Looking after Saol

This is the beach in Oamaru. This part doesn't have public access so we had to climb through a fence, down a clay bank that the locals have carved out, onto a pipe, down a plank and onto the shingle. The whole time I was carrying Saol and her bag of 'stuff' that all small children seem to need! But it was worth the effort, it was a lovely day and the sea looked amazing, even though it is really really dangerous. Soal was a bit scared of the roaring sound of the sea so we didn't stay for too long, but quite a nice way to earn my bed!!

A go on the Trike.

This guy came to stay at the hostel the other day. He was pretty friendly and gave us all a ride around on his trike. It was a funny feeling with no helmet on, in the open, driving along. He went really fast, but it was fun!

Elephant Rocks

I went to Elephant rocks the other day. It is where they filmed the fight scene in the lion the witch and the wardrobe. There is a bit of a film set being built there at the moment. We think it is for the movie The Hobbit, although the security guard told us it was for a religious movie. The doorways to the building are suspiciously small though.........

Oamaru

I arrived in Oamaru a couple of weeks ago now. I am staying in a really beautiful old house, which is now a hostel/art gallery. I am here to do the nanny job (2 1/2 hours in return for no rent), but I started off Woofing, basically working around the hostel for a couple of hours to earn my bed. Kelly, the owner, can be pretty creative with our tasks and they can range from changing the beds and cleaning to painting things and redecorating areas in the hostel. My favourite job was when she asked me to paint an old chair she had from the dump. I spent about three hours on the first one, then trailed around the hostel looking for another one to do because I enjoyed it so much! It did help the the sun was shining! I have finished woofing now and am just looking after Kelly's 2 year old girl Saol or working on the reception.

On my way to the South Island I stopped in Wellington to catch up with old friends and collect my stuff I left there back in July. Had a really good time, I stayed with Laurel in her nice new (to me) flat and I caught up with my old housemates and my old workmates.

I flew from Wellington to Christchurch which was a really short flight but fantastic to fly over Wellington on such a lovely day.

When I arrived in Christchurch I had lots of people to see. I met up with my friends Emma and Lee and went out for drinks with them and some friends. I also called Kylie, who I met in Africa, and she came into the city for lunch the next day. I was very confused about my days and waited at a bus stop for half an hour thinking it was Saturday, when it was actually Sunday and the buses didn't start for another hour!! I also managed to catch up with our family friends Peter and Tjasa who took me out for coffee and then out of town for a bit.

I had to leave CHristchurch at 7.45am and I had to stagger down the road with all the shit I have collected!! It took me a while, but I made it in time for the bus to Oamaru, where I am now.

I arrived in Gisborne after a long and windy journey, wasn't feeling too good (afternoon hangover plus wiggley roads) but the weather was lovely in Gisborne and the trip had been beautiful. I was picked up by a slightly strange lady, but she turned out to be nice. The hostel was pretty nice and I had two Germans in my room who fed me wine and ended up taking me to one of the beaches far away. The beach was beautiful, but it was so windy I ended up with half of the beach in my ears. I had drinks with some of the random people staying at the hostel and could have stayed on for longer if I'd had the time. I was missing my NZ family though and it was a little bit strange to be on the road again. I hate living out my bag!

Christmas and New Year

I had a lovely Christmas and New Year. I ended up being adopted into a family and Santa even visited me there!!

I have been working in the Kiwi Orchard and at the bar, which means I haven't really had a lot of time for this! I even ended up doing 5 days in the fish factory which was disgusting. Apperently I am really freaked out by fish! I was saved by another orchard job coming up though, which meant I could get out of there fast!!

I moved in to Jill, Alex and Keegan's house on Christmas eve and had a great time. Really felt like home and Alex even let me use his car, it felt like I had passed my test again! We had a great christmas, Keegan in particular loved it because Santa brought her a trampoline!I worked in between Christmas and new Year and then we all went away to Jill's friends in Haistings. From there I visited Napier. After 2 days I had to leave and head off to Gisborne. It was really sad to say goodbye to my adopted New Zealand family, but I will be back up there before I leave the country!!