On Monday we woe up to fog and rain - not exactly what you want when you're planning on doing a 6 hour hike. Maddi, Meagan and I picked up the other two from the hostel and we ate breakfast (we had one styrofoam curved plate and a spork in which we all used to eat our cereal) before deciding to do Scott's Trail - a less steep trail than Avalanche Peak, and will get better views without needing to climb to the top. I really wanted to do some hiking - I basically forced everyone to come with - but it was an awesome hike. The rain stopped pretty early on and it cleared up, with the exception of clouds here and there. The trail was similar to the cross-island walk we'd done in Rarotonga because it was very steep, almost like nature's stairs, and we had to cross streams of water several times. Nearing the top was exhausting because we'd climbed something like 800km? And when I say top, I mean half to two-third of the way to the top because it was cloudy and we decided we didn't need to go further. We'd made it past the tree line for lunch, and then we headed back down the trail. Going down the trail was scarier than going up because there was a lot of loose rock on the trail and I almost wiped out a few times. But I felt so incredibly accomplished climbing that high. And it took four and a half hour regardless. No, we aren't the fastest trampers but it was still a long day of tramping. I can't narrow down my pictures so I'm going to post a bunch:
sweet as trees
SO steep
legitimately ate lunch in a cloud
feeling pretty accomplished/beastly
so steep
crossed this waterfall/stream
my hiking boots were SO dirty
Anyway. We kept driving towards Christchurch (our final destination), and made a quick stop at Castle Hill. Beth had been there over her Christchurch orientation and some epic battle scene in Narnia was filmed there as well. It was fun to walk around and climb on the massive rocks. I wish it hadn't been so cloudy so we could see the mountains better, but oh well.It was so nice to get to Christchurch. We stayed in Ilam Apartments, in Beth's old flat (before she was transfered to the Auckland program) which was beyond awesome. Her flatmates were really nice and we stayed there for free (we brought them tim tams though) and while I was on the floor, it was the most glorious thing to be in a home atmosphere and stay someplace for more than a night. I felt like such a nomad. We got to cook dinner without any scary hostel people and everything. It was superb.
On Tuesday I got up and returned the rental car to the Chch airport, and then after that it was unknown what to do. Maddi, Nicole, and I decided to wander towards the Botanic Gardens. On the way there, Nicole and I decided to get haircuts (much cheaper than it would have been in Auckland) and we stopped and window shopped in the Westfield down the road. Eventually we got to the Botanic Gardens which were beautiful. I can't even imagine how beautiful the flowers must have been in summer. We spent the most time in the rose garden.
We were right next to the city center so we decided to go check it out, even though we knew there wouldn't be much to see anymore. The city center was so quiet. There was a fence going around many of the buildings with piles of rubble in front of the buildings. It was really difficult for me to see. I haven't ever seen anything like that in person before so it was quite shocking to me. I don't think I talked for the hour we were walking around. It really reminded me that when disasters happen, just because they're not on the news 24/7 doesn't mean things go back to normal. I even live in New Zealand, and while I don't exactly read the news very diligently, I don't hear much about what's going on Christchurch anymore. Yet the people of Christchurch live in the aftermath of the earthquake. The woman who cut my hair said she hadn't been to the city center since the earthquake because there's nothing to do there anymore; apparently there were a lot of fun bars that were destroyed. It was just so odd because there were buildings with tons of damage next to building that appeared undamaged. So strange. I don't really know what else to say about seeing the destruction other than that it was shocking. So I will leave it at that.
this is what the cathedral looks like now (could only get a few blocks away)
these were taped on a fence in many languages
After seeing the city center, we head back to Ilam to make a delicious dinner of chicken, broccoli, green beans, and rice. Seriously fabulous. And then another endless game of Uno. And then I felt a 4.1 aftershock - kinda cool, the room was shaking but just barely. (Apparently there had been one earlier that day too, a 3.9, which I think was when I felt like the floor felt strange in the mall but it was nothing.) And bed!
I was so antsy to get back to Auckland the next day. I just wanted to be home where I had my own kitchen and bed and had at least a few more items of clothing to pick from. But the trip overall was completely fabulous. If I had the chance in nicer weather I'd definitely want to do one of the multi-day Great Walks in the Fjordlands, but it's definitely a reason for me to come back to New Zealand in the future. Also, I plan to visit the north part of the South Island next month sometime because there are things I want to see that I wasn't able to see on this trip. There's just so much to see and do in New Zealand. It's overwhelming. For being such a small country, too. The South Island is really beautiful though. Really made me want to go camping to. Hint, hint.
Also, I obviously didn't put up many of my pictures. If you're interested, you can check out my facebook albums, there are three: part one, part two, and part three. Have fun!
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