This post will hopefully allow me to post some pictures... I have not managed to get them up from the ipad on previous posts. (apples 0: olives 1)...
Since leaving Auckland on the 18th I travelled overnight on the bus to Wellington:
View from my 'bedroom' on the bus
Took the ferry across the Cook Strait - one of the the most picturesque boat rides in the world:
(also perhaps one of the windiest and wettest rides...)
I arrived in Picton and was met by Annie - when the ferry finally docked: it was too windy for it to get to the wharf for a good 15 minutes...
I felt very homesick when I got into Annie and Hamish's - I think it was the reality of finally arriving, and having yet another 'home' - I worked out that since leaving Pennine last summer, I have had 4 or 5 different places that have served as my base, but none have yet felt like my proper home. With the exception of Delrow, the other places have been in transit, and usually involved me living out of a bag (or three). This has been tough over time - especially the last few months, however it has been the wonderful people and person(s) in all of these locations who have made me feel very welcome, and truly at home!
I have decided not to go and do the olive harvest WWOOF thing - it will cost me too much to get back up to the North Island, and I will not be earning money for a month. (Apples 1: olives 1). Hamish has got plenty of work for me, and will employ me on a wage, so it seems very sensible to take up a fantastic offer, and to save money now and travel later. Besides, my favourite foodstuff has recently become apples... (Apples 2: olives 1)
On Thursday Hamish and i went for a drive out to Beatrix Sound for Hamish to measure up for a building quote. Now, this drive was about 200km all in... a reasonably straightforward drive in most cases... Not in the Sounds! over 7 hours to complete it - with the roads deteriorating (or as i saw it - becoming far more interesting) the further out in to the Sounds we got.
Lunch on the back of the Ute...
Below is a picture of a good section of the road out to the client's place - most of it was rutted and involved wading through streams, clay sections, a beach section, and plenty of bouncing out of the seat...
Hamish spent a couple of hours measuring and I enjoyed the scenery - as did Esmerelda below...
...the weather was pretty great - a bit of a breeze to spoil the 20-25 degrees of sunshine, but nothing to send me running indoors.
Once done, we retraced our drive back, stopped for dinner on a beach, and I pondered a wee bit on that earlier feeling I had had, as I munched on yet another apple...
...homesick?
So, until next time, assume that I am eating well (Apples 4: olives 1); that I am going to have some work to keep me busy; and that i am enjoying the company of my once-distant family, now my hosts, companions and fabulous lovely people all round!
Final score: Apples 4: olives 1...
Sounds like your landed on your feet, Raph! It also sounds like the NZ roads are like WA ones used to be 30 years ago. Makes me feel nostalgic.
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