Back on the road...

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 Life on the road is fascinating. It's not just the things you see or the people you meet, it's the fact that half the time it feels like you're in an adventure movie. Like there should be dramatic or comical music playing, and you never know what's coming next. I've spent a few weeks at a time in one place, but for most of my time here I've been riding from town to town, doing odd jobs and trying to earn wherever I can. The prospect of running out of money and having to sleep rough is exciting for a while, but soon enough you start to pine for the stability and simplicity of a house and a steady job. I managed to keep afloat doing this for several months before I took on a proper job and rented a place.  

Thanks to the tourism industry, there are plenty of job opportunities in New Zealand. I've only been here for 15 months but I've had well over a dozen. I was a gardener in Picton, a handyman in Thames, a vinyard worker in Blenheim, a photographer in Hanmer, I've worked in five star restaurants, hotels, pubs, ice cream shops, delis, hostels, adventure parks, kiwifruit orchards. I've herded cattle on a quad bike, painted houses, managed a hostel, run a website. It's a great place to spend a year or two if you've no idea what you want to do with your life. You might not figure out what you want to do, but you'll learn what you don't want to do. 
 
 Right now I'm in Hanmer Springs, unemployed. I came into a little money a few weeks ago as a gift from someone I helped out, so I quit my job and decided to leave town and start travelling again. I've been in Hanmer since February. It's a tiny, picturesque tourist village surrounded by snow-capped mountains and forest, at the edge of a dead-end 9km road far west of Kaikoura. 600 residents, 130km away from the nearest supermarket, bank, pharmacy etc. I love it. It's the longest I've stayed in one place by far, and over the past few months it's become my favourite town in the world. It's isolated, the people are friendly, the views are stunning and the sun always shines. 

 I came here in February from Kaikoura, the closest town, to manage a hostel. I'd planned to spend the winter here (since I don't have any thermal gear or decent waterproofs, it gets real cold on the highway from June to September). I got restless at the hostel after a couple of months and found a different job, then another, then another. Finally settled into a nice bartending job and stuck with it for about five months, but the pay was terrible and I couldn't save much.
 So tomorrow I'm packing up my few possessions and hitting the road again, I'm heading to Reefton to do some fishing and hiking, then up north to Golden Bay, a big national park area with beaches and little hippy villages scattered around. A few weeks there, then I'll see what happens. It'll be tough to leave here, it's a great little community and I'll be going from a place where everyone knows my name to a place where no-one does.

 I was out and about today, running a few errands in town. Bumped into my pal Sam at the bar and had a few drinks. Sam's a Kiwi but he's constantly on the move like a backpacker. He's an interesting guy, his mind host to a never-ending supply of facts about everything from New Zealand's natural history to psychology to the All Blacks' player statistics. He likes to impart his knowledge and teach you random things, but he's happier if you already know them. He bought me a beer today because I knew the biggest human organ is the skin. His regular drinking buddy is Davy, a heavyset biker-type from down south with long hair, long beard and a laugh you can hear three doors away. When Davy came into my bar and ordered a jug of beer, he'd drink straight from the jug. "Don't you want a glass Dave?"   "Nah bro, it comes in a glass!"

 Sam, Davy and a few others are leaving town soon as well. They're heading to the west coast to look for work, so I might join them if there's nothing in Golden Bay. In the meantime, I've got a list of things to get done before I leave tomorrow. Thinking about throwing a party too.

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