Christchurch: Drum & Bass, Sushi and rest...
Trip Start
Jan 16, 2009
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Trip End
Sep 05, 2009
Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
Thursday, April 9, 2009
I doze off on the bus as soon as we take off... until Seagull stops the bus.. . I open my eyes and Oh my God!! there is fresh snow everywhere!! we're in the middle of small mountains in the Waitaki District and it is amazing!!....
A quick snowball fight and we hop back on the bus and get to Lake Pukaki. I have never seen a lake with such intense turquoise blue color (minerals taken down by the glaciers make the lake this colour)!! It's incredible. At the background we can see Mount Cook (the highest mountain in the range) and it's brothers and sisters. All covered up with white snow... In the foreground there are trees that are so green it makes for an incredible sight... blue, green, brown, white... and blue skies!.... Stunning!
Lake Tekapo is almost as amazing and this time there is also snow on the ground again... and it is cold of course!!
But as we drive to Christchurch and further away from the mountains the weather gets milder and the lansdcape very very flat....
We get to Chrischurch where I will stay 5 days doing absolutely no tourist stuff!! My brain is on information overload and need storage space!! ;o)
But first I go to a Drum and Bass concert - quite something!! D&B is becoming really big in NZ. What a concert it was, I had great fun!
I get to chat to local Kiwis who tell me about Christchurch and the life here, and not all of it is rosy and happy... far from it. They tell me about what they think of the racism and crime here. Something which I have to say I was surprised to hear about in New Zealand - it feels so much safer than some of the places I have been to before...
But it shows one thing: you can spend a long time visiting a country and seeing absolutely nothing of the real life there. It's only when you get to hear various stories from various locals (cause I would argue that you need to hear stories from several people from various backgrounds/lifestyles before being able to make an opinion of the reality of the place) that you can really get a feel of the life here. And that is something I had missed in NZ so far: meeting locals.
So yeah, quite a night. I spend the next days recuperating, writing my blog and getting in touch with friends and family back home. Feels really good. And I also plan my departure so I can get to Kaikoura on my birthday... swimming with the dolphins on my birthday would be totally magical!!
I'm delighted when Jackie phones me up to tell me she'll be on the bus too! will be great to spend my birthday with her! I go out with a few guys for a pre-birthday drink who I will not see the next day and here we go back on the bus the next day...
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French summary
Et nous voila partis de Queenstown. Longue journee dans le bus mais on n'aurait pas pu esperer un meilleur temps pour faire la route.... :o)))
Seagull, notre chauffeur/guide, fait des pauses non prevues pour nous permettre de profiter de ces vues magnifiques!... Waitiki District sous la neige, lac de Pukaki (et sa couleur turquoise incroyable!), lac Tekapo... on en prend plein les yeux encore une fois.... et c'est drole, une minute on est sous la neige et dans les montagnes, la suivante il fait doux, et c'est plat et puis re-neige etc... jusqu'a ce qu'on arrive a Christchurch: tout plat et assez tempere.
Le soir je vais a un concert de Drum and Basse et je rencontre des Kiwis qui me parlent de leur pays... une peinture pas tout a fait de la meme couleur que celle que j'avais peinte jusque la... ils ont une vue un peu plus sombre de leur pays/ville que celle des locaux que j'ai rencontre jusque la. Comme quoi on n'a rien vu d'un pays avant d'avoir vraiment echange avec des locaux de differentes provenances/education etc...
Les 5 prochains jours je ne vais faire absolument rien de touristique... et ca fait du bien. Mon cerveau a besoin d'un peu de rangement apres toutes ces photos et ces experiences! Et puis j'ai besoin de me connecter avec mes amis et ma famille, ecrire mon blog (ca prend du temps mais c'est vraiment agreable d'ecrire tout ce qui se passe tout au long du chemin), dormir etc...
Et puis j'organise mon depart de Christchurch pour que j'arrive a Kaikoura le jour de mon anniversaire ou j'espere nager avec les dauphins.... ca serait vraiment magique de faire ca le jour de mon anniversaire!!! :o)) je suis sur liste d'attente (le nombre de plongees par jour est limitee pour le bien-ete des dauphins car ils sont sauvages) mais je croise les doigts...
Et puis la veille de mon depart Jackie m'appelle et me dit qu'elle sera dans le bus aussi! Ce n'etait pas prevu et c'est genial qu'elle soit la pour mon anniv!!...
Comments
Hi
Just think you could be enjoying a cold wet day in Sandwich
Re: Hi
LOL!!! I know!! I am missing out on so much being here!! ;o))
How's everything going your end?.... xx