It was a beautiful Wellington Wednesday and I was walking along Oriental Bay....on my way to do my shopping when I saw a poster that caught my attention....
Just then I had this sudden primal urge to go to the zoo. I had been wanting to go to the zoo for some time now but I never seemed to have the time, but this time I was going to forgo my shopping day for a bit of something unusual. I checked my blackberry and used google transit and found the location of the zoo and then the times and schedules of the buses. I had my headphones on so I was "in my zone" but I was pretty happy and I believe I was walking like I was on air for some reason. I think people can actually sense your happiness, judging by how many people smiled back at me that day, or perhaps it was just the contagiousness of a smile :)I got to the bus stop and there were a few bus shelters on Courtnay Place so I paused for a moment to select one. I realized that there was someone in the second bus stop and she seemed to be staring my way but I totally ignored this as I was "in my zone" and chose to stand in the other bus stop with a smiling blonde chic. I stood there waiting for the bus but I tried to find the bus which would require the least walking. I realized that the girl that was in the bus stop moved to the bus stop I was in and I sort of looked at her to see if she was staring and what and most importantly why? I have no idea, but I just pretended not to notice her noticing me (I suck at pretending :P) I finally got my bus and decided to hop on and the blonde chic and the other girl were talking when I left them.
I get to the zoo and it was awesome!! It was quite a hike though, had to scale a hill over the hill was the zoo so I kept thinking of animals that I wouldn't otherwise see in my lifetime if I didn't make it to the zoo. I was a man on a mission that day :) I got to the zoo and they had awesome service, the receptionist had me setup for a tour and just as advertised, I got a $5 Winter Wednesday discount, which I was pretty happy about. I got into the zoo and it didn't look like much lol I think it was more of a bushwalk, the first creatures I saw were so cute though. They were tiny monkey things (yes I call them that because I didn't read the zoo signs :P) I got to the birds,sorry, I mean "Aviary" (I remember that sign lol) and just when I was there, I heard this pretty heavy American accent and then a pretty light kiwi or New Zealand accent...the voices sounded so familiar. I turned to recognize the two girls from the bus stop. Blondie and the girl who was sitting on the other bus stop. I overheard them talking about what locals say vs what they mean. They got to the topic about how locals sometimes say "TARUE!" and manage to make it sound like they understand you on a very deep level but they don't really mean it, they just say it slowly and it fools people into thinking that they are clued up about a certain topic....I then felt like I have to say hi and my curiosity about why this American woman (stay away from me-Lenny Kravitz) was staring at me and it wasn't in a bad way...it was more in a "subtle intrigue" way. I blurted out "that is so true!" (nice one dude!lol) I think that joke fell to the ground right there...but it worked and I agreed with them and we started talking and I got their names. American Woman was E and Kiwi Chic was H so we started talking about what it was like in NZ and started sharing our traveling experiences and also talked about the social order of things and of course, we looked at some interesting animals....along the way :)
We then got to see a kiwi for the first time!! I can't believe I've been in New Zealand for so long and I've never seen the iconic creature.....well, this was my change. There was a show running so we went in and sat to watch the show. The lady asked "Has anyone here NOT seen a kiwi before?" and I put my hand up along with E and we were asked where we were from. I said "Fiji" and E said "Minnesota" and then someone else in the audience said "Boston" and the presenter asked "Do you watch Boston Legal?" and I don't know why that was funny lol but I got the joke a little late...coz I wasn't paying attention. I got to see a kiwi for the first time..it wasn't that spectacular but it was cute. The kiwi is named "Tahi" which is the Maori word for "One" the little kiwi got the name because he lost his leg in a possum trap. It was such a cute little thing, I asked what sound a kiwi makes and apparently they make a high pitched squeeky squeebly sound. Not the "caw caw,caw caw" I was hoping for lol.....I had a great time checking out the creatures but I felt that it was time to go home. I turned to my two newfound buddies and H had some friends she probably planned to meet up with at the zoo. We had some formalities like the "how do you do?" little bits and pieces and then H wanted me to join them but I was more interested in hanging out with E so I had to decline and so I walked E towards the exit and she asked me if it was the right way to the exit and me being a typical smart ass, I reassured her that we were going the right way...when in fact...lol we went around in circles and I had to eventually admit my own stupidity....but of course, I did so with all graciousness lol We had a laugh and we talked about America and there were lots of comparisons. We had a walk that seemed to take forever....looking at her, I remember wondering whether she was the perfect stranger, she was adorable and smart and she laughed at my jokes (this doesn't necessarily mean that she finds them funny,just that she is willing to share a laugh with me) but I'd like to think I'm Mr. Funny Pants lol anyway she walked into my life when everything was totally messed up. I had so much on my mind, had this messy long distance relationship with a girl from another city which I happily left behind (the city,not the girl) the girl is still lingering but along comes this stranger and I was so taken by her.....I felt like we shared something special. I shall call it a "travellers buzz" because whenever you're travelling, I don't know if you've noticed, you always seem to draw these amazing individuals to you and if you go out on a limb and make an effort you will certainly meet some really amazing people! :D 
I wasn't the traveller in this case but...I was happy to have met such an amazing person :)