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Hello!
This blog may be a little shorter and maybe not as amusing as previous ones sorry! So waiting around in Blenheim was a total waste of time, we were just a few weeks early for the picking season ,and couldn't afford to be waiting around places so we decided to head north to another town based in a fruit growing area, Motueka. This is the town just south of Abel Tasman that we had already visited. We drove north back through Nelson Lakes, which was as beautiful as ever, and actually parked up on Lake Roititi and had a nice meal and some drinks!
We got to Motueka, and it wasn't looking good. Motueka is basically a town surrounded by huge orchards of Kiwi Fruit, Apples, Grape Fruit etc etc. So we asked places, we asked in hostels, we asked at i-site, we drove round lots of orchards asking everywhere we could, and everywhere we asked was the same story. "come back in a few weeks" The last orchard we tried told us he would have something in about a week that would last another 2 from there. This was perfect and would fit in perfectly with Mum and Dad coming to stay. SO, like Blenheim, we decided our only choice was to wait around, which we did. For the next roughly 9 or 10 days we lived in a car park, next to the beach and ate noodles, spied on other campervanners through our twitching curtains, it was boring and draining. Throughout the whole trip we have been on such a high, and having such a great time that this wainting around in very average towns was ruining it for us, and was almost depressing. So we came to a week later, and returned and as usual it wasn't good news. Due to some crappy weather the work had been pushed back again.
We now had no choice but to apply for every job we could find online, and it looked like our plans might have to change, we couldn't even dream of how much they were about to though. Among the jobs i applied for was a bar job at Furneaux Lodge in Marlborough Sounds, an isolated resort with no road access. The minimum stay was 4 months but i applied anyway. Jen also applied for a housekeeping job at Bay of Many Coves resort just round the corner from Furneaux the day before. Jen got a phone call one of the previous mornings offering her the job, it would be temporary but they only had one spot. This wouldn't work cause of the van and me not having a job so we dismissed it. Once we had been let down again, it was looking desparate. I then got a call from Furneaux Lodge offering me the bar job, we talked a lot about our options and eventually decided that our plans were going to have to change. We ultimately decided to take these jobs until mid january when we would fly up to Taupo and maybe The Bay of Islands then. This also meant we would have to sell Brian. i was gutted at the thought, but also loving the idea of working in an isolated paradise with no road access, dolphins, beaches, rain forest.....
So we took the jobs, and then made for Nelson for 2 last nights in the van to pack up our stuff and say goodbye to him :( We were due to start on 5th November giving us time to sell him, but instead we thought we would park him up long term in Picton and just leave notices in the windows, this way we could pretty much start on the Monday (2nd). In Nelson we had some good weather and a cracking day on the nearby beach, then prepared for one last night on the town before we retreated into the wilderness!
Halloween night was great, we spent it at the Shark Club in Nelson where an incredible bands Burn were playing and kept us in the bar till the early hours. The next day we drove to Picton, emptied the van, cleaned it, packed up our bags, posted the For Sale signs in the windows and booked our water taxi.
So i arrived at Furneaux the Tuesday just gone, and it's going really well, if not taking a little getting used to! Furneaux is in the Endeavour Inlet in Queen Charlotte Sound, it is a resort with a bar and restaurant which the staff live above. We have our own lounge, my meals are cooked for me twice a day, and we have full use of Kayaks when we wish. The place is incredible and i have already made friends with the other staff. Tuesday night was a piss-up, a good way to become intoduced, and since then it's been great. I have been training this week, but next week i'll go on to full pay, and the best news is i have the full 10 days off to travel with Mum and Dad in the South Island! They arrive a week on Sunday and i cannot wait to see them.
So from here i will try to keep the blog updated, and try and keep you informed, even if it is just day to day activities and goings on. Bear in mind if you are trying to text or call me i have no signal here whatsoever so i wont get those messages until i go ashore next week to meet mum and dad.
Keep in touch, more messages on the board please (they seem to have dried up-does anyone still read this...?!)
Lots of Love
Ben xxxx
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