End Intermission

I had a lovely time in Abel Tasman with Roxane, Blair, and Suzanne.  From Christchurch I took the TranzCoastal railway, a lovely five-hour ride along the coastal hills.  When I detrained in Picton, Roxane was waiting for me.  This scuttled my plans to surprise her at the ferry with some belated fourteenth flowers, but I was happy to get to see her earlier.

We all drove up to Motueka and spent a couple days kayaking and swimming on the gorgeous beaches of Abel Tasman.  We then proceeded west and south along the coast, through pancake rocks and wekas and coastal tourist towns that want ever so badly to be up-and-coming.  Roxane has more details in her blog’s February Archives.

I splintered off at rainy Fox Glacier, where Blair and Suzanne were taking a helicopter to the top.  I left Roxane at the hostel watching a silly movie, and felt like an idiot standing in the rain for an hour sticking my thumb out at an almost completely empty highway. Of course, if I had waited for the rain to stop, I would probably have been there long enough to get New Zealand residency.

Much to my surprise, I eventually was picked up by a courier van.  It’s been my experience in New Zealand that working vehicles rarely pick up hitchhikers.  I was lucky, too, that the driver was going all the way to Wanaka, my destination for the day.  So I had an unusual ride, sliding around in the back of a van with the parcels and letters and, briefly, a grocery flat of bread loaves.  These were introduced into the van at what looked like a warehouse or garage, and dropped off at a gas station.  I never did ask the driver about that.  Unfortunately, the lack of windows in back meant I couldn’t see Haast Pass, reportedly beautiful.  But the driver had thoughtfully installed a speaker in back so I could listen to some rocking eighties tunes on the long ride: ♪ “Highway to the Danger Zone… Ride into the Danger Zone…” ♪

I arrived in Wanaka and was surprised to find most of the backpackers full, but I found one non-BBH place with a vacancy.  In internet reviews it got panned, and rightfully so, but at least it was a bed for the night.