I fell asleep to the sound of rain gently trickling down outside, I have awoken to a similar sound. The two hour round-trip hike up the hill is looking less likely as I lie in bed thinking about what I will do today.
Ahh Queenstown: The home of adrenalin activities and something of a party town. So what will I do?Maybe a canyon swing? A hike (short – 2 hours, or long – 8 hours)? A bungy jump? Water Sports? After all, the lake here is pretty central. Or perhaps a spot of shopping? Or a bar crawl tonight?
Actually, none of the above.
I’m tired, and the weather is getting progressively worse. I’ve met up with my Canadian bus buddy and a girl from the kiwi bus whose birthday is today! We’re celebrating with a ferg burger (it’d be rude not to) but apart from that, I have no plans whatsoever and I’m pretty content. I don’t feel a single ounce of regret or ‘what if’, I’m just happy to be doing nothing right now.
I have however, been catching up on my favourite travel blogs. I don’t like to get too far behind but with the wifi being so intermittent out here, it’s hard to keep up. I remember reading some of them via email so I’m re-reading them briefly. Anyway, it’s nice to read about the goals and resolutions people are setting, the years they had in 2015, the big life landmarks they’ve celebrated and what they’re looking forward to for 2016.
Tomorrow I’m hopping back on to the Kiwi Bus as I begin to climb back up around the east coast of the South Island before heading back to the North Island. Time is passing me by quite quickly, but I’m not regretting what I’ve done, or wishing time away. I’m just living in the moment which is nice.
Two weeks ago exactly, I jumped on the bus and had just got to the South Island. A week ago I was leaving Queenstown to go to Dunedin, a place I correctly predicted I would love. Now I’m back in Queenstown. In a week I will be back in Auckland, the place where my New Zealand adventure all began. In two weeks I will be in Rotorua, a place I’m very excited to see for several reasons. In three weeks time I’ll be somewhere in Bali, and in four weeks I’ll be packing to head home. Permanently. Time is going fast!
It’s almost the middle of the night and I’m finally catching up on all of the blogs I have missed when my reading is sadly interrupted by the BBC News app which says ‘explorer dies in Antarctic crossing’. Reading on, the individual is Henry Worsley. Now, I don’t know this fellow, I can’t say I’ve heard of him, but as a person that is currently exploring part of the world (albeit not entirely independently and certainly nowhere too remote) I’m very sad to hear this tragic news.
Afterall, here I lie, reading about the magical and wonderful adventures of those exploring the world, near and far, and then this. I read a Keats quote in Call The Midwife which sums it up perfectly:
“Stop and consider! Life is but a day – A fragile dew-drop on its perilous way”.
DistractedFlick 