I am getting fairly sick of this now.. today was a day of complete “switched offness” if there is ever such a word! Got up and lost the dongle off the computer... went searching for it for ages and eventually found it under the bed in the Butterfli hostel. I had a feeling of horror that I had got it caught in the sheets and they were now merrily churning around in the washing machine. Anyhow I eventually found it and got our stuff together and I dropped Andrew in the centre of Queenstown with his three bags. We went to park while I went and did a few duties.. namely get the broadband topped up as well as my head shaved again.. it must be the humidity or the fresh air or something but the hair growth is phenomenal.. it was at least 8mm long! I would have had to get the bloody thing permed if I did not get it shaved. Also needed some shampoo.. dont snigger... and some other smellies. We parted, as I could not let Andrew endure Mul faffing around trying to organise himself and he went on his merry way.. his penance well and truly over and a big smirk on his face!
What best to do is to ask some lovely shop keeper where everything was and just go for it? Headed for the barbers first and got lost. Then went for the phone shop and also duly got lost again. It’s a small bloody town for fecks sake.
Eventually found the Vodafone shop and can I tell you those bastards of Telecoms are the same the world over. After I bought the $30 credit to top up I ambled my way back to the car or where I thought the car was....completely lost. Can I tell you that Queenstown is not the biggest of places... about the size of Youghal... any how I parked the car in a street that I never took the name of and spent 30 mins trying to find the bloody thing. Then sat in the car trying to recharge the broadband and top it up when I nearly went off my head. The “simple task “ of topping up would have confused Einstein. I stormed back to the Vodafone shop.. taking a further 20 minutes to locate it, waving my $30 credit note and my laptop in my hand bellowing to him... “I told you I would be back”! The very very patient guy.. freckled and red-haired (definitely of Irish descent) behind the counter was fit to mangle me by the time I left. He discovered that I did not have all my gigabytes used at all but that the computer was only registering up to 500MB and I had 5 times that left.. They are all a swizz. There was no need to top up or waste my $30. Added to that you would have needed a bloody PhD in “how to top up the fecking account”. I was at boiling point when I had eventually left the Vodafone after getting the job completed. My next task I did manage to miss the barbers but found hairdressers with two of the loveliest Irish lassies in it.. a girl from Dub and a Galway girl! They had moved here years ago and said it was not all idyllic and they needed to get home every so often to get rid of the cabin fever from the surrounding mountains. I never thought of that aspect but then again hols and working and living in a place are a different story. I was well calmed and returned to the car.....if I could find it .... again!! It took another 20 mins. Where was Melissa when you needed her but the cow was probably tittering to herself in the car..technology is a nasty vindictive thing.
Headed off to Glenorchy and Kinloch Lodge... When you get to Glenorchy the sign here says “Gateway to Paradise”.... they are not far wrong.. The tyres in the car are down a few threads with the dint of braking and going .... “Oh sweet god look at that” and another million photos. Arrived here in Kinloch and was instantly attacked by another million sand flies. The other happy campers were chuckling to themselves to see the gobshite dancing in a frenzy around the car... Everything I have taken in my diet has not deterred the little buggers.. Raw onions and garlic from now on I think..... It should not make me popular with the flies or the fellow backpackers, but I don’t give a damn. I am raw from scratching in my sleep and I must have the tastiest of ankles and shins. Tonight I share my room with 3 others.. They are a messy crowd and I was tempted to do a bit of tidying before I dropped my bag. Got for a lovely walk up by the lake in the setting evening sun. I have taken so many pics. that I had to recharge my camera battery again and given to the state of mind I am in today I charged the already charged spare and not the other one that was flat. Added to that I lost my BBH (backpacker membership) card, the top off the computer broadband dongle and then lost my phone.... oh oh.... I think that I need to do more brain training exercises!!!!! Either its lack of sleep or else too much wine or the skydive.. or a combo of all three!! The latter me thinks!
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