Travel Notes: Aoraki / Mount Cook to Christchurch — Day 13
Our last day on the Big Yellow Bus
30 October 2005
Dear Family & Friends,
I did it! I saw the sunrise on Aoraki / Mount Cook, which happened at 6:15 this morning. Totally worth the early wake-up call.
From royal blue to robin’s-egg blue, the sky slowly brightened. A few wisps of cloud flushed pink, then red, then orange. Soon after, the snow-covered peak and face of Mount Cook reflected the same hues. Moments later, the pink, red, and orange light painted the glacier fields—all in the Creator’s good time.
One of our guests, Stewart, a retired Methodist minister, said to us this morning: “You can learn much from a mountain.”
I agree.
Too soon, the familiar rhythm of tour life began again: breakfast, check and load bags, load passengers, and head down the road.
We had a surprise for our guests this morning. It’s Halloween today—at least for us Americans (New Zealanders don’t celebrate Halloween)—so we brought costumes! Michelle and I picked up crowns and wands in Dunedin, making her the Fairy Princess and me the Fairy Godmother.
The Asian tourists at the Hermitage Hotel in Mount Cook didn’t quite know what to make of us, but they laughed and clapped when they saw us. I’m fairly certain we’ll end up in someone’s photo album back in Japan or Korea. Our tour guests loved it! Toni even had bags of treats for everyone. She taped cotton balls to her cap and went as a sheep. One of our guests, Meg, dressed in traditional Māori attire and looked wonderful.
Back on the road again, with photo stops along the way. Mount Cook remained cloudless, so we stopped several times to take pictures. Stewart has been videotaping throughout the tour, and today I sang a few songs for his soundtrack: How Great Thou Art, The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music, Edelweiss, and Home on the Range (for the deer farm).
We arrived in Christchurch around 3:00 p.m. Tonight, Michelle and I will have dinner aboard the Christchurch Tram, which loops through the city center on a mile-and-a-half route. I hear the food is very good—but you can only go around the same loop so many times before getting a little loopy!
Tomorrow we’ll visit the International Antarctic Centre, which is about as close as I plan to get to Antarctica. Tomorrow night is our Farewell Dinner, and it will be difficult to say goodbye to this group—they’ve been such pleasant traveling companions.
Michelle and I depart on Wednesday and will spend 28 hours in Sydney before leaving at 9:00 p.m. Thursday night, only to arrive in Hawaiʻi at 9:00 a.m. the same day. That’s crossing the International Date Line for you!
Then, just 24 hours later, I’ll meet my first tour group for an 11-day cruise of the Hawaiian Islands. Here we go!
Thank you for traveling along with me on this incredible journey. I hope to share photos via a Yahoo photo album, but that will have to wait until I return from the cruise. Look for them by Thanksgiving.
Love to all,
TJ