Hello to a brave new world!

We've arrived on South Island and it's as though we have arrived in a different world! Despite the fact that we had a few gorgeous sunny days before leaving Wellington, which meant that we did get to appreciate the city and its surrounds in its full glory, when we boarded our ferry to cross the Cook Strait, Wellington was covered in a dark grey low fog which meant that we lost sight of the city when only partway across the harbour. Sad, but somehow fitting considering the wet and windy two months we had spent there! But we did chose a very good day for the crossing, on a stretch of water renowned for high winds and rough waters; it was a calm, still day as we sailed out of Wellington harbour, across the Cook Strait and down the dramatic and picturesque Marlborough Sounds, and only partially cloudy once out of Wellington! We were touched to learn that Helen had taken Stevie to the beach at Raumati to point out where we were going and wave goodbye (and to learn that he had remembered Su writing in the sand for him, and attempted it himself!) The last hour of the crossing was in the Sounds, cruising past wild rugged mountainous islands covered in lush coastal bush, falling into the deep water, with little hidden coves & inlets and homes tucked in by the water's edge, places where mail deliveries are by boat only! What a magnificent sight it was - I took a few photos but being the perfectionist I am I really don't think that they capture the majesty of the scene, partially the light I think, so it was better just to stand there, open-mouthed and try to appreciate the beauty of it all. The crossing was notable for a few reasons: it was the first time Su had driven onto a ferry and she was pleased to have missed the sea and found the ramp; the ferry had just brought over a truck of livestock and the smell of piss where we parked poor Shadowfax was overwhelming, it got up your nose, into your mouth, down into your lungs and generally stayed with us for the next few hours; and we met a lost soul called Heather who had experienced similar times to us in Wellington and we chatted for the entire crossing about journeys, where we were going and what we wanted from it. She was quite intense, but meeting her was somehow fitting and appropriate for that moment.

And just 3 hours later we arrived at Picton, a quiet tranquil town, where we checked into a cheap hostel for the night, before wandering to the water's edge and watching the waves lap gently at the shore, listening to the yacht sails quietly flapping in the breeze and marvelling at the beauty of the Sounds. It's amazing just what an influence your surroundings can have on your mood, we immediately felt calm, refreshed and ready for a new beginning. It was even quite nice to be back in a hostel, despite the mixed showers and toilets, meeting other travellers and we passed a lovely chilled evening in the company of Tom and Rachel from the UK who have recently arrived in New Zealand and were keen to learn about buying a car (they're having the same discussions we initially had), the best places to find work and where to go. And we were happy to pass on our knowledge - it made us feel as though we know what we're talking about now! Ha ha! And we also learnt that the time we spent checking the weather forecasts online before we booked our ferry tickets was time well spent - the day before, our original date of sailing, had been very rough, people chundering all the way over and the road to Nelson (and beyond to Blenheim & Christchurch) had been closed due to the heavy rainfall!

The following day we saddled up Shadowfax and galloped off across the Queen Charlotte Drive towards Nelson and were rewarded with yet more stunning scenery and breathtaking views. And some rather hairy moments on the road! The route we took was a scenic drive, rather than the quicker main road although it was a proper sealed road, but in the heavy rainfalls of the previous days we came across two large sections of road where the road coming towards us had disappeared completely over the edge of the cliff, and at almost every turn there had been huge landslides into our path, some already cleared away and other with huge pieces of machinery (I'm sure they have a proper name…) sitting on top diligently pushing away the fallen earth and rocks, with men standing in the road, casually leaning on stop signs, appearing vaguely surprised at people using that route after the rains. All very Kiwi and laid back!

And so to Nelson. I have to say our initial impression was one of surprise, we knew it was a city (albeit a NZ city!) but we were surprised by the amount of traffic, hardly Brighton in the summer, but still more than expected, and the city itself isn't really picturesque at first glance, a grid layout with an industrial harbour, but as all the marketing says, the longer you spend there the more you like it. Our first two nights were spent at The Bug, a VW Beetle-themed hostel run by an Englishman who studied at Liverpool, graduated the year after me, and knew lots of my old hangouts! And it was a really wonderful place in some respects, he has travelled since uni and knows what travellers want from a place: cosy rooms, warm comfortable beds, towels, a well-equipped kitchen, free (albeit slow) internet, but there was something about it, perhaps the crowd there who seemed a little unfriendly, or the fact that in winter when you couldn't use the outdoors area there wasn't enough communal space, but despite its loveliness, we didn't really feel at home. So it was lucky that he had a large group booking and could only accommodate us for 2 nights and we moved to Almond House, over in a quiet suburban part of Nelson, surrounded by beautiful gardens, blossom everywhere, and only a few minutes walk into the hills and surrounding valleys. And we immediately felt at home, relaxed, and as though we had found a place to stay, plus the others staying there were much friendlier - we spent the first evening with a bubbly German couple, Vera & Simon, who work in theatre costume design & make-up. The hostel is small, only 5 rooms out the back of a large family house with 3 lively, energetic children, a guinea pig called Chocolate and cat called Missy, who is gorgeous, and whom I adored until yesterday when she came over for a cuddle (which I of course encouraged) only to be left with a huge pus mark on my freshly washed and only smart(ish) pair of trousers that I was about to wear into town to walk around asking for jobs. Poor little thing has been in a fight and has an abscess on her side that is currently draining. Charming! Anyway, pus and children aside, this place instantly felt good to us and we settled immediately, after Su had manoeuvred Shadowfax into a very tiny parking space, and went into town to explore the wonderful famed Nelson Saturday Market. It is definitely worth the hype! The market was wonderful, a relaxed chilled place with a mix of organic and homegrown fruit & veg, lots of craft stalls, clothes stalls, plants and lots of scrummy delicious smelling food on offer. We treated ourselves to some whitebait fritters, a different species to those we get back in England, more delicately flavoured, still gorgeous, and an absolutely beautiful, could-have-eaten-10-in-one-sitting crepe, covered in the juice of locally grown limes and sugar, wonderful. Now we felt like Nelson was definitely a place we could settle for a couple of months.

Almond House, whose name is obviously taken from the two striking almond trees at the front of the property currently covered in beautiful blossom, is perfectly placed for walks into the surrounding countryside, and that first weekend we did a couple of the shorter walks, to the Centre of New Zealand, and the along the river into the Mitai Valley. The Centre of New Zealand walk (not the true centre, but a trig point for the area) was a fabulous walk, if a rather steep uphill climb, from where we were rewarded with views across Nelson, not the prettiest over the city, but you could see up the coast to the Abel Tasman National Park, past some of the stunning white beaches this area is known for, and back into the green valleys behind. We did a loop back to the city, climbing down a winding path fringed with trees covered in an unusual and striking yellow blossom, until we arrived back into civilisation. Our second walk took us into the Mitai Valley, winding next to a calm gentle river, alongside trees where blossom had begun to fill the empty branches and birds were singing the onset of spring.

The day that we visited the market & did the Centre of NZ walk was a stunner, hot, sunny, and we were cheered immensely when the crepe-seller told us to 'get used to it, this is Nelson weather'. Fantastic. But unfortunately the rain isn't finished with New Zealand yet and since then we have had a steady succession of grey rainy days. This has had an effect on the work we have been aiming to do here, and subsequently our moods. We applied to Waimea Nurseries as soon as we got here, but due to the recent wet weather they aren't yet in a position to take on more people. So we've widened our search to all garden centres and nurseries in the area, but it's much the same story. It really is that awkward time of year where pruning work has finished and the next stage of horticultural work is not yet ready to begin - the rain has put everybody behind. So we looked at the picture across South Island in case it is worth moving, but that picture is repeated everywhere. So we've looked at other possibilities to find fill-in work for a couple of weeks until the horticultural work will pick up, but other seasonal work isn't quite ready yet, there isn't enough tourists in the area. So we've become quite frustrated again. It would be really easy to spend a year or 15 months in New Zealand, picking up bits of seasonal work to keep up the cash flow and spending lots of time doing WWOOFs, as some of them just sound so interesting and obviously you don't spend much money when you are doing them. But the problem for us is that we want to save for our return trip via Southeast Asia for 3 months, so we need to earn money, and we need to do enough seasonal work to get the extension to enable us to get an extra 2/3 months paid work in before we leave. And NZ isn't as cheap as I thought; food and toiletries are comparatively expensive, especially considering the wages! And of course we want to see all of the country, South Island is totally awesome, and we want to see every area of it while we are here, from the Marlborough Sounds and gorgeous beaches of Nelson and Abel Tasman, to the Southern Alps and glaciers, to Central Otago and the amazing wildlife down there and Stewart Island at the very bottom, so we do need to keep moving. I'm laughing at myself as I'm writing this, talk about want it all, I would have killed to be in this position a few years ago, but now we are here we really don't want to miss out on anything. It's just so difficult to know what to do for the best. Anyway, after a few days of hassling people and getting nowhere we've decided to do a WWOOF in this area for one week, so we are not spending money unnecessarily on food & board while we play the waiting game. This means we would have our afternoons free to continue trying to set up some paid work for the following week. So we are perusing the options and hoping to find another Beehive Gardens so we can enjoy the delights of Nelson and its surrounds, and of course get to the Travel Doctor next week for our next round of Rabies & Hep B. Woo hoo! Can't wait! (NB, since writing this we have been accepted at Bob & Ann Phillips' WWOOF - they are both woodworkers who have an organic coastal property & gallery overlooking the Waimea Estuary so we're off there on Saturday).

One final thing before we sign off for today, a huge congratulations to our cousin Helen and her partner Neil who have just had a gorgeous little boy called Harrison Robert, and of course to Pris & Robert who are now grandparents! Many congratulations to you all, thank you for the photos, and do keep us posted with pictures and news. We always love hearing what is happening back home, and of course we think about everybody often, even if we can't keep in contact as much as we would perhaps like.

Lots of love, Jo & Su, xxxxxxxxxxxx