Easter and Anzac day lined up this year: with three days leave, you could get ten days off work. So Jesse and I went to the South Island.
We flew into Christchurch, and the next day drove out of town.
We stayed in the backpacker's in Aoraki, which was rundown but clean, with a small, sagging bed and a sad looking TV. I really liked the curtains.
There were only three places to eat in town, and we were in one, so we headed to the bar.
It reminded us both of Shadows, but less sticky.
We ordered dinner and a jug of beer. After an hour, we had finished the beer, and I asked where the food was. Delayed - they were busy. We were served an apology and a free just of beer. They were playing rugby on the projector, and Jesse explained some of the rules. I decided I supported the red team. The game finished, and another one started. We received another jug of apology-beer before our meals came nearly two and a half hours after we ordered them. It could have been awful, but instead it was marvellous.
The next day was Easter. No where was open for breakfast. We ate hot cross buns, and drank water, and went for a walk.
Aoraki came out for us. Apparently it's not all that common to get a look at the mountain.
We saw some stacked stones, which I have opinions about.
We crossed that river on a suspension bridge.
The view was worth it.
This said: Site Office. Imagine having a view like that and no windows.
Next up, we went to Lake Tekapo, which I've wanted to take a look at ever since I first saw photos.
It was crisp, but so cold.
The famous Church of the Good Shepard is a living church, which I didn't know.
It was easter, but the only people in it when we visited were tourists.
We headed on to Te Anau, arriving after dark. The next day, we took a walk by the lake.
It was grey, but the colours were still beautiful.
No one else was around: it felt like the whole town was set up just for us.
We even found a cafe that served cheese rolls.
We took a bus trip to Milford Sound. I'd organised that: it wasn't the cheapest way to get there, but less stressful than driving ourselves, and the trip was well organised. We stopped and took photos in all the required spots.
Oh yes, that's very droll.
The Sounds were beautiful. Our bus trip met up with a boat trip; the cruise was amazing.
We saw seal pups.
The boat nosed up to a waterfall to make rainbows.
One of the boat staff came up and tapped me on the shoulder. "Hi!!" she said. We'd gone to high school together. "What have you been up to since then?" she said.
That wasn't a question I felt I could answer, so I mumbled: "You know, this mostly," and all at once felt ridiculous at the lie.
"Taking photos?"
"Um, not professionally. How about you?" I used her name, having the advantage of her name tag.
She'd gone to film school, and having graduated in 2008, hadn't been able to find work in the industry. "I live here, in Milford Sound, behind the pub, and work on boats."
"Do you enjoy it?"
"I get to go snowboarding on weekends," she said. "You know, you're the first person I've seen who I've known since working here." She never used my name. I guess she's forgotten it (that's fine - I'd forgotten hers except for the name tag).
"It was so nice to see you," she said.
The photos I'd seen had played up the blues and greens of the Sounds. In person, the deep water was an inky black. The water's so deep - a hundred kilometres down or more. It was all carved out by glaciers, a Rubin's vase of a landscape, all negative space.
It was beautiful. Could I live there? I don't think I could.
I drove us from Te Anau to Queenstown. We arrived after dark, and I was frazzled with the stress of it. Country roads don't have streetlights: it felt like I had driven with my eyes closed.
Queenstown is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, surely. The lake ringed by mountains.
It had been a few years since I'd visited, and even I could tell the outer suburbs have grown.
We took the gondola to the top of the hill and road the luge. It was absurd. I hadn't laughed so much in months.
Jess drove us out to Glenorchy. I was glad I didn't have to make the drive: the road was winding and twisting. They'd only put it in in the sixties. Before then, Glenorchy was only accessible by boat.
The boat shed is a replica: it burned down in the 90s and was rebuilt. It's not really used for much anymore.
It looked like a film set, because it is. Top of the Lake was filmed around the corner. I couldn't get through more than a few episodes, because it was just too depressing. Beautiful though.
This is the ruin of a hotel which burned down in the fifties. We know that because at some point they just stopped cleaning up and put up a sign instead. It's right on the main street too.
We both liked the petrol station.
We took a drive out to Wanaka, and stopped along the way to take photos.
It was beautiful. Wanaka was beautiful.
We went to Puzzling World, which was well worth the entry fee. We got lost in the maze, and found our way out again by trailing a french girl. I didn't want to go home.
Speaking to friends about the trip, the said things, "That sounds amazing," and "I'm so jealous," which is ridiculous. The South Island is right there, it's practically local. You should go. Everyone should go. It's beautiful.
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