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Yes, I thought it was about time I updated this as I've been a little lax of late...ooooops.
Well quite a lot has happened since arriving in NZ. Life in Picton was AWESOME!! I started to succeed to a degree in achieving what I came out here to do - getting under the surface of life in New Zealand and try to become more involved in the community. It was as much a challenge to myself to see whether I could do it, as it was a cultural exploration of life in another country. I still feel I have barely scratched the surface, but it has been very interesting, and I've met some great people along the way. The beauty of this country has been the most obvious thing I have noted, but equally, I realised how indifferent I became of my surroundings in Picton after just a month or so; it's amazing how, if you're not careful, you can end up taking such special things for granted after such a short amount of time.
One of the most important things I'd like specifically noted is, after 3 attempts of attending the local karaoke competition with my friend Verena...we won!! More to do with the hassle we gave the DJ then our actual talent I believe, but who cares, we got a $50 bar tab!
So life after Picton has been a bit of an adventure for the past month. I've hiked the Queen Charlotte Track, walked up mountains in Nelson Lakes National Park (where it was a foot deep in snow on top, I felt like a proper mountineer then!), had Spanish lessons from a German girl who translated into English (I felt quite ignorant!)in Greymouth and carved my own necklace from jade in Hokitika. One of my favourite activities by far has been ice climbing in Franz Josef. Geared up with crampons and wielding ice axes we took it in turns to scale a sheer wall of ice. I thought that my rock climbing lessons in the UK may have helped me a little in this, but discovered the technique for positioning your feet, and the much stronger upper body strength required was totally different to what I had been used to. I was a bit rubbish to begin with and seemed to take much longer than the rest of the group to get anywhere, but started to get the hang of it and was soon scaling overhangs (with much encouragement from the everyone else!!)by the end.
Since then I have been on several scenic walks, Lake Matheson being one of the most beautiful, and the place where I discovered THE best chocolate brownie ever known to man - HIGHLY recommended! Then Wanaka became my home for around 10 days. This is where I had initially been hoping to find some work and settle down for a bit. However, there was an obvious surplus in backpackers, and no jobs what-so-ever. Too early in the season for jobs to become available, and an effect of the economic downturn I think, after talking to people who had been here previously in other years.
Through the last couple of weeks I had met a lady also called Anna, who I had been traveling with. She was very useful in keeping me focussed on what I wanted to get out of my trip, and helped me to broaden my horizons, and not get too boxed in with my own ideals. So as it's turned out, I am now in a tiny habitation just outside the village of Glenorchy (about 50km from Queenstown). I'm doing 4 hours of exchange work a day in the lodge here - Kinloch Lodge. That basically means I end up doing all sorts of jobs from 10am - 2pm in exchange for free food and accommodation. The family who live here are just lovely, and keen to help me in my quest to get under the surface of life in New Zealand, and so have various ideas to help me do this, which is very kind of them.
So this is now my home for an undetermined length of time. Once again, it is stunningly beautiful; I'm surrounded by snow capped mountains, trees and a huge lake (free kayaks too!), and I intend to explore Glenorchy and what it has to offer over the next few weeks.
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