Christchurching it

Met up with a friend of a friend traveling in the country. It was his last day with his rental and he kindly drove us to Akaroa for a short half day trip. It is definitely hypnotizing to stare out at the beautiful landscapes around this island. There were some areas on the way that had some resemblance to northern California actually. Also cool I haven’t had to drive a car in over two months. While our eventual destination wasn’t particularly grandiose, it was still a nice change of scenery on a lovely day with good company.

I’m getting pretty good at e-scooting^* altho not quite as good as some younger guys doing all sorts of crazy stunts. But I’m enjoying the convenient/fun city mobility. A little better shock absorption would be nice on these vehicles. 😀
^* = two days after writing this I wiped out in the middle of the street at midnight trying some fancy maneuvers. But in the dark, and with the scooter’s weak LED light, you can’t see small cracks in the asphalt, so I jumped down to get a closer look. Luckily no one to be seen, or see me, anywhere on the street. Overconfidence’s revenge. No injuries except a knee scrape, phew!

Witnessed some local young riff-raff being chased by cops on foot around the city center one night. It was a bit comical to be honest, but also a bit sad. Had to fend off one of these very young and very drunk girls trying to “borrow” my glasses and steal a sip of my soda so she could “sober up”. An awkward parenthesis on my evening strolls.

Walked the Te Ara Ōtākaro, a.k.a. Avon River Trail, all the way to New Brighton and its pier. Wasn’t quite as pretty as I’d hoped but the day was too nice and it was quite enjoyable nevertheless. Sun, river, plants, birds, and music in my ears. What was pretty stark is the vast stretch of the red zone (abandoned residential areas after earthquakes due to liquefaction) that I crossed on the way. Eerie. Also there is a lack of nearby facilities along the trail so I did have to find a bush-covered spot and share my “excess waste” with the earth. Very glad there were some big-and-soft-leaved trees around. I also heard there are plans to develop much of the area around this trail into a proper park/recreational zone as part of Christchurch’s re-development projects. Great idea! It would be interesting to come back in a few years and check how things come out. New Brighton was quite underwhelming however. Not much to see around town and the beach was also disappointing, aesthetically at least. I think there is much more potential for this area than it currently offers.

So finally got out to play a round of golf. The day was again just too pretty not to be outside. Had a typical mix of fantastical and horrible shots for a very Jacky-like round. The course wasn’t anything special, but the older kiwi couple I played with were adorable. They even gave me a ride back after playing so I wouldn’t have to deal with taking the bus back.

As a curious side note, I’ve been increasingly reaching for strawberry flavored milk (and/or mocha-coffee flavor) as a snack of choice lately. Random, I know; weird huh? Can’t explain it either. I have just been craving milky/creamy and sweet beverages. Go figure. I attribute the lack of sweet tea on the shelves and my need for a sugar fix while trying to cut down on candy bars.

This week has been significantly calmer. I have not done much other than work a bunch from the library, walk all over the place, and eat at increasingly random hours. I did meet a couple new people and had some interesting conversations. But haven’t done anything notorious to share about other than the prior paragraphs depict.

But my time in Christchurch has reached its sunset and tomorrow I shall make my way to the capital. Trying to find CS hosts for a change, but so far only one has responded for maybe one night. Looks like back to hostels, altho there is a very cute looking one with great reviews that I think I shall check out. So I keep on keeping on…