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The (almost) 6 months that I never got around to mentioning on this blog have been and gone, and I fear it is just too late to resurrect them now. So I'll give you a quick summary - Christmas and New Year in Melbourne, which was brilliant........ the return to NZ in January, a few days in Wellington, then across to Nelson......... January and most of February doing very little except settling in to life in Nelson and enjoying the summer sunshine, and thinking that I really ought to get around to finding a job at some point......... most of March and April working at a small vineyard just outside Nelson, which was a fantastic experience, plus a couple of weeks working at a hostel/rainforest retreat on the West coast, which was a lot of fun........ and the first 3 weeks of May packing kiwi fruit, which was a low point (I can't begin to describe how tedious, but I guarantee it stops you complaining about your old job back home). At this point I was about to set off on another adventure around South Island when, as some of you will know already, I found out I need to have
Sunset at Truman track beach
in Paparoa National Park, my favourite part of the West coastan operation in the next few months. Nothing serious, but enough to make me have to rethink my plans. So I decided the best idea was to get back out there and see as much as I could of South Island for a few weeks, and then start to plan my journey home. And that's what I did for most of June. Which brings me almost up to date!
I've attached some photos from these last weeks, just a few out of hundreds 😊 It turned out to be perhaps some of the most memorable times I've had in New Zealand - if you're thinking I've only included photos where the weather was good, you're right, but that's because it was perfect the whole time! Back in May I thought I'd never survive winter down here, but armed with my thermals, down jacket and woolly hat (thanks mum!) and a set of snow chains in the boot I set off in my trusty old Honda, Ernesto. I think now that winter perhaps shows New Zealand at it's best - the colours in the landscape, set against white mountains and blue skies, are simply stunning. I spent 3 weeks touring
TranzAlpine
Travelling by train from West coast to East coast across the Southern Alps around, the only hiccup coming on SH1 somewhere south of Christchurch, when Ernie's cam belt snapped. So he was abandoned, but I was rescued by a fellow traveller, Clare, who I'd met the night before at the hostel I stayed at in Akaroa. We ended up travelling together for the next week, which was just brilliant. We had the pleasure of Max's company for a couple of days too, a young Spanish guy who was hitchhiking to Milford Sound - we rescued him from a chilly wait on the road to Te Anau. Anyway, I could write a small essay on everything I saw, but I'll let the photos do the talking - hope you enjoy them!
ps my photography skills/camera aren't up to coping with the extremes of light and shade on a sunny winter's day, so some of the photos are a bit dark in places!
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