As I alluded to in my previous post, Isabella and I had one more adventure together before she returned to Canada. Isabella decided to take a 2.5 month bicycle tour of New Zealand and we decided to meet in New Zealand a little before she left. She had many adventures in New Zealand herself, some of great excitement, other harrowing. Nevertheless, we decided that the best place to meet would be in Queenstown, the South Island's Mecca of Adventure. I managed to find some time, almost a week, where there was a break in my studies and I could afford to take some time off. However, just getting to New Zealand proved to be an adventure in itself.
For a while it looked like I mightn't be able to go on the trip for reasons beyond my control. The story goes like this. In order to stay in Australia I had to apply for a new visa. I sent out the necessary paperwork by express courier one week before my visa expired, assured by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) that it would be enough time to have receipt acknowledged. Under the Australian system, once you apply for a visa you receive what's called a Bridging Visa, a sort of visa that says you've validly applied for a substantive visa and that you're legally in the country. It's not an assessment of whether or not your application will succeed, but it says that on the face of it, your application is valid. Well, as the days went by and my student visa was about to expire, I still had no acknowledgement or bridging visa.
Then, in the early hours of March 16th my student visa expired and I was technically illegally in the country as I had no bridging visa. I went to the DIAC office as soon as it opened and they communicated with the Adelaide office where I'd sent my application and the policy branch in Canberra to see how to deal with the situation. Luckily, I had copies of all the documents I'd sent to DIAC as well as a computer printout from Australia Post that showed the documents had been delivered and signed for. Unfortunately, the Adelaide office said that they would not specifically look for mine so I was left in a little bit of a jam.
Now, you have to understand that there are 5 types of bridging visas in Australia, A-E. I needed a Bridging Visa B to let me travel to New Zealand but that was only possible if I were given a Bridging Visa A, which is the bridging visa they give you following receipt of your application but since Adelaide was unwilling to look for it, I wasn't going to get it. This was problematic as I'd already booked the flights and the rental car, some of which was non-refundable. That day, after being technically an unlawful non-citizen, as the law puts it, I was given a Bridging Visa E which let me stay legally in the country. I decided not to try to put off the trip just in case Adelaide cam through. Then, 3 days before I was to fly off, the acknowledgement came through, along with the Bridging Visa A and I raced down to the DIAC office to get my Bridging Visa B. Luck was with me this time and I was able to fly off without further incident. But I'll tell you, I was uneasy until I finally cleared New Zealand Customs in Christchurch.
Finally in New Zealand, I proceeded to the rental agency where I'd rented a car. I was driven there from the airport and the driver and I talked about Christchurch's recent earthquake. The damage was more considerable than I had thought and he said it would take years for the city to recover, if it ever really does. A little shocked by this, I proceeded to take charge of my vehicle and headed out on the drive to Queenstown.
The Christchurch-to-Queenstown drive is one of the most scenic in New Zealand. Once you take the turnoff to Geraldine, the traffic thins out and you're on some pretty lonely stretches of road, though quite beautiful. The highway to Queenstown runs into the central highlands and offers great views of the Southern Alps. There are also Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, at the end of which is Aoraki/Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest peak. The interior is also mainly grasslands as the early Maori burned the trees hunting for the now extinct moa, a large flightless bird. As I drove on towards Queenstown the sun set behind the mountains and before long all was dark. I was not the only person on the road but at various times, it felt like I was the only person in the world.
After several hours of driving I finally reached Queenstown and met up with Isabella. We stayed at a hostel she had picked out and she was quite glad to be driven around for a few days. It seems that the day before she came to Queenstown, the weather on the South Island's west coast had turned ferocious, as it is often want to do, so she took a bus down. Even still, the winds were howling and the rain torrential such that even the bus swayed on the road. At any rate, we were happy to see each other and glad that nothing like that was predicted to happen in our time.
We walked around the town a little bit as it was night and had a pleasant dinner at a pub; it seemed to be one of the only things open. But you have to understand that Queenstown is Adventuretown and as such attracts the young like penguins to microwaves so there were plenty of nightclubs just opening up. We went to another hostel where we met up with a guy Isabella had acquainted and he took us to one of the nightclubs but we didn't stay long. I dare say we were both exhausted from our travels and were looking forward to some sleep. After our brief nightclub visit, Isabella and I returned to the hostel and turned in for the night, ready for our next series of adventures.
For a while it looked like I mightn't be able to go on the trip for reasons beyond my control. The story goes like this. In order to stay in Australia I had to apply for a new visa. I sent out the necessary paperwork by express courier one week before my visa expired, assured by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) that it would be enough time to have receipt acknowledged. Under the Australian system, once you apply for a visa you receive what's called a Bridging Visa, a sort of visa that says you've validly applied for a substantive visa and that you're legally in the country. It's not an assessment of whether or not your application will succeed, but it says that on the face of it, your application is valid. Well, as the days went by and my student visa was about to expire, I still had no acknowledgement or bridging visa.
Then, in the early hours of March 16th my student visa expired and I was technically illegally in the country as I had no bridging visa. I went to the DIAC office as soon as it opened and they communicated with the Adelaide office where I'd sent my application and the policy branch in Canberra to see how to deal with the situation. Luckily, I had copies of all the documents I'd sent to DIAC as well as a computer printout from Australia Post that showed the documents had been delivered and signed for. Unfortunately, the Adelaide office said that they would not specifically look for mine so I was left in a little bit of a jam.
Now, you have to understand that there are 5 types of bridging visas in Australia, A-E. I needed a Bridging Visa B to let me travel to New Zealand but that was only possible if I were given a Bridging Visa A, which is the bridging visa they give you following receipt of your application but since Adelaide was unwilling to look for it, I wasn't going to get it. This was problematic as I'd already booked the flights and the rental car, some of which was non-refundable. That day, after being technically an unlawful non-citizen, as the law puts it, I was given a Bridging Visa E which let me stay legally in the country. I decided not to try to put off the trip just in case Adelaide cam through. Then, 3 days before I was to fly off, the acknowledgement came through, along with the Bridging Visa A and I raced down to the DIAC office to get my Bridging Visa B. Luck was with me this time and I was able to fly off without further incident. But I'll tell you, I was uneasy until I finally cleared New Zealand Customs in Christchurch.
Finally in New Zealand, I proceeded to the rental agency where I'd rented a car. I was driven there from the airport and the driver and I talked about Christchurch's recent earthquake. The damage was more considerable than I had thought and he said it would take years for the city to recover, if it ever really does. A little shocked by this, I proceeded to take charge of my vehicle and headed out on the drive to Queenstown.
The Christchurch-to-Queenstown drive is one of the most scenic in New Zealand. Once you take the turnoff to Geraldine, the traffic thins out and you're on some pretty lonely stretches of road, though quite beautiful. The highway to Queenstown runs into the central highlands and offers great views of the Southern Alps. There are also Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, at the end of which is Aoraki/Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest peak. The interior is also mainly grasslands as the early Maori burned the trees hunting for the now extinct moa, a large flightless bird. As I drove on towards Queenstown the sun set behind the mountains and before long all was dark. I was not the only person on the road but at various times, it felt like I was the only person in the world.
After several hours of driving I finally reached Queenstown and met up with Isabella. We stayed at a hostel she had picked out and she was quite glad to be driven around for a few days. It seems that the day before she came to Queenstown, the weather on the South Island's west coast had turned ferocious, as it is often want to do, so she took a bus down. Even still, the winds were howling and the rain torrential such that even the bus swayed on the road. At any rate, we were happy to see each other and glad that nothing like that was predicted to happen in our time.
We walked around the town a little bit as it was night and had a pleasant dinner at a pub; it seemed to be one of the only things open. But you have to understand that Queenstown is Adventuretown and as such attracts the young like penguins to microwaves so there were plenty of nightclubs just opening up. We went to another hostel where we met up with a guy Isabella had acquainted and he took us to one of the nightclubs but we didn't stay long. I dare say we were both exhausted from our travels and were looking forward to some sleep. After our brief nightclub visit, Isabella and I returned to the hostel and turned in for the night, ready for our next series of adventures.
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