About 80% of the time, I pick good travel companions. I get along with almost everyone and am very adaptable to every situation. I like to think that I can read people fairly quickly when meeting them, and most of us travelers have the same carefree mindset, which generally makes it easier. In the instance of Daniel from Devon, I failed miserably and have paid the price for it over the last few days.
The thing about New Zealand is that it is much better experienced by car or campervan. The bus systems here just don't take you to all of the little places that are hidden away. The opportunity to sleep on beaches and find far away hikes isn't found on an organized tour. Hence, I've found my way around by hitching rides with people I meet. I took the ride with Daniel because he seemed to have the same opinions on what there was to see in this country. I was able to see a lot while riding in the passenger seat of his car, but man oh man, I was really ready to get out of it as we rode into Christchurch yesterday afternoon.
Things started to go a bit downhill just after leaving Takaka while we made our way up to Cape Farewell, the northernmost point on the south island. His incessant chatter about not spending money and problems with his car were already starting to take a toll on my patience. The fact that he just "couldn't be asked" to spend $6 on a campsite for the night was sounding a little overly frugal. And the fact that he stated this to every new person he met on the street just irked me each time I heard the words. Believe me, I'm all about not spending money, but if I have the choice between paying $6 and setting up my tent or sleeping on the side of the road in a very small vehicle, I'll pay the money.
To be fair, his unwillingness to pay for campsites brought us to some amazing places....and I never did have to sleep in the car. That first night, we hiked about 20 minutes in to the most beautiful beach where we met some really great people. We drank wine by the fire and caught glimpses of shooting stars. Tents were unnecessary on this evening as we had a warm sea breeze that drove away the sandflies. There were six of us, and we all slept under the billions of glittering lights in the sky above.
I woke the next morning with the sun blazing down on my face. While the others had a surf in the waves, I wandered the beach and took pictures of the seal colonies that inhabited the area. We all hiked out in the morning, happy to see that our car (parked right in front of the "no overnight parking" sign) was still there and our windows were still in tact. We took the ride back through the green mountains and then went for a dip in the local swimming hole to wash the salt off our bodies. After that, Daniel and I were back on the road again, heading for the West Coast highway.
We had another 200+ km day, getting us into Westport in the early evening. The road down through the mountain peaks was spectacular. The natural beauty of New Zealand really is amazing. It's just one big national park. Put Yosemite, Yellowstone, Shenandoah and Glacier together, and that makes up the landscape of this country. It's been really incredible to see it all from the highways. We came down through Buller Gorge that day; the road winding along the river through the lush vegetation. We were just south of Westport as the sun started to go down, although it was cloudy, so the glowing sunset on the Tasman Sea was lost that evening. We searched for campsites and found a small beach road with few houses along it. There was a magnificent, rocky cove looking out into the sea with lots of driftwood for a good beach fire. We asked the owner of a nearby house if we could sleep on his beach, and he happily obliged, so we set up shop for the night.
We had a lovely older German couple pull up in their campervan just before dark that night and they joined us by the fire for a few minutes. All was fine and dandy, until I started to hear Daniel's "couldn't be asked" conversation coming on again. As I heard him describe his financial opinions to this wealthy German couple, I yawned and politely retired to my tent for the night at 9pm. It was the exact scenario with me for the next three nights to come. I got up the next morning and told Daniel that I would be hopping off in two days instead of making my way to Queenstown with him. I would get out in Arthurs Pass and take a bus back to Christchurch.
This information didn't sit well with him, but we continued our route as planned. Another long day took us up north to Karamea and back. Daniel was looking for surf, and I wanted to explore some limestone arches hidden deep in the mountains around the area. Daniel's search ended quickly as we drove along a sea made of glass; not a wave to be seen. We picked up a couple from Europe along the way and then took his poor little car 15km down a narrow dirt track to the Oparara Basin. The fuel consumption and weight in the car were the main topic of conversation, as Daniel made it clear to the hitchhikers how much they were costing us. NZ hitchhikers don't offer money, something that Daniel was apparently unaware of before deciding to pick them up.
The arches were huge and the caves around them incredible. In my opinion, they were definitely worth the long drive in. I had a lovely time hiking with the Europeans.. The couple, one from Germany, one from France, has been living in Australia on a working holiday visa for the past year. Both had the same goal of travel as me: that one day we will wake up with an epiphany of how the rest of our lives will work out. I've been on the road for five months, they've been gone for over a year, and none of us has attained this yet...but we all still seem to be having fun trying.
With no surf, we made our way back down to Westport and took a tip from the couple about another free camp not far from the town. We found the site on the beach and as Daniel had a surf, I planned my escape. I didn't think I could last even two more days. For the first time since we started, I removed everything of mine from the car and put it all in my tent to be organized. I made dinner and went to bed with my book soon afterward. When I awoke the next morning, I packed my bags and was ready to bolt into town to find the next bus. I was done with this road trip and ready to make it out on my own again. Just as I was finishing with my pack, Daniel woke up. He got out of his car/tent in a decent mood and told me that he'd looked at the map and it was better for him to go to Christchurch as well. This was a frustrating decision for me, but I said that I'd ride along if he was going my way anyway.
The road from Westport to Greymouth was drop-dead gorgeous. We drove along the coast through Paparoa National Park and took in the views of the rocky sea and the ferntree-covered mountains opposite it. We stopped along the way at the Pancake Rocks. The rocks in the sea here have been layered by weather to look like piles of thick pancakes. At high tide and when there is a large sea swell, the water rushes through the blowholes creating a geyser of saltwater. Unfortunately, high tide was not until late in the evening that day and we needed to make our way into the mountain pass, so we missed the sea spray, but enjoyed watching the hector dolphins play in the water surrounding the rocks just the same.
Arthur's Pass was my first up close experience with the Southern Alps. I have seen them from the air and from afar, but riding through them, and all of their glory, was much different. The clouds started to clear as we made our way through the valley. We felt minuscule below the glaciers sitting high above our heads. There were rocky cliffs far above the treeline that rivaled the the peaks around Lake Tahoe. It was a gorgeous winding drive to my last campsite with Daniel.
There was a free camp on the roadside just six kilometers from the village. Not the best one I've seen as there was a busy logging road and a train track about 100 meters from my tent. The sandflies that night were savage, and I am still scratching to this day. There was a lot of trekking to be done in the area that we were in, but we only made our way into the forest for the most spectacular of waterfalls, Devil's Punchbowl.
This is my last bit of negativity when it comes to my company, but the last straw was pulled as we hiked up the steps of this waterfall and Daniel told me that we'd have to work out how I'd get to my friend's house in Christchurch the next day. After giving him $50 extra for the ferry and filling his tank of gas that I would be riding less than half of, I incorrectly assumed that I would have a ride directly to my destination the following day. He did not want to drive the extra 6km into the city center as he feared he would get into an accident while driving in any kind of traffic. At that moment, the pent up anger in me exploded and I let him have it with every complaint that I didn't divulge over the last week together. Being a 22 year old coward, he quickly changed his tone and agreed to take me to Amanda's house. And that was the end of almost all conversation between Daniel and I. I only regret that it ruined the beauty of the waterfall that evening.
Honestly, he could have gotten into his car and left me at any moment, so the fact that he didn't makes him a semi-decent human being. The problems we had were due to personality clashes that could have happened between anyone. Traveling with people can be hard, and you need to find the right companions. You can be best friends in the real world, but being cooped up in a car with someone for weeks on end can bring on challenges beyond anyone's comprehension. As we rode the last 150km to Christchurch yesterday, we were pleasant to each other, although very quiet. He dropped me off at Amanda's house in the early afternoon and even came in for an hour to charge his camera. After he left, I felt a huge sense of relief. I feel comfortable again. I've been annoyed, anxious and angry for the past week of my life (although with some good bits in between). These are three A's that just do not belong in my happy travel bubble.
After a nice long shower (that wasn't a solar shower...yeah!!!) and a quick unpack of my bags, I'm living the high life again. I woke up this morning and feel like a new person. I've decided to stay in Christchurch until the weekend and get some much needed relaxation after the past few weeks on the road. I've met friends along my trip that will be in town throughout the week, so I'll be able to hang with them and enjoy some downtime. On Sunday, I will happily take a bus down to Queenstown.
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