Kiwi Challenged

Thursday
I woke up at 4:30AM today, instead of the 2:30AM from yesterday so I guess that the jet lag battle is almost over. It's 5:15 now and I have a half hour before I start walking - hopefully not in the dark- to the Intercity bus station to catch the 7o'clock to Picton. I'm so proud of myself this morning because I dressed and packed (stuffed) my backpack in the dark. Yesterday morning, I had to turn on the light to get my bearings and I'm sure my two younger roommates weren't too thrilled with me. Actually, my roomies at each hostel should be happy all in all with this more experienced  (older) traveler. Many folks in my age category snore all night. Yeah, young people don't snore - at least not from ONE end - haha! Oh goodness - back to better thoughts. I am staying at an older hostel here in Christchurch, so I'm getting the full joy of old Kiwi digs. The one bathroom -read toilet only- on my floor is for about 10 rooms with 3-4 people in each. To shower, I walk down two flights of stairs, go through the kitchen and down a hall. Gotta go- I'm off to Picton.

Made it to Picton! Intercity bus-which is the NZ Greyhound- is so NOT Greyhound. The bus driver told us facts about each town we went through and slowed the bus down near the shoreline at Kaikoura so we could see/take pics of the seals on the rocks! A new subdivision he talked about - Pee-gah- sees (Pegasus) is going to have a pool with a wave making machine. The last part of the trip, we were looking at snow covered mountains to the left of the bus and the Pacific to the right. I guess that's why this part of NZ is called the Alpine Pacific Triangle. This region is the biggest winery region in NZ. The other travelers on the bus were a young gal from Switzerland, who is here for 4 months, a young couple from Ireland, traveling here for a year, a gal from England and I talked to an older Kiwi man sitting in front of me, but I really can't say what he told me because I couldn't understand him! I can't download pics at this internet place, so I'll try to put some in tomorrow at another one after the hike. My hike tomorrow is a 5 hour one. I'll take a boat to a drop off point, tramp (what a fun word to say and not get in trouble!), and jump on a boat at the end of the section. I'm hiking day 1 of a 4 day hike on the Queen Charlotte Track. I'm only doing day 1, but it's called "Nature's Best 1", so.... we'll see!