Queenstown, Milford sound, christchurch-New Zealand

Listening to while driving: jan hammer
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8KmPa6_wl14

I wanted to travel alone to prove to myself that I could do it. That I was responsible, aware, and capable enough to parade around foreign cities with only a backpack and a map in hand.  I should have known better during the first month spent with my best friend, who held on to my passport and important documents like my mother, that I wasn't and would never be "capable" by anyone's standards. 

Since Lauren's left me I have missed a flight because I was too busy eating a hamburger, I've been caught at security multiple times with "dangerous" items that I forgot about--(I.e. mace, scissors, nail clippers), I've left the city to explore without writing down where I was staying and thus tried unlocking every apartment in the vicinity. And then there was wednesday night. 

I was taking my sweet time packing and getting ready for New Zealand--researching hostels and sightseeing options and I knew I was to leave for the airport by 830. All of a sudden 730 snuck up on me and I realized I still needed to shower and pack. I rushed in the bathroom, threw more food down my throat than I actually probably needed, and quickly started todo my hair. 

All of a sudden I was in a full blown sweat like I had just climbed Everest. I strapped myself in to my overweight backpack, picked up all my extra paraphernalia I've accumulated and hoarded for the past two months, set the keys on the table and rushed out the door. I quickly slammed the door and turned my body to run down the stairs of the apartment building. I took one big stride and was immediately yanked backward like a disobedient dog being scolded by its master. 

I turned around as far as I could, but was strained and locked against the wall to no avail. My backpack had mistakenly gotten stuck in the hinge of the door and would not budge. Shoot. I had left the keys in the apartment. I tried running in place to see if it would give...no dice. Still attached and trapped, I knocked on the neighbors door and could hear them tiptoeing around and avoiding the situation at hand. I unstrapped and dumped out my entire bag to try and find my scissors or nail clippers when I remembered that I had to turn them in to TSA in Cambodia. 

With junk all over the floors i began pounding on all the neighbors doors. The clock was ticking and I needed scissors stat. Finally after pounding on 5 different doors, the downstairs neighbor answered. Without any hesitation I shouted  immediately and emphatically, "I've had an emergency upstairs and I need you to lend me scissors". There was no asking. It was not a question. It was a statement. I missed my flight the week before and lost $100+ dollars. It was not happening again. 

He looked at me like I was a crack head but when I explained it it made me sound even crazier. Luckily he was able to find some scissors and I broke myself free from the door by amputating a couple of straps. 

I arrived in christchurch on the 6th in morning at 5 Am and was immediately in love with New Zealand. The air smelled like camp and the sky was  grey and cold. Relief!!! I had been looking for fellow travelers to rent a camper van together but that fell trough so I rented a car alone. my first stop was the downtown area. I wasn't expecting to see so much devastation and was really taken aback by the slow movement toward rebuilding the city after the earthquake. 

The entire city reminded me of something out of a movie...no businesses were open and most were fenced off or crumbling to the ground. There was a cute up and coming pop up shopping mall area with stores and restaurants  inside shipping crates and and it was fun to walk around there. 

I left for my long drive to queenstown and I am completely obsessed with this place. The drive was spectacular. I drove past any and every climate or tundra you could imagine...desert, forest, lakes, wild flowers, plateaus, snow, etc. the ride was never dull, and I found myself wide jawed after ever single turn. I was in disbelief. I passed by thousands of sheep, emus, calfs, horses, all without a single person in site for miles. I would occasionally stop the car, get out, and just breathe it all in. 

I was falling asleep at the wheel and stopped quite a few times to load up on red bulls, which inevitably lead to more stops where I had to buy all sorts of food as collateral for using the toilet. At one particular stop I came back to my car and my gps was missing. My heart was racing, and again I tore apart the whole car looking for the GPS. "Why me?!?!" I kept saying under my breath. I ran back into the gas station frantically and told the lady that I had been robbed and she reviewed her tapes and filed a report. I spent a good half hour mapping out where I needed to drive, and hopped back into the car all the while trying to figure out how I was going to pay for another one. I was devastated, and felt like crying. I drove for an hour or so and then all of a sudden I heard in a robotic distant muffled voice "recalculating", "turn around as soon as possible". Thank God!!! At some point it had flung out of the holder tht was plastered to my window, into the backseat. Suddenly my annoyance with the robot turned into the most abundant, unconditional love I have ever experienced. 

Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world and is situated in the middle of a basin next to lake wakatipu, Which is situated in the midst of a cascading pine tree laden mountain range. A few days ago i hiked up on of the mountains and went luging down a portion of it. The hike was no joke at a 75 degree angle the entire time. My buns were on fire!

I posted a listing on the bulletin board looking for people to help me pitch in for gas to drive down to Milford sound. I heard back from two boys from the Netherlands and had a (youre not going to believe me) really awkward encounter trying to meet up with them.

 I heard back from a guy named Marco who sent me an email and told me he and his friend would be making dinner at 7pm sharp and to meet him in the kitchen to discuss the trip we were going to take. He told me he was tall, really blonde, and was with a guy wearing a brown shirt. After my long hike, I decided to buy a bottle of wine and sip on it while I waited for the boys. In walked a tall blonde guy wearing a blue shirt and I saw him give his buddy (wearing a brown t shirt) a high five. Check. Knowing that I am prone to awkwardness, I decided to wait before I just ran up and assumed that he was Marco. That is until he walked past me and his friend said, "see ya later mark". There was no doubt in my mind this was my guy, so I ran up to him with my glass of wine and said "heyyyyy marcoooo!!?" In a semi seductive voice. When I heard,"huh? Who is Marco?" I wanted to die. He asked me to explain why and what happened so I explained that I was supposed to meet a tall blonde guy wearing a blue shirt and I thought it was him all the while I'm sipping on my wine all alone lookingike a total lush. 

I keep running into him. I went to grab a cutlery later that evening and our hands both reached for the same fork at the same time. Ugh. 

We drove for 5 hrs and made it to Milford sound. The drive was indescribable. We had to pull over in the middle of nowhere to just bask in the beauty, and i now have a full understanding of the word "breath taking", because the view really did make me choke i was so stunned. I have looked over my photos, and the actual scenery no justice whatsoever. There were thousands of little waterfalls trickling down massive sky scraping boulders, and snow caves all over the place. We took a huge liking to a native kiwi bird called the kea. I don't usually like birds at all but this bird actually ran (yes ran)  up to our car right when we parked. It was a beautiful conglomeration of green and yellows and when it took flight the underside of its wings were a bright shade of orangish red. 

We did a cruise through the Milford sound yesterday and it was quite spectacular. The entire town was made up of 1 restaurant, two hotels, and no gas station. Luckily we made it back. 

I got the flu and was really sick yesterday and today. Last night I was having trouble breathing and almost went to the hospital. It was really scary. I still don't know what is wrong because all sorts of things ache on my body. I might go and get things checked out over here since Idont have insurance back home. I hope I'm not dying!

I drove today to fox glacier and will check it out in the morning before driving back to christchurch to return my car and head to Auckland and the rest of the north island. Check back in a few!