Kiwi Land, Part III

Location: Franz Josef (hostel)

Date: 26 May 2012

Time: 8:35 PM

Some creepy (possibly homeless) guy started talking me up outside the museum.  I was lying down on a bench with my suitcase under my legs, and thinking someone was going to come up and steal it he told me “watch out, Cristchurch is a city of thieves; they deserved what they got.”  That set the tone for this conversation, and quickly became aware that he was some sort of fanatic Christian who considers himself a prophet and wants to “bring the Church closer to God.”  He didn’t quite understand the concept when I told him I was Jewish.  “Wait, so you believe Christ is the messiah, right?”  Oy.  To be fair, I don’t think he was completely right in the head.  I took it all in stride because I found him mildly entertaining despite his crazy theories.

When 7 AM came I got on the shuttle bus to Greymouth where I was meeting the Stray bus.  I fell asleep almost immediately.  A couple hours later, the bus went over a bump and I startled awake.  Holy shit, it was paradise.  The road was snaking through the valley with huge mountains on either side poking their tips through the fog.  In the distance I could see snow-capped peaks.  I know I say this a lot, but this is the most beautiful place I have ever been, hands down.

Woke up to this.

Greymouth

Also Greymouth.

When I heard about the BU kids who got into the terrible car accident the other week, people told me the roads here are very dangerous.  I can see what they mean.  The roads are narrow and twisty, with one-lane bridges.  Sometimes there is no shoulder, just a sheer cliff on the side with no guardrail.  Thankfully the driver was experienced.

I had about two hours in Greymouth waiting for my Stray Bus connection.  It’s a small, quiet town—not much going on there on a Saturday morning.  I bought some snacks, figuring food might help me not be so cold (it did), and strolled around until the bus came.

The Stray bus driver, Whales (real name: Adam) is really nice.  (In fact, everyone I’ve met here so far has been really ncie.) He explained to me how the whole hop-on hop-off system works and how I choose activities.  We have a little community going on the bus, eleven of us including me.  For the first time on this entire vacation, I was the only American!  Whales plays funny music and tells us tidbits and funny stories as we’re driving along.

The Stray Bus

Tonight and tomorrow night we’re in Franz Joseph, the town next to the major glacier of the same name.  We’re supposed to hiking on the glacier tomorrow, but there’s supposed to be 200 mm of rain (that’s a crap ton), so we’re most likely going to go Monday morning instead.  Oh, did I mention it’s heli-hiking?  Because the glacier has formed a huge crack, it’s not actually possible to hike straight to the good part, so we get dropped off and picked up there by helicopter.  I’m pretty stoked about the helicopter, no to mention the crampon hike on the ice.

Tonight is a pretty relaxed night since we’re no in any rush to get somewhere.  I made dinner for myself and then hung out with some people in the hot tub.  Now it’s off to the pub (this hostel is very well equipped) for a bit before I get my much-needed beauty sleep.