Hi there
Goodness knows where to start... Well... yesterday I returned from two weeks' holiday down the South Island of New Zealand.... I had been looking forward to this holiday for a whole year. There was so much I was planning to do . Unfortunately, three days before I was due to fly to Christchurch, I hurt the gastrocnemius calf muscle in my leg. I was in pain. My friends all shouted, "Cancel your holiday!" But, no, no, I'd had the gastrocnemius explosion (some people describe it 'like a firework) in my leg twice before. I was a pro at handling pain. I wanted my holiday.
There were so many things I intended to do -
. Climb Mt John at Tekapo - didn't end up doing
. Swim Lake Tekapo - did once, to my sorrow
. Swim Lake Hawea every day for five days - did once, to my sorrow
. Kayak at Lake Wanaka - didn't end up doing
. Buffet meal at top of the gondola ride, Queenstown - did do, eventually
. Do the multiple ziplines at Glenorchy (Queenstown area) - didn't end up doing
By the time I flew into Christchurch airport, every movement was hell on my leg. I'd hired a car to drive from Christchurch to Tekapo for a two night stay. Driving was okay, but getting in and out of that darn car turned out to be the curse of my entire holiday. You know those videos we've all seen of a silly dog trying to get a long horizontal stick through a narrow doorway? That was me, trying to get my leg into the car.
I had booked an en suite cabin at the Lakes Edge Holiday Park, right next to the start of the Mt John track. Wonderful view, but I couldn't appreciate it because I couldnt even get up the first of three steps to the cabin. And it was only about a hand's height. So much for climbing Mt John.....
above: view from my cabin over Lake Tekapo
But if I couldn't climb a mountain I would at least swim in Lake Tekapo -
To get to the lake I had to hobble and slide and lose my footing across a plethora of stones and pebbles and gravel to get to the water. "Ow, ow, ow, yipes...".
The return journey back to my car was even worse. I thought I would faint through the pain. But then I realised I'd left the car key on the water's edge, so I had to hobble back down again... And back to the car again. All the time I was slipping and sliding, and ending up deeper into the gravelly lake-edge pebbles. It was sort of like forcing my way through heavy deep treacle. Or quicksand.
But had I learnt my lesson? What do you think?
Two days later, I arrived at Lake Hawea, the jewel of my holiday. There is nothing really at the village of Lake Hawea, except a hotel where I stayed, and a cafe. The previous year I had called in to Lake Hawea for the day. I picked up a sparkly pebble from the beach (yes, yes, another pebble-y beach) and sat it on my kitchen window sill. Every time I hovered over the kitchen sink I thought "Nearly there, Lake Hawea is coming, wait till January ..."
I stayed at Lake Hawea Hotel for five nights. On that first day I hobbled, and limped, and cursed, and slipped down the pebbled bank to get to the water at Esplanade Beach. I was almost in tears. After my swim, and trying to get back up that bank, I couldn't do it. I really did cry, tears of frustration.
A woman who was sitting on the beach came to my aid. She asked her son to give me his hiking stick (I was now working with two hiking sticks, whoopee). The young guy carried my bag, and helped me up the stoney bank. And guess what - ? it turned out the woman was the neighbour of my best beach friend from Hataitai Beach. This woman, too, was on holiday. Talk about coincidences.
But because of two days of limping over stoney, pebble beaches my leg was shot... I had to stay in my hotel room for the next four days. I sat on the balcony and looked at the view which was lovely but didn't make up for losing out on all the swimming which was the reason I had booked for Lake Hawea.
above: Lake Hawea - a fave scene - from the balcony of my room at Lake Hawea Hotel. The view from Esplanade Beach is even better
Part II of the holiday from hell will be coming soon
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