29.2.08 7:45pm- Christchurch

Making beds at Tailor-Made-Tekapo Backpackers

Morning cleaning

Morning tea with Maryrose and Michael at Tailor-Made-Tekapo

Baby hedgehog in Michael's garden

Our room at Tailor-Made-Tekapo

I don’t know how it happens, but it seems like everything Seth and I do ends up being really sketchy, and this is one of the sketchiest days yet.

We spent our last night in Lake Tekapo trying to repack our bags like crazy, but we did manage to find a few minutes to pick freshly ripened raspberries (a daily ritual), as well as indulge in a game of evening tennis (playing in low light is a bad idea: it is hard to judge where exactly the ball is when trying to hit it).

After a late night, we got up early for a nice long run. Running in Lake Tekapo isn’t all that impressive due to the barren, but hilly, landscape, so I had been saving this one track for the last day. We went up and around the summit of Mt John, near the observatory, then headed back down and along the lake so I could take a close look at the sheepdog statue and church before the crowds arrived. (The church opens at 9am, which is when all the tour buses flock in.) From afar the two icons were fairly quiet, but as we ran down the long peninsula a bus full of Asian tourists turned the corner, and I raced that bus down before the passengers got off. Boy, it was a very close call, but I barely made it and was able to take a few unobstructed pictures.

Mt John Observatory

Church of the Good Shepherd

Church of the Good Shepherd

Sheepdog monument

Like any big trip, we gave ourselves plenty of time but had to pack up and leave Tailor-Made in a whirlwind flurry (just barely getting to say good-bye to Michael), and drove directly to Christchuch in time to return the car by our 4pm deadline. Along the way we ate raspberries, apples, and ice cream that were left over from the past few days, and admired the great fields of fluffy white (and some black) sheep that so characterise Mackenzie Country.

We pulled into Better Rentals in Christchurch around 4:15 (we had to swap driver’s seat and I took the wheel so that Seth wasn’t seen driving when we arrived). Luckily, the car wasn’t damaged in any way and we didn’t have to pay any fines. Even though we take good care of rental cars, damaging them is always a source of anxiety for me. I was a little disappointed, however, that when we first picked up the car, the dealer convinced us (well, me) that we should buy glass insurance for $75, but by the end of the trip we didn’t even chip the glass. Seth was determined to chuck a rock at the windshield if it was not damaged by the end of the trip, but we were running late and I think he forgot to do it.

We asked the rental guy where we could leave our bags for a few hours so we could walk around town. He offered to leave our things (four backpacks, a guitar, a black duffle, and two bags of food) in the back of a large truck, and we could pick it up before the final van arrived, due back by 7pm.

We spent the next two hours wandering around downtown in the drizzling rain (we weren’t wearing our raincoats and didn’t have our umbrellas, but at least it wasn’t very heavy). When we returned to the rental agency at 6:45pm, the van had already arrived and the gate was locked. Seth had to climb the fence and pass our bags over to me, one by one. At least the truck was unlocked so we could get to our bags! At this point, things were starting to become sketchy.

We lugged our eight bags back to the city centre. We will take the bus to the airport tonight and sleep at the international arrivals section, which is open 24hours and also has a shower. Our flight is at 6:35am and it would save lots of time and money to stay at the airport overnight. We could save about $50 in not having to stay at a busy hostel (even though we would only actually sleep there 3-4 hours and it would be really out of the way), and $20 in not having a shuttle pick us up early in the morning (the city buses don’t run before 7:30am on Saturdays). The airport bus is $7 (per person), but if we get off two stops before the airport and walk a kilometre or so, it would only be $2.50. Similar to Canberra, we have this down to an art.

When we got to the town centre I realised that I had spent my remaining NZ cash on petrol and forgot to save $5 for the bus ride. I bought a shirt (the only souvenir I purchased during the entire trip, besides a necklace for Dahlia, and a pin, which I collect) and a discounted Starbucks coffee, but my US check card was unable to let me get cash back. I can get $20 from an ATM but I don’t want to be stuck with an extra $15 in NZ currency. I am in a busy downtown Starbucks right now, watching over our bags, and Seth is practicing his guitar. He just happens to be practicing in the street, with his guitar case open and facing passers-by… I hope he gets at least $5 so we can get some bus tickets. I also hope he doesn’t need a permit to busk, even though he is simply “practicing” guitar!

It is really frustrating how much more difficult things become when you try to save a few dollars while travelling. I am pretty sure that Seth and I resort to doing things that seem “sketchy” because we won’t spend what money we have on silly, frivolous, or overpriced conveniences, just because they are easy. For example, we could lighten our load quite a bit if we chucked our leftover food and went out to eat. Or, we could pay a few dollars to store our luggage somewhere, instead of having to stash it in a cargo truck and needing to jump a fence to retrieve it. I believe that money should be well spent and not wasted, and not put towards arbitrary things such as paying nearly three-times as much to be dropped off in front of the airport, just because it is the airport (which heavily taxes taxies and buses), instead of a nearby stop about a 10-15min walk away. Another example is buying a cup of tea, which runs up to $4. Not only is it silly to pay so much for the 10c tea bag, but it is also silly to pay for hot water. When you earn less than $10,000 a year and have to pay $20,000 a year on tuition and about $150-200 per week on rent (we have been lucky in this area), walking to the airport seems like a pretty good idea.