Rethinking things

I was welcomed to the Bay of Islands with two solid days of rain, grey skies and a forecast that's not going to let up on either of those. The hostel that I've arranged to work at isn't quite the experience that Oamaru was.

Janine, a Vancouver, BC-ite, checked me in and showed me our room, which is located off the back of the office hallway. I think it used to be the office, as it's smaller than any bedroom I've ever had and still has four bunks in it, as well as a shelf and small fridge. I wasn't sure where to put my backpack, so I wedged it next to the bed. After a tour, I went for a walk through the town, all two streets. It's a relative ghosttown and no wonder with this weather. I'd envisioned walks and reading and writing, but I doubt I'll be having any of that.

I returned home and settled into my bunk, deciding that it was easier to sleep in my clothes than drag out the nightgown and try to figure out how to get changed in there. This is going to sound like I'm a total paranoid now, but I was mildly claustrophobic in the room. I thought, "What if there was a fire?" Then I realised the window opened. The bunks are jammed into such a small room that the top bunks are about three feet from the ceiling, so it's not like I can sit up in bed. Also I am too big for the bed and my feet hang off. (I'm not even that large, c'mon now!) And finally, I woke up with the worst backache I've had in a very long time.

So I got up early and tiptoed out of the bedroom after being told over and over that the owner is very particular. "Don't slam the door to the office." "Walk quietly up the stairs" "He likes the towels folded a certain way." "It's easier to just do things his way." Etc, etc. I was not too keen to meet someone who is so controlling and anal. I have yet to see what I would consider a genuine smile on this guy's face.

The combination of the weather and the rigid, suffocating atmosphere of this hostel has made me rethink my plans once again. I've put tickets on hold to return to the states via Fiji on Friday. I'd have eight days in Fiji and be back in LAX on the 24th of May. Guess I will let you know if I actually buy those tickets tomorrow. Sometimes plans change.

I don't have any photos to publish as there were none worth taking. Heh, heh.

Sailing the Bay of Islands (north New Zealand)

The view from the little bush walk we did after we sailed into this harbor. It had 2 lagoons, but was called "Three lagoon harbor". There's some difficulty with counting here, as 90 mile beach is really only 55 miles.

Here's the sailboat. I laid out front on for a while, and felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. Perhaps I can get a gig on a boat and drift along for a while. Sounds dreamy.

Captain Mike, from Vancouver BC. He's been in NZ for 15 years, took 8 years to sail over with his wife and 2 children. Lovely man.

I hiked up to a lookout and this was one the way- pretty cool when the tide is out- it looked like it was from another planet. The smiling pic on the next post is when I was at the top. This was just adjacent to our campground.