Day 9 of my tour of New Zealand was taking me to the South Island, with a 11.35am departure from Rotorua I was able to have a leisurely morning. Another night of being alone in my dorm meant my sleep was getting better. First stop breakfast at lotus cafe, the usual flat white and today’s offering of Avo on toast set me up nicely for the day, until I got a text: “A message from Air New Zealand. Your flight has the potential to be disrupted due to forecast low cloud and visibility conditions in Rotorua today. It is still scheduled to depart, though we recommend staying up to date on the status of your flight.” I hopped into my taxi and got to departures, the assistant said the flight has left Christchurch and if the plane lands you are going, if not you are getting a bus to Auckland. Well the plane landed – it was a female pilot so she smashed it and I was on my way 🛫
Upon arrival in Christchurch I made my way to my accommodation, the Drifters hostel – in terms of facilities I think so far this one has been the better of the hostels. I did a laundry run ✅ and had a beer whilst waiting for my evening activity.
I was picked up at 5.30 by Faith. Faith has moved to Christchurch from the UK and works as a physio. Some of you will be saying who on earth is Faith, well she is the sister of a friend from many moons ago Aimée. Aimée and I go back all the way to high school, from a-level chemistry with BEarl to the start of our friendship and the Australian exchange back in 2004. You will hear more about that in the upcoming days. So off we went to the He Puna Taimoana Hot Pools. Where we met Faiths friend from football, Jamie. These pools were lush. Ranging in temperature up to 39 degrees 😍. The setting was pretty stunning too in New Brighton by the coast. The evening was finished off with a pizza and a glass of Pinot Noir. It’s always great to see familiar faces, and meeting new people. I’ve probably not seen Faith since she was a wee nipper so it’s always good to catch up! 😍😍
Flying Solo 