We got up at 8:30 and had our last breakfast together. We left by about ten-ish to go to the Antarctic Centre. Because New Zealand is so close to Antarctica, it is the common stop off place before travelling to Antarctica. It’s where you get stocked up on all of the warm clothes that you will need and also where a bit of training is done to prepare you to go to Antarctica. It was pretty interesting seeing what you have to do in order to be prepared for the cold weather. And the amount of clothes you have to wear! But it does get down to -50°C and lower so you need plenty of layers.
In the centre is a sub-zero room where a storm in Antarctica is artificially created to give you a feel of what it’s like in Antarctica. It got down to -18°C with a wind chill of god knows what. We were given thick jackets to put on which actually really helped. TO be honest I didn’t really feel cold at all, even though I probably should have. Not even my exposed face was cold! Isaac and a few of the other crazy guys on the other hand wanted to act all tough and what not so they didn’t take a warn jacket to put on. This meant that Isaac was in jeans and a t-shirt in -18°C! He was cold! I felt fine but I was worried for him because the human body really isn’t meant to be in -18°C weather! So I was pretty much trying to keep him warm the whole time. Unfortunately thought, I'm not really big enough to do that so I don’t think I helped much :( But he survived, even though it took him about 15mins to get feeling back into his fingers! Silly boy :)
After lunch it was time for the plane ride back home. “At last!” some would say, but I was actually pretty upset to be leaving. Tour had been great fun and I didn’t want to leave such a beautiful country like New Zealand. And I was also really sad about the fact that we would never be this group again. The friends I made on tour were amazing and I’m going to miss them heaps. We had so much fun and had such great jokes together that for it to finally be the end is very depressing.
Anyway, when we checked in, Isaac and I were luckily seated right next to each other on the plane! That was pretty cool, so once again I just spent the whole plane flight talking to him. I’d have to say that out of the whole tour, I’m probably going to miss Isaac the most. Even though I only really spent about half the tour with him, we still became such great friends and I already miss him more than I’ll admit. We just clicked, you know, and I don’t think I’ve ever met a guy as similar to me as he is. It’s good. I really do hope that we keep in touch and do stuff together these holidays.
So anyway, the plane flight was a little boring; I was actually quite restless the whole trip. When we were leaving New Zealand I was pretty sad because I knew that there was a possibility that I might never go there again. And also, seeing the land fade off in the distance marked the end of the most brilliant tour ever, which was really depressing. I disliked the flatness of the ocean which was all I could see for a few hours and so I became restless. I wanted to be back on land. Luckily Isaac’s talking could distract me but even then I was still bouncing around in my seat. When we finally caught sight of Australia again, I didn’t want to land. I wanted to get off the plane but I really, really didn’t want to be back in stinky Brisbane again. It didn’t help that the weather was hot and steamy and the clouds made a murky blanket over the whole city. Didn’t make it appealing in the slightest. The moment we got off the plane I could feel the heat and all I wanted was the freezing cold of New Zealand again.
We got our bags fine and went through customs fine. Then we walked out into the airport and I saw my dad. Throughout the tour I had missed my family a bit, which was a bit unusual because I have never missed them before. So when I saw dad I couldn’t help but run to him and give him a big hug. And from then on I couldn’t stop talking. I told him what I had done and described so many things to him. I swear my lost voice got even worse because I was talking so much. But the funny thing is that I only told him about one tenth of what happened on tour. No doubt the other nine tenths will come out over the next few weeks.
Once we had been picked up from the airport we were all supposed to go back to Mta to help unpack the trailer of the percussion gear. I think that it was really just a prolonging the goodbyes because it took literally about 2 minutes to unpack the trailer. I stood in the San Dam car park and watched the people who I had gotten to know so well. Already we weren’t the group we had been; it was as if we as a group didn’t suit the hot, humid weather. We were already changing, going our different ways. But then it was time to leave and I had to say goodbye to Isaac. I was dreading this. I’m not very good with emotional stuff and I don’t think he is either. All I could do was give him a huge hug and tell him to keep in contact. Which he made a joke out of, but such was the way we were together. I’m not sure if I will see him again because he was in grade twelve this year and now graduated. But we have each other’s numbers and I’m sure we’ll keep in contact. I’m going to miss him though.
And so the New Zealand Tour of 2009 ended. Everyone went their separate ways back home into their own beds. So many friendships were formed and so much fun was had. I’m actually really sad that it’s over.
I wish it wasn’t over, and that it could have gone on forever.
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