Massage at Lake Tekapo, long drive to Kaikoura

Tuesday, December 10th
Apparently we were all pretty exhausted since we all didn't wake up till 9am.  Steph, Bernice and I quickly packed to go for our 30min deep tissue massage appointments.  I had a German girl and it felt so nice.  She found every knot in my body and got rid of it.  Totally worth the NZD75 ($40).  Afterwards we used the sauna and hot pools for a bit.  Complete relaxation.
The boys eventually came to pick us up for lunch in town.  This town is completely lackluster.  There weren't many food options.  Most places were just cafeteria style with pre-made sandwiches.  Bernice and I ended up going back to the japanese place for lunch.  I had chicken katsu don.  Yumm.  Steph, Alfio and Nilesh went for cafeteria food.  We all met up afterwards for the rest of the day's plan.  Alfio and I ended up doing a hike, while the rest just used the internet and stayed in town.  We all went first to check out the stone and oak church in town.  When I say check out, I mean just take some photos from a distance.
The hike Alfio and I went on was nice.  We ended up going the wrong route.  Originally we planned on going to the Mt. John's summit road, but made a wrong turn so we ended up hiking along Lake Tekapo.  It was still very beautiful.  The color of the lake was unreal.  A baby turquoise blue...almost like chlorine water, but it was natural.  I also love the purple lumin flowers everywhere.  They're so pretty!  I heart them.  Alfio and I chatted about his parents' restaurant business, about the balance between life and money, and life in general.  It was relaxing.
At around 3:30pm, we hopped back in the car to head to Kaikoura where we would swim with seals and ride horses the next morning.  When we called to confirm our seal swimming booking, the lady told us the weather may not permit it.  That would be a big blah!  She told us to call back tomorrow because the weather changes quickly.  We stopped by a gas station for some gas and snacks.  Steph and Nilesh got subway. Bernice got some chocolate.  Alfio and I got ice cream.  I tried the famous New Zealand's hokey pokey, honeycomb ice cream.  I prefer vanilla.
At around 8:30pm, we were ready for dinner.  We stopped by a random restaurant bar on the road for food, but apparently they don't serve food on Tuesdays.  This just gives you an idea that we're driving through nothing.  This place just serves drinks and drive home afterwards.  No food for us...at least until another cafe spot.  That place served food 7 days a week...wow!  Lucky us.  I ordered spaghetti and meat balls. Not good at all. Tasted like jar spaghetti and frozen meat balls.  I was pretty hungry, so I finished it all anyways.  Bernice got fries and the tomato sauce tasted funky.  Well, not funky but a spice we couldn't pin point.  It tasted like something christmasy - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.  Not sure.  We even asked the waitress and she didn't know.  Oh wells, we tried.
The rest of the drive was a bit nerve wrecking.  The road was very windy right along the cliff.  A bit scary to drive in the dark.  Alfio was a great driver.  Four gold stars to him!
We got to the hostel around 11pm, and were ready to bust out our wine.  Alfio, Steph and Bernice went by the beach to drink the wine.  Nilesh and I stayed back because it was too cold.  The room itself was pretty cold, with only a electric heater that only runs for 30mins.  This hostel is totally green.  We had to press a green button to turn on the electricity for 30mins.  Do you get what this means?  We will be freezing in the night because the radiator won't be running.  On top of that, there were no comforters!  We will be freezing.
Nilesh tried to make me play an 80's trivial pursuit, and I was not good at it at all.  We ended up chatting about stocks and what we want to do in finance.  A very intellectual conversation.  The rest of the crew came back in an hour or so and we did some more chatting before going to bed.