Hello again. I thought it was about time that I updated you since it's been a week since my last entry - the time has flown by!

Well I got to the South Island ok, the ferry was not so bad after all, a bit choppy out in the middle of the Cook Strait and I got covered in sea spray out on the side decks, but most of the ride was through estuaries so a bit sheltered - the scenery was stunning especially through the channels of the Marlborough and Queen Charlotte Sounds - they aren't that wide though and the ferry was pretty huge but we squeezed through. The ferry arrived at a place called Picton and I caught a bus west to Nelson. I've been staying at a really nice hostel in Nelson since, a smallish room with a few bunks but is has a great kitchen and lounge area and a bar & bistro that makes really good hot cholcate mud pudding :). Nelson is great, they call it 'Nelson City' but I certainly wouldn't classify it a city - a town at most! (Where are the skyscrapers?!). It is very picturesque, lots of cafes, bars, arty places and shops, and its surrounded by hills and forests and the Tasman Bay on one side. The hostel is next to a cathedral up on a hill and about 30 seconds walk into the centre.

Since I arrived I've been full-on job hunting - I have tramped the streets of Nelson and down to the waterfront, rang up lots of random places and searched online - I've handed in plenty of CVs and application forms so I hope something will come up. I think I will wait here another week and see what happens, if not I'll probably go South a bit - I have heard there is lots of fruit picking around - mainly apple thinning and in the vineyards around Marlborough. Yesterday I walked up to the centre point of NZ - it's marked by a compass on the ground - a nice walk and some cool scenery down the valleys.

I've decided to go on a tramp (the Kiwi word for hiking and camping) tomorrow to pass some time. I'm going to do the 3 day/2 night Abel Tasman Coastal Track starting early tomorrow morning. I have just booked two nights in two huts along the route and a water taxi to take me from where I finish back to where I start. It's meant to be one of the best and well-known walks in NZ, not too challenging also, although tomorrow is about 7 hours walking. There are two tidal crossings on the route where you can only cross at low tide so I need to figure that one out next. I will hire a sleeping bag and mini cooking stove as there is no cooking facilities at the huts - so I will buy some super noodles and lots of chocolate and make-do for a couple of nights! I'm hoping to tag along with people on the Track and hopefully some others from the hostel. It is a bit of a gamble with job hunting as I don't expect I'll have a phone signal so I'll probably have to re-visit all the places I applied to when I get back for an update...

The weather has been great here by the way, its a lot warmer than Wellington and Nelson is supposed to be the sunniest and warmest place in NZ - the main reason I came here! Hope everyone is well and I'll update you when I return.

Grace xx

PS. I need to share with you some odd Kiwi words: a supermarket trolley is a 'trundler' (it was a 'cart' in the States), peppers are called 'capiscums', and weirdest of the lot - flip flops are called 'jandels' - what?!