Canterbury

Heute haben wir wirklich mal ausgeschlafen bis 7h 😃 Dann gabs ein Minifrühstück mit Kaffee, Smoothie und Apfel. Wir machten noch ein Gruppenfoto und verabredeten uns für den übernächsten Hut. Danach ging ich in ein kleines Cafe auf dem Weg und bestellte mir einen Cappuccino und Toast mit Rührei. Das sollte eine Weile vorhalten...

Mit dem Trampen klappte es heute besser und ich war um 10.30h wieder auf dem Trail. Über eine wacklige Hängebrücke führte der Weg in ein wunderschönes Tal ohne grosse Höhenunterschiede. Durch Wald und Gras immer zwischen den Bergen lang. Sehr entspannt.

Während ich so vor mich hin lief, wurde mir nochmal bewußt, wie gut es mir geht. Ich fühle mich so fit wie schon lange nicht mehr, schlafe gut und mein Körper sagt mir genau, was er braucht. Trotz nasser und manchmal sehr kalter Füsse habe ich nicht mal den Anflug einer Erkältung. Mein Immunsystem läuft zur Höchstform auf 😉 Für so ein Leben sind wir gemacht: den ganzen Tag draussen und in Bewegung!

Gegen 15.30h war ich am Ziel. Den ganzen Tag war tolles Wetter und der Hut ist super, für 20 Leute und mit 2 getrennten Schlafräumen. Ein wenig später kamen 2 Reiterinnen, die hier ebenfalls übernachten und Clara, Michael und Ralph. Julie musste zum Arzt wegen eines infektiösen Ausschlags, der immer schlimmer wurde. Sie wird versuchen, uns einzuholen in den nächsten Tagen.

Unser Ziel in ca. 7 Tagen ist Arthurs Pass. Dort warten schon meine neuen Schuhe auf mich- ich hoffe, die alten halten so lange durch 😳Read more

Our bus was leaving at 16:40 and the Albatross Backpackers where we were staying had a great policy. Sundays start with a free late pancake breakfast at 10:30 and a late checkout at 12:00. So we slept long and then got positively surprised by the whole setup. The hostel owner herself was baking pancake after pancake, they had maple sirup, jam and peaches and some coffee and you could really eat as many as you want. Generally the hostel was a bit alternative and quite nice. They had music instruments everywhere free for use. Art was hanging all over the walls with a small corner in which you could contribute by painting your own master piece (we sadly didn't have time). Lots of board games, a free clothes box, organic tea and coffee. And the people staying there were also nice.

So we didn't mind spending the hours until the bus would leave, by just hanging around, talking to others and... finally getting some ebooks on our ebook reader! Yes, we are carrying an ebook reader since the start of the trip. While we can proudly say that we seemed to have packed correctly as we really use everything on a regular basis and didn't miss anything really either yet, the ebook reader was an exception. The only books on there were 2 Lonely Planets, one from Norway and one from Ecuador. So it was more than time to change that. Now we are also the proud owners of travel guides from South New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia. Actually useful ones.

A bus ride of 3 hours brought us to the city of Christchurch. To get to our hostel we had to walk 2.2km which felt heavy with all our stuff. On the bright side that gave us the opportunity to see a bit of Christchurch and how 9 years after the big earthquake the effect is still so visible. Not only are lots of the buildings very new, there are also still quite some clear spots where nothing has been rebuild yet.

Arriving at the hostel, we smelled weed all over the place. Our dorm room was occupied by 2 others that had already stayed there for several months. It's not the nicest if you can't even find a place to put your backpack that isn't already occupied by dirty clothes, opened bags of rice, plastic cutlery, or other trash. It was basically an incredibly dirty student room where mother hasn't visited for quite a while. At least it was only for one night. A few minutes from the hostel we found a Domino's that sold us 2 pizzas for 10 dollars. That was really cheap, and actually pretty good.Read more