Just like typical Hira and Taylor style, we took a wrong turn along the way to begin our weekend adventures. We had to walk towards the train station in order to catch our bus that would carry us for nearly 5 hours and drop us in the heart of Queenstown. We missed the street to turn on and had to speedily retrace our steps to ensure we would make it in time. Frazzled, sweaty, and slightly out of breath, we checked in and hopped on the bus. This was a whole new kind of trip for me. I could sit and stare out the window while someone else drove. Our bus constantly swayed back and forth along the road along the way. Thank goodness I don't get car sick because I feel like that might have been a rough ride. But I was excited to see the rolling hills, endless number of sheep, and towering mountains on the way so I didn't mind staying awake. Like I said before, time just goes faster here. We seemed to reach Queenstown in no time at all. Granted we were a little behind schedule, but we were back in my favorite New Zealand city, so I didn't complain one bit. However, my stomach continued to remind me. We arrived just passed dinner time and decided to check in to our hostel (the same one as last time) and then grab some dinner. We unfortunately did not get the all-female room like last time. To our surprise, that also meant we didn't get our own bathroom. But we did have a balcony, so maybe that evened things out a bit. There were already two people staying in our room, so Hira and I both had to take top bunks. She was above Sandra, and I was above Michael (they give us name tags for our beds so we know which beds are taken). We dropped off our bags and decided on Indian food for dinner. We have to get our fill of spicy food when we are away from our kiwi host, Kim. She's not a fan of anything remotely spicy. The waiter jotted down our order of lamb korma (only fitting to eat lamb in New Zealand, eh?) "Mild or medium?" Hira and I looked at each other and immediately responded, "Medium!" I also ordered a Speight's - just for you, Dad! After dinner, we strolled around town and ended up finding a giant souvenir shop. I'm pretty sure we were in there for AT LEAST an hour, if not longer. Yes, there was a lot to look at, but our indecisiveness only made it worse. In the end, I ended up with a few cool t shirts (which are disappointingly too big). Crossing my fingers to hope they shrink A LOT when I end up washing them. We finally hit the hay around midnight (and endured Michael's snoring) and prepared ourselves for another day of exploring New Zealand.
This was a whole different kind of adventure for us, though. Usually we are out driving, finding all the beautiful places ourselves. This time, our entire day would be guided. We grabbed a shuttle to the airport, where we would take a scenic flight into Milford Sound, then enjoy a cruise of the Sound, followed by a bus ride back to our hostel. Talk about a stress-free day. Originally, we thought the bus stop was a 30-minute walk from our hostel. Yes, kind of far but still doable. Taking advantage of the slow, but free WiFi from the hostel, we searched the bus stop location. It seemed too close to be 30 minutes away. I reread the email that told us where to pick up the bus. 30m. "That's 30 meters, not 30 minutes." Hira and I giggled and sighed with relief. Since we were ready early, we took a stroll around the little mall right by the bus stop to kill some time. Once the bus came, we hopped on and made our way to the Queenstown Airport.
We entered the tiny airport and found our way to the Air Milford check in. We had a little time to spare, so we hunted down a restroom and wandered the airport stores. Once everyone scheduled for the flight had arrived, our pilot instructed us on how the day would play out. We were given life vests to strap into. Yes, we wore them on the flight. Luckily they weren't anything too bulky. Once he had finished his necessary safety speech, we followed him out to the runway where the tiny Air Milford plane awaited. No, I wasn't copilot this time. But we did get to wear headphones that allowed us to hear not only the pilot, but everything that he was hearing as well. "Juliet, Romeo, Romeo is our call code, if anyone is wondering." His voice flowed through our headsets as we made our way towards the specified runway for takeoff. After flipping some dozen switches, gauges and gears, the plane picked up speed and took flight. Right away, the teal blue water sparkled below as we headed toward the snow capped mountains.
This was a whole different kind of adventure for us, though. Usually we are out driving, finding all the beautiful places ourselves. This time, our entire day would be guided. We grabbed a shuttle to the airport, where we would take a scenic flight into Milford Sound, then enjoy a cruise of the Sound, followed by a bus ride back to our hostel. Talk about a stress-free day. Originally, we thought the bus stop was a 30-minute walk from our hostel. Yes, kind of far but still doable. Taking advantage of the slow, but free WiFi from the hostel, we searched the bus stop location. It seemed too close to be 30 minutes away. I reread the email that told us where to pick up the bus. 30m. "That's 30 meters, not 30 minutes." Hira and I giggled and sighed with relief. Since we were ready early, we took a stroll around the little mall right by the bus stop to kill some time. Once the bus came, we hopped on and made our way to the Queenstown Airport.
We entered the tiny airport and found our way to the Air Milford check in. We had a little time to spare, so we hunted down a restroom and wandered the airport stores. Once everyone scheduled for the flight had arrived, our pilot instructed us on how the day would play out. We were given life vests to strap into. Yes, we wore them on the flight. Luckily they weren't anything too bulky. Once he had finished his necessary safety speech, we followed him out to the runway where the tiny Air Milford plane awaited. No, I wasn't copilot this time. But we did get to wear headphones that allowed us to hear not only the pilot, but everything that he was hearing as well. "Juliet, Romeo, Romeo is our call code, if anyone is wondering." His voice flowed through our headsets as we made our way towards the specified runway for takeoff. After flipping some dozen switches, gauges and gears, the plane picked up speed and took flight. Right away, the teal blue water sparkled below as we headed toward the snow capped mountains.
Every time Hira and I made eye contact, we would smile big and mouth the words "beautiful!" or "oh my god!" or "so pretty!" We couldn't hear each other over the roar of the plane or through the giant headsets, so we had to contain our excitement more than usual. We soared over New Zealand's rolling hills, teal waters, soaring mountain peaks, and ice blue glaciers. The previous night's storm created a dusting of white on the mountains that imitated mid winter.
We came around a mountain side to reveal Milford Sound. Fun fact (thanks to Hira), Milford Sound is considered to be the 8th wonder of the world. And I can't say that I disagree with that statement whatsoever. We touched down and Hira and I finally got to express our excitement verbally to each other. We snapped some photos with the plane, of course, and made our way to the bus that would transport us to the cruise ship.
We soaked up some vitamin D on the dock as we awaited our cruise ship. Us and about 300 other tourists. One large cruise ship already lay floating in the harbor, but to our surprise, an even bigger one pulls up. Like a flock of sheep, we all crowd the gate waiting for it to open. Hira and I were relatively towards the front of the mass of people, so we shot through the buffet area, up to the seating area and finally up to the top deck warming in the sun. We decided to not miss a minute of the cruise and stay up on the top deck. The wind certainly challenged us, but we made it! Even the cool mist from the waterfalls didn't turn us away. Which, according to our captain, if you rub the water on your skin, it will make you ten years younger. I'm sorry, but I already look 14, I don't want to look even younger than that! ;)
As much as I wanted to stay awake for the entire bus ride back, it didn't happen. I awoke every once and a while to assess where we were, but for the most part I had some soothing music to accompany a nap on our trip back to Queenstown.
Partway through, we stopped for a bathroom/food break. Hira and I walked into the store to grab some nibbles (the Kiwi term for "snacks") and to stretch our legs. We made our way back to the back of the bus as the rest of the people began to emerge from the store with various goodies in hand. Departing, the driver turned on Whale Rider for the two hours of travel that remained. I have really been meaning to watch that movie since even before I arrived here. Unfortunately, being at the back like we were, the screen was quite small and the volume was not very loud. So I decided to entertain myself with views of New Zealand instead as we continued on back to Queenstown.
Partway through, we stopped for a bathroom/food break. Hira and I walked into the store to grab some nibbles (the Kiwi term for "snacks") and to stretch our legs. We made our way back to the back of the bus as the rest of the people began to emerge from the store with various goodies in hand. Departing, the driver turned on Whale Rider for the two hours of travel that remained. I have really been meaning to watch that movie since even before I arrived here. Unfortunately, being at the back like we were, the screen was quite small and the volume was not very loud. So I decided to entertain myself with views of New Zealand instead as we continued on back to Queenstown.
After a day on the waters of New Zealand, fish and chips seemed like an appropriate meal. We arrived at our bus stop in the heart of Queenstown and walked towards our hostel. Both Hira and myself distinctly remember seeing a fish and chips place not far from where we were staying. But when we were just across the street from the hostel, we decided to drop our bags off first and possibly ask the front desk to point us in the right direction. Just as we enter the door to the hostel, Hira stops me. "Wait, Taylor, it's right there..." She points directly across the street to where we just were. I mean literally across the street. Humph, of course. We dropped our stuff off anyways and headed over to share the fish and chips meal that perfectly hit the spot. We took it easy before bed, but again had to deal with even worse snoring. Except this time, Michael had moved rooms and Cedric took his place. It's like the entire bunk was shaking from his snoring. DO ALL MEN SNORE?! I'm seriously starting to wonder. We hit Cookie Time again for more $1 coffee and hot chocolate in the morning. We sipped them down waiting for our bus to arrive to take us back to Dunedin. The realization that I wouldn't be in Queenstown again for a very long time struck me. Nearing the end of my journey has caused my brain to think like that. Things are wrapping up and I am about to go back to reality in the United States, leaving this dream in New Zealand. Yes, nearly 4 months here and it still feels unreal to me. Not that I am dreading going home, but I'm dreading leaving the place that has become my home away from home. |
We were the first ones on the bus, so naturally we took over the back seat. Only one other person got on the bus with us, I figured I could handle this the whole way back. Hira and I continued to chat as we picked up more people on the outskirts of Queenstown. Oh well. The driver then gets a call from 2 people who were supposed to board in the heart of Queenstown, where we got on. So we had to turn back around and get them. They got a few glares from us once they took their seats, but they will never know that!
We eventually reached a full bus of people. We even made a stop at a hospital along the way. Only the driver got out and when he returned to the bus, he had a small lunch cooler. Coming out of a hospital, that could only mean one thing: Organs. There has to be an organ in there. I'm sorry, but am I the only one who thinks that seems like a weird kind of pick up for a passenger bus??? It didn't like sit in the bus with us or anything. It chilled with the luggage (punny, eh?). But still...odd.
We made it back to Dunedin safe and sound to begin our last week of classes for the semester. Crazy.
Thanks for reading! As always, I will do my best to write soon so stay tuned :)
We eventually reached a full bus of people. We even made a stop at a hospital along the way. Only the driver got out and when he returned to the bus, he had a small lunch cooler. Coming out of a hospital, that could only mean one thing: Organs. There has to be an organ in there. I'm sorry, but am I the only one who thinks that seems like a weird kind of pick up for a passenger bus??? It didn't like sit in the bus with us or anything. It chilled with the luggage (punny, eh?). But still...odd.
We made it back to Dunedin safe and sound to begin our last week of classes for the semester. Crazy.
Thanks for reading! As always, I will do my best to write soon so stay tuned :)