Would I do anything differently? Hell yes, make sure I have no financial commitments back home first before starting out on this type of adventure. It took me a little longer to get work than I anticipated and even though I'd done my research and was fully aware that wages are lower here, I found they were lower again than I was expecting. Would it stop me doing this again? Definitely not! It's all part of the experience and the adventure.
Learning curves? Make sure you check the tyres when you buy a car, even from a car dealer! I somehow forgot this and now have tyres that need replacing. Don't just have one back up plan, have a couple. Or perhaps that is more a typical Virgo's line of thinking.
Highlights so far? Oh where do I start. The scenery is incredible and a huge part of why I love this country so much. The views from the top of Treble Cone ski resort are breathtaking. The spring wildflowers, lupins and californian poppies, are absolutely beautiful. There is something incredibly special about driving alpine roads and seeing masses upon masses of lupins in flower and the smell is divine. The ruggedness, remoteness and wilderness in various parts of this country give you a whole new appreciation for our world around us. Doubtful Sound ticks all three of those boxes, with Mt Aspiring National Park and the Aoraki Mt Cook area being two of my favourite places.
So what has been happening since my last post? Lots! November brought the start of a summer job, a surprise brief visit from a very dear friend and opportunities to take photo's of wildflowers everywhere! Of course that called for some extra drives on alpine roads to simply enjoy the spring show and attempt to capture a few pics. While the pics are a great way to document the memories, they don't quite do justice to the reality of being there so needless to say I've thoroughly enjoyed the exploring I've been doing.
Before my friend left, we managed to go for a drive up into the National Park, check out the stunning views from a winery that overlooks the lake, visit another winery a little out of town with a beautiful background story of how they came about and had a delicious visit to Gibbston Valley Cheese.
My summer job is out of town, lake side and in among the mountains near the Mt Aspiring National Park. Bliss! I stay onsite during my work week and feel truly blessed to be waking up each day in this place. There are plenty of places to explore nearby or within an hour's drive, so if it's peace and quiet and wilderness I'm needing, then it's all at my doorstep.
The Motatapu Gorge is 10 minutes away and the 119 steps down into the gorge and back up again when you're done are worth the effort. If you manage to get there when no one else is about, it's a very peaceful place to be.
An hour up the road, is the Matukituki Valley and Raspberry Creek area which is the starting point to the Rob Roy Glacier Walk. A late afternoon drive meant there wasn't time for a walk to the Glacier, but it let me know that my little car was capable of the drive on an extremely bumpy corrugated dirt road and a picnic by the river afterwards was the reward.
In December, there was the knit club Christmas dinner which was a lot of fun. Work started to gear up for the incredibly busy summer season - 1500 people in a camp site is like a mini city, a loved one came over to spend Christmas plus a couple of weeks with me and I finished my first knitting project on New Years Eve!
I had Christmas Day off work, so we went to Glenorchy for a picnic despite the rain that was bucketing down. I'd gone for a drive a couple of weeks earlier, so thought it would be a perfect place to spend the day.
Alas the rain had other ideas. We eventually found a dry place to stop and eat and the rain cleared not long after so we were able to go for a drive up into another part of Mt Aspiring National Park.
The next day we discovered that sight seeing at Cardrona Ski Resort is still very cold even though it's summer time. Oops, rug up next time!
We took a trip down to Invercargill and had a look through the Motorcycle Mecca which was fantastic. We drove to Bluff where the views from the lookout are absolutely magic and went out to Oreti Beach where you can actually drive onto the beach. We were hoping to see the sunset over the beach as it's on the west coast, however, cloud cover in the evening meant that wasn't happening.
The Queen's Gardens in Invercargill have the best rose garden I've ever seen and you can smell them even when you're sitting on a bench outside of the actual rose garden. Their scent was almost intoxicating. The gardens were also much larger than we realised too. We'd only been in a very small section (that actually seemed quite large) and later found out there was plenty more so will definitely have to take a trip back there.
We had a couple of nights near Mt Cook as I wanted to share my love of that area, however, rain and loads of cloud cover ensured we couldn't even see Mt Cook let alone enjoy the views. We also went up to Mt John Observatory which overlooks Lake Tekapo and usually has gorgeous views, but large clouds moved across as we arrived so there wasn't a lot to be seen.
The Wanaka Lavender Farm continues to be a favourite haunt and we also had the opportunity to have a look at an Organic Alpine Lavender Farm on the way to Mt Cook. It was smaller in comparison, however, is quite unique given it's location.
A couple of other amusing things from along the way is the canned rabbit and canned oyster soup we saw in a museum.
Another thing you may have noticed in some of my pics are the random cloud formations you see over here. They are often rather spectacular and I love the way the clouds sometimes sit on the mountains.
I guess you may be wondering, especially now that I've had a friend and a loved one come over to visit, is whether I'm still happy about the decision I made to travel alone? The short answer to that is, you betcha! Or for those not familiar with Aussie slang, a very definite yes.
Don't get me wrong, it's been wonderful to spend time with those who've come to see me and I've enjoyed every minute of their visits and the fun we had. It doesn't alter the fact though that doing this trip alone was a very deliberate decision and was something I absolutely needed to do for me.
I'm grateful I've had the opportunity to do this and ever so thankful I'm not past the half way point yet. The most disturbing thing is how fast the time is going though. I admit I spend far too much time on the phone, much more than I ever anticipated I would and I perhaps need to look at that. I'd planned and expected to have significant blocks of time without using my phone or computer so I could make the most of this experience and do some solid writing, reflection and just find that peaceful place within.
There is SO much I still want to do, see and achieve while here and I don't want to leave this place until they're done!
