Day 26 - I took the bus back down to Wellington.
Day 27 - I once again caught the ferry to Picton on the South Island. It was a cloudy day with choppy water. I spent the night in a 6-bed dorm room at the same hostel.
Day 28 - I caught a bus to Havelock where I met Marty, my workaway host. It was a 2-hour boatride to his amazing location deep in the Marlborough Sounds at Nydia Bay. I settled into my room and we then made a lovely dinner.
Day 29 - My "job" here was to make a promotional video. So that meant walking, exploring and filming. It was hard to get a bad shot as everything was so amazingly beautiful! Marty introduced me to the Nydia Track trail and Ella the eel. We had another lovely meal for dinner. In the evening at the outhouse, I got a surprise visit by some wetas (giant scary looking crickets).
Day 30 - It was another beautiful day in paradise. In the afternoon, we took the small boat out and visited some of the smaller bays.
Day 31 - More hiking and filming!
Day 32 - I did some final hikes and film clips, then put together the video.
WATCH THE VIDEO
Day 33 - I helped Marty do some cleaning then went out to get a few more photos for the website.
Day 34 - It was time to go, so we loaded into the boat and headed back to Havelock. I then got to spend the night on the boat.
Day 35 - In the morning, I caught the bus to Picton and then the ferry back to Wellington where Regan picked me up.
Day 36 - A day of rest!
Day 37 - We drove out to Otari-Wilton's Bush (an incredible park/botanic garden) and Karori Cemetery.
Day 38 - In the evening, we wandered around the botanic garden and then Oriental Bay for some sparkly city lights reflecting off the water.
Day 39 - Another quiet day
Day 40 - We drove up to Taupo, enjoying unique and interesting sighs along the way. We checked into the tiniest motel ever!
Day 41 - We spent the day exploring the Huka Valley. Our first stop was Huka Falls, with its incredible blue water. Next was Craters of the Moon. a highly active geothermal area. The steaming landscape did indeed look very lunar! Afterwards, we swung by the Huka Honey Hive for a bit of honey and mead tasting. Everything was so delicious! A bit further north was another geothermal field called Orakei Korako (or Hidden Valley). We had to take a ferry over to the beautiful and incredible features! We stayed at a charming little B&B in Tauranga.
Day 42 - After a visit to Regan's grandmother, we went on a tour of the kiwi fields at Te Puke. We then did the long drive back to Wellington.
Day 43 - 45 - Just hung around Wellington, taking in the daily life and some tide pools.
Day 46 - We did the "writers walk" which is a series of little markers scattered all over the city dedicated to New Zealand's writers and poets.
Day 47 - Another easy day
Day 48 - We explored some more tidepools then paid a visit to St. Paul's Church. It was gorgeous! We then wandered around Percy Scenic Reserve.
Day 49 - 50 - We stopped at the farmer's market then went home to make the slimiest pie we could possibly come up with.
Day 51 - I hopped on a plane and flew down to Invercargill (South Island). I caught a bus to Riverton where I was dropped off at Leah's. She was the workaway host I was going to stay with for the next several days. After a lovely meal, she gave me a driving tour of the area.
Day 52 - In the morning, we did some gardening work in her greenhouse. In the afternoon, we went to Invercargill to run some errands. I then spent some time at Queen's Park while Leah went to an appointment. It was a wonderful area, complete with an aviary and a museum.
Day 53 - We jarred and canned a whole lot of apples and pears. I wandered around the charming downtown for a bit, then visited with Wayne, a friend of Leah's who makes jewelry from paua shells.
Day 54 - Leah and I did a morning walk around the town before heading to Invercargill where I caught the bus for a beautiful ride to Queenstown. Regan had flown in to meet me and we rented a car. We took a drive out to Glenorchy. Absolutely spectacular! Our intention was to keep going to the tiny town of Paradise. While we did see many lovely things, we never found paradise, at it were.
Day 55 - We made the long beautiful trip over the mountains to Milford Sound, stopping at Te Anau, Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes, Marian Falls, Monkey Creek, Homer Tunnel (with all its keas), The Chasm, and finally the Milford Sound Lodge. We wandered a bit around the sound as well as the steep Milford Lookout Track.
Day 56 - We took an amazing boat ride on the sound, including stopping at the underwater observatory. Back at the lodge, we moved to our own little box cabin and then took an evening stroll along the river.
continue to April
