Day 39 – Christchurch, New Zealand – 6:51 PM

Two and a half days are behind me in Christchurch and two remain.  I arrived at the bus depot shortly before 2 PM last Thursday and made the long walk to my hostel, The Old Country House.  This hostel has three small houses with a number of rooms in each.  In the center of the property is a large, grassy area where travelers congregate and relax during the day and night.  I checked into House 2, Room 11.  After choosing an open bunk, I put down my bags and looked over the city map I received from reception.

Johnny, a buddy from Scotland, who I met in Auckland weeks ago, checked into the same hostel.  I walked over to his room and we discussed our time in New Zealand and what locations were our favorites.  I met two of his roommates, a girl from Long Island, New York and another from the Netherlands.  All three were flying to Australia the next day.  We sat outside and discussed our backgrounds and travel history and future plans.  Soon, one of my roommates from the Netherlands joined us.

Before I knew it the sun was setting and it was time for dinner.  I heated up a saucepan of soup and sat on the porch eating while the others went to the grocery store for food.  The three departing for Australia early the next morning debated whether to sleep or stay awake until the shuttle arrived in a matter of hours.  After eating we broke out a deck of cards and occupied a couple hours playing a plethora of games.  While the idea of staying awake all night sounded appealing, they gave in and called it a night shortly before twelve.  I was disappointed to see Johnny head off to Australia but we agreed to meet up again at some point during my month in the land down under.

I woke on day two to partly sunny conditions and fair temperatures.  An Australian I met in Dunedin, told me about the Rapaki Track, a hike in Christchurch that provides decent views of the city and nearby Lyttelton Harbour.  According to maps, it would take approximately 3 miles, or one hour, to walk to the trail head.  The track itself is a five mile roundtrip hike.  The walk to and from the trail and the hike itself would make for an eleven mile excursion. I proposed the idea to my Dutch roommate and he agreed to make the trek with me.  We gathered food and water, laced up our boots and set off.  The walk to the trailhead was simple enough as it was along city streets.  As we set off on the trail, the sun beat down on us as there was no tree cover.  I was glad I applied sunscreen before setting out.

The trail itself was not exceedingly difficult.  A number of little uphills and downhills dotted the first 1.5 miles or so and the last mile was a long uphill with no gaps in the ascent.  We were joined by other hikers, joggers and the occasional mountain bicyclist looking to reach the top.  It took us a little over one hour to reach the appex.  We took off our packs, sat down and tore into the food we carried.  I snapped a couple of photographs of the nearby landscape.  After a couple of minutes, we began the easy 2.5 mile descent.  All told it took us just over three hours to cover the eleven miles.  We returned back to our hostel and popped the tops on celebratory beers.  Our work for the day was behind us and it was time to put our feet up and enjoy the afternoon.