Heading to the South Island

Rain, rain, and more rain.

The last few days have been nothing but it.

Today, we woke up early to head into Thames to grab any last minute things for the South Island. For me, that included sea sickness medicine, granola bars for the car ride, a comfy flannel, a book, and a wool sweater. There was also a farmers market in Thames this morning. So many amazing things to buy and see! I wish we had more time to look around.

On the way back to campus, John gave us a brief overview of what to expect while in the South Island. This is what I know: Tomorrow (Sunday) all 26 students and 5 mentors will leave EcoQuest around 7am. We will drive down to Wellington, arrive at the southern tip of North Island around 10pm, sleep in a hostel, wake up early, and take the 8am ferry through Cook's Pass. Cook's Pass is the water channel that runs between the main two New Zealand islands. It is a 3 hour ride where the first two are fairly calm but the second is brutally rough in open water. For someone who gets motion sickness, this wasn't so great to hear. But good to know. When we reach the tip of the South Island, we will drive to Kaikoura (arriving around 5pm) and spend the week there. We will move further south during the first major weekend on the South Island, spend the following week in Craigieburn, and then have the following week off for fall break! The plan is to be back on EcoQuest campus October 10th.

When we got back to campus, we had the rest of the day to clean our rooms, finish our Opoutere work due tomorrow morning, and pack. After I finished my paper, which surprisingly didn't take too long, I began to pack for the South Island. Packing 3 weeks into a single bag was not easy. One thing that we can't take with us is our computer: it will be too hard to take care of it while we are traveling. I'm actually pretty excited not to have to take it and be able to fully interact with my surroundings.

Something interesting about the South Island is that it is fairly rural. Wifi access is limited, cell service is basically not a thing, and the main form of transportation is bicycle. This is much different that what I am used to up here in the North Island, or even what I am used to back at home. But I find that the best adventures are the ones that are nothing like my natural way of life. South Island, here we come!