Blogs from Motueka, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

Bonjour à tous, Je viens de passer les 3000km, en conduite à gauche. A de très très rares exceptions je ne me suis pas piéger, 2-3 fois seulement et encore sur quelques mètres mais rien de dangereux. Chose toute bête où je me fais avoir, c'est pour monter dans la voiture 9 fois sur 10 je me dirige côté gauche, pour le clignotant il y a des progrès un coup sur 2 je mets les essuies glace, mais la correction est instantanée. Pour couper une route, je regarde 4-5 fois, mon cerveau n'a pas suffisamment le réflexe de regarder du bon côté du premier coup. De temps en temps sur la route je regarde autre chose que les paysages, et j'ai fait un constat que le pays est particulièrement propre, jamais un papier à terre, quand ... read more

We stuck at it in the vineyards until the 2nd week but had heard from other travellers that there were better jobs to be found. Plus we wanted to find somewhere where we could park and live on site rather than travelling around different sites using all of our fuel. So off to the library we went to scope out some more options. By midday the following day we had offers from a hop farm and a dairy farm. The hop farm won our allegiance though as we could stay on site (plus the option of free beer) so off we trotted to Motueka. We arrived later than evening to meet our new self proclaimed dickhead boss. His name was Kem and began telling us his story of how he used to grow Blackcurrents to Ribena ... read more

We hebben Australië achter ons gelaten en zijn nu al anderhalve week in Nieuw Zeeland. Nog ff snel een update van wat er in Australië nog is gebeurd. Na de bosbranden waren we in Adelaide aangekomen. Hier hebben we onze camper ingeleverd en zijn we overgestapt naar een hotel. Wat een luxe! Op zich stelde de kamer niets voor maar na 6 weken in een camper te hebben gezeten voelt een echt bed en een eigen badkamer als een paleis. Van Adelaide zijn we met de trein (Indian Passific) naar Sydney gegaan. We waren naar het verkeerde station gegaan waardoor we nog bijna de trein miste. Maar een held van een taxichauffeur heeft ons met de nodige stuurmanskunsten nog optijd op het juiste station weten te krijgen. In Sydney hebben we 5 dagen gespendeerd. Wat een ... read more

Slow start given none of us could get to sleep last night - minds too busy. Bobby is still in bed but I spend a couple more hours with Shelley over breakfast - the subject hasn't changed. I pack up and head out a bit after ten, already a bit sad to leave these two behind. Three hour (hot, drenched) hike out and then the long drive to Motueka. Find my motel, wash everything, re-supply with tramping foods, and then out for a meal with Lance. I might pop back there for breakfast and see if he's still around - I quite like his company. Tomorrow brings a drive out to Flora road-end, a hike into the Leslie valley to Salisbury Lodge, then a day up and over the summit of Mt Arthur to Arthur hut, ... read more

Arrived in Nelson after a flight from Queenstown to Christchurch then a flight from Christchurch to Nelson. there was only a twenty minute gap between flights so it meant a quick sprint from one gate to another, pretty tight I have to say. Picked up a car in Nelson and just drove for about half an hour to a little place called Ruby Bay. It was beautiful, there was a restaurant called the boatshed right on the entrance to the river, it was a really still evening the sea was like a mill pond and a bit misty. Across the river were some pine trees and beyond that a creek with a few boats. I ordered belly of pork, followed by a lemon posset which was superb washed down with a couple of glasses of cider, ... read more