Geraldine

It’s a nice little agricultural town near the mountains. Situated on the edge of a flat plane that’s a good two hour drive from Christchurch. I just arrived in Geraldine via bus and there’s a cold steady rain. The remnants of Cyclone Gita. The worst of it is due to pass today through Cooke Strait just south of Wellington. It’s supposed to be fairly miserable weather through Wednesday. I got pretty wet on the walk to my accommodation. The 20 bed hostel is fully booked with backpackers just hanging out. The South Island is all about the outdoors. When the weather is bad there’s not really much to do other than sit in coffee shop. So, that’s what I am doing.

I had anticipated the foul weather and booked ahead which is good. The owner of the hostel says it gets packed from mid January to mid March. Had I not made a reservation I’d probably be in a tent tonight. I figure Geraldine will be the last hostel of the trip as I plan to camp or stay in mountain huts for the rest of my time in country. On Thursday I’ll go to the Mt Cooke region.

New Zealand is a beautiful country but there is nothing exotic or challenging unless you go for a stiff hike in the backcountry or immerse yourself in the Maori culture of the North Island. I kind of miss a little challenge and a bit of the exotic. New Zealand doesn’t really have that to offer me. In some ways I feel like I’ve gotten a little soft with such easy travel but I guess that’s ok.

When I first visited New Zealand in 1989 a lot of things were different. Some of the most notable are: Everyone drank tea and now everyone drinks coffee. There were tons of sheep everywhere but now not so much. Everything was Kiwi owned and run but now it’s pretty international everywhere you go. It seems like most all of the hostels are run by people from other countries like Germany. There were a lot fewer cars. You never had to make a reservation for anything. Fish and Chips were everywhere. A foreign traveler was still a novelty to locals. Kiwis are plenty nice and friendly but not as outgoing friendly as before. To be fair though the whole world is changing. Places like Paris and London are far different than they were even 10 years ago. The world is becoming more homogenized. In some ways I think it’s for the better but in other ways not so much. The world continues to become more and more like America.

The bus ride from Christchurch was quite nice even though the weather was terrible. The young and pretty Japanese woman to my left was a pleasure to sit by. I guess she was about 25. She’s on an 8 day quick tour through the country. She works for JAL as a stewardess and has run 3 marathons. She’s obviously well educated and appears to have come from a good family. Her English was pretty decent. Most Japanese speak poor English if any which is surprising. She flies the route to Paris regularly and aspires to run the Medoc Marathon which is known for it’s fine hordurves and wine at the aid stations along the way. She likes wine. She wished me well when I got off the bus as she was traveling further. I never caught her name. In 1989 I would have gotten her name for sure. And a mailing address. I would have sent her a post card and might have even traveled to Tokyo. Timing is everything but I couldn’t date someone who is far young enough to be my daughter. I’m not one of those guys.

One thing the rain is good for is writing. I've been writing this inside Robbies cafe right on main street. It’s a simple place with reasonable prices for simple foods. The décor is a little quirky, cheesy, and plain. The fake fireplace heater works well. The mismatched furniture adds a bland charm. It looks like they tried to go with a some sort of decorative idea but it’s not really happening. Gray wallpaper with white flowers opposite pink and white striped wall with ice cream freezer. Small town is small town. This particular area reminds me of middle America.