07-02-2019, 04:43 PM
Chapter 11: Southland to Christchurch, and a few intense nights
"Morning Cyrus." It was Adrianna calling on the hotel phone. Cyrus was just waking up when the phone rang.
"Oh, hey. Good morning. Where have you been?" He stretched. It was the 3rd of March, and just a little over 2 weeks before his magnificent trip would come to an end. They still had the far south of the island to explore before returning to Christchurch.
"I know. I've been so busy with family visiting. How were your last few days?"
"Oh, so relaxing. I caught up with some writing and reading."
"Great. Now are you ready for the last bit?"
"Yeah. I'll be ready in a bit."
"Cool. We'll pick you up 8:30. We only have a three hour drive today."
"Ok, see you in a bit." Cyrus was excited to see Adrianna again. It had been five days since they spent one of the most passionate nights together at the Milford Lodge, but unfortunately, after they returned to Queenstown, she had taken some time off to spend it with some family visiting from Italy.
They spent the next few days exploring the Catlins Forest and the Waituna Lagoon, both close to the south coast and a little off the tourist radar. After a couple of nights in Bluff and Fortrose, and photographing the nearby areas, they reach the exclusive Tikana Lodge just north of Invercargill for a couple of nights.
Once again, Cyrus was amazed at yet another fabulous and luxurious lodge. The Tikana lodge was nestled on a massive working farm of several hundred acres, with rolling hills and fields on all sides. The lodge itself was a marvelous wooden structure, exuding warmth as most of the lodges he had stayed at did. The rooms were large with views of the surroundings, the people were friendly and atmosphere completely serene and invigorating.
Since they had some free time, Cyrus biked around the property for a while, enjoying the beautifully fresh and crisp cool breeze, savoring every bit of it before being assaulted by the nasty air of Mumbai. He photographed the calm and serene farm life, hoping one day to have his own little lodge or bed and breakfast. Photography would become his profession and the lodge his side business, living a pure and clean existence, and away from the disgusting developments that were going on back home.
Suddenly, this dreamy vision of his was interrupted as he felt a few drops of rain. He quickly packed up his camera, jumped onto the bike and cycled the short distance back to the lodge just as it began to pour down.
"Here you go Cyrus." Daniel, the owner, saw Cyrus walk in a little wet and came with a small hand towel.
"Oh, thanks mate. It suddenly started to come down. Luckily I wasn't too far away." He wiped his hair dry first, and then his camera bag.
"That's the Southland weather for you." Daniel chuckled. "Did you get to explore the property much?"
"Yes, luckily. I think I saw a fair bit of it."
"Oh. Yesterday evening, you mentioned you were very interested in cooking." Daniel recalled their brief conversation when they reached the evening before. "Since it's raining and you can't do much outside, you can spend some time with our chef before dinner. It's just around 3, and you'll be able to spend a few hours."
"Oh really? I'd absolutely love that!" Cyrus finished drying himself off. "I'll go change into something dry."
"Sure. Then come back down, I'll introduce you to the chef."
Cyrus changed into a pair of track pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt as the temperature had dropped substantially after the rain started. When he came back down, Daniel guided him into the kitchen, a sprawling space equipped with the latest of appliances and ample workspaces for the team.
"Maria." Daniel called out. "Maria?" He said a little louder.
Just then, a cute and petite Asian woman dressed in chef's whites came rushing out from the walk-in refrigerator. She was short, probably just over 5 feet tall, and nearly a foot shorter to Cyrus. Her face was radiant and young, adorned with a wide smile and her long black ponytail swayed as she walked swiftly towards them.
"Hi Daniel."
"Hi Maria. This is Cyrus. A guest from India, he's here with Scott's team."
"Hi Cyrus." She had a distinct accent that he couldn't yet make out. "Welcome to our lodge." She stuck out her small hand to shake his.
"Thanks." Cyrus admired her features from a closer proximity. She had a cute button nose and dark brown eyes. Her slightly dusky skin glowed with a freshness, and though she was probably a few years elder to Cyrus, her features made her look younger. As for her body, he couldn't tell much with what she was wearing, but her face was what captivated Cyrus for the time being.
"Cyrus, this is Chef Maria." Cyrus' eyes immediately lit up. He was thrilled to hear that she was the chef, and was excited at spending a few hours with her. She was most definitely the cutest chef he had ever seen. "She's our head chef. You can spend some time with her. I hope that's ok chef. Cyrus here loves to cook, and has heard a lot about your cuisine."
"Oh, thank you. Of course he can spend some time with me." Cyrus noticed Maria staring at him as she said that, giving him a quick up and down glance. "It'll be my pleasure." She gave him that radiant smile once again.
"Great. Thanks a lot Daniel. I'll see you in a bit." Cyrus had a huge smile on his face.
"So, Cyrus. You are a photographer like Scott?"
"An aspiring photographer actually. I'm an apprentice with them."
"Oh nice. And where are you from?"
"India. Mumbai."
"Wow, that's a long way away."
"I know. That's the point." He laughed, not sure if she understood what he meant by that. "So where are you from?"
"Manila. Philippines."
"That's a long way away as well."
"Yeah, long story." Maria waved towards Cyrus to follow her.
"I was wondering where that accent was from." He continued to admire her soft skin and silky long ponytail as she turned to walk back towards the refrigerator.
"Come. I have to get a few things from the fridge. You can hang around with me, see what others in the team are doing, whatever you want. Just don't get in our way during service time." She laughed.
"Oh I'll be out of your way." He looked around the huge chiller, stocked from floor to ceiling with amazing ingredients.
"You love to cook is it?"
"Yeah. My second passion actually. Anything and everything. By the way, dinner last night was absolutely amazing."
"Morning Cyrus." It was Adrianna calling on the hotel phone. Cyrus was just waking up when the phone rang.
"Oh, hey. Good morning. Where have you been?" He stretched. It was the 3rd of March, and just a little over 2 weeks before his magnificent trip would come to an end. They still had the far south of the island to explore before returning to Christchurch.
"I know. I've been so busy with family visiting. How were your last few days?"
"Oh, so relaxing. I caught up with some writing and reading."
"Great. Now are you ready for the last bit?"
"Yeah. I'll be ready in a bit."
"Cool. We'll pick you up 8:30. We only have a three hour drive today."
"Ok, see you in a bit." Cyrus was excited to see Adrianna again. It had been five days since they spent one of the most passionate nights together at the Milford Lodge, but unfortunately, after they returned to Queenstown, she had taken some time off to spend it with some family visiting from Italy.
They spent the next few days exploring the Catlins Forest and the Waituna Lagoon, both close to the south coast and a little off the tourist radar. After a couple of nights in Bluff and Fortrose, and photographing the nearby areas, they reach the exclusive Tikana Lodge just north of Invercargill for a couple of nights.
Once again, Cyrus was amazed at yet another fabulous and luxurious lodge. The Tikana lodge was nestled on a massive working farm of several hundred acres, with rolling hills and fields on all sides. The lodge itself was a marvelous wooden structure, exuding warmth as most of the lodges he had stayed at did. The rooms were large with views of the surroundings, the people were friendly and atmosphere completely serene and invigorating.
Since they had some free time, Cyrus biked around the property for a while, enjoying the beautifully fresh and crisp cool breeze, savoring every bit of it before being assaulted by the nasty air of Mumbai. He photographed the calm and serene farm life, hoping one day to have his own little lodge or bed and breakfast. Photography would become his profession and the lodge his side business, living a pure and clean existence, and away from the disgusting developments that were going on back home.
Suddenly, this dreamy vision of his was interrupted as he felt a few drops of rain. He quickly packed up his camera, jumped onto the bike and cycled the short distance back to the lodge just as it began to pour down.
"Here you go Cyrus." Daniel, the owner, saw Cyrus walk in a little wet and came with a small hand towel.
"Oh, thanks mate. It suddenly started to come down. Luckily I wasn't too far away." He wiped his hair dry first, and then his camera bag.
"That's the Southland weather for you." Daniel chuckled. "Did you get to explore the property much?"
"Yes, luckily. I think I saw a fair bit of it."
"Oh. Yesterday evening, you mentioned you were very interested in cooking." Daniel recalled their brief conversation when they reached the evening before. "Since it's raining and you can't do much outside, you can spend some time with our chef before dinner. It's just around 3, and you'll be able to spend a few hours."
"Oh really? I'd absolutely love that!" Cyrus finished drying himself off. "I'll go change into something dry."
"Sure. Then come back down, I'll introduce you to the chef."
Cyrus changed into a pair of track pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt as the temperature had dropped substantially after the rain started. When he came back down, Daniel guided him into the kitchen, a sprawling space equipped with the latest of appliances and ample workspaces for the team.
"Maria." Daniel called out. "Maria?" He said a little louder.
Just then, a cute and petite Asian woman dressed in chef's whites came rushing out from the walk-in refrigerator. She was short, probably just over 5 feet tall, and nearly a foot shorter to Cyrus. Her face was radiant and young, adorned with a wide smile and her long black ponytail swayed as she walked swiftly towards them.
"Hi Daniel."
"Hi Maria. This is Cyrus. A guest from India, he's here with Scott's team."
"Hi Cyrus." She had a distinct accent that he couldn't yet make out. "Welcome to our lodge." She stuck out her small hand to shake his.
"Thanks." Cyrus admired her features from a closer proximity. She had a cute button nose and dark brown eyes. Her slightly dusky skin glowed with a freshness, and though she was probably a few years elder to Cyrus, her features made her look younger. As for her body, he couldn't tell much with what she was wearing, but her face was what captivated Cyrus for the time being.
"Cyrus, this is Chef Maria." Cyrus' eyes immediately lit up. He was thrilled to hear that she was the chef, and was excited at spending a few hours with her. She was most definitely the cutest chef he had ever seen. "She's our head chef. You can spend some time with her. I hope that's ok chef. Cyrus here loves to cook, and has heard a lot about your cuisine."
"Oh, thank you. Of course he can spend some time with me." Cyrus noticed Maria staring at him as she said that, giving him a quick up and down glance. "It'll be my pleasure." She gave him that radiant smile once again.
"Great. Thanks a lot Daniel. I'll see you in a bit." Cyrus had a huge smile on his face.
"So, Cyrus. You are a photographer like Scott?"
"An aspiring photographer actually. I'm an apprentice with them."
"Oh nice. And where are you from?"
"India. Mumbai."
"Wow, that's a long way away."
"I know. That's the point." He laughed, not sure if she understood what he meant by that. "So where are you from?"
"Manila. Philippines."
"That's a long way away as well."
"Yeah, long story." Maria waved towards Cyrus to follow her.
"I was wondering where that accent was from." He continued to admire her soft skin and silky long ponytail as she turned to walk back towards the refrigerator.
"Come. I have to get a few things from the fridge. You can hang around with me, see what others in the team are doing, whatever you want. Just don't get in our way during service time." She laughed.
"Oh I'll be out of your way." He looked around the huge chiller, stocked from floor to ceiling with amazing ingredients.
"You love to cook is it?"
"Yeah. My second passion actually. Anything and everything. By the way, dinner last night was absolutely amazing."
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