They Lost My Bag Again!

My backpack was delivered 30 minutes before my shuttle to the airport. I dumped out all of the camping gear and switched out some of the clothes, but not all. The weather in New Zealand is similar to Patagonia, so I would require the same things. Since I booked the huts for the Routeburn Track, no tent or thermarest was needed. The only addition to my gear was the pocket rocket and mess kit. And so I would arrive to see my relatives bringing a lot of dirty laundry with me. I mean nothing in my backpack was clean when I left the house. I did have enough time to buy some chocolates for the family so I didn't arrive empty handed.

I was waiting at baggage claim for about an hour when they paged me over the intercom. Apparently, my bag was en route to Brisbane. Not Again! The airline had lost my bag twice within 48 hours. At least I was getting picked up by family and I could hang out without worrying about my bag. I was thinking about all the stuff I could buy if the bag was lost. Jane introduced me to a NZ clothing company called Icebreaker last year which uses wool for all their products. The great thing about wool is that it doesn't stink. I've had better results using natural fibers over synthetics in the past (only for base layers) so I'm going to load up before heading back to the US. Also, the dollar is very strong against the NZ dollar, so my travels should be fairly cheap this go around.

Upon my arrival, I realized that I hadn't done too much planning for my trip. I had a basic outline, but I knew that I would cross out a bunch of things due to time. Four and a half weeks in Patagonia was no where near enough time. How could I expect to adequately see New Zealand AND parts of Australia in five! My thoughts ran back to Florence who was the French gal I met on the Navimag. She had the same delima trying to squeeze in as much as she could in Patagonia before going home. The only thing which was set was the Routeburn Track from the 16th to the 18th. The rest was still up in the air. I surrendered the fact that I wouldn't see the great ocean road or Ayer's rock this time. My two weeks in Australia would be my vacation from my vacation, just like Phuket for my SE Asia trip. The plan now is to head up the east coast for surfing and scuba diving.

So I'm sitting around with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Everyone is talking at the same time about what I should do in NZ. It's a real mess. I'm sure it will all work out. I just need to make sure to book everything ahead of time so I don't lose any days.

and on top of all that...
I still miss Patagonia.