Hello from Buttercup! Yes, we're still here in Wanaka. Apologies for being rather quiet for the last couple of weeks; it has been a slightly strange period in some ways, mainly as we've been waiting on a couple of decisions, both out of our control, that have quite an impact on our lives over the next few months, so we've been feeling a little in limbo. One of these is the biggie, our visa extension. We submitted it over 3 weeks ago so should know the outcome soon, but if they say no for any reason we have to be out of the country in less than 4 weeks, having made our way back to Auckland, via Wellington, and selling Shadowfax somewhere along the way, which we're not ready to do yet. So we keep trying to make plans, but find a number of 'ifs and buts' in the way!

And the other thing that has been a little uncertain has been where we are going to live while here in Wanaka. "But what about Buttercup?" I hear you cry. Well, much as we love our dilapidated old caravan (and by the way, Ross & Helen, you missed a bargain here!) once the initial euphoria about finding work and escaping from Cromwell had worn off, we did start to think that we were paying rather a lot for her, especially as her door was hanging off a single hinge, we have to fight every day to have a shower or cook our dinner, and she is next to a septic tank, the smell of which wafts over rather too frequently. We then had the offer of moving into a lovely self-contained place in nearby Albert Town for a considerable amount less than we were paying for Buttercup. Own kitchen, own bathroom, own telephone - yes please! But just as we were about to move the other couple who own Wanaka Top 10 (it's under joint ownership) discovered how much we were being charged and sorted out a way for us to stay here for a nominal amount, and seeing as we're saving every penny we decided to stay and you know what, old Buttercup isn't bad and once Winston has moved her from her place next to the septic tank, we'll love her even more!

Uncertainties aside, we have been enjoying a lovely chilled time here. We're still enjoying work, although Su says I should mention an incident she calls 'Jo and the Giant Poo'! This occurred one lovely sunny morning when I was cleaning the ladies block (and please don't read this if you're having your tea!) I was cleaning the toilets when I discovered one that was full, literally full, of the biggest, stinkiest poo ever, too big to flush away. Now I was horrified so had to call Su to check I wasn't seeing things, then found Winston who dealt with it for us 'because we were such nice girls', while I quietly retched in another toilet! Su wanted Mum & Dad to see my face as she found my reaction quite hysterical, while I really wasn't amused! But yes, giant poos aside, we work until 2ish, come back for lunch, then generally chill, sometimes on the lakeside for a swim and sunbathe (though you really have to watch the sun here - while it's not as strong as Greece there is no ozone layer and you can really feel the strength of the sun), other times we go for a walk - the other day Robyn, one of the owners, took us through the Rippon Vineyard to the lake with her beautiful German Shepherd, Tay. And other times we simply sit and read, which we love (we've even managed to join the local library again!)

We generally take one day off per week. On our first free day we decided to visit the Mount Cook National Park, the heart of New Zealand's Alpine Country on South Island. Mount Cook is a 3-hour drive from Wanaka, so we decided to drive part way after work, stay for a night somewhere close by, and have a day to explore before returning that night. Our connections came in handy as the Omarama Top 10 gave us a free cabin for the night so we were already over halfway there, and the drive to Mount Cook the following morning was awesome. We could see snowy peaks along the way and kept trying to work out which one was Mount Cook, but when she finally came into view there was no mistaking her - she was majestic, and backlit by the sun so it looked as though she had a halo. We were really lucky with the day we chose as it was the perfect day for walking - high clouds to keep the sun off, but high enough to keep the peaks in view, and though it was not great for photos, the dark sky added to the moody atmosphere, as did the thunder that rolled around the peaks occasionally (or was it the glaciers moving?) We did 2 walks that day. The first was the Hooker Valley Track which wound its way into the park, past glaciers, over swing bridges crossing fast-flowing glacial rivers, alongside waterfalls and amongst beautiful alpine flowers, until it reached the base of Mount Cook, separated from us by the bottom of the Hooker Glacier and a glacial lake with icebergs, stripy and occasionally glowing blue, floating along, creaking, cracking and sometimes overbalancing and rolling over in the water. As much as I've read about the National Park, I was quite unprepared for the beauty of it, and blown away by the majesty of the grand old mountain at its heart. Secondly we drove to the Tasman Valley and did a short but steep walk to the Tasman Glacier, the largest in NZ, next to a lake where huge icebergs dwarfed tourist boats touring the lake (something that is only possible in summer as in winter the lake is completely frozen). It was a really wonderful day, something quite special.

Earlier this week, as we were sitting in Buttercup waiting for the decision on where we were going to live, we were delighted when Verena and Gary, friends from Tauranga, turned up to surprise us. They stayed for a couple of nights and we had two lovely chilled evenings, the first was spent down by the lake with a bottle of Marlborough Savvy and some beers, watching the moon's reflection over the water, and on the second we cooked sausages and roasted veg which we feasted on with a bottle of Central Otago Pinot Noir, followed by a tub of ice cream. It's a wonderful excuse to buy proper food when you have visitors! And it's lovely to meet people that you get on with so well, to learn that other travellers also experience highs and lows when travelling, and that we're not the only people to get annoyed with the tailgaters in this country! They also gave us a beautiful present each, which they had made themselves: two pieces of serpentine, a type of greenstone, which they'd found on the beach at Greymouth. Gary had sanded and polished the stones, they'd had a hole drilled through the stone, and Verena had braided a 'chain' out of string to make a necklace for each of us. Twin stones for sisters and serpentine for travellers. Thank you both so much - we will treasure them forever. Lovely to see you both again, safe travels and we'll meet up again, somewhere, sometime, back in Europe.

The morning that we waved off Verena and Gary towards Queenstown was another free day for us, but as clouds were covering the Mount Aspiring National Park and we didn't exactly have an early start, we decided on a walk closer to home and drove 20 minutes down the road to Diamond Lake and were rewarded with a gem of a walk, although considering we'd chosen it as 'an easy option' it was one hell of a hill! But once we'd huffed and puffed our rather slow way up the never-ending vertical hill, the view was superb - totally worth it! It stretched ahead of us to Wanaka and behind to the top of the lake, past imposing mountains and the many little inlets and beaches along the lake's edge. We could have climbed further to Rocky Mountain summit for a view of Mount Aspiring and the Rob Roy Glacier, but we decided to save that for another day and instead we sat amongst the red grass and noisy insects and quietly contemplated that magnificent view for almost 2 hours, before coming back past the vivid colours of Diamond Lake, where we had a fleeting glimpse of a rare NZ Falcon, before heading home for an afternoon nap.

And that's pretty much where we are right now, hoping to stay as there are so many wonderful things to see and do around here, but getting ready to pack up and move at short notice if we have to. Yesterday we washed and polished Shadowfax for a 'photo shoot' for her sale ad, though it will break our hearts to sell her. And we stand outside Buttercup in the evenings before bed (sometimes holding our noses) and stare at the wonderful night sky, so often clear here in Wanaka, looking at some constellations we know from home, and others that are unique to the Southern hemisphere, and we wish upon a star that we can stay here for just a little longer.

With all our love, Jo & Su, xxx