Before we reached our final destination, we stopped off at Lake Matheson for a walk. It was a three hour trail but Hannah, Kerry and I were certain that it could be done in two. We briskly walked through the winding route taking photos along the way.
At one point we noticed a camera lens cover abandoned on a wooden bench. We felt bad for whoever had left it as it’s not something that’s easily replaced whilst travelling. It was at our next viewpoint where we met a guy (later to be nicknamed Hannah’s Future Husband) who it belonged to. After hovering for a little too long, we moved on. HFH had split apart from his group and had positioned his tripod on higher grounds. With a crushed flapjack in one hand, HFH took photos of the stunning view. Hannah became flustered with her camera but not to worry as her future husband helped her capture a great image. HFH was a hot topic as we power walked the rest of the way. Apparently a guy who squishes a flapjack in his hand without a care in the world whilst taking photographs is a great turn on for some.
Conversations with the girls on the bus tended to transcend in to Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus…literally as one of the girls is reading that book (I won’t name names, it’s not me!). I detest books that tell women how they should act around men. Surely both parties should learn how to compromise and work together without manipulation and game playing. I can never be arsed with all that rubbish as it’s too much hard work!
We were the first ones back and decided to treat ourselves to some lovely grub at the café. I had an epic sausage, egg and crispy bacon sandwich with tomato relish. It was that good that I groaned with almost every mouthful. I didn’t have room for my raspberry and white chocolate muffin so kept it for the bus journey.
I was the only one hopping off at Wanaka which astonished some. I wasn’t sure if it was the fear of missing out, but a lot of people kept asking me why I wasn’t leaving the next day like everyone else. I’d heard from a friend back home that Wanaka is beautiful, I was hoping to meet a friend I made in Bangkok and I couldn’t wait to part ways with the bus. Obviously I didn’t say the last part. I did get on with a few people on the bus but those lovely people were lost within the awful mass of annoyingness that was taking over. I’d not had a break from Stray since Rotorua and I felt like I was overdue.
The whole bus stayed at Base hostel that night. I’d pre-booked my room online for a knock-down price. I was very happy with myself for doing this. Even though Stray get a certain amount of rooms blocked off for passengers only, it didn’t faze me that I would be staying elsewhere.
Kerry, who recommended I book online, had done the same and we asked if it was possible to stay in the same room. Unfortunately the rooms are randomly allocated so that was not possible. My disappointment soon transformed into dizzying excitement as I was told I’d be staying in the Sanctuary. I had no idea what that meant but it sounded good.
The receptionist handed me a white fluffy towel. It was a nice touch. I asked if anyone else was booked in the room and was told I’d have it to myself for three nights. Happy days!
I entered my room and my jaw dropped. My eyes lit up at the sight of a ridiculously large room, a table with chairs, a kettle, tea and coffee. Attached to the wall was a flat screen TV. I actually jumped up and down on the spot and squealed. You may laugh but try travelling for over nine months and see how you react to fresh linen, open space and a room to yourself!
Although I had my white fluffy towel, I could not for the life of me find where the showers and toilets were on my floor. I was too embarrassed to ask the staff so grabbed Kerry who is a seasoned sleeper at Base. Kerry followed me to my room and shared my excitement. Kerry had stayed in a Sanctuary room on the north island so knew exactly how I felt. Within seconds, Kerry found the showers and toilets…in my room! I bypassed the mirror which happened to be fixed onto a door. Behind this door were two spotless showers and two floral-smelling toilet cubicles. Ohhhhh yeeeeeah.
Now if THAT wasn’t enough, Kerry told me that there should be some hair straighteners around somewhere. It turns out you can put a bond down for a pair at reception. I’d not straightened my hair in a long time as my GHDs broke in Australia.
I felt no shame in bragging about my room and invited some of the girls over. Hannah and Sam came over and ate their dinner whilst I pranced around to random music off of my laptop. I offered my facilities to Kerry as I owe my little luxury pad to her.
As it was my last night with this bus…well mainly because I had hair straighteners, I decided to glam up for the night. I knew exactly what I was going to wear.
One wonderful shower later and I was ready to don my short blue dress I bought from Australia and first wore to see Laura Marling. My smile dropped when I saw my legs. Shit, I forgot about my bruise collection. My left knee was a patchwork of blues and greens accompanied by a scab thanks to my fall at Blue Duck lodge. On the back of my leg sat a huge red-veined nastiness from my tanking adventures. Dammit. I knew it was going to be dark in the bar, but no amount of soft lighting could hide those monstrosities.
Kerry suggested I wore leggings with it but it wouldn’t look as good. I wanted to look all girly and human again rather than the frizzy mess I’ve become since leaving Australia. I settled for my maxi dress in the end and hoped that I looked just as nice.
The answer to that question came in a form of a compliment as soon as I left the room. One of the guys from the bus said I looked really nice. It’s been a while since I’ve had a seemingly genuine compliment from a guy. I felt really good.
That feeling grew throughout the night. I managed to get in on a game of pool and potted three balls in a row which caught us up to the opposing team who only had the black to pot. Nobody had seemed to notice what I’d done. I had one more shot which I should have just fluffed. Instead, I potted the black. Everyone certainly noticed that! I felt like an idiot. Jim, my pool partner, hugged me although I'm sure he'd rather of kicked me.
Battle of the buses was my chance to make up for this loss. Kiwi Experience, Magic and Stray in one room. Only one would be hailed champion. I wanted that title.
My competitiveness subsided as the quiz was so long-winded. Most of the questions were about the Queen’s Jubilee. I now know that Buckingham Palace holds 775 rooms, Elizabeth was 25 when she took the throne and she has 5 dogs.
At one point we were in the lead but the Kiwi bus had a smart phone and were cheating their way to victory (boooo hissss!). We faired ok at the karaoke but didn’t stand a chance in the dance off. Kiwi had a guy who could back flip and do the splits as well as a girl who could breakdance. I got up all the same as the first challenge was to copy the dance moves to Eric Prydz Call On Me. Everyone must remember the crotch thrusts right? I tried in vain but my maxi dress kept getting in the way when it came to the kicks and rolling around on the floor.
Never mind. We left Kiwi to their victory and $100 bar tab. A couple of people from our bus sneakily went to the bar to claim a free drink. They didn’t even check! I wasn’t that fussed and sat down beside the pool table. I got chatting to a couple of people from the bus who I’d not spoken to before. Seana from Chicago was especially lovely. We spoke about our travels and plans for the future. I gave her my email address for a possible meet-up when I reach Chicago. Seana even offered me her couch to sleep on. I’ve not couchsurfed in a while but I might have to in America depending on how much money I have left!
I also spoke to another American for a while before spending the rest of the night chatting away to Jim and Chris (both British). This surprised me as they weren’t as chatty when I first met them. It turns out, Jim’s first impression of me wasn’t a good one. After the pool table orgy at Franz Josef, I didn’t really approach the guys as I thought the territory had been marked by the girls. Jim especially, was always with one particular girl from the bus so I left them to it. Jim mistook my avoidance as a dislike towards him and his mate. It also turns out that my pre-judgement of Jim was also off. So I went back to kicking myself again!
Having talked Jim’s ear off earlier in the night, I thought his brain had switched off for the most part. I do have a habit of going off on a tangent regardless of whether a person is actually interested in hearing what I have to say. When we spoke again, it turned out he was listening (a rare trait in a guy). It annoyed me slightly how well I got on with some of the people on the bus that I originally avoided. It wasn’t so much of a regret that I’d change my mind and hop back on the bus though. I’d need a bit more than a few random conversations with people for me to do that!
For once, I was one of the last people out that night. Everyone departed pretty quickly after the battle ended. It was quite sad saying goodbye to some people from the bus. Perhaps I might see some of them in Queenstown but others I may never see again.
It was this thought that shifted my mood slightly. Although travelling has made me the happiest I’ve ever been, I do have my down days and this was one of them. I missed my friends back home and started to think about all the people I’ve had to say goodbye to whilst travelling. I offloaded onto poor Jim who had no idea what to say to me. I think he thought I was going to cry or something! Only an hour or so beforehand I was wittering on about how wonderful travelling is, the changes that I’ve seen in myself and how great it’s been to meet so many people. Talk about Jekyll and Hyde!
I’ll add that to the scrapbook of embarrassment to open up at a later date for self-torture! To be fair, I have done and said far worse in front of guys so this is nothing really.
I will say this though, I am extremely grateful for the people that I have met. For once in my life I’ve felt completely at ease with who I am. I have been myself and not only have I been accepted, but I’ve made some wonderful friends who like me for me. Throughout my life I’ve always tried to please everyone else to my own detriment. It’s meant that I’ve never really known whether I’m being me or if I’m just being someone that I think everyone would like. I always found it hard saying no which sometimes people took advantage of. It’s so refreshing to find people who are on the same wavelength as me.
In regards to guys, it’s a mixed bag. On the one hand, I’m meeting guys that I’ll probably never see again so if I do make an arse of myself I don’t need to worry too much. However, if it turns out that I like a guy then…well it’s just plain rubbish. Most travellers are randy and are only out for whatever they can get. I’m not one to normally generalise but it’s a heavy percentage that are this way. So any guy that I do meet and is friendlier than normal, I often wonder whether they are being nice to me because they like me or whether they just want a quick fumble in a crowded dorm room to satisfy their cravings. Some men can say the right things at the right time and it confuses me. Guys say that they never know what women are thinking and that we talk in riddles. Sometimes guys can be just as cryptic.
I've not really thought about a future with a guy too much whilst I've been travelling as I never saw it as a plausible outcome. I really want to travel more and work where I can. It just makes me wonder whether I’d ever be able to make a true connection that way.
When I’m home and things go wrong with a guy, there is no quick exit like there is with travelling. But then when it does go right, the likelihood is that it isn’t transitory and I may get my happily ever after.
Most of you know by now that I am a hopeless romantic. I watch far too many movies and have read numerous books where women can be completely ridiculous yet still have a guy chasing after them. Now wouldn’t that be a perfect world to live in?
I would like to meet someone one day who likes me for me and isn’t afraid to show that. Nevertheless, I’m not willing to shape my life around something that’s not there so I will follow my heart to wherever in the world it takes me. Having someone there next to me can be the icing on the cake.
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