Bus, bus, bus

Day 186 – Christchurch, New Zealand

I’m getting a bit tired of buses. Bus all day from Franz Josef Glacier to Queenstown, a day of rest, bus all day to Milford Sound, a day of rest, bus all day to Christchurch… You see how it is. 

So yesterday I pottered around Queenstown, I finished treating my pictures, wrote on the blog, walked around the lake, admired the scenery and the handsome young man taking pictures, smelled the roses, did some laundry, and so on. (Check the Quenstown gallery for the latest pictures.)

I couldn’t extend my stay in the same hostel so I switched, and ended up in a comfortable bed but with a roommate addicted to TV and strange shows. At least there was an electric kettle and I could drink a cup inside.

Today I rose almost with the dawn to catch my bus, and we went on our merry way. I caught up on my sleep. A lot. I slept probably half the ride away, which is always a judicious use of travel time -at least when one isn’t driving. Then it becomes a problem.

My hostel in Christchurch is a bit out of the center, so I didn’t attempt to go out again. Instead, I planned the rest of my stay in New Zealand. That includes the rental of a relocation car: when people rent a car and drop it off at a different location, if the route is more popular in one direction than the other, the rental companies offer very advantageous rates to drive the car back.

So basically, I pay the optional full-coverage insurance, but I don’t have the rental cost. And I have only two days. But that will allow me to see some scenery outside of a set bus route, to stop whenever I like, and to access isolated places.

I talked a lot with a German couple starting their visit of New Zealand; they are also travelling around the world, and are going roughly in the same direction as me. So if I meet them again in Chile, I won’t be surprised. 

Like me, they have planned the main legs of their journey -plane tickets…- but organise at the last moment what they visit. Kindred spirits!

Tomorrow I leave Christchurch for Kaikoura. I plan to have the time to visit a museum in the morning, as I chose an afternoon bus ride. (Bus, bus, bus.) But it will be a short trip, fortunately.

I have used up the last of my travel pass in the planning of my next trips, and I’m proud to have it timed so that there are only 3 min left of my 40 hours pass. 

The header is a picture from the Mirror Lakes.