Day 2-5 in New Zealand

Day 2

Flight JQ171 landed in Christchurch around 5am. Security took the tent out from the bottom of my backpack and brought it into the lab to inspect for pests. When they had emptied the contents of my bag onto the counter, I discovered that Will the Botanist had slipped "Of Mice and Men" in while he was helping me pack! The first thing I did once I was out of immigration was grab a strong cappuccino and lodge my visa application online. I knew I would love New Zealand by the time I had taken my second step outside the airport. The skies were clear, the air was fresh, and from the distance I saw green hills. I took the bus to the Botanic Gardens and was stunned by its beauty. The flowers were all in full bloom and the landscape design was perfection.

Rose Garden

Punting on the Avon River

Christchurch and the surrounding areas had suffered severe damages from 2 big earthquakes magnitudes of 7.1 and 6.3 and was still affected by numerous aftershocks every day. The city was in the state of rebuilding itself and in the middle of the city stood a small mall made of shipping containers. Other artistic creations were popping up around the city amidst crumbled buildings. There was a magnitude 4.2 earthquake while I was walking around. I didn't feel a thing. 

Re:start Mall

Cathedral Square

My walk to Addington, a suburb just outside the city, was interrupted by construction, fences, and train tracks. At that time, Brett was working as a car sales consultant and upon seeing me walking back and forth with a giant backpack, came out to say hi. We arranged a meet up after he was done with work. Our first stop was to Sugar Loaf, a hill on which we could see the entire city and the surrounding landscape.

Dinner with Brett

After dinner, Brett dropped me off at my couchsurfing host's place. Easwaran was a pilot from India who lived on an airfield. He was hosting two other surfers, Allison from Canada and Javier from Spain. Easwaran was more commonly known as Iceman and we watched Top Gun because I had never seen it. Before the night ended, I checked my phone and there it was - my visa grant number! A 12-month working holiday visa for Australia!

I have decided that tomorrow I will hitch hike to Lake Tekapo.

Day 3
In the morning, Allison and Javier were ready to go flying with Iceman and tried to convince me to stay. But when I've got travelling on my mind, I can't get it out. Iceman's student, Steve, was heading towards the city and he and his partner Leslie were able to drop me off on the highway from where I would start hitch hiking.

Javier, Allison, Iceman, me

Leslie and Steve

 I awkwardly stood on the side of the road and put my thumb up. Within 5 minutes, a white truck pulls up.
"Where are you headed?"
"Ashburton."
I looked on my map and saw that it was on the way to Tekapo so I threw my stuff in the back and hopped in. Jay was my first hitched ride. By 2pm, I was in Ashburton.

Jay from the Philippines

Nita

 A quick stop at the supermarket and I was back on the highway. Nita, a New Zealander, was on her way to Mount Cook and offered to drop me off right at Lake Tekapo. I set up my Will the Botanist's tent quickly and spent the rest of the day in the warm waters.

It finally got dark at 10:30pm and I sat cross-legged outside my tent and looked up into the sky. I couldn't believe that I had made it. I can't even being to describe how infinite I felt at that moment.

Day 4
It got much colder during the night and by morning, the clouds had rolled in. I reluctantly got out of my sleeping bag and prepared for my hike up Mount John. At one point during the hike it felt like the wind was going to blow me off but I could not lose my photo-op. At Astro cafe at the top of the mountain, I took my cappuccino outside and braved the cold. This was taken moments before the froth of the coffee splattered all over my raincoat.

Cappuccino at the top of Mount John

View from Mount John

I slipped back inside the cafe and set up to read and write. Seeing "Of Mice and Men" on the table, Jason, an avid Steinbeck fan, walked over and invited me to drop by next door at the observatory where he was working. He and his colleague, Rob, gave me a free tour of the facility. By 4pm, it was decided that I would spend the night at Jason's and he would drop me off somewhere on the way to Christchurch where I would catch my flight the next day.

Jason's housemate Dave was an astro-photographer at the conservatory and when it got dark, we walked through the Land of Rohan to sneak me into the observatory tour where telescopes had been set up. Tekapo has one of the most spectacular night skies in the world because it has a large number of clear nights and the town is not polluted by artificial lights. The moon was so bright I could've read a book in the dark. It lit our paths and its brightness reflected off the surface of the lake. There was a not a single sound other than the rustling of the grasses and the leaves. We stood for minutes and breathed the moment in.

The moon and Jupiter

Looking through a really expensive telescope

Jupiter and its moons, as seen through the telescope

Dave and I went back to his place on foot but not before we lay on the grass and talked of time and space. Above us, the milky way streaked across the night sky.

Day 5

Saying goodbye to Tekapo was almost too hard. Andy and Shannon, two couchsurfers that Jason had picked up from the mountain were travelling to Christchurch as well. We made a quick stop at the Church of Good Shepherd before they dropped me off right at the Christchurch airport.

Me, Dave, Jason, Mary, Shannon

Altar at Church of Good Shepherd

With Shannon and Andy

If I had ever needed a sign that my life was on track, this trip was it. Every achievement and every fuck-up had to happen in order for me to be where I am now. I had planned to be in vet school in Saskatoon by now (but thank goodness I'm not). It's funny how things work out.

It was finally time to go back to Australia. This time, legally.

Day 1 - Goodbye Melbourne

I spent the majority of today planning my travels for the next couple of days. It was a beautiful Melbourne summer day but I found myself in the library scribbling feverishly on scrap pieces of paper and drawing landmarks on maps. I was planning a 9-day hitchhiking/camping trip with nothing but 10kg of carry-on. I had the camping basics, about 3 outfits, and a small bar of soap.

I arrived at the airport expecting the worst - missing my flight, having overweight baggage, facing immigration issues, being lectured about allowing my visa to expire, etc. While queueing for check-in, I saw that they were weighing carry-on and started imagining the ridiculous fees I would have to pay. After presenting my passport, the guy at the counter took a long look at his screen and told me that I didn't have a valid visa to reenter Australia. We walked over to the service counter to sort my shit out and they were able to move my return flight up 5days so I would come back on the 13th, the very last day that my visa would be valid. I paid my charges and walked right through the gates to security without having my baggage weighed. My entire travel itinerary was now irrelevant but hey, I was safe!

Or so I thought.
My pulse quickened when I saw the big immigration sign. There was still one more stage to clear before I could get on the plane. I felt the surveillance cameras could see me nervously biting my lip.

The woman at the counter must have pressed some silent button because within moments of handing her my documents, another woman in an even more legit immigration uniform walked over. I heard one say to the other, "...they gave her this ticket at check-in and she was just going to walk through!" And they both made a face and laughed. I felt like I was the subject of some terrible inside joke.

Remember how I said my visa expires on the 13th? Well, it does... But it also becomes invalid the moment I leave the country. Fortunately she only clicked a few keys on her computer and sent me on my way. It surprised me so much that I stood there for a couple of seconds before asking, "that's it?"

I sat down by the boarding gates to eat the Kit Kat that I had purchased out of anxiety. Just as I got to the last bar I heard my name being called to the boarding gates. Oh man I'm going back to Canada, I thought. But it was only to tell me that my credit card payment didn't go through.

It wasn't until the pilot had announced that the cabin doors were all closed and we were ready for take off that I finally found the strength to breathe again.

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman. On behalf of the flight crew I would like to welcome you on Jetstar flight 171 to Christchurch."

See you later, Melbourne.

Or so I hope.

(And hey dad if you're reading this, please don't freak out. I'll call you later :))

NEW ZEALANNDDDDD!

I started the year off by turning myself in

The day Chak left for Vancouver, I left for Torquay, home of Quicksilver and Ripcurl, a surfer's paradise located 97km from Melbourne. A little while after we dropped him off at the airport, we started the drive towards Will the Botanist's beach house. It was windy and the trees along the coast of the ocean were all slanted. Caution: if you have sensitive eyes, shield them now because this post contains pictures of very white men.

This was no Western Australia but it was sufficient.

Warm baths on the beach

This year's NYE celebrations were probably the tamest I've had since I was 16. Minimal drinking with no one puking (just an indication of the fact that I am indeed ageing). Most of the party went to bed by 12:30 but the cool cats stayed up to take what could potentially be considered as the world's ugliest series of pictures. 

 

Gus

Lachy picking up the phone

I woke up on the first day of the year ready to surf in pouring rain. No wetsuit? No problem. I'm Canadian after all.

Chihiro and Masa

Martin, Gus, Lachy

So how does the title of this post fit into my tame new years?
Turns out, my student visa expired on the 23rd of December. I was in Australia illegally. I spent the holidays as an "unlawful". (This isn't the first time I've gotten into trouble with the law in the state of Victoria but I'll save the other 3 times for another post ;))

I went into the immigration office to explain to them my situation, that I had one more semester of school in Australia to go and that the university had already given me an acceptance letter. The lady at reception gave me a contact and told me that if it was crucial for me to have a valid visa before I could leave the office. This was the day that I was leaving for Torquay. I couldn't be fucked. CBF. Ceebs. So I slipped out of the office to roam the streets of Melbourne as an unlawful.

Today I went back to the immigration office again to turn myself in. I had to get a bridging visa that would allow me to stay in Australia until I either obtained another visa or departed the country. The guy who processed and approved my visa was a total angel. He gave me the application form which I struggled with because I had 2 choices, both equally appealing. I called the only man in my life who I could trust to give me the best advice - my papa. With his approval, I checked all the appropriate boxes, handed my application back to the guy at the counter, and awaited his decision.

While I was waiting, I eavesdropped on the conversation that was happening beside me. A young man had allowed his student visa to expire, dropped his studies, and decided to remain in Australia for 9 months as an illegal resident. He was told that he would be barred from obtaining any sort of temporary visa from Australia for the next 3 years.
"Did you try to apply for a visitor's visa at all?"
"No."
"Well, that was honest. What do your parents think about you dropping out of your studies?"
"I don't know."
At least I'm not that guy, I thought to myself.

"Miss Tsun?"
At the sound of my name, I approached the counter hoping they had come to a decision in my favour.
"Normally we give people one week, but I wanted you to take advantage of the weekend. You have until January 13."

As I thanked him and collected my documents, which included my new approved visa, he said "have a nice flight" and I responded with "you too... wait no, I mean have a great day!"

In summary, I've decided that I no longer want to extend my student visa. I'm taking next semester off to live and travel in Australia. To apply for a working holiday visa, I will need to be offshore. I have 10 days to book a flight and leave the country. The biggest question now is... which country should I apply from?

Fuck, I love my life.