cruise the streets and intricate fountains and parks shaded by strange trees are scattered in various corners of the city. Little pubs and cafes are everywhere and, if only a little bit, it reminds me of Boston. But in a different way.
I’ve decided to start getting into shape in preparation for the ski season so that I am not as old as I feel once on the slopes. For the past two days I’ve been running in the morning and the legs are a bit sore. On the second morning I was running up the sidewalk and heard a crash on the road beside me. Running over I found a women bleeding from the eyebrow as she had gotten her tire stuck in the tram track and tumbled over. Another guy close by called an ambulance (and it’s not 911 here. In fact, I don’t even know what the emergency number is here!) and her husband was there to help her. I felt tempted to add some of the limited knowledge that I accumulated during my university days but decided it probably wasn’t practical and that I should just help in some other capacity. And so, after telling her that it didn’t look to deep as it wasn’t bleeding too much I waited for the ambulance with them and put her bike in a good Samaritans garage for storage. This, along with one other guy stopping me on the street and asking me, ‘Are you that guy?’ was my interesting encounter in Christchurch. The guy on the street was referring to a Canadian TV personality who I apparently look like. And after a delightful chat with him (he’s having twins and his friend’s wife just gave birth to their first) he told me to enjoy Christchurch. I am definitely enjoying it so far.
And so my arrival into a new country was successful and I am yet again excited about the coming months. After figuring out some of the logistical problems that come along with changing countries (new currency, new SIM card for the phone, new accent to understand, and new brands to get to know) I will head down to Queenstown where I have an interview for a position at the Coronet Ski Resort for the winter. I do really want this position but if it is not meant to be then I will travel north, stopping to see the glaciers and some of the spectacular sights I keep hearing about, and make my way onto the north island where I will settle into Ohakune, a small town a short drive from Mt. Reuphau, where I have already been given a position at that ski resort. It’s nice to have options. We’ll see what happens.

Magnetic Island and the Full Moon Party

In the preceding days leading to up to my arrival on Magnetic Island I was told by loads of backpackers that they were headed there as well for a Full Moon party. I’d heard of these parties but mainly those that take place in Thailand. I assumed that this would be of a different sort as almost nothing that goes on in Thailand goes on anywhere else in the world.
When I got to the island it was after dark and I hopped on a high speed ferry, and this thing was high speed, and went to the hostel by bus once I got to the island. The hostel, a YHA, was like a resort for backpackers; there were bungalows to sleep in, an outdoor covered patio as the lounge, a pool with hammocks around it, a bridge over a small stream, tons of parakeets flying to and fro. The place had a very tropical feel to it and I can easily say that it was like a vacation within a vacation.
The first couple days on the island I laid low and took care of some housekeeping that needed to be done for the rest of the trip north. As the weekend approached though, the Full Moon party was on Friday, the island started to get a tad busier as travelers started to fill the rooms. I moved to a different hostel on the island called Base which was where the party was taking place. This hostel was right on the beach with a pool overlooking the ocean which had a distant view of the mountainous mainland. All along the coast of the island were gorgeous beaches and massive piles of boulders that had accumulated from the cliffs above.
The island itself was anything but flat; once when on the bus I thought we were about to roll backwards as the bus came to almost a complete stop while trying to climb one of the roads. The feeling as akin to that of a roller coast right when you are getting to the top and about to take the plunge. The bus driver threw it into first gear though and inched the rest of the way up. There were plenty of walking trails and lookout points on the island and I traversed one of them, the Forts Walk, with two lovely Norwegians, Lisbeth and Merete, and a Dutch guy, Max, who was on the boat with me around the Whitsunday Islands. The view from the top was incredible as, once you finally get up there you are greeted by an old WWII lookout fort. We climbed to the top of the fort and could literally see for miles and miles. The islands terrain behind us was lush and green with mountains jutting up at random. The ocean before us spread out to the horizon in a blue hue that transitioned into the sky.
That same day there were some new arrivals to the island which included Leigh, Bianca and Becky from the original northward traveling group as well as Jared who had been on the island a couple days already. It was the night before the Full Moon party though that set the tone as Max, Lisbeth, Merete and a few other Irish folks played trivia in the hostel. Since our group was larger than most we decided to split into two groups and share answers in hopes of a 1-2 finish. The prizes were worth it though as the winners received a $75 bar tab, 3 Full Moon tickets and a mini-car rental. We played valiantly and after several rounds which included random bouts of karaoke battles, chugging contests and a host of sports, pop-culture and music questions we were declared the winners and our co-team was the second place finish. We combined our prizes and shared the bounty. So the next day, Friday, myself, Lisbeth, Max and Merete cruised around the island in our mini car checking out the views, seeing some wallabies and taking a dip in the ocean. Once the night fell it was time to get ready for the party.
Once the group got together at Base we all shared stories of our past days on the road as we hadn’t seen each other for about a week. The party had a bit of the feel of what I would imagine a luau in Hawaii to feel like, without the pig roast though. The night went on and we all slowly left for in the morning I would be leaving to stay in Townsville for a night and see the Rugby game I had been wanting to see for quite some time.
I got to Townsville the next day and made my way to the hostel I had booked. It would turn out to be the worst hostel I had stayed at so far on this trip as the room had bugs (two types), a mattress that sunk to the floor, and a reception that was closed exactly when you need them to be open. But I made my way to the Rugby game via bus that night and once I got into the stadium took in the sight of my first rugby stadium and field… I thought it was going to be a lot bigger.
I would describe the stadium, at least this one, as equivalent to a division two college football stadium. The stadium maybe held around 22,000 people and only had one tear of grandstands. The game itself though was very fun to watch as I tried to understand the rules, which I did for the most part. I have to say it is somewhat lacking in dynamics though as the players only try to run the ball strait into the opposing team and can only lateral the ball to a player on either side. There were some good hits though as a couple players got popped right when the ball was passed to them. The teams, The North Queensland Cowboys and the Melbourne Storm, were not evenly matched as the Storm, a team recently smeared with a huge salary cap scandal, stomped the Cowboys something to the tune of 36 to 6. The Storm however were not playing for anything as their season points were stripped from them and even if they win the Grand Final it won’t count.
After the game I got on the bus and went back to the hostel for the night as I would be leaving in the morning, a morning which would turn out to be the most frustrating and hurried morning of my trip which only added onto the bad experience of staying in this hostel. But after I finally got to the bus completely drenched in sweat (Jared, who was on the bus, said it looked like I had just gone for a swim in the river) I sat next to some poor Swiss girl, who must have smelled me when I got on the bus let alone once I sat down next to her, and was happily on my way out of Townsville and headed for Cairns.