Couch Surfing

A white truck pulled up and Jamie got out of the car. He seemed like a really nice guy and emediatly released me from my big backpack. We drove to his house and he showed me my room. That’s right, I even had my own room! The house was clean and modern, but most important: WARM. The place gave me a really cozy feeling and Jamie was an amazing host! He invited me to go to the pub because one of the lions (rugby) games was playing. He bought me a beer and thought me a little bit more about the rugby rules. I also discovered something chocking. New Zealand is pretty expensive in beers, a pint could easily cost you 10 dollars. But Jamie told me that they only charge travelers that much. Locals get a pint for 6 dollars! No wonder it’s so expensive…

After the game we went home and played some games in front of the fire. The time flew by and it was already way over bed time. Jamie and his roommate Brandan both work at 7.30 in the morning so they offerd me a lift to town the next morning. My plan was to do another hike in Wanaka. I already did Rob Roy’s glacier hike and Roy’s peak, but never had the time to do Isthmus peak… until now! The boys dropped me off with a longboard that I could use to get back in the evening. I waited for the sunrise and started hitchhiking to the beginning of the track. Isthmus peak was 1350 meters high and would take you 5-6 hours in return. It was described as ‘really hard but worth it’. I was lucky with the weather, again! And as they said, the walk was really intense. Full sun burning on my body and a constant uphill steep path. There were moments where I just wanted to turn around because it was getting a little too hard. But I didn’t give up and eventually made it to the peak. The view was great, and then I realized that this would probably be my last real hike in New Zealand. It made me sad in some ways, but It also made me appreciated the moment even more. It was a long way down and my body felt really tired, I just wanted a hot shower. So I decided to run down. I was completely dead once I reached the bottom, but more proud than ever. It had only taken me 3.5 hours to do the whole track…

I made it back in town, picked up the longboard and went back to the house. It was only then that I realized the boys wouldn’t be home until 5.30 so I had some time to kill. The only problem was that my body had completely shut down… I walked to the beach which wasn’t that far and found myself a comfortable tree. I just needed a nap…

The boys had arrived and I never enjoyed a hot clean shower like that before. When I got into the kitchen after, Jamie was preparing a roast lamb. Everyone knows I’m not that big of a meat eater, but damn I enjoyed that dinner! He had offered me some wine, showed me some magic tricks (I LOVE MAGIC TRICKS) and again we played until it was bedtime. I’m so happy I met Jamie. He’s an amazing person and treated me so incredibly well! I told him that he was always welcome if he’d ever travelled Europe. Saying goodbye to an old friend, that’s what it felt like! I spent my morning in another Café, skyping mom and dad. My last ‘travel experience’ in the South Island had ended and the date on my flight ticket was getting closer. Which gives some mixed feelings of course. I just needed to hear their voices before hitchhiking. The next plan was to go to Oamaru where I’d be Wwoofing for a week in a really cool art hostel.