One can't always be lucky...

Hello dear ones,

I'm back again and another day is coming to an end. However, today wasn't quite my day. It started already last night, when the fire alarm suddenly went off at 3:30 am and woke me up. No worries, it was a false alarm, but still, I was awake. As you can imagine.

This morning I realized that I forgot to defrost my bread for today, so I couldn't prepare my sandwich for breakfast. Cleaning took longer today as well, since there were many guests here yesterday. So I finished around 11:30 am. By the time I made my sandwich and gathered my things, it was already past 12 o'clock. Making the sandwich took a bit longer because one of the girls who helps with cleaning was in my kitchen and I didn't want to interfere while she was cleaning. Well, when we finally started, the clouds that were hanging everywhere here really made me sad. But what can you do, I'm only here once, so every day must be used. So off we went towards Lake Tekapo. The drive there took quite a while because the road is almost straight and this time, due to the clouds, the surroundings didn't really provide much distraction.

When I arrived at the lake, the first thing I did was go to the tourist information and get information about the hikes. I was recommended the hike to Mount John and the return along the lakeshore. This hike was supposed to take 3.5 hours in total. But before I wanted to set off, I still planned to drive to the Church of the Good Shepherd. This is a church from the year 1935 that was built in memory of the pioneers, right on the lakeshore. This little church has become one of the most photographed buildings in New Zealand. Whole buses go there so that tourists can take their photos. I joined this group, as the sun was peeking out a bit from the clouds at that moment. After that, I walked along the shore for a while and saw some bunnies, but unfortunately they were quite camera-shy.

Then I went to the foot of Mt. John to start my hike. I was a bit puzzled when I was greeted by a sign that said the hiking trail is closed due to ice, enter at your own risk. Oh well, I thought, it won't be that bad if the nice lady from the tourist information recommends it. Wrong assumption. Today I learned that if a hiking trail is closed due to ice, it's better not to start the hike without the necessary equipment... At first, the trail was still okay and you could easily avoid the snow and ice. But at some point, it was only snow and ice, and I ignored the little voice in my head that I had to go down the same way. I also ignored the fact that the snow and ice could be more slippery on the way down, until I couldn't go up the mountain anymore. And I stood still for 5 minutes and pondered how to get down safely. Fortunately, I always carry a plastic bag with me to collect my trash, so I simply sat down on it and slid down the particularly icy spots. What can I say, plastic bags are not what they used to be. After a short time, it tore, but it helped me through the worst spots and I made it down safely. After this little adventure, which gave me a cold and wet backside, I decided to warm up in the car first. So I drove back to the church and watched the tourist hustle and bustle while eating my lunch. I had considered waiting until sunset to take more photos of the church, but with the many clouds, it wasn't worth it. So I drove back home relatively early, around 5 pm.

Let's hope that the rest of the day goes better for me. See you soon,

your Jessi