The next day was my coach ride from Auckland and Wellington which went ahead without incident (actually, we had an emergency tyre change, but it was pretty hassle free) so there's not much to report on that front, again, pictures to follow.
Lastly I am here in Wellington, the hose is amazing and so are the hosts. They have a cat, Juno, she is a black (smoke) Oriental (which if you don't know, is a Siamese in a different colour) who is lovely and friendly, loud and purrs but has a Jekyll and Hyde style personality and will turn and attack you with no warning, it's quite funny really.
My room is lovely, but cold compared to my baking hot room in Auckland! This house is so full of life in comparison, there are two other guests, a young couple from Switzerland and Holland.
My Day began with me happily playing Ukulele outside, only for the well meaning Dutch girl to offer to walk me into town, then she walked me onto a bus and to the museum. My only plans for today were to relax (because I was very stressed) and then find my route into the city ready for when I needed it tomorrow morning, taking note of when and where the bus stopped, the name and route of the bus and bus stop, and how to get from there to the tourist information building. Well I had my plan, and then every part of it got changed and I found myself at the museum, having got the wrong bus, in the wrong place, etc etc, only to be told "Right, I'll be off then, you will be okay, wont you?" Um.... NO. There I was at the Museum, for no apparent reason, unable to go back to the house for fear of offending the girl who had taken me there for no apparent reason, and having no idea how to get back even if I wanted to. I went into melt down and found myself totally unable to work out what to do next. I'm not writing this to indulge some part of myself that wants to moan (well, just a little) I am writing this so I can rightly tell you what happened next.
The kindest two people came along and helped me. They calmed me down, they offered to buy me coffee, they walked with me all the way to the train station (their idea) and help me find the buses I would need on Friday when I move one. They left me with kind words, a map and a prayer for my success for the rest of my travels. They left me with more gratitude than I can possibly express and I have tears in my eyes even as I write this. I wish I had a way to tell them how much their kindness touched me. Their names are Elizabeth and Martin, they come from England. I feel proud to be British, and proud to be human, we're not a bad bunch. Thank you Beth and Martin.
(And it took me over and hour and a half to find my way home from the bus!)
Now photos...
The kindness of strangers is wonderful but having the heart to accept it isn't as common as you'd think ;-) You'll never forget Beth and Martin will you, nor they you.
ReplyDeleteLove you Hannah and ever so slightly in awe, lol. Don't forget, 3 steps forward and 2 steps back is progress!! :-D xxx
That all sounded very daunting and a bit scary but you got through the day with the help of very kind strangers and it really does warm the heart to know that there are so many people like that out there. Certainly an antidote to all the bad stuff you see and hear on the news! The landscape looks fabulous. Try and take a few moments to drink it all in. All those little moments do add up. And remember you're doing a BIG thing, if there's one or two days that don't go to plan try not to stress, that's just life...haha... Jenny keeps telling me how hard it is to be a grown-up! Like Sue I am ever so slightly in awe of what you're doing, I'm not at all sure I could do it. Take each day at a time. Drink it in, soak it up, good and not so good and keep posting. We're really enjoying your blog and even if we don't comment all the time we're reading! You're Dad says you're off to Rivendell - woop woop! Hope its as gorgeous as it looks. Lisa x
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah, your descriptions are so vivid, it's almost (not really!) as good as being there with you. Wish we'd been there to give you a hug or hold your hand during the bad bits - you are such a brave girl Hannah, I am in total awe of what you're achieving. Love you loads, Kath xxx
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos Hannah, must be sublime to be amongst such beauty.
ReplyDeleteGet you, despite going into meltdown (which clearly wasn't an option in such circumstances), you found a way through and dealt with it and are on the other side of that place now. How great is that?! Somewhat surpasses being instructed to catch a bus to Carmarthen ha ha!
And so the journey continues ....
(Becky xx)