Day 30, 31 & 32: Queenstown – Christchurch

I did indeed spend the day chilling at the hostel in Te Anau, did my laundry, popped out for some lunch then boarded my bus at 5.30 to return to Queenstown. The bus journey was fine, a bit boring as it was dark, but we got to watch a cute film about a Kiwi motorcycle legend called Burt Munro!

I arrived in Queenstown at 7.40, checked back into the YHA and went straight back out for my last opportunity to have a famous and delicious Fern Burger! I queued up for 30 mins! But the lovely lady at the till saw me eyeing up the Baileys Milkshakes and gave me one for free! 😍 I took them both back to the hostel and they were yummy! After this I got into bed, did a little bit of social media then as I was reading an email I felt something funny, then that funny feeling turned quickly into fear as my bed started to rock back and forth, banging into the wall and the tv fell down on the shelf! Shit! Fuck it was a bloody Earthquake, I dived onto the floor (as per all the instructions I’d read) and waited for it to stop. When it did, I dragged on some clothes and ventured into the corridor, my heart pounding.

Everyone had come out of their rooms and were asking if it was an earthquake, quite a few of them were visibly upset and very scared, so I then went into Mum Mode, said I would get some information. I tried asking the staff member, but he was a young German guy who was as bemused as the rest of us, so I googled it!! And yes, there had been a 6.3 mag earthquake just off Milford Sound at a rather shallow depth of 10k. Milford Sound is actually only 45k away, as the crow flys, which is why we had felt it so strongly. I relayed this info to everyone and said that we might experience some aftershocks, pointed out the emergency exits and explained the procedure….Drop and roll! After this I went back to my room and took some deep breaths!! I then packed up all my stuff, and left it within grabbing distance. I also decided to sleep partially clothed….the thought of being dragged from the rubble naked was just to much to cope with! 😂 This plan would have been great if I’d been staying in any of the other YHAs in NZ, but for some unknown bloody reason Queenstown YHA is boiling!! Typical. I have to say it was a very scary experience and lead to a very uncomfortable and disturbed night.

Oh, and as if Earthquakes were not enough drama and upset, as I was cleaning and flossing my teeth (god forbid I should be rescued naked and with dirty teeth 😂) one of my teeth broke, or rather the sodding filling broke off! FFS! Seriously! I have a little bit of a phobia about breaking teeth……😳🤯 However in the grand scheme of things, I just thought, fuck it, it can be fixed.

After my rather eventful and sleepless night I was at the bus stop for 7am to catch my Tour Bus back to Christchurch via Mount Cook. I was very tired, but determined not to be one of those sleeping passengers. It actually wasn’t that difficult, the journey was amazing. We headed out through Otago and then up through some wonderful large valleys, which actually were quite brown and dry but surrounded by mountains. We traveled  through some great little towns making our way towards Lake  Pukaki. This is another Alpine Lake which has Mount Cook at one end! The colour of this lake was unbelievable, I have never seen anything like it. It was a bright milky Turquoise, it almost looked didn’t look like water. As we  looked down the lake in the sunshine and blue skies at the end was this big area of cloud and weather, that was Mount Cook, the largest mountain in New Zealand at 3,724 metres.

We drove towards Mount Cook, where we would be stopping for lunch, alongside the Lake. As we drove the winds picked up, then picked up some more and at a few points it was so strong it was blowing the coach of course!! 😲💨 It was a little hairy. In the 25 minutes it took to get to Mount Cook we had gone from sunshine and blue skies to heavy cloud, thick snow, sleet and high winds, how fantastic is that!

It was like being in a different country, it was a shame that we couldn’t see the top of the Mountain, but,  not to show off or anything, but I have seen it already 😂

From here we drove back along Lake Pukaki towards Lake Tekapo, which was great but not as jaw dropping as Lake Pukaki. We then drove through some more of the Southern Alps and through Mackenzie Country, lots of sheep, and cattle, hills and forests.

The journey takes approx 12hrs, with lots of stops along the way and is a fantastic way to see the country. The last hour was not so great as it was dark, but even then I managed to stay awake!! Go me.

I arrived at my hotel (yes a hotel, not a hostel!) at 8pm, tired, hungry and a little bit out of sorts.

I went out a grabbed some veg rice, my fav. Then came back to the room for an early night. I was very, very tired.

I had a great nights sleep, fabulous  pillows, warm, quiet, Bliss.

Today has been….Interesting! I was up early despite my best intentions. I headed out, got my nails done! It’s important! Then had a wander around the Christchurch Museum, great. The Christchurch Art Gallery…..stunning. They had an exhibition on and one of the pieces: Orion 2018 by an artist called Hannah Beehre, was literally out of this world. It is a painting on silk and velvet with crystals, which sparkle like stars.  It is a huge piece and I absolutely loved it. I stayed in the gallery looking at it for quite a long time. Gorgeous.

After this wonderful experience, my next stop was not so fun! The dentist! Yes, I had to go and get my bloody tooth fixed, Joy!

The dentist and his nurse were lovely but this didn’t stop me from crying, I really don’t like the dentist, but things have to be done. I did some deep breathing (before they stuck everything in my gob!) and 30 hellish minutes and $350 dollars later I have a new filling! Yeah 🥺😫

The last few days have been a mixed bag. Lots of amazing things and some scary and horrible things. This might account for why I feel a little discombobulated. However, in a  massive positive note I am flying to Australia tomorrow and will be reunited with my Rebecca and Grantley, sadly Georgia won’t be there, as she will be busy looking after lots of birds and various marsupials! I will see her very soon though. ❤️

Thats all for now guys.

Kia Ora from a shaken but not stirred, tooth intact me!!

Xxx