Geraldine to Lake Pukaki

I set off towards Geraldine and the journey was pretty average. I stopped in the holiday park after asking where a campsite would be in the local dairy on the outskirts of town. I parked up and since I had found some food in the way of some smoked salmon that hadn't been eaten from the pre Christmas party at Heff and Tony Daley's I had little to do before bed so I decided to explore this small township. I walked out of the holiday camp and up towards the hills and dusk was falling. The road went up and I found a small conservation area to explore. It was dense woodland and a little spooky but I bit my lip and went in! The light was fantastic, as it got darker the sky, compared to the shelter of the trees became more contrasting and therefore it got very dark under the trees. I emerged and the sky was wonderful, with the orange streetlight and the purple backdrop the moody clouds looked spectacular. I spent lots of time taking photographs before I headed back to the campsite to shower and make my first cup of tea with my new stove and pan, I was very pleased with myself! haha!
I set off the next day and I went straight to Fairleigh and wandered into the iSITE (tourist information for NZ) to ask what there was on the way to Queenstown. The woman pointed out the best way to go and what to look out for en route. "... and someone said that the lupins are out and they are really good this year." I also asked if there was any internet access in the town, there wasn't but they had a computer and asked if that would do. I happily checked my email and looked for any messages from Thecla who I was hoping to meet in Queenstown. While I was online the iSITE ladies were talking beside me and then I heard "This girl is going up that way!" Since I was on my way to Tekapo could I take a letter to Santa Clause?!... No problem... I was honored to be asked and trusted as a stranger!



I set out and My GOD! the Lupins were amazing! I was shocked by how many there were. they lined the road in their thousands, I don't know how many plants I went past but it must have been more than 100,000! I traveled mostly at about 100kph and for every meter of my journey there must have been at least 6 plants of lupins in from the road.



There have been several exclaiming moments during my tour of the South Island and driving along this road getting used to the scenery and then being wowed by the mountain range looming up out of the ground happened for the first time between Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. This place is truly beautiful I realise! The mountains are small but steep and that day was crystal clear so I could see every one of them in the Mt Cook range. After I had dropped the letter at the Post Shop I carried on then turned off the main road just after Lake Tekapo and started to drive along the canal. I was glad the road was straight because I could hardly keep my eyes on the road the scenery was so beautiful. The colour of the startling blue water and the clear blue sky with out a cloud in sight made it one of the most memorable drives I have ever had the opportunity to journey along. I passed a salmon farm and watched the men working for a minute pulling large, thrashing fish from the water with a net. I drove on until I came to Lake Pukaki I pulled in and took more pictures of Mt Cook and got the obligatory shot of me on one leg making a star shape in front of the scenery.

I arrived and Tony warmly greeted me and sat me down with a drink and asked me about my journey and reason for being here. There was no sign of Heff but Tony informed me that occasionally she had to 'crash out' every now and again after a car accident a few years ago. Tony gave me a delicious supper of salmon and salad and then offed a tour of the surrounding area since I was new to the place. He was a really nice chap and showed me the highlights of Christchurch took me to the old buildings and showed me the sights from the warmth of the car because it was getting more than a little dark and chilly outside, in fact it was blowing hard and icy rain was pouring out of the sky. It was not completely unheard of to have snow in December but it was rare since Christmas day was the first day of summer he informed me. There was no snow but it was cold enough to make sure that the only time that we ventured from the car was to go to a cafe (in the old 'English architecture' buildings that had been made into a fully functioning arts centre) for a hot choc.
The next morning I met Heff and she was lovely! She apologised for not being around the previous evening and would I like to come with her to the arts market and to get some bits together for her pre Christmas dinner that she was having that evening with her family before they went to Dublin to celebrate Christmas with other relatives and would I like to join them? I was delighted to be asked and accepted gratefully. Before that however we met one of Heffs cousins for (only top quality) coffee (which Heff it addicted to!) who was down from Wellington with her daughter. She was making her first attempt at writing a novel and so the discussions ranged over which books she should read to get inspiration and how might she phrase this or set the scene for that.
The Arts market was buzzy with crafts people all there trying to eek out the last few dollars from the Christmas shoppers. the one stall that we went to was a dress stall and Heff wanted to speak to the girl who made the dresses but it was only her co stall holder there. We looked at the dresses for Heff wanted one made to fit her and she said that she had been loosing a lot of weight and would like something special. There were some beautiful dresses there and I was looking at one made from two squares of fabric cleverly joined. Heff insisted I try it on so we trooped off to the local public convenience, to save blushes. It did look great! Heff insisted that she pay for it for now and it was to be a loan and one I'd earned enough I would pay her back. It was done! And it was beautiful!
We had to go to lots of different shops and pick up food for the different parties that Heff and Tony Daly were going to be at over the holidays. Various berries, hot smoked salmon as well as a grocery run.

On the return home I was put in charge of the present wrapping after Heff proclaiming earlier that she had no wrapping abilities I said that I'd be able to help with that. I was handed armfuls of wrapping paper and ribbons and I was put to work.

Heffs' real name is Joan-Mary Heffanun and Tony Daly has always been Tony Daly and that is probably the way they will stay! Her mother came and her brother and the cousins form that morning and the nephew and the brothers friend! It was quite a party and a real family atmosphere! I was privileged to be there and even was presented with a present of a beaded Tiki glasses case (which I was informed made a brilliantly classy tampon holder!)

The next morning was a slow start for all! I was planning on leaving that day and there were a whole lot of things I had to do before I could go. I went and met Heff's friends for lunch at a lovely cafe/designer clothing store. Then it was off to the dress makers that we had failed to meet before at the arts market and then up a local hill for some exercise before I headed off for Geraldine which according to Tony was a good place to head for on the way to Queenstown.
They drove me to a junction then waved me off, they went home I went on.

From the ferry onwards

I was very sleepy by the time I was on board the ferry. It was meant to be leaving at 10 to 2am but it didn't leave until nearly 2.45. I found a flat piece of floor next to a wall behind some passengers chairs. I had to squeeze underneath their seats to get there but it was worth it. It meant that I was going to be undisturbed for the duration. I put my mask on and fell fast asleep. In such a tight corner and my bag as my pillow I was safe and secure warm and asleep!

I was woken by the passenger address system and I climbed out of my corner and sleepily went down to the van to drive into the dawn. It was about 5am and so I was exhausted. I stopped at the first rest area I came across and I figured that it would be quiet and safe since there were two other vans camping there. I crawled into the back and fell asleep for the second time that morning.



It was around 11am that I surfaced to thundering rain on my windows. Then I hopped into the cab part of the wagon and motored on south thanking heaven that I had changed the wipers on the windscreen before I had left Auckland. I stopped at Blenheim for fuel and then again about 5 minutes after I left the garage. The wiper blade was working its way off the wiper arm! So I hopped out of the van with the rain still pounding on my head and fiddled with the blade and switched it around so the blade clip was on the most outside edge, it was then forced to stay in by it's own design.

The rain eased up and pretty soon I was on the East Coast and the view was stunning. The pacific ocean from the other side! Next land mass South America, what a long way away that was! if I went in the other direction I would end up in South America too, Cool! I stopped for a brief break on a look out spot got out my box of goodies and preceded to make a tinned salmon and cucumber sandwich. I was very pleased at my self sufficient and loved the fact that I had a bowl to eat out of and a Spock to eat it with! My van was my home and I could take it with me wherever I went. The rain had caught up with me so I decided to get going, I was going to see how far I could get that day and didn't know where I would end up. I was driving for a long while down the Coast and I could see a railway track that went the same way. I realised that this must have been the line that Miranda had mentioned to me when I went to see her more than a week ago in the IoW. The views were stunning and imagining it from the open carriage of a train I could realise why she had raved about it. I passed many crayfish stalls all had variously amusing names, I remembered 'Cay's Crayfish' also the trouble these people had gone to to make 200x bigger models of these small lobster type crustaceans, in full colour, often gesturing you in to take a bite outta him although it looked more like it could take a decent chunk out of you! I turned off the coast following route 1 that starts at the top of the country and takes you the full length of the both islands and headed inland. While I had stopped I had noticed a headache coming on so I had popped a painkiller thinking it best not to be in headache mode and driving but as I hit the wriggly hill and valley inland roads I noticed the most peculiar thing. My vision in my left eye was decreasing from the bottom left corner out! I was a bit shocked as this has never happened before but then it was decreasing so much that unless I looked at it I could not see the gear stick or the radio. I started to wave my arm about while keeping my focus fixed on the car in front to see where my sight did actually start and stop. I thought that these hand signals must look most odd to the car behind. I considered stopping but I could see no where to pull over. The road way narrow and very windy. Then I thought that my vision may be failing indefinitely and the best thing I could do it to get to the nearest big city as quickly as possible so I could see a doctor. So I continued to drive while every now and again waving my arm about to see if it had got any worse. Eventually I cleared the wiggly roads and no sooner than I was driving down a straight highway the weird foggy blob vanished and my vision returned. Relieved, I called Penel's friends Heff and Tony Daly and after getting directions ventured on to find their house in Christchurch.

Journeying South.

I had meant to leave in the afternoon and get some distance under my belt but I was faffing around with making curtains for the van which Alex had removed cause he said that they were disgusting and mouldy and he had thrown them away. I drew out some outlines of NZ on the black out fabric and went over it with a red pen. it looked quite funky especially when I went a bit wrong and I redrew the line. I had to stock up on stuff and spent the day driving around Auckland making sure that I had a sleeping bag and a small stove and other things like super noodles and jam!

It was about 8.30pm before I was ready to leave and called home in the UK to let them know that I was about to go off. It was already dark by the time I set off and I then realised that I had left my shoes on the bedroom floor and after a quick phone call went back to Penel's house to collect them before I actually left Auckland! I traveled for about 2 hours before I stopped for a bit and ate and drank a little before thinking about stopping somewhere for the night. I consulted the map and I saw a small town about an hour and a half away called Cambridge that had a motor camp I journeyed on and I was a little unsure about how to feel about it all... I was just going through it. I was a little nervous and also excited but muddled in there was slight tiredness and hunger with a 'better get on with it' attitude. I pressed on and came to this motor camp but, of course it was closed and had been for several hours... things had stopped being in the 24 hr culture that I had come to rely on in the city. I needed the loo really badly but thought that if I found a bush at 11.30pm and found someone else too. I might come to a sticky end. It seemed a nice enough neighbourhood for everything seemed to be kept nicely, there was very little litter and once I stopped and got out of the van I realised the air smelt fresh like newly mown grass and rain mixed up together. The temperature was cool and there was not a sound from anywhere. I saw a sign for public toilets and followed it, but only to come back to the van about 10 mins later only having found a lawn bowling club, tennis courts and a really beautiful band stand lit from a distance on what I assumed must have been the local playing fields. After I had braved the 'peeing in a bush'. I quickly made my way out of the town, feeling slightly guilty for soiling such a well kept and seemingly nice place. I found a 24hr garage and decided to stop there after I had rejected the VERY quiet road by a lake that lead to a power station nearby. I shut the curtains and jumped slightly every time a car went past. I had drawn my curtains but I could still see the light peeking through the gaps at the corners of my now fairly cosy van. I had made a little nest and I was feeling more and more at home and more at ease the longer I was there. I had locked myself in and unless I stuck my head out nobody knew that I was there. Snug as a bug in a rug eh! It was by now close to 2 am so I text Penel as she asked me to do once I had stopped somewhere and asked her to text back when she would get it the next day so I could say that I was alright and I settled down in my new bed for the night.





It was close to 9.30 when I woke and there were more cars parked about me today than there had been the night before. I walked into the shop and cafe, used the facilities, washed my face and I was on my way again. I debated going to Rotarua to see the hot pools before I went south but chose not to in favour of spending time in wellington once I had got there. A I went on an eye on a stalk at the roadside caught my attention. It was brightly coloured and had a globe painted where the iris should have been. Then I spotted the warehouse up the hill it had 'Corrugated Creations' emblazoned across it. The next town I came to was Tirau and I could not believe my eyes.. nearly every shop sign, and building had some corrugated creation as its sign or even the building itself was made out of it in some wacky form... I saw a sheep and a dog which was the visitor centre and an ice cream and a octopus all made from corrugated iron. My first stop of the day was at lake Tapo then just past the mountains south of the lake cause Dad called me and he asked me where I was and I consulted the map and came back with Mt Doom! I didn't realise but the map had the locations of where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. I was indeed near there but it was called Ngarahoe instead. I was impressed by the landscape and often stopped to take pictures or held the camera out of the window and tried to hold it level while driving along.




The landscape became more and more flat farm land and it wasn't until I was close to Wellington that I had a proper leg stretch. I felt sticky and I was tired and so decided to stop at Camborne to go to the loo and have a snack. I found a rest area which there were plenty of along the major routes. Sometimes they were just a spot to pull out of the way of a traffic but often they had a basic loo and maybe even a shop. This one was by an inlet an as I went in and I spotted a shower. It was open to the whole room and only had a tap control and I was pretty sure that it was cold water but it was so tempting... I nipped to the car and found a towel, shower stuff and a change of clothing and after a quick glance in the direction of the road to see if anyone was coming I made a dash for it. I stripped off and turned on the tap, carefully I covered my towel and new set of clothes with the discarded set and washed vigorously! The water was cold and it was so refreshing. The shower was totally exposed to the rest of the room and I hoped no one would just walk in because they would have a shock. I giggled to myself at this thought as I dried my skin and pulled on the relatively crisp new clothes... lovely!
Next stop, Wellington! I pulled into a car park and thought that I should be able to find food and be back to the car within 30 mins. I grabbed my 'Lonely Planet' and headed in a direction. I found a street name and then with my backpack to the nearest wall out of the way of the pedestrian traffic I found where I was on the map. I had a few options and decided to head for the cheaper 'cafe' options and see what I could on the way. It was really windy and the city commuters who should have looked slick and smarty turned out had a more than slightly windswept look about them. I stomped purposefully towards Cuba St checking the novel sized guidebook every now and again making sure that I was on the right path. I walked passed several cafes and alternative shops and the local news TV reporter lit and made up (for what reason I have no idea) and found one of the recommended places "Midnight Expresso' the pierced and chilled out serving staff were friendly and the cafe was great, darkly lit for it went far back past the shop front before you came to the counter... And there were CAKES and buns of all descriptions. I was seduced and decided to opt for the vegan chocolate cake with marigolds stuck into the thick frosting. I ordered a cappuccino and a slice of said cake to take away. This was all well and good but I was getting really hungry and after two days of eating sandwiches I needed something more substantial. I passed a Kebab shop and the smell was to die for so I came away from Cuba st with a Kebab and rice and cake... bloomin' good meal too! I had realised that I wasn't going to get back to the car in 30 mins fairly early on in my search for food so I was taking the sights in and wandered back. I arrived 8 mins after the full hour and so was horrified to find that I was being charged for an hour and a half of parking at $5 a time! shocking prices! I now had to find somewhere to kill time and this car park was not the place to do it. My ferry was at 1.50 am and it was about 6pm. I drove to the inter-island ferry terminal and rocked up at the check in desk and apologised for being so early...
'we might be able to squeeze you onto the 8 pm crossing, but I don't fancy your chances, we have a limit on how many people we can take.'
"that's okay. I can wait... I have no where to go when I get to the other side anyway!'
So I was instructed to pull up nearby and I chose a spot with the bay view. I enjoyed my slightly cold kebab and sniffed the cake, YUM! As the daylight slowly disappeared and twilight fell the wind got up and my van was being shaken and buffeted about. With 6 hours to kill I read and platted together the spare strips of blackout material to hold the curtains close to the windows, called dad and Penel and enjoyed being stationary.

The Arranging of things!

Over the next week I dedicated my time to getting myself sorted as a teacher applying for jobs and finding transport. I looked on the Internet a lot so spent time writing out my cv and making sure I had a decent covering letter. I also searched 'trade me' the NZ equivalent of ebay. Suzie was feeling much better than she was when I first met her and she was there to clean her mothers house from top to bottom. For Penel and given her cash to do so. She often stopped to pour over the vehicles I was looking at for she had a good eye for a second hand car. I eventually found a few that I liked and rang to arranged to test drive them but I could only get through to one. Penel and I went to meet this chap, an Asian guy, and I had a good look at it and I drove it around the block. It was an automatic with the gear shift in the steering block and I felt a little like I was in a bumper car. One peddle to go, one peddle to stop! It wasn't quite right though, it was expensive and the drivers window didn't work so I decided to let it go.
In Auckland there are car fairs and this seemed to be the most logical lace to fine something to suit me. I had decided on a vanette or people carrier because it made sense to pull a bed about with me. They were usually at the weekends on a Saturday in the city and on Sunday they were held at the racecourse. I was on my own at the city car fair and as much as I wanted a car I was preparing myself to walk away without one. I did a quick sweep first, trying not to look to interested in anything while I got my bearings and had a look at the prices. Humm, not cheap! The average price for the vans were about $3000 to $5000. I hadn't been expecting that. I saw a 1991, Nissan people carrier for $2450 and went in for a closer look. I was in reasonable condition and had all its seats this was a novelty for many people carriers had been converted into mobile homes. The vans had had their back seats taken out and replaced by wooden platforms ready for a mattress and other storage areas. Most had curtains and occasionally they had a small safe built in! This car was nearly whole, had all its seats and not to many thousands of kilometers on the clock. The owner came up to me a tall Iranian, he had ample body mass and I could tell he was a dealer ... 'You interested in this car?'
'Maybe' I replied. 'What can you tell me about it?'
He started to go on about how the car was a good buy and it had been brought down in price from $3200. I wasn't interested in that, it was irrelevant to me!
'Yeah okay, but what was the last thing that had gone wrong with it?'
'There is nothing wrong with it' He said, laughing as he said it!
'I mean it is an old car, it can't be entirely original. What was the last thing you replaced?'
'I've replaced nothing!'
'How long have you had it?'
'3 months.'
'Okay, so what was the last thing that the previous owner replaced or mended?'
'Nothing, nothing. It runs fine and it is serviced regularly'
'Humm!' I talked quickly, and to the point.'You mean to tell me that there has been nothing changed, has gone wrong, or has been replaced on this vehicle! Come on it is over 15 years old and has over 160,000 kl s on the clock!'
' No, there is nothing wrong with this car!'
'Okay! Well I need to have a think, I'm not a backpacker I'm here for over a year so I need a car to last. Are you a dealer?'
He told me that he was and that most of the people there selling were dealers. So I took his name (it was Alex)and number and I walked off. I would see him tomorrow at the Sunday car fair.

We walked down the hill to the car fair, Penel had Mojo on a lead and I could see it was going to be another sticky and hot day. He had two cars there that I was interested in. The automatic and another vanette that was a manual car it was more expensive and seemed not massively different to the other one. He boldly walked up to me, called my name and opened his hand. I took it, I was still wary, I was trying to think back to Morocco and the bartering over the bowls, scarves and shoes that I had so successfully won for a close to reasonable price. I wasn't going to be conned, but I so desperately wanted a vehicle, and soon. If I was going to make it to Queenstown for Christmas which was my plan then time was slipping away from me. He showed both cars to me and asked me which one I would like to take for a test drive, I replied that the cheapest first and he laughed. It seemed fine but again it was an automatic and I felt that I needed to control myself, to not use my left foot which felt redundant and twitchy, ready to spring into action when speeding up or encountering a hill. We made it back and Penel noticed that there was bubbling under the paintwork. It was not so hidden rust and if it was so obvious under the paint what would it be like under the chassis? So I went away for a little while and had a think and a wander looking at all the other vans on sale and gave Alex lots of space while he dealt with some other people who were thinking about buying the other van I was thinking about. The people seemed to leave and I went over and asked if I could take this one for a spin. It was altogether tidier and there was very little obvious rust. It was a 5 speed also. I felt much more comfortable and I was in control. Again I walked away... It was more than $500 more than the other one I had to think carefully.
I slept on it and the next day I tried to arrange for a mechanic to take a look at it. If it was sound I was going to just do it. Buy the thing and get on the road. The sooner I left the sooner I could start to explore this country. In the end I spent $2700 on it. It had a few small issues, new rear tyres and a service it needed. The main thing though was that it was mine!! Yippee...

Over the week Penel was very kind to me and fed me and furnished me with every thing I had needed. She had let me use her car and treat her home as my own and this was exactly what I needed. She was my surrogate mother for the week. I e-mailed her niece, Dinda and thanked her for the connection. She was delighted that I was with her family. haha I had a great time with them all, Sues, Frankie and Katie.

Monday and Tuesday!

So Monday came and I had been busy on Sunday calling people up so I could start making some connections with locals. I had arranget to meet Lynda Lucas and Liz Fulton. They were both friend of friends and I had been packing all morning in order to leave the following day before I set out to meet Lynda (Gail Penny good friend) and we went for lunch at a spanish resturant very near to both my hostel and her work. It was the first decent meal I had in what had felt like a long while and I tried not to look too delighted when the tortillia with chorizo amd salad arrived. She was very nice to me and explained how her daughter had just been traveling about the country with some swedish friends of hers and that she would be a good person to talk to. She paid for lunch and told me that she would pass on her details to her daughter.
Next I went in search of a bus that would take me to somewhere called Remuera or Newmarket. I eventually found the bus station and was told which stop I could catch the bus there. I hoped on and I asked the driver if he could let me know when to get off for Newmarket. He didn't really understand me and so when I tried to repeat myself I exasserbated the situation by excentuating my british accent! The woman behind me told me not to wory and she would let me know when to get off. We began talking and I fould out that she had over the years traveled the worls and lived for a long time in many countries even though she started out as an English woman she had now lived for more years in NZ than she had in the UK. I had an address but no real sense of where I was going so she suggested that I find a bookshop and search out a street atlas and make my way from Newmarket for Remuera was a fair way on from there.
I did exactly that and I was concious of the bookshop staff one of which was lurking nearby while I was hovering with a mobile phone poised ready to take a few pictures of the relevent pages. I pretended to text until he has left me along long enough to snap the map and bolt with the illegal copyright infringing images!

It was about 40 mins of walking before I ended up where I needed to be Liz's house was large and impressive, modern and slightly intimidating as I walked up the long flight of steps to the solid, wooden front door. I rang the bell and within a few moments she opened it with 'you must be Helen!' It was airy and light and very slick and art was hung about the walls and placed on tables strategically. The kitchen was dominated by a large worktop island the length if the kitchen area and it was marble topped and shiney. At the end of the space there was a seating area with black leather sofas and a view into the garden on the right and the pool past the patio area directly infront of the glass doors that separated the seating area from the patio. Liz explained that the pool had once been a tennis court but served them better as a pool for the children of which she had three two boys and the youngest was a girl and she had to be taken to her tennis lesson soon. The girl had had a birthday the day before and would I like some banana cake with lurid iceing? ...silly question really. After the tea and banana cake (which I was kindly given some to take away with me) We - Liz, her daughter and I- piled into the car and they dropped me at the bus stop before heading off the the tennis lesson.

I had arranged to meet Penel the next morning at 10.30 after I had checked out of the Base hostel and walked up the short but steep hill to the bottom of Sky Tower. She was lovely! She greeted me with a big kiss and bundled me into her car. Salt and pepper tight curls topped her smiling face. she was very chatty and I felt myself warm to her at once! We arrived at her house and I couldn't believe my eyes! I was to stay in a fairy house! It had one main pointy roof which came down to near the ground and pointed gothic arched wooden frame sash windows. The place was terracotta in colour and behind the garden fence there was a the low patio it was covered in vines hanging from a covered frame and it was surrounded by pots with palsms, ferns and succulents.

After we had arrived we had a cup of tea and then were off again! Her middle daughter Suzie was ill and had been going through hours of d and v! erk! But she was feeling a little better and just to make sure she was ok she was going to the doctor to get looked over for she was due to give birth in 6 weeks! So we picked her up and took her off to the doctor and then to the supermarket to do some food shopping for the rest of the week. This was the first time that I had seen an abundance of fruit and vegatables! I was in heaven! Once we got back I unpacked and settled in and already felt more human.

The Sunday at ACB

Sunday came and I felt a little woozy after the night before but I had to get up and going. I had promised Tati that I would come with her to her bungee jump. So we ran there, late as usual to where the bus was due to pick us up and we hopped in. There was another Brazilian girl there and as soon as they realized that in each other, they started chatting away in Portuguese. We arrived at the base of the harbour bridge about 10 mins later and it was busy. People elated and wet were leaving and a slightly older set of people were checking in for the bridge walk.
‘Yeah! …you can go in up to your ankles if you like just ask the guy when you’re up there!’
That explains the wetness! I thought. Head first into the river, up to your ankles! I was checking in as an observer I was not bungee jumping that day. But I failed to have there correct footwear and was not allowed to go on to the bridge without closed shoes. So I stayed as the base of the bridge and convinced Tati that she would be just fine with the other Portuguese girl to take pictures and give moral support, I’d wait there for her and make some phone calls.
I got through to my old PGCE teaching mentor’s best friend Lynda. I introduced myself and asked if she knew of me or Gail, she knew Gail of course but had no notion of me! I froze a little not knowing what to say and there was a brief silence before she said ‘Are you at the airport?’
‘No’ I’m staying at the ACB hostel at the moment and I don’t really know anyone here so I’m looking up some contacts that I have been given.’
I felt self conscious and like I was imposing myself. I didn’t know what to say. Then to my horror we got cut off! I didn’t know if it was at my end or hers but I was mortified. Not only was I imposing myself on people who had no idea who I was or what I’m about but I just hung up on her!!!! AAHHHHHHhhh!
I had to reconnect, now convinced that it must be me who had run out of the credit that was already on my phones sim card. I had run out of credit! I had hung up on her! She must think of me as VERY RUDE! Oh Sh*t! I looked about for a person to ask and after the desk girl, who was a tall Maori looking Polynesian I set out for the local shops. I walked reasonably quickly in the direction that she had given me and came across a harbor and a car park… the road was running out and I was now unsure of my route. There was a guy walking the opposite direction and I asked him if he knew of where I was meant to be heading. He didn’t but he had a map, his name was Simon and he was English! I asked him if he was traveling alone and he was, we got chatting and he mentioned that he painted a little and at the comment that I was an art teacher… ‘Oh! Good! You can show me where I’m going wrong then!’ We arranged to meet that evening at my hostel reception.
I walked on and seeing a little shop front for big posh motor yachts I popped in and asked if I could use the phone in exchange for some cash. They were very obliging and refused any cash. I got back in touch with Lynda and arranged to meet her in the centre of the city the following day. Brilliant! I was excited to meet a local who could give me some inside knowledge. I was back from the shops in plenty of time and Tati was thrilled by her bungee jump but said it was more boring than the sky dive that she had done so she had no problem jumping off the bridge with only a glorified elastic band to save her from a watery grave.

After a few phone calls I was much more relaxed. We had come back to the hostel and I had rung up Liz Fulton, Penny Birchall’s great friend in the area and persuaded her to meet me the Monday this side of Friday for I was keen to hit the road and I didn’t know how long I was going to be around. I also was able to get hold of Penel (short for Penelope) Elliot. I had already e-mailed her and she was very friendly and said that she had an empty house did I want to stay for a few days. Well I didn’t need asking twice. I said yes please at once! She would pick me up Tuesday morning at 10.30am from beneath the sky tower.

Simon and I met at 8pm. ‘It’s like an airport in here!’ he said. Indeed he was right, at the ACB there were always people coming and going and cues of people lining up to talk to someone at the counter. We walked to the lounge area with its complex jigsaw of long faux leather green and blue couches, butted right up to one another back to back and adjacent to each other. It was still vastly busy, impersonal and I noted due to the number of people, difficult to strike up an offhand conversation and get to know people. I asked him what he had got with him and he produced a sketchbook with two acrylic paintings, one of a landscape and another of a cricket pitch. I asked him how he went about his image making and while he explained I chewed on a piece of bread and jam. The jam was red and of a nondescript fruit and the bread had spots of white green mould every now and again. This wasn’t surprising since this was the remains of a loaf that was my main source of food for nearly a week. I had found little else in the supermarketless Queen Street. The last two days had been cheese and ham days (luxury!), the days before: cheese and New Zealand marmite, the days before that was cheese! That was all I had found so that was all I put in-between the wholemeal, pre-sliced bread. Amongst this I had found a little salad and a few strawberries, apricots and kiwifruit. The main staple of my diet was cheese… humm how healthy was that I wondered!
I finished the meager meal and I went back to my room to apply a little mascara and change my shoes. I met Simon down stairs again and we walked to the harbor front in search of a beer. We found a Moroccan styled bar and a cold beer and watched a restaurant ship; a square rigger moor up. It was aided by a motorized rubberdub pushing hard against the bows of this vessel to make it twist enough to be able to face in the correct direction I had never seen it done like that before, But it was a tight turn and wouldn’t have made it otherwise. After talking about traveling alone and why, Simon exclaimed that he had to get his courage up together to do this and why was it so easy for a girl?! This amused me and I replied that I only decided to get up and really do it only weeks earlier. We wandered the streets a little and I was aware that I was quite comfortable with this chap and how foolish I was that I did so! He could have done anything if he had wanted. It was Sunday night and most of the pubs and bars were closed for their weekly night off, it was also getting late and there was hardly anyone around. The only place we found was “Father Ted’s” an Irish bar and I enjoyed the irony of it, the only place being open at that time of night on a Sunday. He walked me back to the hostle safely and I was in bed by midnight. No pumpkins this evening!