A popular place for bouldering in North Canterbury. Also where scenes from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe were filmed :)
We brought drinks and snacks to hand out to the contestants and people there watching. We stayed for the afternoon and then got into the van, having no idea where we were headed. We just knew we were spending the night away from the school.
Before we found our spot to sleep for the night we were going to have dinner together. It was an interesting meal of rice, beans, and bread. We tried to figure out how to cook the rice over the fire, all of us laughing and joking, hoping the clouds would move past and we could get through our camping trip with no rain.
Our humble dinner on our camping trip :)
After dinner we looked in the van and tents were distributed. Some people decided to stay together, and some went off on their own. We agreed we would meet back at the vans in the morning to have breakfast before heading home. I decided that stay on my own. I loved all the people I was with, but my introverted self needed a little time on my own. I had spent the past several months sharing a room with seven other girls. A night to myself sounded great.
I gathered my sleeping bag, my little pillow, and my backpack and headed to the trails. I didn't want to hike to far since I was on my own, so I found a cozy spot just off the trail, but close enough that I knew it would be easy to find my friends.
All cozy in my little sleeping bag, ready to take on my first solo camping experience.
When I looked up, this is what I saw. New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
I snuggled into my sleeping bag, and closed my eyes. Taking in the quiet, the sound of the wind in the leaves, the sound of the water trickling in the small river behind me. It was so peaceful, and perfect. A few minutes later I heard a branch crack, I looked behind me and saw my friend Julie Anna creeping up the path.
"Awww…. You heard me?! I was going to scare you!" Julie Anna laughed as she walked up.
"Ha! Caught you before you could scare me," we talked for a few minutes, before Julie Anna headed back to the trail walking further up the mountain.
Several minutes later, I heard a branch crack again. Dusk was setting in, as the sun went down and the clouds got thicker. Figuring Julie Anna was trying to sneak up on me again, I ignored the sound, and rolled over in my sleeping bag. I heard another step, and one more. Before I knew it - there was something standing very close to me. I quickly realized whatever was near me wasn't Julie Anna. I felt breath on the back of my neck, as a cold wet nose began sniffing my hair. I didn't think, I just reacted. I crawled into the bottom of my sleeping bag, holding the top closed with both hands as my heart raced. I never turned around, didn't open my eyes to see what it was - I just knew that there was an animal who, in my mind, wanted to eat me for dinner.
My mind raced as I heard the animal walking around me, sniffing my sleeping bag. After a few circles, the animal laid down next to me. It was probably a bear. I was going to be eaten by a bear in a foreign country. How in the world was I supposed to get out of this situation?
The only options I could come up with were to roll away in my sleeping bag, and hope that I didn't roll into the river. So. That idea didn't seem great. Or I could slowly try to unzip the bottom of the sleeping bag and escape before the animal could attack.
I chose the second option, trying to unzip the sleeping bag, but it startled the animal, who only moved closer to me. I decided maybe just crawling out the top of the sleeping bag would be a better idea - so I let go of the top and peering out only to see two little paws at the opening of the sleeping bag. But they weren't big paws. Maybe I would get out of this alive. I let the top open a bit more, and a bit more, until the animals face appeared in the opening.
It was a puppy.
Trust me. If it had been you, you would have thought the sweet little puppy was a bear as well.
I laughed and crawled out, standing up next to the dog. I looked around, and saw my friend Jessica sitting nearby.
"Jess! Hey, Jessica! Look what I found!" Jessica came running over, with a sandwich in hand.
"Oh my goodness!!!! Hi puppy, hi little puppy! Aww… where did you come from?! Are you hungry?" And Jess fed the dog her sandwich.
"Hmm… Maybe that wasn't the best idea. That was my only food." We laughed, and decided to bring the dog back down the vans to see what we should do. As we walked down the path we heard our friend Rebecca, "Hey, guys! Look what… Wait, did you find a dog too?" Low and behold, Rebecca had a small dog as well. All of us laughed, bringing both dogs back to the van where our leaders were camping.
Our new camping friends.
The clouds unleashed and it began to rain. We decided to all stay in the tent together and head home in the morning. When we woke up, this is what we walked out to
Stunning beauty in this country. And the perfect end to our weekend getaway.
Just before we left to head home the next morning, a van pulled up. Two men got out, asking if we'd seen any dogs. We laughed, as the dogs ran around the side of our tent to the two men. We explained how they had found us camping the night before. Turns out the men had been out hunting the day previous and their dogs had run off after something, and they hadn't been able to find them. We returned their pets, and loaded up the van to go home. A memorable weekend for sure.
It's things like this that make me realize - my life isn't ordinary. And I love it.
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