K, so I'll pick up where I left off, right around Kristen's birthday in Takaka. After our couple days in sunny Takaka and Abel Tasman park we drove along the coast through Marlburough Sound, Karakau, up to Hamner Springs and down to Christchurch where we dropped the girls off for their flight. Personally, the highlight during the couple days between Takaka and Hamner was the driving. There were massive mudslides on sketchy roads and I even got to use the saw function on my swiss army knife to cut through a tree that was blocking traffic. No kidding, the swiss army knife saw kicked ass. Before Hamner we didn't do much else besides take pictures, hike and explore nature.
True to it's reputation Hamner Springs was a life of luxury- relatively speaking. We got in around dinner time on the 12th, found a spot at a Holiday park (the only night we ever paid for a place to stay) and spent the night drinking beer and conducting a type of relay in which we took nice, long, hot showers one after another until we were more fresh and clean than we could have ever imagined. After some debating as to what we should do, the night basically became a beacon of remiss as we all decided to catch up on a bit of R&R and enjoy one of our last nights together.
The next day The Girls and I went for a 3 hour hike in the morning and then wiled away the rest of the day in the town's famous hot pools. It was pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered; we got to relax and recover from an intensive 2 weeks of traveling while also having the opportunity to reminisce about the stories. We also managed to talk the chill lifeguard into letting us snag a couple of free rides on the giant water slide before the park closed, allowing us to get the excitement fix we'd become accustomed to.
After Hamner, spent 2 nights and a day around Christchurch, getting prepared for the next chapters of New Zealand and wrapping up our adventures with Fey. The very last night we camped about 45 k out of town along one of the world's largest sand spits and got some of the coolest lighting we've ever seen. Rainbows, rain, and a fantastic pebble beach was enveloped under a sunset that looked like it must have been photo shopped. The whole thing was just unreal and we spent the evening playing around, taking pictures, and, eventually, jumping into the freezing ocean before grubbing.
We all said our tearful goodbyes to the Kristen Raey and Mindy Service on September 15, 2010. We pray that they are doing well in the land of Mexican food, sun and double pained windows. Their presence is truly missed... naughhhht!
Later that day, after a few phone calls and some finagling, Timbo and Maggie ended up dropping me and my stuff off at the Salvation Army in Christchurch before they continued South to do some rock climbing and return the car. I've spent the last couple days volunteering at the food distribution center in one of the areas most effected by the earthquake. It's been pretty rewarding and I've been working with a lot of good people from a few different organizations. The plan is to keep doing this for a few more days and then hitch out to meet up with Mike and some of the Coronet Peak kids to do some skiing up at the club fields. Until next time, adieu
p.s. I apologize for the lack of pictures, Blogspot is being weird.
It sounds fantastic. But I do miss the pictures. Thanks for doing these!
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