Looks like we had another casualty last night......
3.30am - char awoken by Matt being sick.... On the floor of the dorm. After trying to get him to the toilet Matt told her that "it's ok the room will clean it." Char sat with her head in her hands for a while, not knowing what to do before sneaking around the hostel in the dark and raiding the cleaners storage for supplies. We left the spew half cleaned up with a bed sheet over the floor.
Gilly and Scott had a huge struggle to get up for bus but once they had gone we set about cleaning up and hiding the evidence. We hid the bed sheets in the next room by swapping bins, Job Done. Apart from the smell! We then had to spend all day trying to get rid of it with no real cleaning products, so we became inventive.
- Washing up liquid and scrub. - Spray it with deodorant.
These were both failed attempts judging by the comment made by the housekeeping in broken English. "Excuse me, may I spray for good smells?"
We then opted to buy some washing powder and wash the carpet followed by putting on the heater with a tub of Vicks open.
Success!
We had a walk back up to the hot pools so that we could see them in the light. They are beautiful. Crystal clear water that fills the pools via waterfalls at 45 degrees Celsius. The first pool of many was too hot so we went for the spa nearest the river as it is slightly cooler. It is sad to say that something this perfect probably would not survive and be kept in England. This is the one thing that is noticeable in Oz and NZ, the respect and care for nature is high. Today gave us a great of feeling of wonder as we sat in this surreal atmosphere. Needless to say it cleansed our bodies of the toxic night last night and a plunge into the clear blue river was a wake up call. The coldest water Matt has swam in yet.
Today was a day we have being secretly looking forward to, to be on our own. Genuine relief hit us as we finally left the group, not to say we haven't had a the best time but a detox is needed. First step, SALAD.
M & C xxxx
11.58pm - Mother Nature woke us as a 3.5 magnitude earthquake shook the hostel. The strangest feeling ever. The bed and blinds were swaying. Obviously this is not a big deal in NZ but a daily occurrence for many after some research. (Minutes after, you can look on a website to confirm what had happened, where, how strong and any after shocks. This again shows the normality) However for us, it took a few minutes to erase the thoughts of Christchurch. Don't worry mothers we leave in three days.