Greymouth

November 22, 2010

Yesterday everything worked out really well.  I got on the train in Christchurch with no problems.  The train was set up with a table and four seats around the table.  I had a set of four seats all to myself. Across the aisle from me were two older couples and I eavesdropped on most of their conversation on the trip.  There was also a guy who came over the speaker system every now and then to describe what we were passing by or to tell a funny anecdote.  

The scenery was so beautiful.  It was postcard picture perfect throughout.  Even their rivers here look like a tropical sea--all turquoisey and such.  The Southern Alps are glorious, but no one lives out there!  I really felt like we were in the wilderness.  There used to be some towns out there but they are mostly ghost towns now.

One weird thing about looking at the scenery is that there is no chance of really seeing wild animals.  New Zealand has no indigenous mammals.  All the animals are birds.  So you won’t see a bear, a mountain lion, or a deer.  I did see a rabbit, but I don’t think he was natural to the area!  I also so a lot of sheep and cows.  New Zealand is known for it’s dairy industry.  Even though the scenery was so beautiful I couldn’t help falling asleep toward the end of the train ride.  I’ve been so sick and so sleepy lately. It felt good but I tried to keep my eyes open!

When I got on the train I called ahead to a hostel in Greymouth and booked a dorm room for three nights.  They even came to pick me up at the train station, which I didn’t know they would do before I booked them.  The hostel is in an old hotel near the Grey River.  It even has one of those old fashioned upper balconies that us Americans would associate with a hotel in the old Wild West.  

Sundays are a very quiet day anywhere but it seemed especially quiet in Greymouth.  The people here are suffering through this mining disaster and it really kind of leaves a heaviness over the town.  I went to the grocery store and their version of Walmart.  I also had a “coffee break” at the Subway and tried a flat white.  I’m not really sure how it is different from regular coffee, but it did taste a bit different.  It was really good!

The hostel has free internet and DVDs for rent so I spent a good portion of Sunday just lolling around in my bed with movies and the internet for company.  My other roommates are all men.  Three of them are from Chile.  It took me a really long time last night to be comfortable enough to fall asleep but I eventually did.  I think it will be easier tonight.

I had a tough Monday morning.  I have lost the key to my room and I can’t find it anywhere.  I had it last night and now I don’t know where it is.  Plus I woke up at 10 am and the showers and kitchen were closed for cleaning.  I couldn’t take a shower or get breakfast.  I did however get to talk to my mom and I even video chatted with my sister!  How wonderful that was!

When I finally got going this morning I headed to the bank/post office.  This town is so small that I’m starting to recognize people!  At the post office I saw someone I’d seen the day before in the Subway.  By the time I leave on Wednesday I’ll be a local because so many people will probably recognize me too!  

Then I went to the I-sight.  The I-sight is like a local information/concierge stop.  They booked me a 2 PM tour at the local brewery called Monteith’s.  It was 1:50 when they booked it for me so I just walked over to the brewery and we started the tour.

My guide’s name was Lee Ann and there were only two other women on the tour from Australia.  So it was quite small.  The brewery was very nice and small.  I went on a brewery tour of Heineken when I was in France, but this was so much more intimate.  They only have two brewers and we got to meet one of them and talk to him.  Lee Ann was so nice and friendly.

She told us about how hard this mining crisis is for their community.  She said things are really quite a bit more quiet than they usually are because of this.  In fact she had heard that someone she had grown up with and worked with at the brewery was stuck in the mine.  (Later she had found out that he wasn't there.)  Then this morning on her 11:30 am tour he pulled up to the brewery.  She just came down in tears, she said, right in front of her tour group.  She was so relieved.  This man’s brother had just finished his shift when the explosion happened.  He is okay as well. So everything is really different here.

At the end of the tour we of course had a tasting.  Their beer is really good and this is coming from someone who isn’t a real big beer drinker.  I loved their apple cider and their Radler.  Lee Ann says they sell Monteith’s at Trader Joe’s.  So if you are a beer drinker and like Trader Joe’s you should definitely check out their beers.  They have won a ton of awards!

After that I came back to the I-Sight and they helped me figure out some walks to do tomorrow to see some more of Greymouth.  I hope the weather is as good tomorrow as it is today!  Today has been sunny and warm with a bit of a wind.  

I came back to hostel and got some lunch and chatted with some other people staying here.  Then I got to have an hour long video chat with my whole family including my nephew Samuel!  Well he doesn’t really “chat” but he does say things like: ti-ta (auntie), baby, and bottle.  He also blew some very nice kisses all the way to me here in New Zealand!

Please pray for me that I find my hostel room key!!!