Glacier-fed Lakes Are...

Blue. I tried to book accomodation at Lake Tekapo yesterday, but I couldn't find anything. I decided to pick the next stop along the intercity bus route, which is Twizel. Twizel is the closest city to Mount Cook. I want to book passage to Mount Cook, but my internet connection is not cooperating. It's just as well, as I need to give my feet a rest. I walked about 22km today on the Twiizel River Walk. I'm a little disappointed that such a short distance took me about five hours. Also, I found out that the Twizel River has a Didymo infection. This made the river an ugly green instead of the usual clear water. I stopped short of Lake Benmore, as I wanted to make sure I had enough daylight to make it back. I may walk out to Lake Pukaki tomorrow, but I will probably just head to the smaller Lake Ruataniwha. I have plenty of pictures, but no bandwidth. That should change when I get to The Big Island in two weeks.

Maybe Too Light

For next time, I need to remember to pack a bag for when I get off the ice. Christchurch hit 80 today, so I decided to get some shorts and t-shirts. I think I need to switch over to trail runners and flip-flops exclusively because my feet are sweating badly and my boots are suffering from it. Peeeyew! I'm ready for Sydney and Hawaii now. I hope it is warm when I get back into Htown.

Taylor's Mistake

I decided to head out to the beach today, but hanging out on the beach all day didn't really appeal all that much to me. I decided to head out to Sumner and do a walk out to Godley Head defense battery. That didn't pan out because the bus stopped short of where I needed to go. I ended up taking a track off of Evans Pass Road to Taylor's Mistake Beach. The beach was nice, and the Heritage Trail on the way back had some nice views.

On a nerdier note, I'm very happy with my Cradlepoint PHS300. It could have a better battery life, but that deficiency may have been from my four months without use on the Ice. Vodafone charges me by megabyte, so unless I make my way into free Internet, pictures will still have to wait.

Funky Supermarkets

I have visited the Pak ´N Save a couple of times, and I´m not sure what to make of it. I haven´t found anything like a grocery store here in Christchurch. There are either small convenience stores or the Pak ´N Save, which is like an HEB warehouse type of grocery. Kiwis seem to have a LOT less selection than what you would find in the States. Anyways, the point of this post was originally to say how addicted I have become to this Gnutlla knockoff made by Pam´s. I like the hazelnut twist, which is your standard gnutella, but it has something white and sweet mixed in with it. Anyhoo, it is guuuud.

I did laundry today, which was expensive, like everything else in Cheech. I´ve seen and done a lot of cool stuff, but I´m already looking forward to being home with my own stuff.

So Out of Shape

Ok, so I think the Routeburn Track is definitely out of the question, as these day trips at Arthurs Pass have firmly established that I am out of shape. On the other hand, I'm having a blast here. I got in around 5:30pm last night, so I just went up Avalanche Peak as far as I could. Today, I did Devil's Punch Waterfall, Bridal Veil walk, and a good chunk if not all of Bealey Valley Track. I might have stopped short of the end of Bealey Valley, as it was pretty rainy all day, and I didn't want to stay out late in case I turned an ankle or something.

I have to pay per megabyte, so I am holding off picture uploads for a while.

Lyttelton and Aorakoa

I caught a ride with a couple of friends from MacTown out to Lyttelton and Aorakoa today. It's the first time I've made it out of Christchurch. I've spent most of the first week off of the Ice saying my goodbyes to friends that I hung out with while on the Ice. I'm ready to try and make it out to the Routeburn Track now.

Back in Cheech

I flew out of MacTown on the airbus, and I'm back in Christchurch now. I have had an amazing season, and I am going to do my best to enjoy myself. This is the first time since my childhood that I haven't had work or school in my life. It is definitely going to be weird.

I wasn't so overwhelmed by the smells, but darkness at night did surprise me.