This is a blog post with a crazy twist so I would recommend reading to the end if you don't usually...!
So you left me relaxing in Wanaka last week....didn't end up horseback riding, but did go for a short bike ride along the lakeshore with Adam from New Brunswick who definitely has an Eastcoast Canadian accent!
I thoroughly enjoyed my day in Mt Cook where I hiked out to the Hooker glacier and was rewarded with amazing views of the elusive Aoraki (Mt Cook). Met a couple nice guys at the YHA hostel...Guy from Israel and Malte from Germany. We hiked out to the Tasman glacier the next morning and then Malte was kind enough to drop me off in Queenstown after we both enjoyed our first Fergburger on the lakeshore and some Patagonia ice cream...yummy!
From Queenstown I was off to Franz Josef glacier town the next morning which took most of the day. I hustled out to the glacier (being too cheap to pay for the shuttle it was a 40min walk just to the car park!!). Was rewarded with some sunshine over the top as i got close, but I definitely preferred my Mt Cook experience!
Next morning, with a sore throat that has turned into a cold I still haven't gotten rid of, I was off for the west coast to meet up with my friends Sam and Liz from DTS for Easter and my birthday. I met them in Hokitika where I was surprised to see that Ben and Katie from the Backpacker DTS were around as well. We stayed the night together in Pukekura and enjoyed our wildfood dinner at the character dripping Puke Pub. Had a great visit with Wayne, Eileen, and Andrew Jones who we met on our first trip to Ounatai. Especially enjoyed watching Andrew help Liz and Sam fix up their somewhat mixed up YWAM-borrowed tent and seeing the tadpoles living in the Jones' boat.
On Easter Sunday we were off to the Baptist church in Hokitika where we spoke waay back in October during our Ounatai week. A great time of worship together and also an opportunity for Sam, Liz and I to share a bit about our time overseas since this group prayed for us before we left and while we were gone. That afternoon the five of us set off for an epic birthday adventure in glacier country.
We stayed in an ensuite at a house in Fox Glacier (so nice to be in a home instead of a backpackers for a change!) Sunday night where Liz and Katie made me a birthday cake and sang to me (and also forced me to blow out a lighter as a candle....no boyfriends this year!). The next morning we were off to the Copland track for my birthday hike.
After forging over a large stream (taking off my shoes) and missing the trailhead we were off to a great start (oh wait I forgot that the morning actually started with a lovely special breakfast of eggs, raisin-free hot cross buns, and birthday cupcakes as well as presents!!). Eventually we found the trail and luckily enough our missing bit was actually easier than that part of the trail which we realized on our way out.
With 7-8.5 hours of hiking behind us, wet muddy boots and shoes and aching muscles we were very grateful to relax in the natural hotpools outside the hut and the space for us to sleep indoors in the hut instead of outside under a rock overhang. Enjoyed my first peanut butter sandwiches since the beginning of Lent and also some very delicious Easter eggs....I was going to hide them and have a hunt, but after 7 hrs of hiking that was way too much work!
The next day we hiked out without too much drama...except for Sam's feet getting so sore from her wet and shrinking hiking boots that she hiked the last 3 hours barefoot....oh and also when I managed to break my thumb! That's right, I broke my thumb hiking! I was leaning my hand on a rock and lost my footing and bent it round well with a big snap. Luckily it was only an hour from the car park. We weren't sure if it was broken or just sprained and there wasn't much to do at that point so we just continued on with plans--ate a delcious dinner, did laundry and I packed up to head north to Nelson the next day to get my thumb checked out.
So yesterday I arrived in Nelson and today was spent investigating my thumb injury. So after a trip to the after hours dr, and the radiologist for x-rays the conclusion was that it is indeed broken. (did I mention that it's my right thumb...I had no idea I used it for so many things!!) The radiologist sent me off to the hospital where I waited around and then found out that the little fragment of bone I've broken is quite a bad thing to do and actually requires surgery. So I'm in Nelson until Monday at least when I'm booked in to get surgery on my thumb...there was some talk of a screw or something to keep the wee chip in place...anyway apparently I don't do anything half way including my first broken bone! Now I have a cast up to my forearm for the weekend and look quite pathetic. Hooray for being old.
Luckily for me I'm staying at my favourite hostel in NZ and Nelson is quite a nice place. I needed some time (and free internet) to catch up on emails and to do some laundry anyway. Guess kayaking in Marlborough is out, but I'm sure I can find plenty to entertain myself with before I hustle back to Oxford to collect my things and then fly up to Auckland to meet my friend Lindsay from England to tour the North Island. The dr did suggest that I could fly home and get the surgery done there, but that means missing the second half of my trip which I thought would be too tragic, after all it's just my thumb!
Hope you are all well. xoxo
Oh, I almost forgot...prayer requests for healing and continued not too much pain, people to connect with since I'm here for a while and smooth travel planning for the next little while, as well as planning and preparations for my transition back to Canada which is coming up soon!
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