Friday 9 March 2007

My luck has turned! and so did my kayak...

Today was an action-packed day, full of adventure and fun.


I set a fast pace early on in the day as I got kicked out of the "hotel/hostel" at 9am. I wandered (actively) down to the lake, took some pictures (action again... will I never quit?!) and then bought a sandwich for brunch around 11am. Sat down with the ducks, little birds and seagulls and proceded to feed said brunchtime sandwich selectively to the birlife gathered around me. It is no mean feat feeding little bird and ducks while the gulls hover. I find the best way is to "fake" a throw of a lump of bread, making the seagulls charge after air, and then sneakily aim the bread directly at the beak of the duck or little bird. Of course, success of this tactic is also heavily dependent on the dexterity of the real targets. The ducks were a little slow, but they soon caught on. I prefer the little birds though, they don't mistake toes for bread... and important distinction.

Anyway, action continued as I dragged my suitcase to the kayak shop for storage while I went on my kayakking-down-18km-Clutha-River-Grade-2-rapids adventure. Don't let the pictures fool you - the waves were humongous and I was in fear of my life the entire way... that is until I wiped out at the first bend and realised the water was clear and tasted better than the Rangitaki (sledging river). To start off with, we were "launched" off the side of the bank, that was possibly the scariest part in hindsight! (hint: I'm the one with the yellow helmet)


The river was full of clumps of dydimo -- a weird algae that looks like blond rasta hair... apparently its edible... I asked the guide if it was disgusting and what to do if I inhaled some while I wiped out in the river... he fished a particularly stringy bit out of the river and sucked it up just like that. I swear I nearly threw up then and there. Much hilarity ensued as we threw clumps of the stuff at each other - apparently I sported a large mess of it on my back for a good part of the day, until I washed it off by overturning my kayak. Picture is of our guide wearing a particularly fetching wig of Dydimo!

I wiped out about 5 times in the space of 2 hours, not nearly as much as some of the others, but enough to hydrate me nonetheless. I kept waiting for the "really huge death-defying rapids" to show up, but they never came. So I guess it was less scary than I expected because I kayak-ed/swam/floated through all of the rapids waiting for something worse that never came! I definitely recommend trying smaller rapids first, no way would I want to try this in a grade 5! (why then did I swim in it with a boogie-board? good question :P)


So, after a hard day wearing yet another uncomfortable wetsuit and getting up close and personal with the river, its rocks and dydimo... they dropped me off at my hotel for the next 2 nights around 7pm. I guess the Gods-of-the-River were smiling upon me as I was told at check-in that I had been UPGRADED TO A SUITE! Wehey!!!! Now we're talking!



I had my own (clean) bathroom with washing machine, double bedroom, livingroom with 2 sofas and dining area, kitchenette and a patio that opened up onto grassy lawns and lake views... I could've stayed there forever! See, after all that hard work, being in a bus, staying in hostels, inhaling rivers and getting bitten by all manner of insects, not to mention pissed on by (a) human(s), I DESERVED the upgrade. I NEEDED the upgrade to prove all was well with the world and my Karma was back in sync. I think all my bad luck has just been evened out and I need to build up another quota for the next stroke of luck, but it's all good... I HAD ROOMSERVICE! heheheheh Eat that PinkelBoy!

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