Christchurch

It took quite a while to get to Christchurch. Early that morning, Verena drove the hour to Nelson and dropped me off at the bus station. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. It was really great spending a week road tripping with my new friend and I wish her the best in her travels. 

Farewell.

I boarded the bus and made it to our next stop, Picton, in good time. And the layover was long enough to grab a glass of sauvignon blanc from one of the local wineries we passed in the Marlborough region. If i wasn't going to visit a winery, I may as well as enjoy a glass outside while I wait for my next bus.

Marlborough wine.

I headed back to the bus station with plenty of time, and of course the bus was late. By an hour. Wonderful. I could have had a second glass. We were finally on our way, and I made sure to be on the left hand side of the bus. The ride down to Christchurch was supposed to be beautiful. And it was. We made a few stops, and at one, we had a chance to take a 30 minute break to walk around. Naturally I went straight to the beach and stuck my feet in the water. There are some similarities with the West Coast of New Zealand, but not with the other side of the Pacific Ocean in California. The coast was complete rocks. Actually a little rough and not good footing. But like I said, I had to get my feet wet.

East Coast.

After some delays, we finally made it to Christchurch, more than 2 hours after our estimated time of arrival. Unfortunately this meant I had even less time to explore the city since I only had one night. I decided to walk to the hostel to at least see some of the city. It was pretty quiet, which wouldn't be too different from other smaller cities.  But the 2011 earthquake is still affecting the city, and the sight of the ruins and construction, you realize that this isn't normal. I guess it's the new normal, but hopefully with time, the city can return to what it was formally.

City art.

I grabbed some dinner and called it an early night. I had a few things planned for the next day, and wanted to get some sleep. I started off with a drizzly run through Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens. I made a lot of stops for photos and couldn't help but smell the roses.

Beautiful roses.

After packing up and checking out, I grabbed a bus to Hanmer Springs. For my last day in New Zealand, I booked a bungy jump. But even before I did that, I had some time to kill, and enjoyed the Thermal Baths. I relaxed in a number of baths, including one that was 41 celcius (105 farenheit) and with sulphur. And yes, it smelled like sulphur. Since the day wasn't super warm and it was still a bit drizzly, it was actually pretty nice to hang out in the baths. 

Hanmer Springs baths.

Since I was jumping at 12:30, I had to leave and get myself to bungy location. Fortunately I was able to get a pick-up. Of course the guy was trying to scare me, and was messing with me. I was trying to not really think about what I was about to do. I knew I was doing it, but was avoiding the thought of the actual action. And before I knew it, I was strapped in and standing at the ledge. There was no one else jumping. Which may have been good or bad, depending on how you look at it. I was waving at the people driving across the bridge as they took photos. I also had an audience back at the building.

Standing at the ledge.

So there I was, on the ledge of the bridge. I was imagining myself jumping, but not the free falling portion. The 2 guys counted down for me. And I didn't move. I may have jumped if there were others waiting. But I think I made a conscious decision to not jump at the first countdown. I requested another countdown and I jumped. Or fell. At least that's what it felt like. I was going to dive down, but somehow ended up going feet first. Which is actually how I jump into water, so I guess that makes sense. Even though it's not really recommended. I started screaming and had my eyes closed for a couple of seconds. And then I told myself to stop screaming and open my eyes so I could see what was around me. And it was cool. But still a little scary. I bounced a few times and was dangling, with the river below me. The blood was definitely rushing to my head as I hung upside down.

Hanging around.

The boat came and retrieved me and I made my way back up the hill on wobbly legs. My audience cheered me on as I approached. I did it. I jumped off a bridge. Yeah, it wasn't the tallest jump in New Zealand. And may have been the shortest actually. But you were still free-falling 35 meters. A little nuts. But I can now cross it off my list.

I did it.

I lingered for a few minutes after my jump, but then had to get to Christchurch. Since the bus I took up wasn't leaving until later, and I had a plane to catch, I decided to hitchhike. I know. I know. Some of you may not like to hear this. I had no other way to get back to Christchurch, and since Verena and I had picked up a few hitchhikers and New Zealand is known for helping out hitchhikers, I figure it would be ok. And it was. I got to meet some locals and chat about my trip. The rides went by very quick and I got back to town with a little bit of time to explore before heading to the airport.

It was still pretty quiet like the day before, but I did see a few people out and about. The weather wasn't actually helping since it had rained on and off all day. I passed by the Christchurch Cathedral and even though I knew it was destroyed, it was still hard to fathom that nothing has been done to fix it in the last few years.

Christchurch Cathedral.

It was nice to see the graffiti art throughout the city. I love seeing artwork like this in different cities.

Graffiti art.

On New Regent Street, I had a pint of local brew, before heading back to the hostel and then onto the airport. It was time to escape the rain. 

New Regent Street.