It was a 5 hour drive from Punakaiki from Picton, where the ferry arrives. Driving is my favorite so it was no problem. The roads on the south island are often one lane, so there were significnt delays due to all the construction and lane closures. I loved seeing so many lady workers and it was my first experience seeing ladies working on the roads. I was later informed that the gender eqality in New Zealand is stellar and there literally is not one industry dominated by men.

Punakaiki was my first experience where I had to worry about running out of gas, since there is no gas station approximately 40 miles in each direction. I was fine, but it’s just something I never had to worry about before. The hostel I stayed at was called Te Nikau retreat and it was really exceptional. It was three stories and it felt like a tree house. The beds were arranged like a pie, and luckily there was only one other guest, both nights that I stayed there. Also it just looked stylish in a foresty magical way. I was there on Halloween night and I actually think of all the places I stayed it is technically the most isolated. I chatted with this British sailor for a while the first night and we talked about our travel experiences. I realized I was no longer an American idiot with no experience of anything outside my own country.

I started the next day off with the pancake rocks. Like so many of my other experiences in New Zealand, the place seemed very well manicured and touristy. I guess I didn’t expect it based on the solitude and atmosphere of my hostel. Still, it was really cool and quite a unique visual.

Later, I did a hike which was supposed to be 3 hours. I don’t know what possessed me, but after about an hour I turned back simply because I felt bored. I wasn’t scared or tired, and the weather was decent, I just decided that the hike looked too much the same and there was not really a destination. I guess I was feeling little hungry. But if I had to pinpoint my emotion it was probably loneliness. I couldn’t justify walking 2 more hours to an unknown destination and having to no one to talk to or music or anything. It wasn’t that it wasn’t a beautiful hike it’s just that the scenery didn’t change much. So I left, got some food, and then went back to my retreat. It was Halloween and I decided to watch The Shining, got like 40 minutes in before another guest arrived. I actually felt glad to see someone. She was from San Francisco. We talked for a long while and I did her chart. She made me feel really dumb for not utilizing the New Zealand kitchens that are in every hostel. I realized how stupid I had been about budgeting, going out for every meal, and just not eating the rest of the time. I mean I was buying snacks, but mostly avoiding buying meals at grocery stores. The next day as soon as I got to a town I stocked up on food that I could eat for the rest of the week.