On The Road

One of the things I love about hostels is the occasional gem in the fridge labled "free."  My last night's meal depended on one such gem.  I ate the last of my pasta with an an Alfredo style sauce made with milk gifted to me by a fellow backpacker that flew home earlier Wednesday, and flour, table spread (the closest thing to butter I could find) salt and pepper all from the free box, and the Gem: a garlic clove left in a small bag in one of the fridges and labeled free. With these ingredients I managed to piece together a cream sauce that, with the garlic, wasn't half bad!

I had an early mornning today, dropped off my bag at the YHA hostel, AMD made it to the bus station at Sky City by 730.  Im on the bus now. It's a double decker tour bus, and it makes passing cars seem bug like. I am so very goad I am nit driving. The road is quite narrow and the turns windy; though, this may be imagined  due to the height at which I'm sitting.

We stopped for lunch in Taupo, then moved on to drive along the lakeside.  I fell asleep in lush hilly lakeside, and woke in a desert. Part of me is sad that I won't be coming back this way because the scenery has been gorgeous and LOTR-esque, but I might get my chance later on.  I purchase my flight from Christchurch to return to Auckland already, and it was a pleasant experience given my 89$ flight actually cost me 89$!! ( ok there was a 3$ booking fee, but that acme nowhere close to DOUBLING the price like in Canada.  (eeee! Cute sheep look cuddly! Sorry, I just saw some...but they aren't as cute as Lesotho goats!) The same went for the aloe I bought yesterday - it actually cost 7.99$! (ok, 8$, 1 cent pieces don't exist here anymore)

One of my favourite signs: open every day, Owlcatraz!

I arrived in Wellington around 730, and took the next hour or so to try to take out and deposit money into my NZ account. I then dropped my stuff at the hostel, and went in search of food. I wandered the strip, but didn't find anything I was craving, so I went across the street from the hostel to the New Market ti grab some snacks for the following day and to try to.rind something for dinner.  Mom will be happy as I settled on a steak and cheese pie (and a random carrot because I was craving veg); it was delicious! Perhaps a lil salty, but i ate it outside on a pier sitting behind a decorated stone seat to hide from the cool salt wind coming off the ocean which too the bite from the salt of the pie.