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The adventures of Manny and Melly
It's hard to believe that our time in New Zealand is coming to an end. I have fallen in love with the simplicity of life here. It's not hard to love a place that is home to more sheep than people.
The last time I wrote was from Queenstown. The day we left there we headed to the west coast of the south island. It is dense forests,mountains and glaciers on one side and the rocky stormy sea on the other. It was absolutely beautiful. We ended up spending a lot less time there because of the rain. It rained so hard that our bush camper was leaking. We weren't able to do much but drive north for about 2 days in an attempt to outrun the weather (all due to a cyclone). We got 2 flat tires along the way. Oh well, it's all part of the adventure. We almost missed our 5:45 am ferry back to the north island. We were the last car on board. We got chased by the owner of a campground because we parked there and didn't pay. We pulled in late at night and left at 6:00 in the morning without using any of the facilities. We learned our lesson there. We've been spooked out of parking along side the road based on what we've heard about the Maori tribes. They are the indigenous people of NZ and they feel (rightfully so) that they've been robbed of their land, so they break into cars when given the chance. We haven't had any bad experiences so far with them.
I feel like we are spending a lot of money. It is pretty expensive here. One US dollar is NZ .70 but it is still as expensive as California. I can't wait to get to Thailand for that reason. I expect Australia to be just as expensive.
For the past 2 days we've been staying with friends of Manuel's from Cali. The original owner of the surf shop that he bought lives here with his wife and 2 daughters (12 and 9). They have treated us like family. They live in the countryside, have 4 sheep, one of which the youngest daughter raised as part of a school project. They get their water from rain runoff from the roof which they purify and store in a tank. The air and water is so pure here. I could adjust very easily to life in New Zealand.I would raise sheep and an organic garden. I will just have to convince Manuel but I think he loves it as much as I do.
We finally went surfing yesterday. It's very different from surfing in California. Access to the beach is via dirt road then wading through bush, mangrove, and river. I fell and twisted my ankle yesterday but I was still able to surf on it. It takes a lot more than that to keep me out of the water. Today it feels much better.
It is very primitive. I LOVE IT. Quite a change from the overcrowded surfing back home.
Tomorrow we head to Auckland to return the bush camper. The next day we fly to Sydney. Mom don't worry if I don't write for a couple of days. I'm fine. I love you very much and miss you all. I actually miss working if you can believe that! I love my job. I wish I could travel around the world with my massage table. I hope this message finds everyone with a smile on their face.
Love,
Melanie
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