Corbett`s Travels | The World Needs Re-exploring

New Zealand Diary

Day One, Tuesday April 17^th

I arrived at the airport on a very beautiful sunny Melbourne morning. Chell came along to have a coffee and to see me off. We were sat up in the lounge watching the planes when from behind a women rapped her arms around me and slapped a big kiss on my cheek, as you can imagine I was a little shocked but you should of seen the look on her face when she realised I wasn’t her son!

After saying my goodbyes to Chell I boarded my Virgin Blue flight to Brisbane, from there I got a Pacific Blue flight to Christchurch that took four hours. In all it took me eight hours to reach Christchurch from Melbourne, a direct flight would of taken me one.

It was midnight by the time I touched down, I had that great feeling of being somewhere new, all of the expectation of a great adventure ahead. I shared a taxi into the city with an Australian TV producer living and working in London, a nice guy called Warren who is here to fight some sort of court battle. He wrote down his number and told me to call him tomorrow to meet up for a beer, this is what I love about travelling I have only been in the country an hour and already I’ve been invited out for a beer. Socialising with TV producers Ross, going up in the world.

The taxi dropped me off at ’Dorset House Backpackers’ which is my home for the next four nights. I had booked a single but I found myself in a nice double room, most pleased. After a little unpacking I climbed into bed feeling very tired and set my watch to the local time of 3am.

Day Two, Wednesday 18^th April

Morning, alarm woke me at 9.30 to my first morning in New Zealand. I opened the curtains to a bright and sunny crisp day.

I met Sarah the manager who is a very nice kiwi lady and then took a tour of the hostel as I didn’t get a chance to last night due to arriving so late. My first impressions of the place were really good, it’s a small hostel with about thirty five beds but its more like a country house than a hostel with its terrific homely living room, high ceilings and large clean kitchen.

I stepped out into the cold morning, well it wasn’t really that cold but I have just come out of a very long Australian summer so to be honest it was a very welcoming change.

In the heart of the City a Cathedral dominates the square, a market was in full swing with tourists and locals criss-crossing each other. A girl approached me and asked if I had time to do a travel survey, at first I declined but then she offered to buy me a coffee so not wanting to seem rude and not one to turn down a free Mocha I happily obliged. I completed the survey and then sat out in the square people watching, I spotted the information centre and thought it would be a good idea while I’m here to book my onward trip to the ‘Franz Josef Glacier for Saturday. $140 got me a ticket to what is described as ‘one of the most scenic train routes in the world’ to Greymouth and then a connecting coach to ‘Franz Josef’, this made me realise what a rip off the trains are back in the UK.

A short walk out of the square I came to a small bridge between Oxford and Cambridge Terrace overlooking the ‘Avon’ river this winds its way through the city and out of the Botanic gardens. I couldn’t help but compare it to England, it‘s full of very English characteristics, now I know the locals get upset by this comparison because they believe it is superior to their northen relative, I suppose in some ways it is but at the end of the day it was built by the English and the Oxford and Cambridge influence is there for all to see. On the bridge I got chatting to a lady called Wyn who is the ‘City Host’, she welcomed me to New Zealand and we got chatting for a while about what Christchurch has to offer, she mentioned the Botanic Gardens, so with map in hand I followed the river round and found a nice spot under a tree to catch up on my journal. Autumn is such a picturesque time to visit the gardens with all of the changing colours, already I’m loving it here!

Afternoon, I was getting hungry so I set out looking for a supermarket but ended up outside a very nice Irish pub with a Guinness doing some more people watching and enjoying the feeling of being completely free, I have no job to go to, no chores to do, all I have to worry about is shall I have another Guinness or should I eat.

Evening, after finding the supermarket and remembering to get off the bus at the right stop I returned to Dorset House feeling rather tired and hungry. In the kitchen I got talking to a very enthusiastic guy called Kris who had arrived from Australia a few days earlier. He is from Cornwall on a gap year before going to Canterbury University to study drama on his return to England. We got on very well and thought a night of drinking was in order, luckily a bottle shop was close by and even luckier was that the hostel had a pool table. I’m sensing a late night!

Day Three, Thursday 19^th April

Woke at 9.00 feeling shattered, I crawled into bed very drunk around 4am after a major pool and drinking session, hostel life can be tough.

Afternoon, Kris and I took advantage of this sunny t-shirt weather with a walk down to the Botanic gardens for a ‘Punt’ along the Avon river, in Venice they call it a Gondola. Along the way we stopped for a look into the Canterbury College, it has beautiful architecture that would make you think you were in Oxford, making me a little homesick. ( I’m not from Oxford mind but you know what I mean)

Our ‘Punter’ was called Jason, an American who arrived here eight years ago and decided to stay. A very nice bloke who was full of smiles and showed a genuine interest in our travels. We got into our very romantic boat and set off along the Avon, I couldn’t help but feel a little gay at first but hey sharing a ‘Punt' with a guy I had only met last night wasn’t all that bad, we sat opposite each other and had a real laugh. I think Jason really enjoyed it because I’m sure he is just use to the romantic couples talking amongst themselves but we were interacting with him, laughing, joking and asking all about his job. It was a very relaxing afternoon, one of those must do things when one visits Christchurch. Jason was even kind enough to offer us to have a go at 'Punting', Kris took over and slowly we zigzagged around the river hitting every poor boat in sight, I decided after watching Kris that I would just stay seated and let somebody else do the work, after all Jason earns $13NZ an hour doing this, let that cheeky bugger do the work.

Evening, decided on another night of drinking. It’s a very social hostel and I’m not going to be a kill joy, I am English after all!

Day Four, Friday 20^th April

Kris woke me at 09.30, felt very rough after another heavy night. Why do I do it to myself?

Kris as it turns out is a pancake master, he put on a feast for breakfast and we stuffed ourselves silly. We needed the energy though because the plan was for some mountain biking up in the hills that surround Christchurch. We walked into town and found a local bus that took us out of town to the 'Gondola’ which is a cable car that runs 500m up a hill which has 360 degree views of Christchurch and the surrounding area. On the way down in there glass capsule an Asian family enjoying the magnificent views got a shock when they passed a Gondola going up that had two English behinds squashed up against the window smiling back right at them. At the top with not a bottom in sight we both gazed out over a terrific view of Christchurch and the ocean but best of all in the distance I could just make out my first sight of the Southern Alps 60km’s away, a terrific sight.

It was a good way to get to the top but we planned an even better way to get back down. We had arranged to meet a guy on a hill close by who was waiting with our bikes and a map. The Gondola ride up and to hire the bikes for the afternoon came to $50 each which is another New Zealand bargain. It was an exhilarating ride down, we started with a little 'off road’ before joining the mountains windy road. The sky was pure blue, the views were amazing and we loved every second of it. It felt great to be out on the bikes racing around the New Zealand countryside. After an incredible hours ride down hill we reached the coast and then spent another hour riding near the beach following it along until we arrived back at the bottom of the Gondola station.

Later, we followed the Avon river through some of the suburbs back home to Dorset House. We arrived back tired but felt great because of the day we had just had, it was a wonderful way to spend my last day in Christchurch. I ate a rather large pizza for dinner and had a bottle of red wine to myself, we all sat and watched the movie ‘Borat’ which is bloody hilarious! I’m going to miss Dorset House, I have only been here four days but already I feel very much at home, Kris has been great company and a real laugh while Donna’s roast dinner was bloody tasty, I’ve loved my time here in Christchurch!

Crawled into bed drunk again at 3am. My alarm is set for 06.00, its going to be along day on the road tomorrow. Oh and I just realised I forgot to call the TV producer Warren.