Rain and fire at Mount Cook

I somehow feel like I should be travelling a long way today. I manage 650 kilometres by the evening. First I head back south through the hot coastal plain. Then I turn off onto completely empty roads heading west. I’m heading into the Alps again. Although it quickly becomes much cooler, the whole country is still golden in the rain shadow of the Alps.

There are several large lakes along the way. Turquoise, white and blue skies. The bush is on fire at Lake Pukaki near Mount Cook. It’s raining on my side. Mount Cook is hiding behind thick clouds, so I drive on to Wanaka. There’s a salmon farm on the way. I pick up half a salmon for very little money.

In Wanaka it’s my favourite game again: where can I get a bed and internet? I drive round all five hostels. All of them either don’t have internet or charge a lot for the hour. There isn’t a single café in the whole of Wanaka where you can surf for free for the price of a caffeine buzz. My best hostel choice for the next few days offers me a telephone cable. As long as no-one else is using the hostel’s own PC.

An Israeli doesn’t like my Bush T-shirt at all. First person in months. Says: Bush did the world a favour when he invaded Iraq. He’s right: fewer Kurds are being killed now. But three times as many other people. Every day.

I still don’t blame him. He must like Bush. After all, if it wasn’t for the USA, Israel would have had the same problems with its nuclear bombs for 20 years as Iran has today with its “not” planned.