From Auckland to Christchurch in three weeks

Life is the thing that happens to you while you're busy making other plans. That quote is printed on my flight ticket, and I like it!

For the past three weeks my life has been full of changes, which of course is something you expect when you're travelling. Changes make life interesting, though I sometimes miss the routines of "normal" life.

I left Auckland to go travelling with my friend. I wanted to go to South Island and he wanted to go tramping, so we combined these two things and went tramping on the way to South Island. We headed to the mountains in Tongariro National Park, where we did a three day tramp that took us on top of a volcano and around the mountain that played the role of Mt Doom in Lord Of The Rings movies. Standing on top of that volcano, my legs shaking from exhaustion after climbing a steep rocky cliff, is one of my favourite NZ experiences. Having to make all that effort made me appreciate the magnificient view even more!

The crater

From the mountains we headed to Wellington and took the ferry to South Island. I couldn't go tramping to Abel Tasman National Park because of the really painful blisters I had, and I spent the next week working on a vineyard. After my friend had finished the tramp there, we met again in Kaikoura and hitchhiked to Christchurch, where I now am.

A seal in Kaikoura

Christchurch is a really nice city; it's green and it has a nice relaxed atmosphere without being boring. The only negative thing I can come up with is that it's very difficult to type "Christchurch" fast and get it right. I have to check the spelling and usually add an h or a c :)

The Southern Alps

In fact, I like Christchurch so much, that I've decided to stay here. I have rented a room, got a job and I even have a library card, of which I'm very proud. The library card makes me feel like I really lived here, and I like that feeling. Yesterday I went to the library and loaned two books.

The room I rented is in a house which I share with four other travellers. The funny thing is, that we're all from different countries! My room is nice and fully furnished, but for some reason the walls are painted yellow. I want to decorate it a bit, and I was thinking that a computer would look nice in there. I will also buy a plant. For a couple of days the house will be full of life; we have three Argentinian guests and my two German friends are arriving today!

Our house

My new job is in Cathedral Cafe, and as the name implies, it's in the cathedral that's located in the middle of the city. It's the most famous building in Christchurch and also one of the main tourist attractions, so I guess that most of our customers (if not all) are tourists. There's a gift shop too, so after visiting the cathedral everyone can buy a fridge magnet and have a cup of coffee.

I start in my job tomorrow, and I'll be serving tables and washing dishes. I'm looking for an engineering job all the time, so that I'd get experience and of course enough money to make a trip to Australia!