Nelson Region

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Remark: This is probably one month ago and I am travelling in Asia since than, but I am sure you will enjoy our last encounters with NZ now as well 😊

Our next stop was Motueka. I'm still not sure how we ended up in this place but we somehow did. I think it was katjas idea to come here so she is to blame!!!

Motueka is a "special" place, I think thats the best way to describe it. As we cruisied into town (no one drives in Motueka, everyone cruises as its so laid back) we got very good vibes from the place. we both tuned to one another and smiled as we saw the hippies walking along bare foot with their dreadlocks and long colourful skirts (the women were in the skirts). katja was bursting and as always she couldnt hold it so we rushed around to find a toilet.

We ended up in the tourist office, as we always do when ever we visit a new town, Katja relived her self as I browsed through the same old literature about canoeing, sky-diving, tramping, bungeee jumping, scenice flight etc etc. Our thoughts were to go up to the Abel Tasman and so we asked the advice of one the friendly tourist advisers. She said we could go sea kayaking, sounds like fun!!! unfortunately we needed to be "sea experienced" which we didnt really understand at the time what it meant but it sounded like I could be sea sick so we decided not to. However there are some great walking tracks and magnificent sights in the Abel Tasman so we decided to do that instead.
Having gained some information we decided to explore this little town. We walked up the main street, it had some really interesting shops but noting that we would purchase. We then found a funky little place called Four Winds, i will never forget this place. It looked like your typical hippy hang out, people sat outside smoking, conversing, all were barefoot by the way! things in their hair and some even looked like they hadnt washed in a long long looooonnngg time!! I guess that must be the hippy way.

I saw a sign saying tatoo's and as you all know one of my aims from this trip was to get my original tatoo added to. This was not the place I thought I would have it completed but out of interest we walked. I walked right into the tatoo studio with out even realising it. It looked more like a laid back open office. It was situated right outside the toilets and a step away from the cafe. The studio consisted of a desk, a lap top, a tatooist chair and the a place for the victim. One guy was having his tatoo done so I hung around and watched for a little while. The work seemed to be of good quality and it was very tarditional Maori. The guy doing the tatoo looked Maori.

He took a little break to talk to me, wow!! he smelt of alcohol!! he wasnt standing straight and sluring some of his words.

"so you want a tattoo then"
"I'm thinking about it, I want to complete what I already have"
thats when I showed him my original work of art
"hmmmmm" was his reaction....... "come back in 30 mins bro as I have to finish this guy and then we can talk"

So we went for a walk and explored the area some more. We found a shoe shop. katja's favorite pass time.. shoe shopping!! As always Katja tried on some shoes. This is when we realised something... The women in NZ have larger feet than women in Europe... We worked this out as they didnt have katja's shoe size and when asked what was the average size for NZ women, it was larger than European women. Now theres something that you dont learn everyday.

Having discovered this new information we thought we should give up on trying to find katja some shoes in NZ! and so we headed back to the tatooist. As we approached he was stood outside sipping his beer. I talked to him about my tatoo and he told me to be absolutely sure in what I have. He also told me that his work is all Maori art and each symbol has a meaning. This intruiged me greatly as previous to this I had just wanted something that draws attention to my original tatoo and exemplefies my original meaning. i hadnt thought to add more to it. Even though this guy seemed to a little drunk he was actually talking alot of sense. he told me to sit down and work out what was important in my life and what wasnt.

This is when my beloved and I (thats Katja by the way) sat down and tryed to work out what I wanted to say with my new tatoo, thats if I was going to have one. After about 30 mins and two Chais later we had made a list of what I thought was important to me, in the past, present and future. This is when Kainga, thats the tatooist's name, came and he and I sat and talked alot about where I had grown up and my past. He and I shared a quite a bit in common from our past which made the conversation even more interesting. Then we got up and went into the tatoo studio. Thats when he started to draw on me freetyle, all of his work is freestyle, meaning he does not have any predetermined stenciles and all of his work is unique. He works with the shapes of the body, which was one of my concerns, as at the moment I have lost a considerable amount of weight and when I return to Europe I will put it back on again. This may make the tatoo look uneven or maybe too small. Kainga works with the shapes of the body so when the body grows or shrinks so does the tatoo. His first draft was quite large and went over two thirds of my back and shoulder. I really liked the design but felt it was a bit too large for me. After several attemps we had got it. I never expected to have a tatoo done by this person let alone one that says what I wanted it to and fit in with my original. Both Katja and I agreed that this is the one and the next thing i knew I was having the outline of the tatoo done on me.

The tatoo took around three to three and a half hours todo. I came back the second day to retouch my original tatoo as it looked faded and would look out of place. Kainga really surprised me by what he did next. As neither of us had expected me to get a tatoo neither of us had enough money to pay him. So I asked him whether it would be ok for me to return tomorrow and when he finish's everything off I will pay him. To my surprise he agreed?? He is a very trusting man but then again I gave him my word and I am true to my word!

That night we stayed at a campsite as I needed a comfortable and clean place to rest. We returned the next day mid-afternoon to have everything completed. The previous day I had asked him lots of questions about the Maori culture, the Moarie (thats Maori community houses/ sacred places) and whether we could visit one. we talked quite indepth about the tatoos or moko's as they call them. A Maori can read/should be able to read someones moko as the shapes tell a story i.e. where someone is from, his/her status in the community, ancestral line, even down to how many children they have and whther they are from the same mother... the moko is a language in it self.

Having comleted my tatoo and visited a Moarie and learnt more about the culture and religion we set off for the Abel Tasman.

The Abel Tasman covered with spectacualr scenery as is most of NZ. We stopped there briefly before moving onto Nelson and finally our last stop in the South Island Picton.

I found Nelson quite cosmopolitan compared to the rest of NZ with its busling city vibe and out stretched buildings. In NZ they dont build high they build long and wide... well why not if you have the space! Picton is a cute little place with a GREAT ice cream shop. highly recommend it. If you go there you will know which one i mean as there isnt much to choose from. In fact I think its the only ice cream shop in Picton. Gives you an idea of its size... We stayed in Picton over night in a layby overlooking thye ferries as they arrived and departed for the North Island. soon we would be on one of those ferries and onto the next stage of our trip.....

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Photos

Leaving the South Island
A 3 hour ferry journey past this Marlborough sounds takes you from Picton to Wellington on the North Island.

Scary Cow
On the tip of Marlborough Sounds, going down a secluded route suddenly this cow appears with its intruiging dark eyes....

Malborough Sounds
Yet another Sounds, which presented on ever so winding roads beautiful sights.

Ali's Tatoo
Finally after 5 years of search we found a suitable tatooist - named Kainga in Motueka.

Dodgy Ref
Motuekas cafes and bars were very hippy like.

Holy Waters
The biggest Australasia fresh water fountains.

Stormy beach
Again bad weather hit us driving us on to leave from the Golden Beach

Ali the conquerer
You might not see it, but he stands on a very, very high mountain.

Marlborough Sounds
Our walk in the Marlborough Sounds included a bit of that path layd ahead of us.

Our campsite
Hm, these fresh tomatoes from the farm are tasty :)

Tramping
A quick glimps on how our tramping outfits were...., hey the sun and background is a lot more worthwhile seeing.

Fisherman
Another NZ attraction as we discovered.

Food
This is a reminder on how healthy we ate and to what views!

Mussels
I call this photographic art

Picton Port
One of the many boats in the port, this one serving ice cream and fish and chips