Happy Birthday To Me!

Today I am twenty four years old and it turned out to be quite a lovely birthday in the southern hemisphere!

I woke up and went for pancakes with Emilie. The plate didn't look very full, but in the end I couldn't finish it all. We went for a short stroll before we grabbed her things from the hostel and headed for the bus stop. It was a very hard goodbye, but she's heading back to Paihia and the north lands to try and find a job up there. I'm sure she will and she will very much enjoy her time here in NZ, just as I enjoyed every second I had with her 😊

I spent the next while in the lobby just relaxing. I had to check out of my room today and into a new room because of the way I booked my stay here in queenstown. I met some of the staff here and we ended up going for lunch together. They seem like a decent bunch. I had a nice penne pasta which was absolutely delicious. Then I went back to the hostel and had an awesome three hour nap!

When I woke up I met Sam from Korea and then had a refreshing shower. After I got all cleaned up I went back to the pub on the wharf. I ordered a point of wheat beer and a rib and wedges combo for supper which was quite tasty! I watched the rugby game, wellington vs the chiefs and wellington lost by one point. This family of four came and sat with me and watched. I bonded a little with the son over rugby and game of thrones.

Once the game was over the live music started and so I found a place closer to the stage to sit. I ended up sitting with a middle aged couple named Glenda and Mark from Golden Bay, New Zealand. Glenda was a cooking teacher and Mark taught too for a long time but was now doing something with sewing? I think that's what I heard anyways. The music was great to begin because the girl had a great voice, but one the guy started singing it really went downhill so I just continued conversing with my new friends. At one point Mark left and I assumed he went to the bathroom but he came back with another pint for me and said happy birthday mate. I was really quite taken back by their generosity 😊 I stayed until about 1130 and then left but my night wasn't over.

I came back to the hostel and around 1230, a group of staff and others departed for a late night hike to Queenstown hill. The hike was much more intense than I expected, especially because it was night time and relatively cold. After about an hour and a half we reached the summit. The view of all the surrounding towns was beautiful and the full moon was amazing. Unfortunately the full moon also prohibited us from seeing the meteor shower that was supposed to be occurring. But of course I didn't let that bother me. The stars were still beautiful and I enjoyed every second that we spent underneath them. At one point during the hike I realized how little there was to worry about in New Zealand with regards to wildlife because there was literally nothing that was going to get us. We took a few specialty nighttime pictures before calling it a night. By about 330 we got back to the hostel and I fell sleep almost immediately.

The next day I slept in. Called home and chatted with the folks for a while. Was nice to properly catch up with everyone😊 I had ice cream for breakfast like a champion! Afterwards I went downstairs and watched the nba playoffs before getting ready for the day. Went out but didn't really explore too much. Had a lazy day and ended up watching movies with some people from the hostel, first batman begins and then fight club. Tomorrow will be quite a day! Goodnight!

-Terrence outLæs mere