New Zealand Road Trip 2018 - Week 2

Day 8
This was supposed to be the day we went on a Heli Hike. This would have involved us going up in a helicopter to a glacier for a walk on the ice and back down in the helicopter. Unfortunately this was cancelled due to the bad weather up the mountain. We were disappointed but headed on up the West Coast to Hokitika. More rain today! We walked along to see Hokitika Gorge, went to the beach, we noticed everyone was lining the streets so we waited with them to see what was going on. Around the corner came many many bikes...they were the Scooter Safari, they had rode their bikes from Christchurch to raise money for cancer. After the sun had set we went to see glow worms; which looked just like the starry sky, I could spot the Southen Cross and Orion's belt!

Day 9
This was a long drive today all the way up the West Coast and to Nelson. Along the way we stopped to see Pancake rocks and Blowhole. It was very fun to see and hear the sea come in and up out the blowholes...this is all down to erosion. Kept driving to Nelson where we stopped briefly before heading to our free campsite for the night. It was super windy so it was a quick warm up of food from a tin for dinner!

Day 10
We continued our journey to Picton to catch the ferry to the North Island. This was the first day we didn't see rain! We waited in the queue to board the ferry and I drove on and parked next to a truck full of cattle. A pleasant journey through Malborough Sound across the sea and docked in Wellington. First we found somewhere to park for the night, grabbed some dinner and took a wonder around the docks. There was the LUX light festival on so we saw lots of art insterlations with light, my favourite was the cube.

Day 11
This was a day to explore the capital, Wellington. First we took a ride on the cable car to the top and from there visited Zealandia. This is a conservation project to help the native birds, animals and plants thrive. We spotted and heard many many birds but it was hard to take photos of them hiding amongst the trees. Next we looked around the Botanical Gardens and the Cable Car Museum before heading back down on the cable car. I found out that many properties on the hills have privert cable cars to access their houses. Last stop of the day was the Te Papa museum, we read about the history of New Zealand and saw some interesting art pieces. Off to our campsite for the night. I enjoyed staying here (Camp Wellington) as we could have a hot shower, use a huge kitchen and lounge area. We had a storm all night with winds that shook the van, rain hitting so hard on the roof with thunder and lightening keeping us awake!

Day 12
We had a change of plans looking at the weather in the morning. We wanted to do the Tongariro Alpine crossing but there was bad weather with snow so we were going to have to miss that out too. The weather hasn't been too kind to us here in in New Zealand. Anyway we had a lovely warm drink at the Chocolate Fish cafe before heading on up pass the crossing route and on to Taupo. The snow was coving everywhere...I wouldn't want to climb the mountain in that weather. After a long drive we arrived in Taupo and found a camp spot for the night.

Day 13
We were in Taupo a day early so we decided to check the weather again as we had the swing booked for tomorrow and we really didn't want that to be cancelled too. As the forecast was rain we went to see if we could fit it in there and then with the sun shining. Guess what we did it! I was so excited, we got harnessed up and attached to the ropes. Waved goodbye to the camera and the man pulled the rope. I can't remember the first bit as I felt like I just froze in the air. Once the free fall was over the motion of the swing was fantastic with a wonderful view of the river. After Joaquín also did a bungy jump. I watched from the sidelines and I was so nervous for him. I not sure I could have done that! After the adrenaline had subsided we went for a walk along the river to Huka Falls. The waterfall was so loud! After that we were greeted with rain while warming up some soup for lunch. We decided to go and visit the Craters of the Moon - this is a natural thermal park where steam comes up through the ground from hot pools underneath.

Day 14
More rain today in the morning while we watched our laundry wash and dry in the machines. Then we drove on up to take a walk along the Te Waihou walkway; this took us along a river which is filled with one of the purest waters. As it takes 50 to 100 years to filter through the rocks. It said that 70% of New Zealand bottled water comes from this water source. That night we stayed in a very beautiful setting at McLaren Falls.

New Zealand Road Trip 2018 - Week 1

Day 1
Today started off by saying goodbye to the Pot Shed and the family. Andrew dropped us off in town to catch the bus. We bordered the bus with all of our luggage and made our way down to Christchurch stopping off at Kaikoura. On the way down we saw lots of seals laying on some rocks by the sea and a lot of earthquake damage to the roads which were being repaired. We arrived in Christchurch and made our way to the airport to collect our hire vehicle! We had a campervan for 3 weeks to travel and sleep in around the New Zealand. It was off to our first campsite for the adventure. We set up the bed and we found out that Joaquín doesn't fit in it! The first night with very uncomfortable with him taking up most of the bed!

Day 2
Today we visited Christchurch but before this it was a stop at the supermarket. We stocked up the trolly (they call them trundlers here) with lots of food to make many yummy meals. In Christchurch we visited the Remembrance Bridge Monument, next a walk along the River Avon and down to the Canterbury Museum. We took a look at the damaged Cathedral from the earthquake in 2010 which is still in ruins because the can't decide what to do with it. We also saw lots of street art everywhere. Took a look at the cardboard cathedral which is not made of cardboard and saw the 185 chair memorial. Before making our way to Stacy's house we stopped off at the Air Force Museum. Stacey was kind enough to let us stay over for the night and cooked us a delicious roast for dinner and we had a very nice bed to sleep in too with a warm fire to greet us in from the cold. I had a lovely time chatting and catching up.

Day 3
After a good nights sleep it was time to say goodbye and thank you to Stacey for letting us stay. Before leaving we sorted the car out as it was a real mess, we organise it so we knew where everything was and put the food in its rightful place. Then it was off on a drive to Lake Tekapo; it was a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. We saw the church of the good shepherd and then had lunch by the lake. We wanted to do a hike and see the Observatory but it was $8 to use the road so we decided to miss it out. I checked out the weather for the night and it was predicted to be cloudy. This is one of the best places to see the stars but as it was going to be cloudy we drove on to a free campsite. Getting there in the dark we put our dinner on, we had a few visitors (cats) searching for food.

Day 4
Today we drove to Queenstown through Lindis Pass. It was a very beautiful scenic route, even though parts of it were cloudy and raining but the views were amazing once the sun came out. Upon arriving in Queenstown we parked the car and had a wonder around the town and got some lunch, which the ducks wanted to share! After a walk around the park and by the lake we met up with Pablo for a coffee. This evening we stayed in a hostel/campsite so we had it use of a kitchen, not the best one but I managed to make enough food for 2 nights.

Day 5
I was ready and looking forward to my canoeing on the Lake Wakatipu but when we arrive there was no kayaks to be found. It had been cancelled due to strong winds predicted for that day so we made our way to Milford instead. The route there was a lovely drive but again we got some wonderful rain greeting us on the journey. We stopped at a "campsite"...I say "campsite" as they only provide toilets but the view was stunning with all the snow topped mountains surrounding us. Before cooking dinner we had a quick walk to Lake Gunn, we then settled in for a cold night after we gazed at the amazing stars.

Day 6
We woke to find the car was iced over and that we were stuck in it! We couldn't get the back doors open they were iced shut! Luckily I climbed through the front and could open the driver's door. We decided to head over to Milford straight away and eating some breakfast on arrival and get ready for our Juicy cruise. On the way we went through the longest mountain tunnel I've ever been in. I thought Milford would have more to it but it is the end of the road with a tiny airport and boat terminal for people arriving just for cruises. The cruise around Milford Sound was interesting but guess what we had more rain. It didnt take away the beauty of the area...we saw waterfalls and I spotted some dolphins. Once the tour was over we headed all the way back to Queenstown and then on to Lake Hawea were we stayed the night.

Day 7
In the morning we made our way over to Wanaka to visit the lonley tree and then get lost in the maze at Puzzling World. Then making our way up the West Cost to Franz Josef stopping to visit the Blue Pools on the way. Staying in a hostel for the night for some needed warmth, comfort and a place to do some washing.

Monty's time at The Pot Shed

Helped trim the plants

Enjoyed all the flowers

Pulled the dead leafs off the plants

Sold pots in the shop

He made Easter cakes for everyone

Helped Joaquin on his Easter egg hunt

Made us pancakes one morning

Visited the chocolate factory

The Pot Shed - month 3

My last few week's at the Pot Shed consisted of many job searches and applying for posts for the UK starting in schools in September...unfortunately it was hard to get an interview as most schools are not set up to do Skype calls! But I will keep looking and trying.

 

I did that in my spare time but at work I was busy as always working hard around the property. This month I got up to the usual jobs but this month included a lot of painting. I painted some screens, a fence, the shed and the outside of the shop.

 

Many people were leaving the hostel one by one as they had finished at the winery and we're moving on to other adventures. It ended up just being Maija, Atis, Joaquín and myself then it was just Joaquín and I left for the last week. Because of this we made the hostel very tidy and even gave the bedroom and bathroom a lick of paint.

 

 

One morning I woke to find snow on the nearby mountains so I knew summer was over and autumn was underway.

 

One flower picking morning Trish and I had an encounter with flies. We needed a smaller box but to get one down we had to get up on the bench and take one from the very top shelf. I got up there and started to knock the box down...a few flies few at me, the box came crashing down but Trish caught it only to drop it again as what seemed like a thousand flies came out everywhere. Well we didn't get any more boxes down for sure!

 

A few things I got up to this month:
I went to visit the Sugar Loaf winery. This is where Michael was working and we got to have a tour around the cellar to see how the wine was made. It was very interesting looking at all the pipping running everywhere, seeing the huge tanks fermenting and then all the barrels storing the wine.

 

 

One evening we went out to the cinema to see The Avengers: Infinity wars. Then in the evening we had a BBQ with Andrew and Melisa...everyone cooking a dish to share.

 

One evening we got to see fireworks as a nearby vineyard was having a party to celebrate the end of the harvest of the grapes. The display was so close we watched it from the garden and in doing so our neck hurt.

 

 

On our last weekend we went for a wonder around the Vines Village - some shops opposite the Pot Shed. We went to the cafe with Atis and Maija and got served by Kaden. This was Atis and Maija's last night so we watched a flim, ordered pizzas and played a game of Carioca until 1:30am. On the Sunday we waved goodbye to them, wished them safe travels and then took a bike ride to the Makana Chocolate Factory, just along the road. It was a nice cycle on the way there, we got a free sample when we arrived, watched them making chocolate and brought some truffles for our road trip. The journey back took us twice as long as we were heading into the wind and it was such a battle to go forwards!

 

 

In my last week I sold my most expensive pot at $530! It was Mel's dad's birthday that week too so we had a delicious meal and cake made by Melisa. We had to pack up as it was nearly time to leave. We had a last meal with the family and presented our presents to them and we also recieved a wonderfully written card and a box of the most amazing brittle from the chocolate factory...we also saved this for our road trip.

 

 

In my time at the Pot Shed I learnt a lot about the flowers; how they grow, when to pick them, about spotting on the petals and that you get mutations sometimes...like, you find twins or a 2 headed flower. I had a great time working there and getting to know the Bassett family. Thank you for making our time there so wonderful and part of the family.