Relaxing in Te Anau - Night 101

There was nothing on today’s agenda, save

laundry and journal catchup, and that was fine with me. So long as I didn’t have to put on boots and 25lb pack it would be a good day. I explored the town of Te Anau, hung out at the beach, and grilled some delicious venison sausages for dinner. Deer are an introduced species here and for years were simply culled as they are a pest. More recently, deer farming has sprung up in many places and as a result venison is readily available in all grocery stores right alongside beef, chicken, pork and mutton. Prices are similar to beef and lamb. The taste is excellent, the meat lean.

One of my roommates turned out to be a friendly 28-year old guy from Maine, Aaron, who is currently in the Air Force stationed on the small island of Diego Garcia. He had just returned from the Heaphy Track and was set to do the Kepler Track tomorrow, so naturally we had a lot in common. We hit the town, or rather had a few beers at the pizza place, and returned to hang out at the hostel. Later in the evening we were joined by a contingent of girls from the University of Delaware who are studying in Christchurch. Quiet hours begin at 10pm on the back deck and at 10:00 and 2 seconds an elderly German woman came downstairs and chastised us in 6,000 words on how we were too loud. She then proceeded to give us a detailed explanation of the physics of sound waves and the location of her room and how our noise was affecting a Japanese woman in her room’s ability to sleep, followed by some pointing actions and a lot of head nodding. We agreed to be quiet but she just kept on going about noise and quiet hours and her roommate. Finally she ran out of wind and then calmly asked us which way to the laundry room because “dis place has zoo many doorz und I get lost easy.” Try as we might, we could not contain our laughter, which only made the noise worse. Eventually we all headed to bed and I made a promise to go out with the Delaware girls once in Christchurch. Their class is 28 girls and 1 guy…..it didn’t take much to convince me to sign onto that trip.

What I Learned Today: Diego Garcia is a small island 1,000 south of India, on which the United States and Britain currently have a joint military base. The local inhabitants were brutally removed by the British shortly after WWII and are currently living a life of abject poverty in Mauritius.

written by

exumenius on January 19, 2008 from Te Anau, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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