I Had to Go on Holiday

A glimpse of the Sounds, from the Sounds! This is what I came to New Zealand to see!

So, since my last blog I have taken up residence with a Kiwi family of 4 in Parnell, a “leafy” central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city (1.5 million or so). I am the Au pair for the next 3 months. Everyone is pretty great, and while any job has its ups and downs, this one has its peaks and valleys. The first two weeks the girls (5 and 3, 5 and 4 as of last week) were out of school for the summer holiday, which is only about a month long in New Zealand. I joined them about midway through, and spent my first two weeks on the job having hit the ground sprinting. But, to my great relief, it was indeed a sprint, as they all went to Christshurch for the last 10 days of the holiday. That meant that I too had to go on vacation. Darn.
I chose to try to see some part of the South Island in my 10 days. Because we’re in the southern hemisphere, the south experiences cooler temperatures in the winter and with my job in Auckland lasting through April, this, I realized, would be my only chance to see any part of it in the summer, as it is too difficult to go there for a weekend.

Traveling in New Zealand is very different from traveling at home because of the combination of the terrain and the roadways. The terrain is very diverse and extremely hilly, making most of the rural (most of the country’s) roadways very twisty and rolling. Thank God I have a strong stomach! Kidding, of course. I’ve luckily been able to fend off motion sickness so far but I don’t think it’s a matter of if but when I’ll get sick along New Zealand’s motorways. Anyway, the curving, hilly nature of the roadways means it takes FOREVER to get anywhere. To put it into perspective, the length of the country tip to toe is about the length of a trip from Ohio (or south/central Michigan) to central or southern Florida. You could comfortably make this trip in two days, and drive through the night to make it in one day if you had to. In New Zealand, to drive the same distance (as the crow flies) would take at least a week. Ugh.

So you can see why going to the south island by bus is more ambitious than it sounds. Also consider the fact that it involves a three hour ferry ride between the Wellington and Picton. I chose to make this journey by bus because there is a cheap overnight bus from Auckland to Wellington. Let’s just say I won’t be doing this again anytime soon. But the ferry was pretty enjoyable, especially when we made our entrance into the Sounds. The boat slows, and things become much quieter around the boat. Long, sharp, green peaks lurch dramatically from the water, forming narrow passage ways.

As the boat is swallowed by the Sounds, I am awestruck by the landscape and it dawns on me that that I’ve finally seen some of what I came to New Zealand to see. Just as I think it can’t get any better, and I look to the water and notice a dark shape liltingly approach the surface near the boat. A little face peeks out of the water. It’s a seal. She inspects the ferryboat passengers peering down curiously. Her eyes are exquisitely beautiful and give her a simultaneously heartbroken and cheerful expression that makes her look eerily human. I am reminded of mariners’ tales of seals that shed their skin and take human form on land. Before I can even think about my camera the seal disappears into the blue. Welcome to the south island. I am brimming with excitement and already glad I’ve made the trip.

I arrived in Picton pretty tired from the overnight bus ride, but felt eager to see some scenery, so I went for a “walk”. Again, because of the terrain and the lifestyle around here, a “walk” can mean a quiet stroll or a sweaty, altitudinous jaunt that carves anywhere from 2 to 6 hours out of your day. This walk that I took that first day was much more in line with the latter. The Sounds make jagged V shapes in the water, and Picton sits in the bottom of one of the Vs. I walked from there out to the end of the sound and back.

The next day I headed for Nelson. Not far away, but timely, as you must navigate around the Sounds to get there. I had heard that Nelson had a lively arts community, boasts bountiful Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, and makes a good hub for day excursions in the nearby Abel Tasman National Park. Art, wine, and outdoor adventures. Me, me, and me. This sounded perfect.

And it was. The first day I went on a kayaking/hiking/sailing trip along the coast and in Abel Tasman National Park, which is the smallest national park, but one of the most beautiful. Our kayak took us from open seas, to turquoise lagoons, to narrow caves along the coast, and finally to a small island colony of New Zealand fur seals. We then had lunch and I hiked over to the next bay, enjoying stunning views along the way. From Anchorage Bay I sailed back to the starting point, Kaiteretere. All in all I was gone all day and it was a great start to the trip.

The next day I was schooled in the art of bonecarving. I learned that traditional Maori bonecarving was typically done with mountain goat or even human bones, but today it’s a means of recycling beef byproducts. Starting with a bovine femur, I whittled and carved and sanded a ring for myself, complete with paua and fern embellishments. There were two couples and another single traveler who made carvings along with me, and we all made something different. Mostly, people made the traditional pendants worn around the neck on a leather string. They have symbolic meaning and are meant to be given as gifts. I didn’t quite feel ready for this leap into tapu (sacred tradition), so I made my ring, which I love. The instructor is a German man named Stefan who has been in New Zealand for over a decade doing bonecarving, and began with Maori mentorship. He is perfect for the job, combining the perfect amounts of know-how with open-minded willingness to let people experiment and be creative with what is usually a new art form to them. It was totally great.

The next day I decided I’d rent a bike and check out Nelson’s (very) unique WoW Wearable Art and Classic Car Museum. The museum was mind blowing. If you know me even a little (which, you probably do if you’re reading my blog…or at least I hope you do if you’re reading my blog), then you know that I wasn’t there to see the cars. I cannot express how inspiring or inventive or creative or ingenious the art was. It was by far the most exciting art museum I’ve ever visited. I should probably back up and explain what the art actually comes from. Back in 1986 (I believe it was ’86) a small group of designers had a show and design contest called The Wonderful World of Wearable Art. It attracted an audience of 200, and was held at a farmhouse in rural Nelson. Fast forward 25 years and the event has moved to the political and cultural capitol, Wellington, attracts designers from all over the world and entertains 35,000 people a year. It is the most highly anticipated arts event of the year in New Zealand, and now it’s the most highly anticipated event in my datebook as well. I am going to do my best to go see the show in September and I can’t wait! The museum is a vivacious archive of winning and contributing designs over the years. ‘Stunning’ is a major understatement.

After my amazing experience at WoW, I biked over to the beach and enjoyed a nice laze about in the sun before returning to town for a small summer arts fest going on down Trafalgar St., the main drag in downtown Nelson. I was surprised at how small it was and how far fewer people were checking out the stands than were milling about and otherwise observing from the bars surrounding the stands. There was live music, and it was a nice atmosphere. But it took about 5 minutes to get through, so I decided to stop into a knitting co-op that I had strolled into the day before. Out of curiosity, I had popped in, I tried on a sweater, and then made a beeline for the wall of scrumptious looking yarn opposite the sweaters (I have a thing for fabrics, a tactile fixation when you get right down to it). I had told the woman working there that I’d love to knit a scarf and she encouraged me to get it started. We picked out yarn together and she told me where I could go to get some knitting needles. By the time I had gone up the street for the needles and come back she had gathered up a few left over threads that she offered to me for my scarf. When I went back during the art fest the next day she had a whole bag full of beautiful yarns to offer me in addition. I ended up sitting and knitting and chatting with her for over an hour. This young-grandma aged lady named Betty had the spirit of a twenty year old, the heart of a saint and the soul of a sage. She was really so nice, and talking to her and knitting with her was the major highlight of my trip. She was so generous, kind, and loving toward me and I only spent a little over an hour with her but she made a big impression on me. People like her are the reason why I travel. I am now almost finished with my beautiful scarf that wouldn’t have been possible without Betty.

The last day of my trip started off fantastically—I swear, every time I thought that it couldn’t get any better it did. Betty had told be to make sure that I made it to the Nelson farmer’s and artisan’s market, which is held Saturday mornings in a square off Trafalgar St. It was by the far the best weekend morning market I have ever been to. Everything was delicious, there was music, there were beautiful handcrafted foods, gifs, clothing, soaps, you name it. I was in absolute heaven. I spent brunch milling around there and then headed back to my hostel where I was to be picked up for an afternoon tour of five vineyards around Nelson. I tasted a staggering 30 different crus. I love wine…but this was, dare I say it, too much wine! In all honesty, I enjoyed the last glass just as much as the first. Perhaps it would have been better had it not been about 80 degrees or so that day. I did do an excellent job hydrating and only threw in the towel and let myself go a bit (not drinking water in between tastes) at the last vineyard, where there was no spittoon. Apparently people don’t spit out wine on Kiwi tastings anyway, so that’s ok. You either discretely pour out what you don’t want, or you just drink it. And that’s that. It was absolutely breathtaking scenery, even considering the heat, and I really enjoyed myself. At the end I felt that I had fully indulged myself.

Indulgence was the theme of the vacation, really. I told myself that I was just going to do all of the things that I wanted to do and not look back or think twice about it and I’m so happy I did. I was completely refreshed and replenished by the trip and I was able to put a lot of things into perspective—like how I can’t wait to come back to the south island once my post in Auckland comes to an end. I had gotten to the point where I was past the initial excitement of being in New Zealand to the point where I was just dealing with the frustrations of being in a different country, away from home. Nelson got me excited again. I can’t wait to go back.

For pictures from my foray into the South Island, click here.