NZ Bound

Wow, the last month went by so fast, it felt like a week. At first I thought, “What am I going to do for a month in Fresno? I’m going to be bored out of my mind!” As it turned out, between spending time with family, visiting friends, and getting ready for my cycling trip to New Zealand, there was hardly time to get bored.

A week was taken up by going to Washington, DC, where I had lived for seven years and still have friends around. The hectic life and horrendous traffic of DC really made me appreciate the much more laid-back lifestyle of Brisbane. Give me an overgrown country town any day; I can do without the constant rush to the next place.

The rest of the time, I spent catching up with my extended family, high school friends who are now high power lawyers and movers and shakers in the tech world, and playing with my nephew and watching him grow. After learning to crawl the day before Thanksgiving, my nephew can now walk a few steps while holding on to the edge of the couch. I am sure in no time he is going to be able to walk on his own and start to be a menace to the whole family because then, the whole house will have to be childproofed.

There is always a level of sadness whenever I leave my family; it is especially so this time. Maybe it is because I am now thirty-one and no longer have to assert my independence. Maybe when your age starts with the number “3,” things start to change: life becomes less about rebellion and exploration and pushing boundaries and family becomes important again.

With this thought in mind, I gave my mother and sister a hug and boarded the flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand. On my way back to Australia, I am first going to have a little adventure in New Zealand. My good mate James and I are going to ride out bicycles around the South Island for eighteen days. Not a bad way to ring in the New Year and have one last hurrah before putting our noses to the grindstone again for our final year of medical school.

I sleep fitfully on the plane through the twelve-hour flight. Upon landing, I reassure the customs officer that I am not intending to stay in New Zealand illegally and head to the carousel for my luggage. I am relieved to find my bike box stacked neatly with other oversized bags. After the fiasco with my bike on my way to California a month earlier, I really don’t want it lost again. I collect my bags and head to the domestic terminal for my connecting flight to Christchurch in the South Island.

View of the Southern Alps from the air

The bus drops me off at Cathedral Square where I am supposed to meet up with James. As I am more than an hour early, I start to take my bike out of the box and assemble it under the shadows of the magnificent cathedral. An hour later, James walks up. Awesome! Everything is working according to plans.

Playing chess in front of the Christchurch Cathedral

We find accommodation for the night at a caravan park. We will sleep in luxury – in beds – because camping is in store for the next seventeen days.