Saving the Best for Last - The Details

Extending my stay in NZ by a month to fully experience the top of the South Island has been well worth the $70 flight change fee. From the day I arrived in Nelson in the middle of the region, I've had one fantastic experience after another (minus a stomach bug and a broken toe) which will make this blog post a little long. So feel free to skim or just look at the pictures, but for all the details, read on...

Flying over Marlborough Sounds

Arriving in Nelson from Queenstown, I was greeted at the airport by my Servas host, Colleen, a woman originally from Canada but now a Kiwi of 30 years, who brought me straight to the beach where we walked barefoot, watching kite surfers and getting to know each other. Colleen is an OT like my mom, about my mom's age, and is a super grounded person and involved in the community in all sorts of ways. I stayed with Colleen for two nights and on one of them she took me along to her international choir practice. Colleen belongs to a group of 30 or so people called Mosaic who get together to sing songs from around the world, especially South African music, but also music from the Pacific Islands, Georgia, and all sorts of other countries. They often perform in the area and have recorded a lovely CD. They sing a capella, sometimes accompanied by one djembe (drum). They stand in a circle for their practice and I listened from a chair nearby, getting lost in their beautiful voices and harmonies. Every so often between songs, one of them would come over and check on me, chat a while, and try to convince me to join in. While I spared them my off-key vocals, I was touched by the kindness of everyone there. They all seemed to be genuine, interesting, tuned-in folks, and I felt lucky Colleen brought me along.

Nelson from Colleen's kitchen window

Mosaic

After staying with Colleen, I headed off on a four-day hike on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, a 54km (34-mile) trek along the coast, staying in huts along the way. Hiking the Abel Tasman was completely different than any other hike I've ever done, with its fairly easy terrain and endless golden beaches offering a super relaxed vibe. It also helped that every day was sunny, and while it's cooling down here, it was still warm enough to go swimming in the bays a few times, which was a true treat after hiking a number of hours to get to the next spot. Along the trek, I met lots of fun Kiwis, who seemed to be walking the track now that summer is over and there are less tourists around. They were great company in the evenings to visit with while we cooked and ate dinner.

Perfect swimming beach on the Abel Tasman

Te Pukatea Bay

A natural (and freezing) water slide

Another gorgeous view on the hike

Tramping along the beach

Wainui Bay

At the end of the four-day hike, I ended up where the track finishes in Golden Bay, where I met up with another Servas host, a woman named Helen and her husband Derry. Their lovely home is nestled in native bush, surrounded by veggie gardens and fruit trees, and overlooks an inlet. A few times a month, Helen volunteers for the local ornithological society counting spotted shags on Tata Beach at sunrise to keep a record of their numbers and observe an interesting phenomenon. Since I was staying with them, I got to join Helen in the morning. We got on bikes just before sunrise and made our way over to the beach, where the spotted shags begin to arrive at the same time every morning, swallow loads of stones, hang out for a while, and then regurgitate the stones. The purpose for their regurgitation is still under investigation, but it may be to clear worms from their stomachs. Regardless of the reason, being a keen bird watcher, I enjoyed joining Helen on the early morning expedition.

Helen and Derry's place

Counting shags with Helen

After Helen and Derry's, I headed off to the Nelson Lakes National Park for a few day hikes, then on to Havelock, a sleepy town on the edge of the Marlborough Sounds known for its green-lipped mussels, where I based myself to explore a bit of the Marlborough Sounds. Exploring these areas only added to my enthrallment with the top of the South Island.

Nelson Lakes National Park

Nelson Lakes National Park

Exploring Marlborough Sounds

Havelock at dusk

Then it was on to my first WWOOF job in the region—helping out a lovely British (now also Kiwi) couple named Rosie and James who live outside of Collingwood, a small town in Golden Bay. My two-week stay has been absolutely fantastic (despite suffering a horrible stomach virus for the first days I arrived that I'd picked up before arriving). I work about 4-5 hours in the morning, have the afternoons to explore, and then enjoy a lovely dinner with Rosie and James every evening.

Monk quarters (and mine)

Private outdoor kitchen

My main jobs have been weeding their veggie and flower gardens; clearing garden beds and laying compost; pruning bushes; and tidying up the property for guests who will arrive to stay in their cabins over Easter weekend. Working in their gardens has been a pleasure with their property elevated up in native bush, overlooking the ocean, offering stunning views every time I look up. I cook my own breakfasts in the mornings in an outdoor kitchen overlooking the ocean as the sun comes up. My accommodation has been a small, comfortable, one-room cabin nestled in the trees that used to be the monk quarters when the property was formerly used as a Buddhist retreat centre. My dreams have been especially vivid while I've been here and R&J think that may be why :)

Work

In the afternoons, I've been free to go for bush walks, walk along the quiet beach (if there's even two people, it's crowded), go swimming in the ocean, or visit the charming little town of Collingwood, which has the best chocolate shop I've been to in NZ. On Friday, James and Rosie brought me along to Golden Bay's famous local hang-out, the Mussell Inn, a pub that brews its own beers and brings together all the locals on Friday evenings. I was amazed at how many genuine, interesting people turned up that evening, adding to the awesome vibe I've experienced here.

James and Rosie gave me a day off while I've been here and I used it to visit Wharariki Beach, do a stunning cliff walk overlooking the ocean, and visit Farewell Spit, the longest sand spit in NZ. At Wharariki Beach, I had my best wildlife experience of my life—watching a group of 12+ seal pups play in a tidal pool about a metre away from me for about 30 minutes or so. I just crouched at the edge of the pool smiling as the pups shot through the water, leapt in and out, scurried along the sand, slipping on their stomachs, and played tug-of-war with ropes of seaweed. There were a few other people around watching, but never more than two or three of us at a time. It was so cool to be that close without fazing the pups and with hardly anyone there.

Seal pup at Wharariki Beach

Goofing around

Cliff walk

Cliff walk

Farewell Spit from afar

On Farewell Spit

On Farewell Spit

Every evening, we take a trip to a different part of the world with Rosie getting most ingredients from their gardens and then whipping up dishes inspired by all parts of the world—Thai curry, Moroccan salads, Mexican burritos, Indian daal—just my type of cuisine. To top it off, most nights we have a few glasses of James' homemade beer to wash it down while having great conversations. Needless to say, I'll truly miss dinner time when I leave here.

After my stay with R&J, I'm off to hike the Heaphy Track, a 78km (48-mile), five-day hike through a whole variety of terrains from lush forest to alpine tussock to the wild west coast. While staying with R&J, I've read one of their locally written books (whose authour I then met at the Mussell Inn) about the history of the Heaphy Track, so it'll mean all the more hiking the track now. The forecast is for wet weather and my boots are no longer the least bit waterproof, so it'll likely be a soggy walk, but I'm looking forward to it anyway. It'll be much cheaper to replace my tired boots in Indonesia.