Rain Stops Play

It rained all night, as far as I could tell, and it was still falling steadily when I surfaced at 9.30am. After some calls home to meteorogically emphathize I had eggs and suasages for a late breakfast and moped around the hostel. There is NOTHING happening today - no glacier walks, no helitours, nothing. I walked into the village to find a cheaper internet cafe but all screens were taken.  The place is full of aggitated hikers holding out for a break in the weather.  I'm now on the internet in the hostel and John has gone to source some alcohol - it's going to be a long afternoon. And its still raining. We console ourselves by drinking Bulmers at the hostel and trying to corral people for the advertised gig taking place at the Blue Ice Cafe tonight. Carrie and Rena will not be coming, the bar is only 200 yards away but the rain is too much. 

Blue Ice, Me with Chris and Lindy

We have also just met Chris and Lindy, a young couple from Scotland, they are also killing boredom by drinking under the shelter of the hostel entrance, and they shall be going to the ball! Another Scot, Nick (they are taking over), is a maybe but he drops out before we scoot across the back lane to the bar.  Oh I nearly forgot, we also met Daniel from Germay - a walking hat clad advert for Billanbong clothing and very nice chap.  Once inside we discover they still have an hour of happy hour to go until ten. Marvellous. The pool table is made use of before it is wheeled to one side for the first band (who I think came on at 11.30). This is a strange place with a genteel candlelit reataurant downstairs and a raucous bar above (with pole which is mandatory for drinkers to attempt a climb - oh to and kiss the top I later found out). The first band are three piece indie outfit called There She Goes Again.  They hail from Melbourne and are the South Island support for Cherry's Gemstones who are almost local - from Wellington.  Most bands make a good post punk noise which is as far as I'm going to try to describe them.  I am later forced by Lindy to pose with the lead singer from There She Goes Again and later with the microphone itself. There is dancing, John is attempting to climb onto the pool table at some point, and a lot of the blokes take their tops off for the Cherry's encore.  I of course maintin decorum and decline to join in this part.  But as for the pole - thats a red rag to a bull and I make several climbs, about five of which make the ceiling which I don't kiss (and would NOT have done even if I had known its a local tradition).  John fails the pole but Chris and Lindy make make it look very easy.  I am successful thanks to my wll terrain boots which are essential wear in this kind of bar.  We finally roll back at 3am, exiting via the upstairs balcony stairs (which is patrolled by a very reticent bouncer who is, unlike his contemporaries in Kings Cross, NOT a tosser).  Oh and we also met an English woman, Jenny Sherriff, who is new to our dorm today. She had said earlier she might come along when we mentioned the gig. She was more sensible than us and, I think retired at about 1am. She had a bus to catch to Wanaka the next day. And she's coincidently also booked in at the Purple Cow - the same place John booked for us.  The "Gringo Trail" said John. Eh??

Franz Josef: Rained Off

And finally, when we left the bar, the rain had stopped.     

Climbing The Greasy Pole, Blue Ice