Hello folks. As promised I have some new photos which will bring me right up to date with my my movements so far. It's a bit of a mish mash and doesn't cover everything but you've got the best bits!
We are currently staying in Motueka just south of the Abel Tasman National Park at the top of the North Island. It's a beautiful area with stunning scenery and the coast is especially tasty, the only draw back being our current job. I wont bore you with the details, I think I've done enough of that already with our previous thrilling jobs. Oh, what the heck, you can skip this bit if you're really not interested. It's another new experience as we've migrated from the sun scorched orchards to an airless packhouse. Could no one have warned us that Nelson is the apple capital of New Zealand? We're such plonkers, happily winding our way to sunny Nelson with visions of nursery work or a bit of stone fruit picking, only to stumble right into the beginning of the apple season. 85% of New Zealands Apples are grown where? Yes you guessed right......................sunny Nelson. I could entertain you for hours with the intricate details of apple grading, which is what we stupidly agreed to do, but I'll save that for when I get home. All I need to tell you is that we work for eight hours a day standing staring at a conveyor of coxes apples, picking out the rotten, bruised and russet damaged (oh I could tell you lots about russet) before they wend their way to Sainsburys, 5 weeks boat ride away..................look out they're on their way. Don't worry, I washed my hands. Well, enough of that, on to the photos. I hope you like them.
We are currently staying in Motueka just south of the Abel Tasman National Park at the top of the North Island. It's a beautiful area with stunning scenery and the coast is especially tasty, the only draw back being our current job. I wont bore you with the details, I think I've done enough of that already with our previous thrilling jobs. Oh, what the heck, you can skip this bit if you're really not interested. It's another new experience as we've migrated from the sun scorched orchards to an airless packhouse. Could no one have warned us that Nelson is the apple capital of New Zealand? We're such plonkers, happily winding our way to sunny Nelson with visions of nursery work or a bit of stone fruit picking, only to stumble right into the beginning of the apple season. 85% of New Zealands Apples are grown where? Yes you guessed right......................sunny Nelson. I could entertain you for hours with the intricate details of apple grading, which is what we stupidly agreed to do, but I'll save that for when I get home. All I need to tell you is that we work for eight hours a day standing staring at a conveyor of coxes apples, picking out the rotten, bruised and russet damaged (oh I could tell you lots about russet) before they wend their way to Sainsburys, 5 weeks boat ride away..................look out they're on their way. Don't worry, I washed my hands. Well, enough of that, on to the photos. I hope you like them.
Home!
Rufus, our trusty (if a little squeaky) Honda Accord.
Going back a little, January in the Tongariro National Park. We walked the Tongariro Crossing which passes through an active volcanic range. These are The Emerald Lakes.
The Tongariro Crossing. Walking through one of the craters, Red Crater and Mt Ngaurahoe (of Mt Doom (LOTR) fame) in the background.
TheTongariro Crossing. Me before we ascended the Red Crater.
February. A view of Mount Taranaki (Egmont).
A closer view of Taranaki.
Happy faces on top of Taranaki and before the knee crunching descent. A faint outline of Mt Ruapehu in the distance.
The descent!
The Super 14s Rugby in Wellington. Hurricanes vs Blues. The fireworks are for the home team, the triumphant Hurricanes. This was probably the only part of the match that I fully understood.
The writers walk in Wellington.
Warariki Beach near Farewell Spit, Nelson region. A beautiful remote location with an inquisitive seal colony.
Cate and the playful seal pups.
More seal pups. Most of my close-ups are blurred, these seals love to tease.
Last weekend we walked the northern loop of the Abel Tasman great walk, an unspoilt stretch of coastline with remote coves, crystal blue waters and inquisitive birds! A pied shag poses for the camera.
Aside from travels you might be interested in a small press production that has recently been launched. For lovers of the creative, No.18 is (and I quote from myspace) 'an eclectic collection of creative outbursts engineered by undiscovered geniuses of the art world'. If this catches your eye, the first edition was launched last year but #2 is currently in production. The myspace address is http://www.myspace.com/no18_smallpress. If you're also keen to contribute we'd always be interested in new works.
