I said my goodbyes to the friends I made at National Park and jumped on a bus to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. The bus ride took about 8 hours but I didn’t mind too much. The views from the window seat made the trip enjoyable.
I met this elderly woman on the bus and we chatted for quite some time. She was a retired teacher and she helped me understand more about the political and social culture of the country. I learned a lot from her.
She gave me her email address and offered me a room if I ever returned to Wellington. The people in New Zealand are so friendly. This is the only place I have visited where a two-hour conversation results in being offered free accommodation. Imagine striking up a conversation with someone on the New York subway and being offered a place to stay. That would never happen!
My flight to Queenstown left in the early morning and I decided to sleep in the airport in order to save some money. The sleeping bag I purchased functioned quite well as a pillow but I’ll be grateful to get back to sleeping in a normal bed this week. Between the trek and the airport, I haven’t had many nights in a proper bed lately.
The flight into Queenstown was very cool. The plane has to fly in the valleys between the mountains and as we were landing we got so close to the cliffs. Thankfully I got a window seat (in the emergency exit row to boot) and I got to see everything there was to see.
I’ve only been in Queenstown for a few hours but the scenery is remarkable. It honestly doesn’t look real. It looks like you are looking at a green screen in the distance. I had some time to kill before I could check into the hostel so I hung out around the lake and relaxed. It’s a magnificent place to meditate.