Well hello there, friends!
As usual, I have to apologize for being such a slack blogger. You probably know by now that when I’m not updating the blog, I’m out living life… and loving every minute of it. When you’re having fun, exploring the world, meeting great people, and drinking local brews with local booze-hounds, it’s hard to convince yourself to sit down in front of the old laptop and start typing.
I hate doing re-caps, because I’m more into telling stories with my blogs, and not just writing boring lists. So I’m going to try to keep this short and hopefully not boring.
After traveling around the South Island for a bit, I arrived in Nelson, running low on cash. I had hitched all the way up the west coast, partially by my self, and partially with Sebastian, I nice Dutch kid I met on the road. We had been dropped off by separate hitches at the same intersection and decided to combine forces and try our luck on the road together. My last ride with with a friendly Kiwi named Edwin (if i remember correctly). He was great — an old school rocker with tatoos on his arms and Guns n Roses in his tape deck (yeah, tape deck — really old school). He dropped me at a hostel where he said he had done some work in the past — the best backpacker’s in Nelson, he said.
I’m pretty sure he was right about that one, because I’m still here. I’ve been staying at the Palace Backpacker’s in Nelson since St Patrick’s Day. It’s that good. There are 4 houses in the complex, all connected by winding paths though a sweet garden. Each house has a lounge and a kitchen and the main house has 15 ft. ceilings and fireplaces in all the rooms — more than that, it just has a really good vibe. A lot of the people here are staying long-term, so you get to know everyone and we all hang out together like one big, smelly family of international backpackers.
I got a job working in a local cellphone shop, which is a pretty good gig, and I’m meeting loads of people. I don’t really have much of a plan for my future, but I think I’ll stay in Nelson for a while. It has a mellow, beachy vibe, the people are super friendly (but kiwis are super friendly no matter where you go), and I’ve got a job that will hopefully allow me to save some money for future travels. AND Nelson has more sunny days than anywhere else in New Zealand — so a good place for me.
thats all for now — just a quick run-down of where I am in life. definitely enjoying my time here. There are times (well, one time) that I wish I could have been home — so, friends (you know who you are) just know that I love you all.
