First of all, welcome to my “new” blog. I moved my blog here because I enjoyed the interface of this site more. I think it offers many very cool features, especially the photo uploading and the Google Translate button for my non bilingual friends. The Google map also provides you with more accuracy of my current location. The “GetJealous.com” site is very catchy because of the name that was the main reason why I picked it. So for my fans out there, please read my blog at http://journals.worldnomads.com/alexxdiep from now on.
My spirits took a dive but I’m much better now, I’m starting to enjoy myself again instead of stressing with the camper van that we’re renting. Two weeks ago we were in Christchurch and we went to a New Year eve party the city put together. It was an outdoor concert in the Cathedral Place. It was so much fun. They had an ABBA impersonator band to warm up the crowd, they did a great job. Then The Black Velvet Band took over the stage to take us to the very end of 2009 and right into 2010. They started out with Irish folk music which was really good and catchy. We got on our feet and started dancing away. Then they followed up with rock, pop and country music. We heard songs of Barenaked Ladies, Johnny Cash and other rock stars. They did an amazing job with the crowd, from the youngest to the elders; we were all on our feet clapping, dancing and singing away. Then we did the countdown into 2010. Gen and I had our first kiss of the year, and then the non-stop fireworks began. It was great to be part of all that with Gen and some hundreds other strangers :) Christchurch really knows how to throw a party! Apparently, they do this every year.
The next morning, we left Christchurch with our spirits high in our new and improved van, Sushi. We’re definitely happy with her she’s good to us :) We left the coast and drove inland to Lake Tekapo and Lake Kapuki. These two lakes are very beautiful. Their water colour rivals with the one of Peyto Lake and Lake Louise of the Rockies. We enjoyed a short leisure hike up Mount John. The view was nice. Then we drove to Mount Cook, the highest peak in NZ. It was an awesome peak. Unfortunately, the forecast was very poor so we didn’t get to go on any hikes or do anything else. So we simply enjoyed camping at it foothill and drove away the next day. But the drive there was definitely worth it.
I’ve got use to driving on the left side of the road. I still occasionally have the habit of turning into the wrong lane, the Canadian way, or starting the wipers when I want to signal left or right but it’s all good. The roads in the National Parks are really windy. What amazes me is how fast people still manage to drive on the narrow and windy roads. Actually, it’s a huge problem here. Too many tourists drive too fast and cause many fatal accidents. It was reported that 587 speeding tickets were written between Christmas Day and New Year Day. There are lots of 15 km/h turns in the Parks, those hairpin turns are scary! What was scarier was the one way bridges. Here you are driving at 100 clicks an hour and suddenly the two-lane highway narrows down to a one-lane bridge crossing. Of course, one direction always gets priority over the other but still... But now Gen and I are expert kiwi drivers hahaha!
After Mt Cook, we went to Queenstown. If you like Banff, you’d like Queenstown. Both towns are the same, only Queenstown is bigger and busier. Although the population is only 8000 permanent residents, it seems like it’s a much bigger town. Queenstown is also the capital of extreme sports: heli-ski, heli-biking, skydiving, paragliding, jet boating, rafting, canyoning, etc. It is said that Bungee first started here! Our modest budget didn’t allow us to do any of it. It’s a little frustrating but I wanna make sure I can say that I travelled the world. One night, while I was enjoying my lamb Fergberger (famous burger joint in town) we overheard a guy saying he did FOUR of those activities in a single day! That was easily a $1000 worth of thrills in a single day. Gen calls that “fast food” for extreme thrills. Us, we opted for the cheapest thing of all: a nice FREE hike on Ben Lomond. We had a great time going up this mountain. I think I was at my happiest at that time. It wasn’t a technical climb or difficult one but my legs still managed to cramp up, I felt the soreness for a week after that.
The next day, we spent the day apart, we call it our “singles day”. We just wanted to make sure we have some “me” time once awhile because since driving Sushi, we are together 24/7. So it’s nice to get some “me" time.
End of Part I.
