NZ - Rangitata and Gone

On the way to Rangitata we were all scrambling to get pictures of Mt. Cook from the bus window. We stopped to get more pictures of Lake Pukaki and we also stopped for pictures of one of NZ's other blue lakes, Lake Tekapo. Although it was only the 7 of us left, we still had a really good time together on the bus - although, since we were all exhausted we did spend an exceptional amount of time sleeping compared to other bus rides. At another stop on our way to Rangitata we came across a market and met a 2 year old English Mastiff named Teddy. This dog is massive!! His paws are as big as my hands and I could practically ride him as though he was a small horse. When one of the guys asked if he could run fast, the owner laughed and said, "Ha! Teddy doesn't get anywhere fast!". The dog is still considered a puppy and while won't get much taller he will get wider. We also found out that the dog is what they call a canine friend, meaning he is a therapy dog and goes to nursing homes and the cancer ward of the children's hospitals and sits with them while they get chemo.

Unfortunately we had to leave Teddy to go do a supermarket shop to make it to Rangitata on time. I signed up for horse riding as my activity for while in Rangitata so they dropped us off there on the way to the cabin and the farm/horse owners would drop us off at the cabin when we were finished. Burt (an old, experienced guy) gathered us all as we introduced ourselves and chatted a bit. He then asked about each of our past riding experience (there were 6 or 7 of us from the bus that did this). I told him that my family used to ride on vacation, just for pleasure, and that growing up I had a friend who owned horses and rode with her quite a few times, but also just for pleasure. We then changed out of our shoes into appropriate horse riding shoes (shoes with a bit of a heel is all), got our helmets, and got assigned our horses. I was given Debie. I went over and introduced myself to her and gave her some love rubs/pats. Then we grouped together again for a quick run down on the basics before heading back to our horses and leading them out of their "stalls".

Debie was really good at following directions when I was walking in front of her holding the reins. I got on and we struggled a bit at first to communicate. She wanted very clear, specific instructions (as most horses do) which my brain wasn't quite prepared for from being so tired. It was also hard because 2 of the riders were quite experienced, I was somewhere in the middle, and the rest didn't know what they were doing. Debie I think could sense a bit of the confusion happening as the 3 or 4 who didn't know what they were doing would randomly stop and go and change direction, which made it hard for me to keep Debie moving. Once we had a few minutes on our own Patience (younger, but also very experienced) had us all go single file in a circle, change direction, then stop. Once Burt and Precious saw we could all do this we went on to the trail.

The very start to the trail is an extreme downhill and rocks. I felt bad for Debie, but she handled it like a champ. Once we got down the hill and through the trees it opened up to a bit of green, open land with mountains in the distance and trees on the edges of the land. Once everyone was back together we headed into the woods on the trail. The trail was ever changing from grass to rocks to dirt to mud to rivers and streams. Above us was just a canopy of trees that you could just see the blue sky peeking through. Debie was a bit of a priss when it came to the mud and rivers/streams. She would stop at them like she was checking if I was really going to make her go through it. Once she realized I was serious about it she went on through and did it well. One time, however, in trying to avoid the mud and water she did scrape me along some very sharp tree branches. I finally got her to move over even though I don't think she was too happy about that. I shared with her though in this dislike of mud and water because I was in one of my nicest/newest pairs of jeans and one of my newest t-shirts. I figured trail riding meant some flat, dry path through trees, not all this crazy awesomeness, so I wasn't really dressed for it.

At some point we reached a break off point where those who could run went off and those who couldn't stayed there and hung out and ate wild (safe) berries. The two from the group that were pretty experienced went and because I was somewhere in the middle and seemed confident Burt hooked me up to a lead that Patience would hold and my horse would just run/canter behind hers. I had the best of both worlds really because I got to have the fun of running/cantering without any of the hard work of steering or controlling. I was so glad that Burt let me do this. We went around a huge loop twice, so probably about 10-15 minutes of running/cantering total. There is just something about being on a horse, running through the trees, wind blowing your hair, the sound and smell of the leather saddle, the sound of their hooves hitting the ground... what a stress reliever (if I had had any)!!! Riding in general brought back lots and lots of really good childhood memories. However, I knew after about 4 seconds of running/cantering that I was going to be seriously sore for the next couple of days, and boy was I ever!!

Once we met back up with the rest of the group Burt gave us some wild berries as well and when I went to give Debie some love pats... She was so very disgustingly sweaty, but I gave her more love pats anyways because carrying me, let alone running with me on your back, is hard work and she did well!! We continued on through the trail and what happened next was straight out of a movie or some fairy tale storybook. We were walking through a shallow stream with trees on either side. There was a small break in the trees coming up on the right and I was just thinking how much I hoped Debie would stay focused and straight. As we passed the break she turned her head and then I turned mine and saw what she was looking at - 2 horses, smaller than the ones we were riding, no tack, one white and one dark brown standing side by side on the bank of the river/stream among the thick trees had just lifted their heads from having a drink from the river/stream. They just stood there and looked at us as we passed and Debie just kept on going. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. That is a picture that will stay with me forever.

At some point Patience and the two experienced riders took off so they could canter and gallop the rest of the way. The rest of us took it slow except for a trot every now and then to keep up. Once we got back to the open area Burt told us the best way to get the horses up the hill is to get them cantering so he had me go first hoping the other horses would follow suit. Debie listened very well and took off strong and made it all the way up the hill. I made sure to give her a lot of love once we reached the top because I couldn't have done that myself let alone with someone on my back. I didn't have to steer her back to her "stall" she knew right where to go. Poor thing was exhausted. Burt took a couple of photos of me with Debie, I gave her some love, and then I changed out of the shoes and helmet to get ready to leave. We said good-bye to our horses, the dog, Burt, and Patience and then this other lady (mid-late 40s) piled us all into her SUV and drove us to our accommodation.

I made sure to tell her how much I absolutely loved the experience - the guides (Burt and Patience) were friendly and personable, the trail was beautiful and adventurous with the mud and rivers/streams, their ability to cater to different riding levels was much appreciated, and their horses are well trained and sweet. When I asked where these horses are when they aren't in their "stalls" waiting to be ridden she said they are out and about where we just rode, just hanging out in the streams and woods, living the life of a horse in the wild (which is why we saw those other two horses, they belong to the farm as well). On the way to our accommodation we saw more... you guessed it... Sheep!!

The accommodation was a cabin lodge nestled off the road among the trees. When I got there I went onto the bus and got my carry-on stuff off and went to the reception desk. I was hoping and praying that my friends had followed through with the plan and requested a bed for me in one of their rooms. Luckily, the did, and I noticed a couple unfamiliar names on the list as well. There were 9 names on this list... which meant there were 9 beds in this room. I wasn't too thrilled about that because the biggest hostel room I'd ever been in was 6, however it did mean that our whole group of 7 got to be in the same room. When she told me there were no keys for the doors I couldn't help but think what kind of place is this?! Surprisingly though I wasn't all that worried about my stuff, I had just never heard of a place without keys for the rooms. And the strangeness doesn't stop there...

I walked into the room and it was empty, which meant everyone must be out doing something together (turns out they went on a run.... so glad I decided to go horse riding because I would not have been up for a run). I wasn't greeted with people, but I was greeted with 3 sets of bunk beds. I know what you're thinking, "But you said there were 9 beds"... Well, 9 beds divided by 3 sets of bunk beds means each set was 3 beds high and because I was last in the room... I was on a top top bed. Luckily though I was above Poppy and Dan and not the two randoms, because that would have been weird. Also, this room with 9 people in it was by far the smallest room I've been in on this entire trip. The most number of people and the smallest room, that makes sense. Needless to say, bags and things were everywhere! Once I got my bag off the bus and got situated I went and checked out the bathrooms. There were 2 toilets and one shower curtain, but again no lock on the main door. And again I thought, what kind of place is this? I went into my room to try and situate my things and heard a girl say, "Oh really?! Then I'm going to shower now!" Our room was the first one by the lounge, so I could hear most of the conversations taking place. I figured this was her figuring out there was only one shower and that's why she went right then. I decided I was going to go after her because all the rafting people (the other activity option) would be back shortly and I wanted to beat the line. I gave it about 10-15 minutes and this is where the weirdness continues.

I walked into the bathroom and the girl from earlier kind of flinched and I realized she was wrapped in her towel and getting dressed. Because there is no lock on the door you never know who is going to walk in (more so the concern is that a guy would walk in). I said something along the lines of asking her if she was trying to beat the rafters to the shower and she said something along the lines of yes, but also just because it's a shared shower. I said, "What?". She said, "Yeah, there's three shower heads in one room. It's like pool showers all over again". I pulled back the shower curtain and what do you know... there it is... 3 shower heads, one shower. I have never had to be so strategic about a shower before - how to get undressed, shower, and redressed before anyone could come in and/or how to do all this should someone come in. I won't go into the nitty gritty details, but let's just say I was successful. Nobody bombarded on my shower and about 5 minutes after I left the bathroom all the rafters and my friends returned.

We all talked about the bunk beds, the showers, their run, and my horse riding. We competed at Fruit Ninja on the iPad and got ready for dinner. Max had bought a lot of food for dinner at the supermarket stop so he offered to share it with me so I offered to help him cook it (because we all know how handy I am in the kitchen... NOT!). For dinner Max and I made a meat and tomato sauce with onions and mushrooms to put on top of our penne pasta. I boiled the pasta and chopped the mushrooms and onions. This was the closest I had been to a home cooked meal in 9 days and I thought it was delicious!! Max kept apologizing for it and putting it down, but I made sure to continue telling him how yum I thought it was. After dinner Max and I chatted for a bit and then Lewis joined the conversation. At some point everyone ended up outside to play cards, but we never did. I watched bits and pieces of the movie that was playing between walking back to the room to work on sorting pictures and things on my laptop. At some point everyone was back in the room and we chatted and chatted and laughed and laughed some more until at some point we decided it was time to sleep. I said my last good-night to the friends I'd come to know and love in just a matter of days.

In the morning we had breakfast and for the last time I claimed our seats and loaded my things onto the bus. I was pretty quiet and not really myself and my friends were aware. I was trying extremely hard not to think about what I would be doing in just a couple of hours. We all slept for a lot of the drive to Christchurch. We did stop at a cafe though where Max changed my life forever (just kidding, but it was pretty darn close). When he got back on the bus he asked me if I wanted a drink of whatever he had. I told him I didn't like tea or coffee. He asked me if I liked vanilla, I said yeah. He asked if I liked cinnamon and I said yeah. Then he said okay so you have to try this. After a bit more debating I finally gave in and took a sip... and then another. And about 10 minutes later another and another. =] It was a chai latte and it was sooooo yum!!

As we neared the airport Ricky (the driver) said that we should all start saying our good-byes to those we were leaving us and while my friends turned to me to begin, I couldn't look at them. I just kept staring out the window fighting back the tears in my eyes with everything I had. I got off the bus and they all followed. I immediately started crying. With each hug and good-bye more tears fell. I told them each how much I loved them and loved that they were part of this adventure for me, how much I'll miss them, I thanked them for the memories I now have, and wished them well in their travels. All the kind words were returned back to me by each of them along with more hugs and a few tears from some of them. I finally managed for the last time to turn away from these new, amazing friends of mine and walk alone to the airport.

I had wiped my face dry before walking in only to find that the check in counter didn't open until 1 (it was only 9:30 now). I wanted to cry. I just wanted to sit in a comfy seat (found at the gates, which requires checking in first) with an outlet and be productive. Instead I had to sit in a hard, plastic, small chair at a counter/table... but at least there was an outlet and at least I was productive. I also called my mom and dad and talked with them for quite awhile about my trip. Before it was time to check in I packed up and went to one of the shops to purchase some touristy/souveniory items and then I got lunch. I went downstairs to check in only to find out that check in opened at 1 for people going to the Gold Coast... the Melbourne check in didn't open until 5:45. Back upstairs I went and sat in the uncomfortable chair for awhile and then decided I deserved a muffin so I went to a cafe nearby up there and got a muffin and went to sit on the comfy seat in the corner only to be surprised and delighted at the outlet located right next to it!! You better believe I sat there until 5:45.

Got through check in with no problems - I was concerned about the weight of my luggage. I went back upstairs and a store called Global Culture, which sold nice New Zealand clothing, caught my attention. I went in and found a really cool bright teal and gray sweatshirt that said New Zealand on it (note the similarity to the jacket bought in Milford Sound). It was expensive, but good quality and very cute, so I splurged. Next I went to the area where they do immigration to get to the gate and there was a sign there saying those doors won't open until 7:15. I can't explain to you my frustration at this moment. I sat in a hard metal chair, pulled out my laptop for the millionth time and watched some tv to ease the frustration. Close to 7:15 I moved towards the door and waited for the doors to open. I went through quickly with no problems, bought a cup of fruit (and got a free cookie) when I got to the gate, then continued sorting and uploading my photos. While sitting at the gate I took note of the beautiful good-bye sunset New Zealand displayed for me. :) Then I boarded the plane to find a little kid in my window seat and his mom in the middle seat. I think she thought I would have preferred the aisle seat, but when she saw I wasn't taking it she moved him over. She was actually really nice and her little boy (almost 2) was really cute. Luckily, I've had lots of practice at tuning out children. For the flight back to AUS I read a bit and did some sudoku, but mostly slept. I arrived back in Australia and had to go through customs and I was really worried because I had some dried kiwi in my bag that I really really wanted to be able to take with me. Luckily, they let it through!

Last time I saw this sign was 9 months ago flying to Australia for the first time

As I walked out of customs there were two friendly faces waiting for me - Elise and Sherwantha (2 people from my church). I can't tell you how nice it is to get off a plane in a "foreign" (AUS isn't home, but it isn't new anymore either really) country to two people waiting for you. We chatted and such on the way to the car and when we got in Elise turned around and said, "Happy Easter!" and handed me a big Lindt, chocolate bunny. I was all smiles. Here I was, had just spent all of Easter in the airport alone being given a sweet (pun intended) Easter surprise by friends. We had a nice chat on the drive home. They dropped me off and I went inside to find an envelope from my Grandma Carolyn (Hope's Grandma) on my bed for me. I opened it up to find a very nice Easter card from her. Again, another unexpected, but loved Easter surprise. *The Easter surprises continued through to the next weekend when Joan (Nikki and Louise's mom) gave me a mini Lindt, chocolate bunny. He was almost too cute to eat!! Notice I said "almost"... I ate the chocolate in one sitting.*

I completely unpacked before getting in bed, I lay my head down on the pillow, and breathed an awfully deep breath as I replayed the past 10 days in my head. It all felt like a very vivid, way too real dream that I was ever so thankful for and blessed to have been able to experience. In a way it all happened way too fast, but in a way it felt like I was there with those people for months. If you ask me how New Zealand was I could either stand there and say nothing at all because in a way it has left me speechless OR I could give you the version that has enough information to fill 12 blogs and then some. If it was an option I would do it all over again from beginning to end. New Zealand is an amazingly, beautiful country that has a special place in my heart and no matter how much I write or how much I tell you... It's honestly something you need to experience for yourself because no picture, no word, and no photo could even come close to truly capturing its culture, its beauty, its adventure, and its spirit.