The Blunt Kiwi Truth

After 10 days of pain in my knee, I decided to stop by the university physiosomething office. This office deals with all sports injuries and most are treated for free under New Zealand's public healthcare system. Like most doctors or people who have to touch my hands or feet, the physiotherapist was a little put off by my very wet feet and hands. He didn't seem satisfied with my explanation of hyperhidrosis (a condition that I'm sure sounds made up) but continued to examine my knee nonetheless. 

I have dealt with several sports doctors back home and have had generally pleasant experiences. They usually examine the injured area, have me do a few stretches and then explain what the problem is. The explanation is usually some sort of torn this or inflamed that, maybe a stress fracture. Following the diagnosis, I am given stretches to do or some sort of brace or maybe a series of "e-stim" treatments. 

My physiotherapy appointment in New Zealand started out the same way, but when it came time for a diagnosis, I was in for a major blow to my self-esteem. It turns out that the intense pain that I had been feeling in my knee was not a result of bursitis, or a damaged meniscus, but rather a more chronic condition: general weakness. Other names for the condition are: scrawnyness, skinnyness, feebleness, little girl syndrome, frailness,  Trevor Braun. 

After pointing out that that my knee problem was caused by the lack of muscle around the joint, the physiotherapist poked at other parts of my leg explaining that I really didn't have much muscle anywhere on my legs. It was only until he squeezed my upper arm and said, "not much here either," that I responded with, "yes, okay, okay, I know." 

The treatment is equally straightforward. I have to get less skinny. We'll see how that goes. 

It's a Rental

I am normally a very conservative spender and try to find the best value in everything that I buy and do. I only buy the basic necessities and of these basic necessities, I buy the most basic form. If there were such a thing as ACME brand corn flakes, I would buy that cereal. I would buy the largest box of that cereal and store it in an airtight tub next to my airtight tub of ACME brand sugar.

So when I decided to travel around the South Island for two weeks, I took a risk and decided to rent a car instead of relying on buses everywhere I went. I justified the expense (about $300 USD + another $150 for petrol) with the following reasons:
-I could sleep in the car and avoid paying for hostels
-I could go anywhere, anytime I wanted
-having to catch a scheduled bus or plane makes me anxious
-I only had 11 days to travel
-I would be able to see more of the country

I ended up spending half a day looking for the best deal on a rental car and when I did, I spent another 30 minutes deciding what insurance to get. My first thought was to not get any extra insurance. I eventually decided that the best value would be to get the $8 a day insurance. Unfortunately, when I got to the rental agency, the agent quickly convinced me to spend four more dollars a day on the highest level of insurance. The second I walked out of the rental place I regretted spending that extra money. The big selling point was that they have to replace a lot of windshields and that costs a lot. If there were a number of chips, the whole things would get replace.

The first day driving I was still a little upset about being duped into the extra insurance. The second day, I wound up driving along a road that had "cattle stops." Cattle stops are big metal grates that stop cows from walking down the road in certain spots. After I went through the first cattle stop and realized how rough the ride was, I thought it best to slow down to minimize damage to the car. Then I remembered:
It's a rental.

For the rest of the trip I was driving full speed through cattle stops, I forded streams about 8inches deep, I drove through potholes, down rocky terrain that was "Not Suitable for Passenger Vehicles," I even drove straight into a muddy puddle that could have been a foot deep for all I knew.
By the end of the drive, I hadn't done any severe damage to the car, but the dents and dings and nine chips in the windshield probably would have cost me quite a bit - if I hadn't gotten the extra insurance.

The Saddle - Part 3

The first part of the hike up was not too hard, but still pretty steep. It was pretty cool because it was early and we were still hiking through the forest. Mid-day, we emerged from the trees. The view was amazing, really, really amazing. Peaks and valleys unlike anything I have ever seen before. The sky was a mix of blue and clouds which made big shadows that glided through the valley below us. A little further up, we came to a lookout that stuck out from the side of the mountain. From there we saw that the hut we came from looked like a small white speck. 

We continued on and each time we stopped to rest we saw even more spectacular views. Eventually, we got to a sort of peak which gave us a view of both sides of the mountain. This is where the four of us not continuing on over the mountain thought we would stop and turn around. We sat and had tea and granola for a while and then the two guys moving on asked the rest of us if we wanted to join them to the base of the saddle. It would mean another three hours hiking, but we eventually decided that we would join them. The short hike was easy and mostly downhill, but the path followed the clearest, coldest water I have ever seen. We had spread out quite a bit and I ended up being the last person in line, so I was the last to reach the clearing at the base of the saddle. We had all been chatting throughout most of the hike but as I got closer to rest of the group, I noticed that everyone in the clearing was quiet and Axel was squatting with his hands on his head. I joined the rest of the silent group and looked out in the direction they were looking. My fingers when numb and I gave a little involuntary sigh. I wasn't sighing because I was tired, it was a sigh that I now know happens when one's breath is, "taken away."

I think the photos that I posted from that peak are pretty impressive, but they only show a fraction of what it felt like to be up there after that hike. I know that there are better views from higher mountains out there, but this was, by far the most astounding view I have ever seen. I never imagined I would see anything like this in my life. 

The Crew - Part 2

I lied, it looks like it's going to be a three parter.

I arrived at the hut a little tired from rushing back to beat the dark. I wasn't really sure how far away the hut was and I didn't want to take any chances so I sort of jogged/galloped most of the way. There were five other people in the hut when I got there which left the place feeling pretty empty, but still cozy. I started a conversation with a bald man with interesting eyebrows who had just arrived from the same parking lot that I came from earlier that morning. The conversation died away quickly and I sat by myself while we ate dinner. Conversations started to pick up a little later while the six of us cleaned up and I learned that the interesting eyebrow guy's name was Frank. Frank from Berlin.

(At the age of 45, Frank recently quit his job and sold everything he owned so he could travel around the world, but that's not important to the story. Worth telling, but not important to the story. )

Of the six of us, there was myself, Frank, another American also studying in Auckland, an Israeli, an Australian and another German named Axel. We got to talking about where we were going an where we had been. I told my story of accidentally ending up in the park while looking for a place to sleep at which point Frank interjected, "Oh, they told me that I booked the last bed at the hostel where stayed last night, but because I stayed there, I didn't arrive here until late this afternoon." There were hundreds of beds in eight or nine hostels in Wanaka, but as soon as he said he got the, "last bed," I knew that Frank was the reason that I ended up in Mount Aspiring National Park for the night. I asked him the name of the hostel and he confirmed that it was the same one. How about that.

We continued talking about our plans and it looked like two people were headed over a place called, "Cascade Saddle," and continuing on to another town on the other side of the mountain. Some of the others were considering going up halfway to the saddle and turning around, a 9 hour hike. I didn't think I would do that because I had the three hour hike back to my car and I still had to drive another three hours that night. I went to sleep expecting to just wake up the next day and work my way back out of the park, but at 6:00am, when Frank noticed that he had woken me up, he asked if I was going to join him and the rest of the group going up to the Saddle and back. I started to say, "ummmm," while I thought of a nice way to say, "no," but by the time I thought of something, I had been saying, "ummmm," for way too long and I felt I had to say, "sure." So I said, "sure," and I got my stuff together.

No Exit - Part 1

A little story about how Frank changed my life. Three days ago, I pulled into a little town called Wanaka looking for a bed for the night. When I called the only place in town that would possibly have a bed open, I got a busy signal. I tried again a minute later and it turned out that the phone was busy because they were booking the last bed. I can usually sleep just about anywhere, so sleeping in the car was no big deal. I wanted to find some out of the way place to park for the night, so I headed out of town down a random little road. A few minutes into the drive, I passed a sign that read, "No Exit." I figured I could park and sleep at the end of this road, wherever that was. One hour later I pulled into the most beautiful place I had ever seen.
The next morning, I found a sign that pointed to a couple of day hikes down in the valley. The surrounding views kept getting better and better as I made my way into the valley. In two hours, I reached a decent sized "hut" that had 38 bunks. It was only 11:00, so I set out on a hike that was supposed to take 2.5 hours but at the end of that trail, I came to a sign that pointed to another hut that was another two hours away. I was a little worried about the time it would take me to get back, so I decided to turn around after an hour. An hour in, I sensed that I was close to the hut, so I set my pack down and started to speed climb/ run up the trail. It was sort of a stupid decision because it was starting to rain and there was a chance I would get stuck in the dark without a light or shelter on the way back. Continuing up the trail ended up being the best stupid decision I have ever made. The views from the top were absolutely amazing. I left my camera in my pack, so none of you will ever know just how amazing, but trust me, they were amazing. The rain let up and I made it back to the hut before dark, so there was really no harm done.
This is part one of a two part description of my past few days. Part two is even better.

Christchurch

Everything seems to be going well so far. I was a little anxious about taking this trip to the South Island without really planning everything out, but it seems that my worrying was for nothing. I am in Christchurch now, which is on the west coast of the South Island. I posted a map and a link to the map on the right. Christchurch reminds me a little of Montreal with all of the old buildings and people that speak with an accent. There is also a cute little trolly that is filled with cute little old people. I am staying at a "backpackers" tonight. It's actually quite a bit nicer than I expected for $20 a night. Some guys just came in and gave everyone in the room free shots of a "fruity mixed drink," and it's only 4:30.

There is a mix of people staying at the backpackers. Most of the guests are college aged people from all over the place. I'm not sure exactly where they are all going, but most of them wear flip-flops and have gel in their hair, so I don't think they are hiking. I have also seen a few middle aged people walking around. White shoes and visors are

 common attire for this group of people. I don't know where they go either. 

I posted pictures of the big cathedral (Christ's Church?) in the center of the city and a war memorial. The war memorial looks pretty dramatic, doesn't it?

I pick up my rental car tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about driving in a foreign country on a foreign side of the road. I didn't opt for the extra $12 a day insurance. I guess I should just hope for the best and remember to GIVE WAY (it's what they say here instead of YIELD.)

Go-Go-Gadget CFC's

Quick update: I found all of the CFC's that went missing from the U.S. They ended up here above New Zealand. I have SPF 45 sunblock, but I'm still worried that my skin is going to burst into flames every time I step outside. 

I also found Inspector Gadget's car. 

Muffin Break

I'm in New Zealand now. It's nice. It's pretty warm here today. 75 degrees (that's 24 celsius). It is kind of rainy, and everyone is a little upset that the great weather streak is over. Someone made a joke that I brought the bad weather with me. It's probably true. People are very nice here. Every time I ask a stranger for directions, they stop what they are doing and work with me for 5 or ten minutes to figure out the best solution to my problem. Everyone seems to assume that I am from Canada and I don't know why. I guess I can't blame them because people in Boston also assume I am Canadian.

I was able to check into my flat early, it feels good to have a home base that I can always fall back on. I'll probably start traveling Tuesday. I'm not sure what my itinerary will be, but I'm sure I will be able to find something to do.

By the way, on my way to my flat I came across a sign that reassured me that I will be just fine while I am in New Zealand. It's as if they knew I was coming.

Gaunt in Santa Monica

During my nine hour layover in LA, it was suggested that I take a trip to Santa Monica. So here I am in Santa Monica. I'll give a brief synopsis of my time in California.

-Arrive at LAX: Notice right away that everyone is dressed up and looking good. Lots of tans. English is not the only language being spoken. Baggage attendants not willing to "promise" that my bags will be transferred to my later flight to Auckland.

-Take bus to Santa Monica: More tanned people. Very tan and very good looking. I'm very pale and very hot in my two layers of wool. Despite the 68 degree temperature, I am not the only one in winter clothes. Californians have on large furry boots and thick down parkas. Apparently it's "cold" today.

-The walking path next to the beach: People on stilts with hula hoops. People lifting weights. People on rollerblades, bikes and skateboards. Some totally ripped guy that was lifting weights at "Muscle Beach" let me take a picture of his huge bicep.

-The beach: Tan people and ocean.

-The promenade: Vomiting dinosaurs.

-Back at the airport: Baggage people still unwilling to promise.

Before I left, someone commented that my face looked gaunt. I wasn't exactly sure what he meant by it at the time, but then I noticed the word, "GAUNT," scratch or spraypainted all over the place in LA and Santa Monica. I think it some sort of gang lingo.