On Wednesday, March 7, I was behind the steering wheel for the best part of eight hours, as we went from Golden Bay to Franz Josef with only a short break in Greymouth. There were a lot of winding roads up and down mountains and it was crazy to see how high or low we were when just a few minutes beforehand we had been the opposite. I can think of a few people who would disagree, but Silvia said I have a good singing voice and should be in a band. It was lucky she thought so, because there was a lot of singing during that road trip. However, the mood was ruined when the police stopped me for speeding through a quiet little town called Ross. I think Silvia learned some new English words at that point, but I’m not going to say any more about it.
There was an unbelievable sunset in Franz Josef that night, but I failed to notice in time to get myself into a position to take a photo across the mountains.
Exhausted after my drive, I agreed to go out with Silvia for just an hour or so. But when we got to the pub, we were given free shots, and then Silvia apparently decided she was going to pay me beer instead of petrol money. Before I could refuse, and just before Happy Hour ended, she bought a large number of pints. We started playing pool, and were joined by Rory, who worked at our hostel, and a few of his friends, including Becky from Torquay, which is the closest I’ve come yet to finding someone from the same town as me on the other side of the world. Rory had brought a large flask with him and he kept pouring shots for everyone including the guy from the pub.
And that is the last thing I remember. Apparently, at about 2.30am, Jason, an American from the hostel next to ours, walked me back. (He told me this when I bumped into him the next day.) Somehow, I got into the hostel, found the right room – which was challenging enough when sober as all the corridors looked the same – got into my PJs and got into my top bunk. I failed to set my alarm and nearly missed my glacier walk the next morning, but fortunately I was woken by other people in the dorm. Just as I was wondering whether Silvia had gone for breakfast, she came through the door… in last night’s clothes.