16. South Island (Part 3): A Matter of Perspective

After we arrived in Queenstown, a city filled with the beauty of urban life combined with the surrounding nature and soothing music, especially during this summer season when people from all over the world flock here, whether they are locals or foreigners.

 

By the time we arrived, there were only a few vacancies left at the accommodation we had booked. Oh, I forgot to mention that this time the accommodation was a Holiday Park, meaning we were essentially booking a vacant space. I really mean that, to illustrate, we paid 5 per person per night to rent a space of approximately 8x10 square meters for parking and pitching a tent on the lawn. Included with this was a short lamppost in one corner of the area for charging, a communal bathroom with hot water, and a large kitchen for guests to cook in. All of this is what you get for the price I mentioned. Not bad, right, from the perspective of the business owner? However, from a traveler's point of view, having the amenities mentioned above for the minimum price during a time when the town was crowded with tourists like this, this level of service seemed reasonable and reasonably good.

 

We had booked a rafting trip for that afternoon, which was like whitewater rafting. It cost about 200 for about 5 hours of service. A van picked us up in the city to take us to the camp. Then we had to change into what I don't know what they're called, the full-body, skin-tight suits with a zipper like what divers wear. We put another layer on top of that, a life jacket, a helmet, and each of us got a paddle. Then we were divided into teams, with one inflatable boat carrying six passengers and one company leader, making a total of seven people.

 

Then we went down the stream, which had a fairly strong current. The leader demonstrated and let us practice using the paddles to get used to them before moving the boat to an area with a stronger current. Along the way, the leader chatted with the crew about various things, which I barely understood because the local accent was completely unfamiliar to me. However, if the two American passengers on the boat said something, I could understand it easily. Fortunately, this activity was about boating, so I focused on the water and the scenery, which didn't make me lose confidence or get too bored.

 

However, after all the travel and getting out of the water, if I'm being honest, I didn't find it very enjoyable. Maybe it was because I was annoyed by the leader's boasting (and I didn't understand much of it anyway), plus I didn't feel very excited about having someone tell me what to do, even though we all knew we would eventually be safe and get back to shore to return to our accommodation.

 

When I encounter unpleasant situations like this, I often choose to overlook what happened and focus on what I find beneficial. For example, in this case, it was the opportunity to participate in activities I'd never done before, to be among people I didn't know, to try on clothes I'd never worn, to make new friends, and to go with the flow. Choosing to see things this way in such situations makes me not regret my time and money too much, but rather see it as spending money to buy the feelings I used to question.

 

That evening, my friend and I went for a walk to find something to eat at a nearby beach. This time of year, there were so many people here. I had always thought New Zealand was sparsely populated, but after seeing the beach here at that time, I was starting to have doubts.

 

After dinner (fish and chips, a local staple consisting of French fries or other fried or baked potatoes served with battered fish and ketchup, which is essentially the same as a fried chicken shop, just with fish instead of chicken, which is fitting for this landscape surrounded by sea on all sides), after we finished eating by the beach, my friend went to a bar while I, not being a fan of commotion, excused myself to set up the tent and rest. She said there was a tent behind the car and gave me the car keys too. We agreed that I would sleep in the tent tonight and she would sleep in the car on the passenger seat, which she often does when traveling.

That night I slept in a tent but didn't sleep very soundly because it was too cold. Even the sleeping bag I brought from Thailand didn't help much. However, the night eventually passed. The next morning, I parted ways with her because she was going on to the Sky Diving activity, while I was traveling on to Lake Wanaka by bus. The reason I chose this place was for no reason at all; I just saw it as a town near Queenstown on the map. The bus I was on had fewer than five passengers in the entire vehicle. I still wondered a little if they would make a profit. And finally, I arrived in the new city that afternoon and stayed at a backpacker hostel.

 

I met a new group of people, exchanged experiences, talked about what each of us had done, and how we viewed what happened. We discussed each person's turning points in life and what sparked those changes. These are things I always love about every trip, and this is another reason why I enjoy traveling alone and meeting new friends along the way.

 

I stayed at this backpacker for one night and moved to a new place for another night in the same city. The reason was simply to change the atmosphere and see the room arrangements at each place I went to, in order to gain new perspectives and views.

 

That afternoon, I had the opportunity to meet that Italian friend again after she had gone skydiving. She also drove up to Wanaka. I invited her to dinner, and then strangers gathered in the living room to exchange information about the places they had experienced. However, she hadn't booked accommodation that night, and the reception counter was closed. So, I offered her the bed I had booked, and I would sleep in the living room. She was too considerate (but if I were in her situation, I would probably feel strange too). However, she tried my suggestion, which was to pretend to turn off the lights in the living room and sleep on the sofa. When I woke up in the morning, I didn't see her car anymore. But I found out later when we messaged each other in the morning that she had slept there until midnight when the housekeeper came to wake her up, which forced her to go sleep in her car as usual.