2011 - NZ To SF - Day 7

Day 7: (20 May 2011):
- Woke up early, but Jerome found he no longer has to go early as overnight rain made equipment unsafe.
- Decide take tent.
- Get to city centre ~7:40. Drop off mail for Jerome. Buy ticket. Bus @ 9:30, not 8.
- Find ATM: Society General not work (not clear, wait ~1,2 min to make sure money does not come out), find BCI & use that. Auto change machine not working.
- Bought giant ham sandwich & ate at bus stop. Wait ~1hr. Bit less.
- Some luggage strange: Broken electric fan. Put luggage in & get on bus. Poum with stop in Kone. In future, decide take passport out of bag.
- Bus surprisingly modern. Like Greyhound in the US. - 2 Non-Kanaks (white).
- Some towns look pretty. Follow with my map. Sit by (across) from the tattooed person who talked with me last night. Said hi & shook hands before bus. He play reggae music.
- Loudish radio/music all way. Bus seems to stop at random places to drop off.
- Stop in Bourail(?) for abour 1/2 hr.
- Arrive Kone, surprisingly small. Before Kone roundabout w/ Kanak stuff. This is where provincial administration centre is. Bus stopped here (some people get off)!
- Get off bus. No one really here. Call Christelle, she come in town in 1/2, offer me place to sleep.
- Tourist info: no one there. Go to a small exhibit about UNESCO designation. Surprisingly modern & professional. English translations booklet. ~2pm arrive.
- ~5-10 min drive to house. Small development with modern but simple houses. Modern inside.
- They lived in NC 2yrs, move to this house only 3-4mo. ago. Nice view of mountains from house.
- Christelle found out she pregnant earlier in day. Go to town to confirm. I go to market to get bread, pate for morning, was going to get beer, but get (imported) fruit (from NZ) instead due to pregnancy. Small selection of fruit.
- Back: spend time seeing pictures, talking, planning, etc.
- Say there are wild horses here. See droppings in street.
- Repairman, nails client. Talked a lot about life. I asked Q's.
- Hubert back home ~8pm. Beer, talk. Leftover lasagne for dinner.
- I had a mattress in a room on floor.Own bathroom. Windows with metal blinds.
- Realise may not be able to rent car. License & manual. Too much money? Will convert to Euros.

Photos available at: http://mandarinmanmarktravelbriefs.blogspot.com/