I should start with saying sorry I haven't posted a blog in almost a month. It was bad manners for me to make it seem as if I didn't want you all knowing what I have been up too. So a recap of the end of my Stray journey. I think the last time I posted was when I was in Invercargill. Well the place we stayed was called Tuatara and was quite nice. The cafe that was part of it gave discounts to people who stayed at the hostel so I bought breakfast there and Thrift shop was playing. Made me so happy to hear that song since it made me feel like Martha was there with me a bit. So we left late that day and went to a bluff area and saw roughly a dozen sea lions which was pretty cool. Then it was back to Queenstown. Altitude the Base hostel bar where I had previously sung karaoke was having a backlight UV paint type night. It was pretty funny seeing how painted people were getting and yes I had some put on my face as well. No pictures though. Lots of people who had hopped off the bus previously were now in Queenstown so it was cool seeing people that you didn't think you would see again.
Next stop, Aoraki or in other words Mount Cook. It was a nice place. I started getting a fever here so didn't do much other then watch a video about how Aoraki and the mountains got there names. Aoraki is also known as cloud piercer. Headed out next to Rangitata. I went horse back riding here. And I thought the horse I got had the perfect name. Bobby. Lol. For those of you reading this who don't really know me or my family my brother is named Bobby. So I just thought it was fitting how little things along my trip have connected me back to my family. The ride was really nice. Our guide picked wild black berries for us and so we had a bit of a treat on our ride. The place we stayed was really nice. Rustic cabin type place. I was still not feeling great with a fever and stuff. We had a good group meal that night and watched some movies.
Christchurch up next and my last stop with Stray. I stayed with friends of my moms cousin in Christchurch, but before I met them I napped in the semi famous gardens in the central area of town. It was good, but it didn't help me get better. After the first night with Jill and Lucy (yes we have the same name) I got worse. My fever just kept going up. It eventually hit around the 40'C mark when I started to puke. My head was also pounding and my ears hurt like crazy. Went to the doctors the next day and as I thought I had ear infections in both ears and as she put it a touch of the flu. I puked a couple more times that day and didn't get any better even with the prescriptions she gave me. So the next day, it was time to go to the clinic. This clinic was probably the nicest hospital doctor type place I have ever been too. I got blood work done, and had to have an IV drip since I was crazy dehydrated. They also gave me really good anti nauseant medication. And what ever they did it worked. I barely had a headache, my temperature was back to normal, I ate for the first time in 3 days, my ears still hurt but I had antibiotics for that. It was amazing to feel like I wasn't burning to a crisp slowly. I didn't do much the rest of the week. Just wanted to get my strength back and not rush my body. I did some small walks and tried to help out as much as possible at Jill and Lucys. They were two of the nicest people I have met. And there family is just so nice as well. There friends Paul and Jane were headed down to Dunedin on the friday and let me tag along with them. They were also super nice and even dropped me off at my hostel in Dunedin.
Dunedin. I started out staying at Hogwartz. It was a cool hostel. I didn't do much. Just started looking for jobs and writing. On Tuesday I hung out at the library all day and then got picked up by my moms friend Clarissa. I an currently staying with her and her boyfriend. They are really nice people and are vegan, so I have been eating vegan for the past week basically. That first night I went with Clarissa to her Maori class. It was cool. I applied for a bunch of different work opportunities the next day and that night finally met Marcelo her boyfriend. He is very nice and interesting. We talked about a lot of different topics while they made vegan blue cheese buffalo wing pizza. So instead of blue cheese it was tofu and some spices and stuff. And instead of buffalo wings it was cauliflower with wheat stuff and BBQ sauce. Also home made crust. It was really good. They went away for Easter weekend so I got to be home alone for a few days which I basically read and chilled out over. Yesterday they took me to Sandfly beach. It was a nice place. Big sand dunes and the ocean. Saw a couple of sea lions there as well. Now I am just waiting for responses to my applications for work. So that is basically my last month in a nut shell.
"Attitude reflects leadership, captain."- Julius 'Remember the Titans'
