We pack up head down to the bus and board with four new tour mates who are joining us on the South Island tour. I will get to them later. So it's goodbye to the North Island - a land of volcanoes, big cities and cold weather - and hello to the South - a land of adventure sports (bungy, skydiving, etc.), glaciers, large mountains, warmer weather, and more rural towns. Yes I am looking forward to the change of pace. Don't get me wrong, I like the North but I'm really excited about the South.
Our bus takes us to the Wellington Ferry Terminal where we board a 3 hour ferry crossing to Picton on the South Island. I'm thinking we will take a little Ferry similar to what you see when you go to Catalina Island. But no, this thing was massive; I felt like we were taking the love boat across the channel. On the boat ride I slept but also spent a little time getting to know the new tour mates.
YAY! I'm now not the only American. Bill and Krista, a married couple from Wisconsin, join us. I use my time wisely with Bill to get caught up on sports, talk a little about my 6 month trip and brief them on the North Island stuff we just completed. They are good midwestern folk, polite, courteous and excited about the trip. Their love for the Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers comes out immediately. I remind Bill that Aaron Rogers mvp quarterback of the Packers played for Cal. Judging from my conversation with Bill it's becoming quite obvious that Aaron Rogers is the 2nd coming of Jesus to the city of Green Bay. Love it!
The Ferry finally gets to Picton, we off-board and await our new bus which we will use for the South Island. The new bus is bigger and nicer than our northern one and more importantly the sun is out in the South. I'm loving the South already.
It's another couple of hours on the bus before we make a brief 45min stop in Kaikoura a cute little beach town. We quickly grab lunch take a few photos and then head off. But importantly Kaikoura will be remembered as the place where I first met my new roommate whom I call "Little Jake".
Little Jake was 1 of the other 2 new people who joined us. Little Jake is from China originally but is currently living in Auckland. He is a student there pursuing a bachelor's degree in business. First impressions of Little Jake are he is a cross between Speedy Gonzalez and the Energizer Bunny. The guy does not stop, Little Jake was so excited about the trip that when we boarded the bus to leave Kaikoura he could not sit still for the next 2 hours. Everything excited him; a random tree, a goat in the field, an insect hitting the window, a view of a mountain peak, Little Jake was all over it, snapping away and cheering excitedly. All we ever heard was, "Ah beautiful things, beautiful!". Little Jake's enthusiasm is infectious but Brad and I realize if we are going to get any sleep tonight we are going to have to get Little Jake a little drunk by 10pm or risk being kept up by Little Jake's enthusiasm when he hears a cricket outside for the first time.
We arrive in Christchurch and are told the story about the 2 devastating earthquakes that completely destroyed the Central Business District (CBD) of Christchurch. The first earthquake struck in 2010 was 7.1 magnitude on the richter scale and did not sustain any deaths. The second earthquake in 2011 was a smaller 6.3 on the richter but was a lot more devastating as it was closer to the surface. This second quake killed 181 people and destroyed the CBD as the ground there was not solid and liquid faction occurred severely damaging and collapsing most buildings. Reminds me of the Marina District in San Francisco during the 89 quake. That's why I refuse to live in the Marina to this day. Im on solid bedrock in Pacific Heights. The CBD is now a red zone and is cordoned off. Almost all buildings are being demolished. The CBD is being completely rebuilt and even our hotel only has 60 rooms out of 100+ available because one of the hotel buildings was severely damaged and uninhabitable. Tomorrow we tour the red zone.
Now back to the hotel and Little Jake. We get to the room and now it's me, Brad, and Little Jake in a room with four beds. I grab the bed closest to the bathroom and immediately start unpacking. As I am unpacking I notice this presence right behind my right shoulder. It's Little Jake and he says, "We bungy!" Yeah mate maybe in a couple of days. He goes onto say, "We eat now?" No Jake we are still unpacking and dinner is later. Have a seat bro and relax a little. Little Jake looks confused he insists on standing over me and watching me unpack. I oblige hoping Brad might be doing something more interesting and Little Jake might turn his attention to Brad. Oh I forgot to mention Little Jake's english is not perfect and I still question whether he understands what I am really saying. But nevertheless he is entertaining. We put on some tunes and I hop in the shower. Jake knocks on the door to interrupt my shower with two words "Good Music!". Thanks Jake, now close the door behind you.
We head to the restaurant/brewery to start drinking early with mine and Brad's plan in full effect. Operation get Little Jake drunk by 10pm is underway. We immediately order three beers and head out to the patio. Out on the deck we meet these two professional cricket players who end up hanging out with all of us the rest of the night. I learn more about cricket and get recommendations on South Africa. Little Jake meanwhile is in and out of different bar stools with the same three words, "Ah good beer". It reminds me of that game "Whack a mole" where the moles pop up out of the holes and you whack them with a stick for points. We continue drinking and Little Jake continues playing musical chairs. Several beers later and Little Jake starts yelling, "I buy, I buy!" No Jake we got you covered just enjoy the sun. As the hours pass Jake's face gets redder and redder. Will our operation be a success?
We now sit down to dinner and eat a big portioned meal similar to what you get at the Cheesecake Factory. I head back to the bar area only to discover that now we have skipped past the beer and Little Jake is now taking shots. Could we be reincarnating a famous exchange student character from 16 candles? It's now 11pm and we decide to head to the Casino, Little Jake is blitzed and shouting, "Good time, good time!" We tell Jake we're headed to our hotel room to change for the casino and he quickly follows behind. We get to the room and Little Jake makes a b-line for the bathroom. Brad leaves the room to arrange transportation. I stay behind waiting for Little Jake. A few minutes later Jake emerges from the room rubbing his stomach. I ask Jake you okay he responds, "Ah stomach not so good, I pooed!" It takes me everything to not lose it when Little Jake admits to me he had a number 2 poo! I have to hand it to him, he continues to rally and joins us on our trip to the casino.
We get to the Casino and start gambling. I lose 20 bucks in roulette. Little Jake goes to play black jack. 10 minutes later he practically runs me over shouting, "I won 5 dollar!" I say how many hands did you play? He says, "1 hand!" I leave early, Im tired and Little Jake seems drunk enough that he will sleep through the night. I cab it back to the hotel and pass out.
At about 2am in the morning I am startled by the lights. Little Jake has come home and he turns all the lights on in the room and then asks, "You sleep well?" I respond still sleeping Jake and he says "Oh you sleep!" He hops into bed and passes out. Thank god I can now catch some Zs. Did our plan work?
It's now 6am and again I am startled by all the lights being turned on, Little Jake is standing over my bed, staring at me with a big smile on his face. He says "You come get coffee." I said mate it's 6am in the flipping morning and the bus doesn't leave till 8:45am, I don't drink coffee. He says, "Come now breakfast." Mate breakfast does not start until 7:30am and I don't eat breakfast, I sleep. Thank god little Jake falls back asleep. 45 minutes later he is up and bouncing around. Mission failed miserably must try a new tactic tomorrow night!!!
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