After looking for what feels like 20 minutes, you get up and walk away, defeated. You assume the remote tossed itself out a window, grew legs and walked away, someone came in and stole it and nothing else, SOMETHING. Because the remote is nowhere to be found. Yet you know it should be there. And then it shows up in plain site next time you go to watch TV. That sort of describes the search for my camera memory card.

I’ve actually got 4 memory cards. 3 are 2GB SD cards, and one is an 8GB SD cards. I primarily use the 8GB in my main camera (a Panasonic TZ5), and keep a backup 2GB card in my daypack, while the third SD card is in my waterproof camera and the 4th a backup in my main luggage. It mostly was due to me not being sure how often I’d get to download my pictures to my laptops at times, and my propensity to take a LOT of photos (the Tongariro was 750 pictures in one day – 1/3 of my 8GB card filled). It’s faster and easier to swap a full memory card for one with space than try and choose photos for deletion so you can keep snapping. But I’d also been pretty good at keeping my photos uploaded to my laptop and thus hadn’t swapped out my 8GB card until mid-November, as after the Tongariro crossing it was pretty much full.

Back in late November when I got to Thames I went about dumping my photos from my cards onto my laptop, beyond the choice ones I used for the website (which get downsized). I emptied out my 2GB cards…but couldn’t find my 8GB card. I also couldn’t locate one of my raincoats (my cheap day-use one, not my nice hiking one). I hate losing things. Especially when I can’t remember exactly when I saw the items last. I searched throughout my car. I searched throughout my bags. I looked up, down and all over. I searched my car again. Despondent, I gave up and came to the conclusion that I had left them somewhere – Auckland being my last stop, it was the place I figured most likely.

I sent an email to the hostel I stayed…and sure enough they had a memory card that matched my description! I was ecstatic. The memory card I’m not too upset about, but to get 2,000 pictures back – that’s a major thing! Even though many of the ‘best’ ones were already on the website, I still like having the originals – different angles, and also because they aren’t down scaled. Useful if I ever want to print things out, which some of this stuff might see once I’m done. I mailed them a prepaid envelope, and once I got to Taupo I picked it up.

It wasn’t my memory card. I’m not sure how my description of ‘Black with Red Sandisk’ became ‘Blue with Red Sandisk’, but this card certainly wasn’t mine. Dejected, I reconciled that I was never to get my photos back.

Sitting in a cafe today dumping photos from my 2GB cards, I casually pull the cards out of my daypack one at a time, not even looking at them. The third card I put into my laptop is full of pictures. It’s my 8GB card. Zero clue still how it escaped my multiple searches. But I’ve been reunited with pictures from my single favourite day here in New Zealand. It wasn’t TOO big a loss, after all I’m doing the hike again (and then some) shortly….but it still feels great to have them back. 😀