Hey everyone!
I’m afraid I have some bad news...and that is that this will be my last blog post from New Zealand. As crazy as it seems, 6 whole months have passed us by since I left in September, and my amazing adventure here in NZ is ending. This Friday, or Thursday in the states, I will be on a plane back to Los Angeles.
Michael and I are now in Christchurch. We drove the scenic route here, and stopped for 2 nights along the way to camp by the Rakaia Gorge. The campsite was run by an older woman living in her green bus which said “U.S. Army.” She had a sign in the front window of her bus that said, “office.” She was so relaxed, and even had signs in the bathroom that said you should relax and not have to worry about leaving by 10 a.m.
When I woke up and walked over the next morning to pay her for another night, she and her husband were sitting in front of the bus in lawn chairs talking and playing music. They were very cool, and we had a great time. We spent time by the water skimming stones, and lying outside in the grass whenever there was sunlight. Unfortunately, there continued to be lots of rain and bad weather. According to the New Zealanders, this has probably been the summer with the most rain, and it seems they skipped summer and went into autumn. Even so, we have had many wonderful days, and until recently the weather has been mostly nice.
The Rakaia Gorge campsite had no power, and no town near by. We ran out of lettuce for our salads, and had to be on the move towards Christchurch anyway. We arrived on Sunday, and it was so windy that the rain was blowing sideways, and it was quite cold. We already had to take our tent DOWN while things were pretty wet, and we decided we just did not want to put the ten UP in the rain. So, we went on a search for a standard cabin...these are at the campsites, and there is usually only a bed and maybe a shelf of some kind. They are a step up from a tent, but a step down from the more expensive options. They are good because we can always walk to the bathrooms and kitchens.
However, between people losing cabins from earthquake damage and people staying in cabins from losing there homes, there were no cabins available. By the 4th campsite we thought we’d have to put up the tent, but then the man working there said he would call a holiday park that might still have some space. They had no cabins, but they had flats...which were more expensive. I think we were tired, and decided it was worth it for a night or two. I don’t know what we were expecting, but we opened the door and found ourselves in somewhat of a tiny home. We had a kitchen, toilet and shower, television, and small bedroom. We arrived Sunday and were booked for two nights, well today is Wednesday...and we are still here. I guess after 3 months of camping and some bad weather, we could not tear ourselves away from a dry bed. It is a little more expensive, but it is our last week, and we decided it was worth it. It has been weird to watch movies on TV at night sometimes, and be living in a little home. But I think it was time.
Since we arrived we have donated our tent, tarp, bed rolls, cooler, and sleeping bags to the campsite. We also shipped all the things back to Peter and Carol that they let us borrow. Lastly, we tried...unsuccessfully, to sell our car. We ended up seeing John and Lyn again, and met John’s brother who lives here in Christchurch. They looked at our car, and gave us tips on how much to sell it for, and where to go in the city. We went everywhere and beyond, and everyone turned us down, or offered us absolutely nothing. John’s brother believes he can help, and we will give him the car tomorrow. Then he will take Michael and me to the hotel by the airport for our last night in NZ.
Right now Michael is on the floor next to his backpack, and there are things everywhere! Clothes, pillow, papers, pens, bags, adapter chords, maps, and everything else! He is packing, and I will do the same as soon as I am finished. This place looks like we have lived here for a year, and now are moving away. It is just so crazy, and strange to be packing to go home, and not just to go to the next campsite. I don’t even know where to start, but of course, it will all somehow come together.
This is already a long post, but I thought I would just take a minute to reflect on the trip. I left home on September 8th of last year and headed to LA. I spent a few fun days with Aunt Sue before she sent me off on the adventure of a lifetime. I remember after all the excitement, finally feeling a little scared when I got through security and saw her face vanish after I put on my shoes again and waved goodbye.
On September 11th I got on a plane headed for Australia and then to NZ where I met a crazy rugby team headed to play and party during the Rugby World Cup. I made it to NZ, exhausted, and landed in ice and a little bit of snow. After being hassled for not having a visa I still got on the bus and went to Otaki, where I met Ron, and wwoofed for 3 or 4 days. Between jet lag and feeling out of touch from EVERYTHING, I almost turned right around and came home.
However, I hung on, and got back on a train to Wellington...where I spent the next 3 weeks with Sacha and Elinor. I also got my visa, and they showed me around, and saved me in my first weeks in New Zealand, and helped me gain so much confidence. Although I missed Peter and Carol for the majority of the trip, I think it was fate because 3 weeks later Sacha & Elinor put me on a bus to Hastings.
I remember the bus ride, and after leaving the safety I felt in Wellington, my second thoughts began to haunt me again. I began to think I might cut the trip short, and that I was once again traveling into nowhere...with no one...and I was scared. Well, a week after arriving at the A1 Backpacker in Hastings, I had already made friends I will never forget. My friends, Jacob and Iris, from Hong Kong, welcomed me the very first day, and Jacob and I worked together in the first week, and still have a bond that is so strong it is unbelievable. The three of us were some of the first there, and in the next month the “ALL BLACKPACKERS” were formed. We had Louisa, Agustin, the French Guys, Moritz, Michael, Jakob, Felix, Air and Goong, and many others. I still cannot believe we were here for the Rugby World Cup! It seems so long ago. We all worked together, ate together, watched movies together, and all in all...just lived together. We learned so much from each other...language, cooking, culture, and friendship. The time in Hastings is a time I will never forget, and a time that will continue to be one of the greatest memories I will ever have. I have never been so in love with a place, and all the people there. I am so lucky that even today I still can’t believe it.
Although I did not want to leave Hastings, life there was ending...and it was time to move on. Michael and I decided to travel together. We started as friends who really liked each other, but Michael was always shy...so I did not know how our trip would turn out. Well, it seems we both made the right choice...because 3 months later we are still strong and maybe a little bit in love. I am telling you...three months in a tent with someone can really change you, and that can be for the good or the bad. Thankfully, this was for the good. We learned who the other person was, and got to the point where we could trust each other completely, be comfortable, make each other laugh, and talk about absolutely anything. Slowly layers of a crazy onion peeled away, and if the two of us were to see in Hastings, what we are now, I think both of us would have died. Michael accepts me for who I am, and I feel the same way about him. We are so different and yet we fit like a puzzle pieces. I never thought I would meet someone who could make me so happy.
Overall, Michael and I have become so close, and will have a bond for life. We both knew we would have to go home in the end, but I guess that made our time together even more special. We knew it was limited, and we knew it would not last forever. I think we both fell in love with the freedom of being on the road, seeing new things and meetings new people, and the amazing feeling of traveling and learning new things. We really love being together and traveling together, but I think we both feel it is a good time to go home. We can truly say we have traveled New Zealand, and there are not many other places we can go. We have been up and down the coasts, the north and south island, and done the biggest and most famous things there are to do. We are ending this trip on a high note. We will not have to do more seasonal work, and we will have spent a good 3 months on the road. Hastings brought us together, and this three months brought us something else indescribable. There are no words to describe how much I will miss Michael. I don't know what our future holds, but I hope that I will see him again. There is something that makes me think this is not the end of our story. It may be the end for now, but it can't be the end forever. We connected on such a deep level that I know it can not end here. I know that when people find love they find their way back to each other.
I know this is long, but it was important to me to reflect on this amazing trip. It is strange to be packing up and heading for home, but the time has come, and I am ready to say goodbye to NZ. This trip has made me grow and learn more than I could have ever imagined, and mostly made me realize how important travel is, and how much I want to work hard so I can travel to more places around the world. I can’t wait to see Aunt Sue on Friday, and my parents and the cats a little while after that!
I want to thank all of you for reading the blog, and supporting me during this trip. The past 6 months has gone by so quickly. I have come a long way since the days of thinking I should come home back in September. Instead of leaving after 3 days, I have been here 6 months. Because everyone has commented, emailed me, and said they enjoy the blog...I always felt very strong and happy to keep posting. Thank you all so much, and I really can’t wait to see everyone when I get back to the states!
All my love!
Georgia
