May 4

Friday, May 4

Josh and I woke up early enough this morning around 7:30ish and got going to a beautiful sun shining day. We made some hot tea and Josh made us grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Burnt sandwiches...but still good. Then we took our final outdoor showers and finished up the packing we’d started the night before. Check out time was at 11 am.

We were ready with the house tidied up at 10:00. We were on the road again but it was hard to leave such a peaceful place. We left the keys in the door as we’d found them because no one had told us what to do when we left.

We drove down the hill towards Motueka when it HIT ME! We had forgotten to pay the credit card bill online AGAIN this month! What day was it? Was there still time to avoid the late fee? Josh and I decided to pop into an internet place to take care of the bill. I reminded Josh that we needed to pay the bill while we were still in Palmerston North but like usual, we’d forgotten because we hadn’t done it right then and there while I was saying it.

So, in Motueka we see a sign at the Video Ezy place saying they have the internet for $2 for 30 minutes…seemed fair enough. We took in our own laptop so we didn’t have to put credit card info on a public computer. We got the system sussed out fairly quickly and then looked to paying the bill. Thank goodness New Zealand is a day ahead. It looked like if we paid the bill right then, it would post the following day in the States and not be late…could have been a close one.

Then, Josh and I checked our gmail account and saw that many people had written back. We still don’t have the Lake Tekapo accommodation worked out, our last stop before the Ashburton Rotarian couple’s house, but we’ll get there.

We were onto the road by 11 am and driving through Vermont-in-the-autumn type scenery. It was very pretty with all the leaves changing colors. Driving, driving, not so bad at first as there was no major mountain pass.

Josh and I decided to pull off at a place that said one of the Nelson Lakes was only 11 kms down the road. Well, when we got about half way down the road, there was roadworks…and there didn’t seem to be any hurry to let traffic through. We had a lot to do today so we said we couldn’t do it all and we turned back to the main road. On the way, we stopped at the outdoor toilet which was just filthy with bugs. I could handle a quick go at it, however, Josh held out until we reached the gas station in Murchinson.

After Murchinson, the road to Westport got crazy and the rain began to fall once again. Twists and turns as per the New Zealand standard were everywhere. There were a few one lane bridges thrown in for good measure, however, the thing that really impressed us was when we saw a sign with a speed limit and one lane bridge sign followed by a sign we’d never seen before. The sign was fluorescent yellow and said REDUCE SPEED. Having never seen that sign before, I told Josh he’d better follow that advice.

Good thing he did too, because we came across something we’d never seen before. It was a one lane ROAD around a sharp bend in the mountain above the river below. This turn even came with MIRRORS so you could hopefully detect oncoming traffic. Crazy! I told Josh to honk the horn as an extra precaution but he didn’t.

No one was coming, and the road straightened out a bit after that. We pulled off the road to look at a waterfall going into the river. Cool.

More driving until we finally make it to the outskirts of Westport. By this point, Josh and I had been teasing ourselves with the thought of McDonald’s so we made a plan. First, we’d check into the hostel. Then, we’d get gas, grab lunch, and drive out to the Pancake Rocks. If we had time, we’d squeeze in the Seal Colony too. Check.

Driving into Westport, it was obvious. This place is a crap town. Industrial and just one main drag through town with uninspiring shops lining the road. We find the hostel, the Trip Inn, easily enough. It looks nice from the outside, like a large Victorian bed and breakfast.

When we walk into the dark house, there is no one at reception so we ring the bell as per the written instructions. We hear a lady walking downstairs. We say hi and get a slight hi in response. This is Lois, the owner. Not so friendly. We introduce ourselves, show her the email confirmation, she finds us on her room diagram, Josh asks if they are full (it’s Friday night) and she says pretty full because there are country music awards in town this weekend. We pay, get a key, and are given the house tour. She did seem a bit wary of us driving the 45 minutes out to the Pancake Rocks given that it was nearly 3 pm. We figured there was still plenty of daylight.

There’s a laundry, communal kitchen, communal living area, bedroom (room 11), and bathrooms. Our room is essentially a bed, one night stand, a built in small dresser and a closet. Not the smallest room we’ve stayed in. What the place lacks in character it makes up with old lady smell.

Out the door to see the sites, we leave the house behind us. We buy some gas and Josh asks the gas girl of good places to eat in town. We decide to not buy lunch out (we’re informed there is no fast food at all in Westport). We eat apples from the cottage and granola bars.

On our way to the Pancake Rocks, we drive through Charleston which is where we are going tomorrow for the Underworld Cave Rafting. It’s a real small town.

The coastal drive to Punakaiki is out of this world. The views are just Awesome. I kept saying, “No way” and “Oh my gosh.” Especially when you consider that it had started to rain again and there was a heavy fog. All this ended when we reached the car park of the Pancake Rocks so it was really perfect timing.

The Pancake Rocks are just awesome and the walking track around them highlights some really incredible aspects of the rocks. The ocean and coast were lovely to view as well since the sun was just starting to peek through as it was setting. We really loved this site. And, it was free! The gift shop closed at 4:30 though so Josh was a bit bummed. I used the toilet and we were off to try to see the Seal Colony and Taraunga Bay.

On the drive back toward Westport, I called the cave rafting people to confirm the reservation for the following day. The cell phone was in and out of range but I got the message across and the guy said there’s another lady who’s glad you’re going. I didn’t know what that was all about but we were on our way to see the seals.

We took the turn toward the bay and Josh said we were chasing the sun. Daylight was fading quickly. We made it to the car park (we were the only ones there) and then after reading a sign that said the seal colony area was a ten minute walk away, we broke into a run to go see the seals.

It was so cool! The seals were on this rocky little island. You couldn’t see them at first because they blended in so well to the rock. After your eyes adjust, however, you can tell that there are black things moving and those black things are seals. There were so many little teeny tiny ones and Josh, after reading the sign, told me that it is “pup growing season.” Cool. I love the baby seals.

We watched them until the sunlight was almost gone and then we headed back to the car. We were getting hungry at this point and planned to eat out in Westport for dinner. Into Westport, we saw a yellow house restaurant but it was empty so we thought that couldn’t be a good sign. Then, we checked out Portabello’s which the gas girl had recommended. It looked more like a sleazy bar. We saw a Chinese takeaway place (Golden Horse Chinese Takeaway) that had some people in it so we walked down there.

As we were looking at the menu, more people came in to order. Okay, we’ll get take away and return to the hostel to eat. It took forever to get our food that place was so hopping with take aways. Ridiculous. The phone ringing, the workers, the customers sitting and standing in the too small entrance either waiting to pick up food or to order it. We hoped the food would be good. While I waited, Josh walked down to the gas station to buy cold Diet Coke as it was cheaper there than at the take away place. Finally, our food was ready and we had enough time to make it back to the hostel to get set up and to watch American Idol.

While Josh got our things settled into our room (we didn’t bother taking our huge suitcases in) I put the take away food onto plates and poured us Diet Coke in glasses. I felt like being here was part of being in a cult. Also, I felt it was really weird for people to be in a space together (like a communal kitchen) and not to talk to each other…essentially just ignoring the other person’s existence completely. Strange.

Dinner prepped, we sat down just in time for our show. Sweet and sour chicken and fried rice were really good. We also had the greasiest “spring rolls” which were beefy but totally good…if you could get over the grease. We looked at some brochures for the cave thing and the heli hike which we will be doing for some more info. Josh had no idea about the cave rafting details so he is excited and thinks it will be neat. I, at these moments, always wonder why I signed us up for this in the first place. I hate caves.

After washing the dishes and getting a last few things out of the car, we go to our room. Apparently, it’s bed time for most everyone else except that they just stand out in the hallway and talk. Josh and I put in earplugs but still they squawk. I truly do not understand how people can be so inconsiderate. Hello, Josh and I whisper to each other. Why can’t other people be as courteous? They must know how thin the walls are. Josh and I read our books and discovered that one of us could plug in the electric blanket as there was only one switch. I took it and it was so nice and cozy.

Around 10:15 people went to sleep (but I had already had to leave my room to go the bathroom and intentionally given the three older women gabbing in the hallway a dirty look. We set the alarms for 7:15 because we needed to be in Charleston by 8:45 to check in for our trip. We decided against showers since we’d be in the water in the morning anyway.

It was a mostly quiet night with a few people getting up in the middle of the night for the toilets (which were right next to our room). The water lines made heaps of noise but I feel that by going to sleep around 10:30, we were able to get some good rest.