Something terrible happened today and the memories of it shall stay imprinted in our minds for all our lives. We left Nelson. Under cover of darkness, disguised to every human eye by our wet weather gear and festooned with the winter rains that don’t show any signs of stopping, we free-wheeled down on our bikes to the bus terminal from ‘Morton Mansion’ and after a heated discussion with the bus driver, who at first refused to take our bikes but then relented when he realised he only had 6 passengers on the 50 seater and therefore plenty of room to stash them below deck, we boarded the Intercity to Punakaiki. Though many would not have recognised our shadows drifting through the blanket of Nelson’s rain-filled night, the two of us were barely able to utter a word to one another as we were consumed by thoughts of the last 6 months and the anxiety of not knowing what may lie ahead. But that’s life.
Here we are, curled up in front of a roaring fire, in what appears to be our very own jungle retreat on the very same day. It’s around 6:15pm and Mel and I are currently the only people checked in to our 10 bed YHA hostel. We have enjoyed a luxurious meal of super noodles with veg, Mel has a book from the book exchange and we have nestled together on the sofa. A little to my left; a massive limestone bolder juts through the centre of the hexagon shaped, timber built structure and I think it’s quite a nice feature of the build and reminds one of the fabric of the earth on which it’s built.
We’re looking forward to the cycle to Greymouth in a few days after viewing the Pancake rocks and blowhole which are a few kms down the road. For now we’ll just enjoy the peace and quiet in our own jungle retreat, complete with a Weka (large bird) which lives under the veranda!
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