Travel Blog Posts
Val's Tamarillo Chutney
Published: October 23rd 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington
October 23rd 2007
From my beautiful digs on Tory St. Well, I was supposed to be leaving Wellington tomorrow, but it looks as if that is not going to happen. I was floundering about all day today, trying to get my things sorted for my departure. In the mess of it all, I was negligent in my laundry duties. They closed the laundry at 10pm and my clothes weren't dry yet, so I'm going to stay an extra day. I don't mind, I wanted to leave Thursday. I would much rather spend the extra day here than in Auckland. Plus, it gives me another day to eat some more of my food and maybe pay another visit to Trisha's Pies. The last few days have been perfect. Sunday I went out and about for a stroll. Me and my ... read more
September 16th 2007
Well it has been a while since I've updated this, so here we go. I've been in Wellington for two months now. After Ty left I took the bus down here. I was able to find a job as a dishwasher. YES!!! It really does take toll on the body. It's an ok job, very busy. I cut my hair too. It's nice and short. It feels good. What's good about Wellington? There is lots of live music. When I first got here I went to see the symphony a few times, that was cool. Went and saw Opshop last weekend at the Bathhouse. They're a good band. I'd only heard one song prior to seeing them, but I liked everything they played. They did some good covers too. I'm living in a wonderful backpackers at ... read more
July 7th 2007
So, it's been awhile - I know. I wanted to update you last week, but when Brett and I went to the Internet Cafe we left the camera in the car and no way to upload our photos. I thought it would be best to wait and fill you in when I had everything together. One problem though, I'm not sure if my memory serves me well enough to update you on everything that has happened in the last few weeks. I think it would be best to just fill you in on some of the recent highlights. For most of last week it rained. If you ever plan on visiting New Zealand I'd recommend that you do it during the summer (November-February). Don't misunderstand me, I love New Zealand in the Winter, but there ... read more
July 6th 2007
Hey Team. Things are going well over here in NZ. We've just finished our little assault on both islands. I can't remember what we got up to this week, but I'm sure it was fun. Let's see. Oh, we took the ferry over from the South Island. I almost got sick. The boat was huge, but I guess the waves were big too. Made it without losing any cargo. Wellington was a good town. Went to Te Papa (the National Museum) and checked out the parliament house. We got to check out a session as well. The members were very lively and were yelling at each other. It was great. I thought they would all be asleep or something. One member called an other female member a witch (not exactly, but he told her to ... read more
June 25th 2007
Brett and I visiting our friends (Brett didn't want to put there real names on here so we'll call them Dulaf and Mary) in Cromwell before heading to Milford Sound.I don't know how many of you have that one moment when you weren't sure if you'd make it out alive. Well, for me it's fresh in my mind because it just happened two days ago as Brett and I were driving into Milford Sound. It was Thursday morning and we were meeting our new friend Kali for coffee in Dunedin. The weather was not looking promising and the weather forcast called for lots of rain. It was our hope to make it to Milford Sound as soon as possible so we decided to make the long drive all the way there despite warnings about the weather. ... read more
June 24th 2007
Aloha! How is it? Things are going well over here. Let's see. Since last time, me and Ty have left Queenstown and spent a night in Cromwell. It's a small little town in Central Otago that really isn't much at all, but a nice town. They grow lots of fruit there, exciting. We met a couple while we were camped off of some highway up near Motueka and they offered to host us for a night. It was the nicest thing ever to have a bed and room of my own. It's been almost six months since I slept in my own room. They cooked us a really nice meal too. On the first bite I was able to choke....it's sort of a long story, it's happened before. So 45 minutes later I rejoined them and ... read more
June 17th 2007
The trip began just about one week ago as I boarded Air New Zealand flight 07 to Auckland. I was fortunate to sit next to a couple, Don and Kim, who spent the last four months traveling New Zealand so they were full of helpfull advice on what to see. In fact Don and Kim loved their travels so much that they returned to Arizona to sell their business and travel Australia in their RV for a whole year. Who knows I might join them... After I took a short flight from Auckland into Christchurch I met Brett in the town centre playing his guitar. It's been almost six months since we last were together, so it was great to see his face. We then went directly to rent our Spaceship which would be our transportation ... read more
June 16th 2007
hello people. This is your captain speaking. I'll mention a bit about pruning. It stinks. I don't think I am lazy person but this work is somewhat difficult. I never got that fast at it. I was just under where the guy wanted me to be when I left. Right. Someone told me it takes three seasons to get really good at it. I only had two weeks...so. Oh, I also found out that the contractor I was working for is one dodgy fellow. If you're ever going to Blenheim and are going to work for someone, great, but first contact me and I'll tell you who you shouldn't work for. I'm sure that 99% of contractors are great, well maybe 90%, so don't get the wrong vision of these guys. I've only worked for two ... read more
May 30th 2007
I've got three minutes to write this.... Hey....I'm in Blenheim working in the vineyards, pruning away. It's alright. There's potential for lots of money, but I'm slow so I make minimum. It's cool. I just need to save up for brother's arrival. It's much warmer up here compared to Queenstown. Ah, my mind is blank. I can't perform under this kind of pressure. Oh, I saw a band the ohter night. Katchafire. Reggae. very talented. Check 'em out. Got to go...peace... read more
May 13th 2007
Hi team.... Well, I'm still in Queenstown. Sweet. I was hoping to leave and go up to Motueka, but the day before I did I got to talking to the gal at the video rental place. I shared with her my hopes and dreams of going to Motueka to work, she advised me that there was not much left to do there. Cry me a river. So...I stayed in Queenstown. Two days later I was off to work picking grapes, thanks to March Brett for writing down that number just in case we ever needed work. I've been doing that for 2 weeks now. I like it. I came to NZ to do this sort of work and it's finally happening. Making minimum wage (NZ$11.25, US$7.50) is a real hoot. It'll wrap up this week and ... read more
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