Heymoonshaker....

Sorry for the late entry on the blog, this working thing has been taking it out of Angie and I-just not use to it and I don't think we are made for working! Working long hours so not a lot of ventures to share with you over the last 2 weeks but there have been some.... One more week of work to go. We have mainly been prunning the vines, cutting off grapes and stems. The worse job so far has been tending to the baby vines which means bending down at every baby tree, there are hundred, standing up, bending down and on and on. We could hardly walk the following day but great for the thigh muscles! This week we have been taking off lots of grapes and dumping them, it feels so wrong but apparently it's about the quality not the quantity. You can't even eat them yet, I tried!

Loving the camping still, going to bed with the sound of the sea and up at sunrise is proving to be good for the soul. Travelling is good for the soul. I can understand why once people start they never want to stop, why would you. The Milky way and stars are out of this world (literally!) I have never seen the stars so clearly before. It's like someone has spray painted all across the sky in magic silver pixie dust! I can look at them for hours. The Southern Cross is in full view but looks more like a kite to me. On one side of the campsite there are small forested mountains leading to Whites Bay, often when the sun is out to play so are these crazy beetles that make a very loud sound like the cricket but higher pitched, known as the tweedle beetle. When they all sing together it's like the mountain is moving from sound vibrations!

The camping certainly makes you appreciate things a lot more, like hot water! We were given brilliant advise from a Kiwi couple we met on a walk about using the local stadium gym for the shower. It's members only so Angie and I walk in there, confidently, as if we are heading to the gym and go straight into the showers! We've not been found out yet!

We have had a few lazy and pissed nights where we slept/passed out in the car. In full classy style, one night was in a car park following a gig we saw at the local Scotch Bar. The gig was amazing. Andrew and Crowe, who we met while camping, brought there musical talents together and it was crazy good. Andrew plays the blues guitar and Crowe is a very talented beat boxer, fussed together was a sound very new and very cool. Check the dudes out on Facebook-Heymoonshaker.

The following day was not so beautiful and some harsh and needed lessons learnt. Kate, in her infinite wisdom, took all her very important items out to the gig such as passport, visa, journal and camera thinking this would be safer than the car. Great idea if I did not get so pissed and not realise till the following day that I was missing my bag and shamefully did not remember whether I left it in the pub or brought it back to the car park party. Words cannot describe the horrible feelings and the nightmare that went on for most of the day in trying to locate and finally thinking it must have been stolen. I cried, I cried a lot and then some more. Angie, as ever was amazing and so empathetic it was as if it was her own stuff. It was not a pretty scene and I'm not sure how Angie coped with me! After doing all the necessary actions such as a visit to the police station and starting to breath again, we got a text from a fellow camper at the site to say I had put it in their friends car for safety!!!! I'm one lucky lady and feel very looked after. I now have my backpack superglued to my back. I know the passport should have been my biggest worry by I was more guttered about my travel journal and photos. Lesson learnt!

We have tried to get out as much as possible on the weekends. A trip to Picton last week was lovely, we went for a long walk along the coast up to Queen Charlottes view and to the headland, The Snout (north east). The views were stunning and looked out over the Marlborough Sounds, so many beautiful forested Islands, inlets, headlands, peaks and beaches. They were formed after the last ice age when the sea flooded into the valleys. We hoping to spend some time there after work has finished and trek along the Queen Charlottes Track.

Picton is the main harbour for the South Island and where we came in from Wellington. Nothing like the ports in the UK. It's very small for a port and and despite being the main access point to the South Island it reminded me of a small port in Cornwall. That's New Zealand for you and I like it!

We had a lovely day at Nelson Lakes, north west of Blenheim. Driving there we had beautiful forested mountains to the left (Richmond Range) and Wairau River to the right meandering along and taking us to the lakes. There are two, Ratoiti and Rotoroa, both stunning and huge. The glacial lakes are set in Nelson Lakes National Park fringed with sand and surrounded by lush forested mountains. They are slightly off the tourist track, it was very peaceful and perfect place for emotional recovery after the whole bag saga.

The beauty of New Zealand proves to be a perfect place for locating you back in the present moment despite what could be going on for you emotionally. It reminds you of beauty being a constant and everywhere, in the landscape and people.

After a bowl of noodles, lovingly cooked on the camping stoves, looking over Ratoiti Lake we headed for a walk amongst the Rotoiti Nature Recover project. This project is aiming to restore the Beech Forest ecosystem through pest control. We saw more birds!

Missing you dudes and hoping everyone is well. sending crazy amounts of love and hugs. xx

One week and 2 tents later!

Happy belated New Year!

I hope New Year celebrations, whether chilled or very drunkard, was good for everyone. As you can see from the picture mine was both very chilled and extremely drunkard. This was taken at 5.00am, apparently Angie had to price the beer out of my hand as my grip was so tight, that, I thought, was impressive as I had passed out! New year was spent in with a few new travelling buddy's from the hostel and towards the end of the night I gate crashed Chrissy and Jacks party and drank all their booze!

So we have made it to the South Island and started work this week in Blenheim. Blenheim itself is not the most interesting of areas, pretty flat, agricultural land and not a lot going on from what we have seen so far apart from the town with the obvious, shops and a few bars and cafes which we have yet to explore. The best feature is of course, the vine yards, there are hundreds of the bad boys and fields full of vines carrying capsules of juice! We should be working today but thanks to the universe we have an extra day off. We started work on Monday for an agency who contract us out to vine yards in the Marlborough area 6 days a week, 7.00am to 4.30.

I had this romantic idea that I would be tasting the wine and crushing the grapes with my bare feet in one of those big wooden cases..........not even close. Our job consists of pruning the vines, hundreds of them, row after row all day long!! Sometimes we have to take off 80% of the leaves and others just 30%, thrilling stuff .The agency itself makes a mint out of us, they contract us out to apparently 'posh vineyards' and give us the minimum wage. We were told that the wine goes straight to the US and UK but we have not been told which wine it is yet but look out for the Marlborough and Nelson area on your white wines, usually Savaugion Blanc, and think of us. The work itself is not that taxing but when it is hot and we are in the sun all day it can be pretty hard going.

If the work in anyway starts to put me off the wine then I'm leaving, I am not prepared to compromise my wine drinking for a job! We have still not done any wine tasting, hoping to pop into a vine yard on the way home today.

Although Blenheim is not the most scenic of places, we staying in some lovely DOC campsites just out of the Blenheim, the facilities are scarce but the location and views are stunning. We are staying in 2 mainly, Rangarari and Whites Bay, along the East cost, both seconds away from the sea and in the distance views of the Malborough Sounds and mountain ranges. We are surviving the camping. I think we are coping pretty well considering a few problems on the way, tears, laughter and a lot of bites from the bastard sand flies and mossies. Lessons are certainly being learnt not only emotionally and in stress management but also practically, like never buy a cheap tent, it's not worth it! Within the first week tent number 1 was destroyed by the high winds breaking the tubes and ripping the fabric! We have decided to take the tent down on a daily basis, as most travelling dudes seem to be doing. This does mean getting up at 5.30am-brilliant!! I'm starting to like the early hour really, especially the sunrise over the ocean, perfect start to the day.

The solar shower has been interesting! trying to find a spot that is private and then getting it high enough to work, our height causes a few problems and when it's winy it's soo cold. Angie's perfected the art of the seated shower using our camping chair with the bag'resting on top of the car-genius! Weather permitting, we'll stay doing the camping, we both love being in the outdoors and starting the master the art of cooking in wind and rain!

We have not been able to do much exploring yet, but once the work in finished in 3 weeks we have the next 4-6 weeks to travel around the South Island before heading back to the North in mid March. Being free spirits with the car and tent does mean we can go off after work on Saturday and camp over night where ever we decide to go. We're off to Picton tomorrow at the head of Queen Charlottes Sounds.

We managed to have another day in Wellington before catching the ferry over to the South Island, time again mainly spent in the Te Papa, 2 more floors to go. They have an amazing iwi (tribe) exhibition there from the Nagi Tahu Whanui, Maori tribe in the South Island who migrated from the North 10 generations ago. Much of the exhibition revolves around their culture, values, way of life past and present. The exhibition is organised around the 4 cultural valvues: Culture, Tenacity, Sustainability and Innovation. There are loads of facinating taonga (treasures) such as art work engraved on stone, hunting tools from hundreds of years ago, clothing and jewlerry. Their story is very important and much of it is told through taonga.Keep you posted!

Lots and love and hugs xxxx

PS. If anyone is messaging me on Face book, just to let you know that I'm not using it that much while being away, the blog takes it out of me and best to e-mail!!

I'm so excited you are looking into coming over Sarah, I hope it's possible. You could either meet us in the South Island if you are coming at the start of March and then travel up with us to the North or we can meet in the North, what ever works best with you and when the flights are. anytime is cool with us. Love you xxx