The O'shea clan

I just realized I left off writing about Queenstown - and here I am again (but with very little time to write)... So I'll continue writing as best I can, from various places.

There have been just so many things, I can barely write them all down chronologically. One thing for sure - the trip became a lot more fun when I started traveling with a group. Specifically, I had joined an Irish clan - Helena, Monica, Damien and Sinead - who are traveling together on the Magic bus. They took me in and - thanks to them - the trip has become very much what it's supposed to be: LOTS of fun.

This will have to do for now - I have SO much to write about, you wouldn't believe.

Queenstown: Wasn't the big thrill it's supposed to be. Maybe it's because everything here is about hyperdrive - everyone's bungying, skydiving, body-surfing, jet riding - in short, doing something hyper energy and stupid. And if you're not into that, well, it's just not as exciting.
I did enjoy going up in a gondola to see the view, and I did enjoy walking a bit and going out with the guys (dancing and drinking, of course), but other than that - not such a big deal.

I decided to cut my stay short by going independently down to Stewart Island, which is a relatively small island to the south of South Island. It's a long journey - several hours from QT to Invercargill, then an hour to Bluff, and a ferry to Stewart Island. But I was well rewarded by two things: First, the peace and quiet. There are very few people there, since it's really off the beaten track. Most of the travelers there are hikers, who come to do some of the more serious tracks (2-3 days and up to 10 days), but there's still stuff to do if you're not an adventurer. So I did a few walks in the area - all very nice and calm. The highlight was a half day tour of the Ulva Island bird sanctuary. Ulva is an even smaller island near Stewart Island, which has been cleared of rodents and predators, and declared a bird sanctuary. I went on a guided tour, where our guide described the preservation efforts and pointed out the different birds. It is truly amazing (especially the part where a Weka ran up and grabbed the sandwich from the hand of an unsuspecting tourist...)

I then returned to the regular course by joining the group in Dunedin. The university city is beautiful - both the city itself and the old university buildings. I walked around there, taking in the sights. The art gallery was also very nice, and since they had a third floor which was not being used for anything, with a cool parquet floor, I couldn't resist. I did a one hour Yoga session then and there, in the gallery. Think of it as my dynamic contribution to modern art. We also made an excursion to the steepest street in the world, where we walked up and saw the tiny people below... And, of course, I went dancing with my Irish clan (yeah, drinking too...). A pattern emerges...

From Dunedin we headed north to Lake Tekapo. The lake itself is beautiful, getting its aquamarine-blue color from the glacial waters feeding it. We didn't do much there - a brief walk, some lying around in the sun. Oh, and we did finish a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, which is actuall a WASGIJ - the picture on the cover isn't really the picture of the jigsaw - only a hint. 10 f***ing hours...

On the way from Tekapo to Christchurch, I stopped in Geraldine and went white-water rafting in the Rangitata rapids. Really cool - the raft ride in the rapids (grade 4-5) was awesome (if you're into that kind of thing, which - apparently - I am). And even swimming in the ice-cold water isn't ,much of a problem when you have a full wetsuit on. Nice.

Then on to Christchurch. Met up again with the guys, hanging around. The city itself is very nice - the university and arts center were interesting, as were the botanical gardens. It's a nice place to get lost in for several hours...

On our last night together, my Irish family decided we should go out to have a fabulous dinner. Our place of choice (randomly picked off the street) was an "authentic" Chinese restaurant. You know - the kind where the waiter barely speaks English and the menu is totally unintelligible. We managed to pick a few items. Unfortunately, there was only the slightest correlation between what we though we had ordered and what we got. For example, it turns out that "beef strips" mean bits of the lining of the stomach of an ox. And yes, it looks worse than it sounds, and I didn't even taste it.
In short - by the time we finished "dinner" we were all pretty hungry, and we just decided to ride it out - we went drinking and dancing, and it was fan-fuckin-tastic. So much fun (maybe it was the three dollar drinks?) - sort of a compensation for the dinner disaster. We crawled through at least four bars, which is a decent number, and eventually ended up having a late dinner in Burger King. 3:30 AM - best time for junk food....

I will stop here - although I still have to describe all that's happened after I met up with Ofer and Eran. Stay tuned.