'What happened next?' you all gasped in unison. Well, since you're asking, it went like this...
We went back to Melbourne for two nights, thankfully not suffering from jetlag at all. Then we were back to the airport for an overnight flight to silly old Christchurch. Sometimes Christchurch is lovely, but usually it just gets in your way. No matter where you actually want to go in the South Island, it seems inevitable that you have to go into or out of flat old Christchurch.
Our flight arrived at 6 in the morning and we were due in Paradise (an hour past Queenstown) that evening. It seemed simple enough until you factor in the fact that we literally hadn't slept that night. We made a game attempt, refuelling on coffee at opportune moments. But it was getting dangerous with me driving and having to fight with my eyes to stay awake. We stopped by the side of a dirt road off the highway and tried sleeping for an hour.
It was incredibly hard to wake myself up again. K was so tired that she doesn't even remember stopping.
We made it to Queenstown at the absolute limits of tiredness. I probably shouldn't have driven even that far, but it would have been far too dangerous to keep going as far as Paradise. We crashed (figuratively) in a crappy motel and slept for around 13 hours. I was still delirious and obviously in South America mode when I tried bargaining with the motel dude. I told him that the place next door was cheaper and asked if that might change the price. He said I could go next door.
So, sadly, our tiredness prevented us getting to the pre-wedding party, which was really disappointing. We really wanted to be there.
We drove out to the wedding the following day. Paradise (for those who've been searching) is up a dirt road amongst farmland and bush, and sits next to the beautiful Lake Hayes.
The wedding itself was at a homestead run by the Paradise Trust. Our accommodation was fantastic - a basic little hut in the middle of a clearing. There was no power, just a stove with plenty of firewood and several candles. Hot water was available when the stove was hot enough. There can't be many places where your accommodation has an axe for guests' use.
We had a great time at the wedding and were chuffed that we were able to be there. The company, food, venue and conversation were all perfect. Thanks F & J.
The morning after the wedding, K had an unfortunate accident, tripping and falling awkwardly. Her wrist swelled up almost immediately and she was in a lot of pain. We had to clear out of the hut in a huge hurry and high-tail it back to Queenstown for medical help. A few hours later, K was in plaster and in a lot of pain.
With K in such a state we couldn't drive back to Chch as planned - several hours in a car wasn't an appealing option when all she wanted was to lie down and let the codeine do its thing. We flew instead to try and minimise travel time. Unfortunately, flying made K's arm swell up more inside her cast, causing more pain. It became so unbearable that she vomited throughout the flight. It was pretty horrible for her.
We stayed overnight in Christchurch where I was lucky enough to catch up with my lovely friends and their kids. Always the best thing about Christchurch.
The next day we flew back to Melbourne. There was no spewing on that flight (rather an anti-climax, I know), but K did manage to incur the wrath of another passenger by reclining her seat a fraction. The crazy lady complained to the air stewards, who delicately pointed out that she was travelling in economy class.
Back in Melbourne we made haste with searching for a place to live. We had given up our apartment before going on holiday, so didn't have anywhere to stay. We managed to find, view, sign up for and move into a house within a week, matching our previous effort of 8 years earlier when we first moved to Melbourne. It's a great house with plenty of room in a handy location really close to the city, public transport, restaurants and a market.
Now, unpacking... that could take a while.
