Back in Nelson

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Yesterday, we spent the morning at a big open-air market in the parking lot right next to our hostel. We met up with Brent, the owner of the organic farm we had contacted about WWOOFing and arranged for him to pick us up Monday to start. So we've officially got our first job in NZ! We also picked up some really nice organic fruits and veges while wandering around the market. We spent the afternoon wandering around a bit and then sat and read at Queens Gardens for a while. Then we stayed in for the evening and watched 'The Piano', for its Kiwi pioneer theme. After dinner and some NZ white wine we headed back to the room. No one else had moved in so we took advantage of having it all to ourselves and stayed up late and played a weird kiwi-version of Trivial Pursuit.

The next morning, I left Sha to sleep in and headed off by myself to find the proclaimed "Center of New Zealand". It was a nice hike up to the top of a hill. In the forest I saw my first New Zealand pigeon that wasn't stuffed in a museum (They're huge! at least compared to the pigeons I'm used to) and a lot of other cool birds and some old kauri trees. Once I got above the forest and the shade it was surprisingly hot, and the sun was out in full force. But luckily the top wasn't too far from there. There was a nice view, in addition to the plaque and monument marking the center of NZ, which definitely made the hike in the heat/sun worth while. Once I got back to the hostel we pretty much just spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the hammocks on the patio and reading and then preparing dinner. Not a bad day at all.

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