There and Back Again: A Hobo's Tale by Elisebo Crullins

June 10th, 2008

I'm writing from Christchurch, New Zealand! It's more than unreal. I left the Baalbergen residence for Sydney international airport at 5.30 am this morning, and arrived in Christchurch at 3.00 pm local time. I checked into my hostel for the evening-- an old jailhouse! Very quirky.

I was feeling a bit restless, so I went for a stroll. I walked through a lush park (Heaphy Park) in the glow before sunset, and on my way to the city center. I had some Malaysian food at a small cafe and bought some granola bars for the train ride tomorrow (apricot and dark chocolate with rolled oats). I found the actual Christ Church church, and went in to listen to the boy's choir rehearse a soaring Laudate Dominum. Outside in the square, two men played an epic and life-sized game of chess (Harry Potter, anyone?) while another man looked on intently, offering advice now and again. It is a crisp, cool fall evening here. The sky was bluer than blue before going completely dark. Way to refract visible solar electromagnetic radiation, Atmosphere! Nicely done!

Flying across the south island was breath-taking. Our flight path took us diagonally over a large portion of the Southern Alps, and the coastlines (occurring in such rapid succession, west then east--what a sweet little thing this country is) were magnificent from so far above. White beaches gave way to azure shallows, which in turn were swallowed up by the magnificent deeps far from shore.

Tomorrow I board the TranzAlpine train at 7.45 am, bound for Greymouth through Arthur's Pass. The hostel-keeper-person (what do you call them, anyway?) booked the trip for me, no hassle, as soon as I'd paid for my night at the Jailhouse. This is my first time in a hostel. Maybe these people have all been here much longer than me, or maybe my introvert-tendencies are trumping all else right now... but I know that traveling and staying in hostels is supposed to be laid back, meeting lots of new and interesting people from all over the world. But... I don't really feel like talking to anyone. At all. Hmm. All I can think about is my eager anticipation for tomorrow; I can't wait to step on the platform and be whisked away into my own head, to ponder and soak up the beauty of this place in secrecy and quiet. I feel like I need--I crave-- this solitude in order to be totally refreshed. Washed clean of a school year that nearly killed me (again), but from which I hadn't really had a moment's pause since arriving in Sydney to work with Guido. I want to rest my soul in the bosom of this country... and I don't really want to talk to anyone while I do it. Is that so bad? Anyway, no one here has stopped to speak to me as of yet. Maybe this hostel is not typical in that sense... ah well. Me, myself and I have a lot of adventure to prepare for in the next few days. So at 8:32 pm, I'll say g'night.

The Window on the West

Dear family, dear friends, dear other persons,

I now begin my New Zealand tales, told as though they were happening in real time (and not last week...though it seems already years ago *sigh*).

Just for the curious, here's a link to a ridiculously fun interactive map of New Zealand, so you can follow along with me in your mind's eye (I don't know about you, but I have to see maps before I can really get into a story. This is one reason I so adore Clive Staples and J.R.R.-- they always included maps of their imaginary kingdoms)

http://www.newzealand.com/travel/destinations/new-zealand-map/interactive_map_home.cfm

Also: I made all my pictures of Sydney and New Zealand (well, most of my pictures) into albums on my facebook page, with captions and everything. So for those of you who are on facebook (even if you're not my friend), you ought to be able to see these images. If you aren't a facebook conformist, then I can email you the photo albums I think. If you aren't on facebook and you haven't received an email link to these albums from me, then let me know and I'll fix things for ya, pronto.

Without further ado...