I called Sophie again to work out another night in Christchurch so I could see the Bank's Peninsula before heading North. Sophie didn't mind. She was out for a while, but was Ok if I just came in a prepared a big pot of chili (I know I don't mind it when quasi-stranger cook me chili). After cooking for 30 minutes, Sophie came home.
"Oh...um Aaron. I just found out, Tomo (her flatmate) has swine flu."
"Like swine flu, swine flu, the AK47-12A flu or whatever it is?"
"Yeah."
The last time I was there two weeks ago, Tomo was just on the starting end of being sick, time of highest contagiousness. Little did I know that I was sharing a house with the dreaded swine flu.
The chances of me getting sick were very low, but I opted to stay at a hostel that night. Considering I was homeless and on holiday, I didn't want to catch any form of influenza, be it avian, swine, or anything else. In fact, swine flu seems like a media creation. The death rates seem about the same as normal influenza, just when a somebody dies from the pig flu, it is an international event. I finished my chili, enjoyed a dinner with Sophie then headed back to the hostel.
The next day, I awoke exhausted. I had just spent two weeks travelling like mad, hiking at least two hours everyday, and driving even more. Halfway to the Banks Peninsula, I cracked, turned around and drove straight to Kaikoura, two hours north of Christchurch. I arrived at two, only stopping at a couple of local vineyards. I spent the rest of the day reading and watching movies.
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