Winter is Coming!
Long time no speak once again! Sorry for the prolonged period of silence! Much has happened since my last post now that I have taken the time to think about it, however, for a long time I have been working and as a result very little of interest was happening in my life (my excuse for not writing a post). Nevertheless, I will now skim over some of the highlights starting with my parents visit, my move to Christchurch and my departure to sunny Nelson!
While officially we legally become adults at the age of 18, it has not been until I have come to the other side of the world, bought a small SUV to travel in and truly had to embrace the world of rent, bills, banking and budgeting alone that I have truly felt like one. To have my parents come over after 5 months of independent adulting and witness some of the country that I had told them so much about and set myself up in was great. I have taken more photos than I can count while travelling here and inadequately done my best to describe to many of you some of the stunning beauty this land holds and yet none of it can compare to actually being here and seeing it for yourself and I am grateful that I have had the chance to share some of that with them.
Sentimental wishy washy bit aside, we spend 2 weeks retracing much of what I had covered with Will and Erika previously in my car and their hired campervan, allowing me to show off a few of my favorite spots and explore some of the bits I had previously missed. As always there were ups and downs on the journey, with the adverse weather conditions making the first half of their stay a bit tricky and the cracking of my windscreen resulting in us separating for a few days while I was forced to have it replaced, but in general the time was positive and well spent. Once again I was able to meet some brilliant people along the way; most notably a 90 year old woman halfway up Diamond Peak - something arguably both mad and inspiring!
After dropping them off at the airport 2 weeks later in Christchurch I then returned to Methven to search for new employment again and catch up with my friends before they starburst around the country and world again for the winter. Unfortunately finding employment for the winter proved to be easier said than done in New Zealand and after a week of job applications, in between day trips out to the hills with the others, I managed to secure work as a farmhand for a man in Christchurch. Better still the farm happened to be 5 minutes away from a house a few of my friends had moved into a month before, and a few days later I joined them. Best of all, the house had an overexcited and excessively friendly dog - something that excited me more than I'd like to admit.
Sadly, while the house was fantastic, the work proved to be less than ideal and I spent 2 months biting my tongue working for perhaps one of the worst bosses I have ever had. Now that it is over I will put the experience down to character building and yet another story to tell and laugh about in the future but I will certainly not miss working for him. On a more positive note my time in the role of Farmer Tom did allow me to get some experience using tractors and trailers, scissor lifts and forklifts which was pretty cool. I now feel safe in the knowledge that if the world was to end tomorrow I reckon I would be a pretty valuable member of the new world society as a general hand with a little experience in a lot of stuff! haha
Anyway, wandering mind aside, my work on the farm came to an abrupt end one day when it was announced that the farmer was leaving for a few weeks and so there would be no work for a while. Having failed to find anything in Christchurch and the weather getting colder and colder I decided that this was my cue to up sticks again and seek employment in warmer climates and so I said goodbye to my friends and the dog and headed north. As I write this I am now warming myself in the sun while gently rocking in a hammock in the courtyard of a hostel I am now woofing at in Nelson. 3 hours a day of work cleaning, 5 days per week and in return I get free accommodation, breakfast and Netflix. Thanks to the surrounding mountains on three sides, Nelson is also notorious for being a bit of a sunny haven as the snow and rain that is sweeping the rest of the island only reaches us if it approaches from a specific direction. As a result, while yesterday there were reports of 20cm of snow across much of the south island, I took a chilly dip in the sea at Cable Bay and then dried off on the beach under the blue sky and sun! I definitely think I prefer my current winter accommodation to that of my friends across the rest of the island!
In addition to the cracking weather, Nelson is also a short drive away from the Abel Tasman National Park and some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. As it is winter many of them were empty as I explored the caves and arches that dotted across them making for some great photography opportunities and generally unspoiled peace. New Zealand is definitely a country of extremes in term of its weather but also the landscape. Milford Sound in the south was striking for the sheer rock faces that rise out of the water at startling angles and yet exploring Abel Tasman I have found that the same thing occurs across the land too. Takaka is a town that sits in a valley in Abel Tasman that is utterly flat for miles around until the mountains shoot up so abruptly that a blind man could stub his toe on them. No doubt geologists could tell you much and more about glacial valleys, rock types and the weather conditions that have caused the creation of such an utterly wild landscape but all I will say is that I have never seen the like before in the UK.
It is perhaps cliche but if my time travelling New Zealand has taught me anything so far it is that you don't need to wait for space travel and new planets to find utterly beautiful and alien landscapes like those of your favorite sci-fi films and books. Instead a packed bag and a plane ticket later and it is utterly baffling the scenes, people, creatures and just generally alien things you will find that would never have crossed your mind back home. I have many friends graduating again back in the UK and a few in jobs that they do not particularly enjoy and if any of you are even entertaining the idea of travelling I cannot recommend it enough. There are always ups and downs but if there aren't you're not living are ya!
Anyway. sorry for being a 'gap yah' preacher on this post but that catches you all up on my travels! Assuming all goes well, I should be staying here in Nelson for the rest of winter and looking for a cafe/bar or restaurant job to keep a bit of money coming in on the side of woofing. Fingers crossed! Hope you're all ok back in the UK and enjoying the summer! Tom
