queen charlotte drive

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chambermaiding is as fun as cleaning could be. we joke and talk all while scrubbing bathrooms and making beds. heh. the women i work with called me 'cheeky' the other day. they explained that it means that i'm a smartass....or something. one of them offered to take me to the local marae which is where the maori people of the area congregate for tribal meetings. think 'whale rider.' it's a real honor to be welcomed onto a marae as a guest so i'm excited. driving the van is fun too. i've made friends with the guys who park next to me: graham and 'grumpy steve' (who isn't grumpy at all....just older). they tell me silly jokes about kiwis and stories about the people who have stayed in their backpackers over the years. i get to laugh and stand around in the sun for a couple hours a day and that's alright with me.

the past few days my beautiful hills have been shrowded in clouds. it has rained a small sideways mist all day, soaking everything to its core. the land was thirsty i think. the sky hasn't shed a drop of water for a solid two weeks.

i've been spending more time with the other two workers in the hostel: megumi and yumi. they're teaching me japanese. my vocabulary is slowly increasing. i'm teaching them better english. we are all students of language forever i think. they are great girls. cute and laughing a lot (probably at me). we share pictures and stories about our families at home. theirs are small, mine is big. they tell me about their favorite nationalities when it comes to men. megumi likes americans, wisconsin specifically. yumi likes german men. they asked me where my favorite was from and i said 'uhh....'

which brings me to chippy. notice the photo. as promised we've now complimented her 'i love jesus' sticker with a rainbow sticker. yessss!! despite all the love chippy's speedometer is still not functioning. it has moments of brilliance and cuts out soon after. oh well.

my second day off. i drove to nelson, a bigger town outside of picton. i wasn't particularly inspired so i drove west until i hit a beach. in front of me lay what looked like a penninsula wrapping around the front of the shore. it was made of mountains cutting a low lying cloud. a mysterious looks i suppose. the sky was getting ugly so i got back in the car and headed back to picton. i found myself wanting to stay away but also weary eyed. i carried on to okiwi bay....a long windy but incredibly scenic detour. back in the car and onto the queen charlotte drive from havelock to picton. i was detoured once on my journey by an alluring cove beach so secluded i was the only one there. stupendous views of the marlborough sounds, blue and green all around. i love this country!!

so i was driving along belting ani difranco lyrics (poorly) and i see cows in the road....wait....huh?? i had to double take, but not before i depressed the brake (don't worry mom). it was laughable. ani difranco in constant anguish, interrupted by a 'moo moo' here and a 'moo moo' there.

a good day all around.

take care.

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Photos

nelson beach
watching a storm cloud plow through the sunlight and over the ocean

chippy
as promised.

hold up
cows crossing the road.

i love this country
govener's bay beach or something

queen charlotte drive
view of a bay from the drive.

my new buddies
from left to right: caitlin, yumi, megumi. i'm learning japanese!!

the big red van
pimp my ride....

Comments

[Nichole]

Wow buddy,New Zealand looks so beatiful... really peaceful. Oh, and nice nickname :)