People who know people....

So it's been a while since i last scribed something on here, multiple things have kept me away from computers and civilisation which has been awesome, but now is time for electronic pen to paper.

So i am officially in Wanaka for the Winter Season now. i have a house, a job, money in the bank , a set of skis and new boots, 75cents thermal undies from the local charity shop, but i look out of thw window, and do i see snow??

No. No i do not.

A light dusting hit the tops a couple of days ago, and with the incessant cloud now over Wanaka i have no idea whether it is still there. I hope so and this is the first laying of the winter pack but it may well just melt off in this rain before it can bond.

So whats the crack here? The job hunt went well, i landed various odd jobs through the local job agency, housekeeping and vineyard mostly, and then out of the blue one Tuesday when i was feeling particularly despondent about getting proper work, i got a call from the local supermarket where i had dropped off a CV 2wks previous. They had an opening in the Produce department so i was called in for an informal chat to present myself, and i am happy to say that i must have done a good job as within 4minutes i was ofered the job to start the following monday! Sweet as. Money time!!

With this in mind, i had pretty much run down to my final couple of hundred dollars arriving in Wanaka so i couldn't really afford to leave and travel, as i would miss potential work and be spending with nothing coming in. Bummer situation. But with this job, i was secure in funds coming, so i hopped straight in the van after my interview, and headed off with Emory to Queenstown, Te Anau, and on to Milford Sound on a 5 day trip.

NZ as a whole has been an absolutely incredible trip, but it has been made all the more special by the people i have met, both here and at home, and the people they have been able to put me in contact with.
Thinking back to when i very first arrived in Auckland, i already had a home to stay in for a week with Clare and Tony so nothing to really worry about with the hassle of arriving, finding a place to stay and start from scratch. They gave me such useful hints and tips about how to get the most out of NZ life, and i am so grateful for this awesome start to my trip, it really has transformed it for me. From there, i ran into Luke and Emma from St.Albans whilst downtown in Auckland, and through that i was introduced to Tree, Ian, Sam and Josh. This was very pivotal in my trip as i spent a lot of time with Luke and Emma on trips, and have made friends for life. Tree and Ian were also so good to me, adopting me in and treating me like one of the family, with Sam and Josh like my new little brothers and best friends. From here i went to OPC to work in central North Island, where i met up with Jamie and Mo, friends of one of my mates from North Wales, and who invited me into their home for dinners and took me out kayaking a few times. OPC was a great place to make contacts, and from there i have met many people down the road who have been able to help me out. Also from home, Mike put me in contact with Bron in Wellington, and Kev in Nelson, both of whom were also known to OPC guys.
I stayed with Bron for a night in Wellington before getting the ferry across to the South Island, and was treated to an amazing steak dinner, and a warm family home to relax in for the night. Catching the midnight ferry i arrived into Nelson the following day where i met up with Kev. Again i was put up for the night, and then given keys to the house as Kev was away with work for a few days. Whilst here i went off to hike in Abel Tasman, climb in Takaka, and see the Nelson Lakes National Park. i went back to nelson for a night and spent this again at Kev's place before heading off the next day down the West Coast. Through Kev, i was given information on some great climbing spots along the way, most notably, a phenomenal cornerclimb in Charleston, "The Corner", reputed to be the best Grade 17 in the country, and my my, it was superb.
From here i carried on through down the Coast with Emory towards Wanaka, where i met up with Mike's friend Phil.
Phil deserves a huge mention as he has been so influential in getting me set up here in Wanaka. Arriving here, i spent the afternoon getting a feel for the town then met Phil for a beer, which he insisted on paying for and would not let me get any rounds in. From here we went up to his section of land, about 30mins walk from centre of town, where he said i could park the van for as long as i wanted and would not have any trouble from being moved on (stopping overnight in campervan's is forbidden in Wanaka area, with a community group who feel so strongly about it that they patrol between 3am and 5 am knocking on van windows to move people on...)
From here, i was granted access to Phils workshop to do any maintainance i needed to do, as well as being given the keys to his office downtown, which he told me was at my disposal after office hours, and inside were a shower and laundry facilities, so i was all sorted with somewhere to live, somewhere to wash and clean, and i was also heading into one of the Backpacker hostels in the evening to use kitchen facilities too! My van became a static-but-potentially-mobile bedroom/wardrobe in a field behind the local vets! The field i was parked in was bordered by a couple of houses as it is on outskirts of town and ready to new development prospects. My neighbors, Craig one one side, and Angela and Gareth on the other side, had me into their houses for dinner on a few occasions too, which made a welcome change from either cooking on the back of the van with Emory, or heading to hostels to cook up. Such amazing generosity, which i as yet have not been able to repay, but i shall do as soon as possible.
Also in town, i have met up with a guy who worked with my brother in Wales, 4 years ago. Odd story behind it but basically i handed a CV in at one of the bars and he was working in the kitchen, and upon recognising the name "MASTERMAN" (how many can there be??) he text me to see if i was Stu's brother. meeting up for a few beers i then spent two nights at his house whilst i was getting sorted with a place to live, and also his housemates are high up in Cardrona ski field, the place i want to work for winter, and so i stand a very good chance of getting in there now because of it. Al works in hospitality, and has been in town for 18months, so all the bar staff know him, so by association, they know me, so drinks are rarely paid for, and worst case is two for one! I have already met a few other Cardrona staff through Al so i now have more contacts in the ski fields. Sweet.
Through my new jobs, one of my co-workers had a friend who was after a new house mate, and Nicole thought of me as she knew i was on the hunt. I went round to see the house and it was awesome, modern, huge bedroom, walking distance of town, prime shower, double beds, and a guard dog called "Bones" too :)

It has been an incredible journey so far, and the people i have met have made it that way. By opening my mind to the possibilities of doing this, i have been able to find it. Itineraries have become a thing of the past, plans are loose at best and being the flow, rather than going with the flow have made from some very special memories already.

Things can only get better and better in life from here on in, with meeting more and more people on my journey, and finding the places where that will lead...

Wanaka landings...

So i have arrived in Wanaka, where i plan to make my base for the winter season. The mountains that surround Wanaka are amazing and inspiring. As yet i have not been out ot play but i plan to change that this weekend.
I have been on the hunt for a job since arriving, and at the moment have had no luck. I seem to have arrived a few weeks too early but at least i am here ready for it. I have signed up to help out with a voluntary Easter programme for young kids on the area, i am building dens and scavenger hunting tomorrow, horse riding on thursday and more adventures on friday!
I plan to get myself immersed in the community and know that if i do this, the good grace and opportunities will arise from my input. At the moment, cash is running a little short and the van needs some money spent on it but it will not be long before i can be earning again. I am staying at a friends plot of land, living in the van and i am happy. The sun has shined each day i have been here and i have just found out some climbing goes on very, very close. Also i am looking into getting up into the Alps as the hut access is amazing and it puts me within touching distance of Mt. Aspiring too.

All is well, live is good and it feels great to be alive and be here, living in the now...

How an incredible experience can break your camera...

Swimming with a dolphin....

Not in a crappy aquarium, in the open sea...

With no other tourists around....

With the sun shining...

IN NEW ZEALAND!!


Holy hell, what a phenomenal thing to have come across out here. Out in the bay at Whakatane is a bottlenose dolphin cruising around and playing games, and i happened to be right place, right time, right everything to be able to swim with him. He dug around in the dirt at my toes, swam into me, past my legs, through my legs and played with a surfboard i pushed around for him. There were no other tourists about, no one else to bother him, just a dolphin that loved playing.

Alas, no pictures to boot as my waterproof camera i had just bought to replace my old one, didn't quite live up to its reputation of being submersible, so one quick dunk and it was dripping wet inside. But i don't mind, i would happily trade the camrea for the dolphin.

Another epic, and quite frankly, unbelievable thing that had happened to me in NZ, where ever next???

Visits from home to live in the Now...

Might be getting a visit from Claire in the next week, she is out visiting her folks in Oz, and has figured that NZ needs to be done too! Totally stoked for that, i think an injection of home comforts will do wonders for my state of mind and really pick me back up after a rough last couple of weeks. we'll have 8 days of tripping it round in my van with her friend Lyndall too who is coming over from Oz with her. Going to take it from Auckland to Wellington, taking in the East coast on the way down. I'm really keen to catch a sunrise from East Cape, the first sunrise of the new day on the planet! No-one else will be as far East as we will be so that will be really, really special for me.

I'm planning to just take it as i have done for the last 4 months on roadtrips, if we see something we want to stop for, just chirp up and we'll stop. If you get a good vibe on something, then act on it and see how it turns out; I've been taught by some very special people over here an incredibly valuable lesson:

Live in the now...

Work ethic...

It's real nice to have your hard work and ethic to a job recognised by your boss. I have been labouring on a building site for the last week and a half. Told my boss yesterday i was moving to the South island, and he was stoked for me. He shook my hand, thanked me for the work and said if i ever wanted more work, he'd hire me back in a flash. He then decided that he would bump up my pay an extra $5 an hour for the last week as a sign of his appreciation, which was awesome. Working 48hour weeks, an extra 5 each hour really makes a difference. With that in the ol' sky rocket, i'm off to buy a new camera seeing as the old one is no more!

Anawhata beach....

If you ever get to NZ, a trip to watch the sun set from Anawhata beach, just North of Piha has to be on your list.

I've been out twice in the last few days for it, and the place is just magical. Truly on e of those places where you feel completely happy, content, and fulfilled.

Magic....

Leaving OPC...

It has been a couple of weeks now since i left the Edmund Hillary OPC and my time has been filled with a huge array of working, travelling, van issues, and future plans.

Leaving OPC was hard to do. I really found another true sense of family down there, and that is a hard thing to leave behind. I looked out for others, and in turn, others looked out for me. On my good days i was able to help others, and on days when i was struggling, people were there to help me. The final week there was truly awesome for me. I spent the week itself out working with a high school group from Tuaranga, co-instructing the week with Keith, which went superbly and taught me a huge amount about myself, working with others and leading groups. I think i am at a point in my life of heightened awareness of my senses, where i am more in tune with what is happening around me. Not only that, but i am at a very reflective point in life, able to look back, deconstruct the actions i performed, the words i said, the thoughts i had and learn from them in positive ways. OPC really brought that out in me in an environment that i was both comfortable in, yet also pushing my comfort zones at times too.

I have also become much more culturally aware since being in NZ, and especially with my time at OPC. The Maori culture is one that i find fascinating, and the first culture i have looked at in this way in my life so far. This point has led to me to ask the question of why that is? I am fairly sure that it is not the fact that the Maori culture is the most captivating culture on the world that i have experienced, but that i am at my most captivated point of life so far. With this, it only seems natural for me to be totally wrapped in the cultural aspect of Aotearoa. At OPC i worked alongside a number of Maori men and women, who each taught

me a little about their culture, some more actively than others, others did it passively, whilst

some taught me with out even knowing it. I gained a huge amount both spiritually and

mentally from my time with them and i know it has shaped me as a person to have experienced

these things with them.

OPC is an experience i will look back on with fond memories, both for the things i did, but also

for the people i met; as well as looking forward with eager anticipation as i wonder where it will

lead, either directly by the contacts i have made there, or indirectly by the way it has shaped,

refined and directed me as a person. I was definately sad to leave as the people there welcomed

me with open arms and truly made me feel like home.

I met some great people, greater to me than they will ever know for what they were able to give

to me through sharing experiences and stories, good times and bad. Being in the workshop was

another family I have found out here, one which welcome d me in, watched me grow, guided me

with the deftest touch, but only when it saw i was not releasing my full potential. Toney and

John and honestly two of the most awesome guys; they have taught me so much

but not in conventional ways. The learning process was that of guided self learning, with only a

small amount of external input when it was deemed necessary. i got fully immersed in several

projects, and gave them my all. One of which was a shed renovation. The shed was a dirty

canvas, ragged around the edges and needed touching up, but the fence i built was a different

story altogether; a completely blank canvas, for which i chose everything and made it my own.

When it was finished, it looked awesome, so much like the image i had in my head, so much

like the fence i wanted to produce to do John proud and to show him that his faith in me was

accurate, deserved and unfaltering. It truly was mine and i am deeply proud of what it stands

for.

Upon leaving the workshop for the final time, i produced some gifts for John, Toney and Shelly

to show how much i appreciate what they have done for me. On this trip to the other side of the

world, i don't have much, and therefore i don't have much to give either, but what i can give is

love, time, care and respect. All those things went into the gifts i had made for these three that

had given me so much in many ways. For John, i had painted my signature sunset style on a

piece of wood, but this time i overlaid the image of two trees reflecting in a lake under the

watchful eyes of two mountains. On tree was there to represent John, and the other was me.

They were also there to signify my two big projects, the fence and the shed build, both of which

were heavily dependant on wood for their completion. I really hope John can look at this and

know what it is that i fwlt whilst i was there, and what he means to me.

For Toney and Shelly, i made a piece of driftwood in the shape of a mountain, and on this i

tied an Maori fishing knot that Toney uses of his carvings when he makes them. This knot is

not something that Toney sat down and taught me, for when i enquired about it he said it was

passed down through the Maori culture from father to son through the ages. I was more than

happy to respect this, and instead of pushing him i used my skills and knowledge to look at

what he had tied and deconstructed it in my head, and then reconstructed it on the piece of

driftwood for him. I took several hours of tireless trial and error to get it right but when i did,

the sense of achievement was immense. In completing it, it brought me one step closer to the

understanding of aspects of the Maori culture. On the driftwood i also had made a necklace

for Shelly, and i tied this on in my way, so that the know representing Toney was next to the

necklace for Shelly, so that when you looked at the piece, it was Toney and Shelly, side by side

under the mountain that they love so much. It also had the contrast of the Moari knot against

the my knot, tied in Black cord, whilst Toney's knot was tied in natural hemp, which i liked as

it shattered the racial barriers which are present in Maori heritage, using white to represent

Maori, and black to represent the European. I do not mean any disrespect with this symbol,

but instead use it to show the times are changing and there can be coexistence, not conflict.

I am so proud of the way both pieces turned out, for my love is also within each of them, and

that can never be lost. The way in which they were received blew me away too. John was pretty

choked to receive his, and gave me a hug and told me to stay safe and come back soon. If that

didn't rock me enough, then the way that Toney and Shelly received their's blew me away even

more. Toney was so stoked with it, and i could see he was proud of me for having created

something from the heart for them. With that, he spoke to me in Maori, and then gave me a

hongi, a traditional Maori greeting, pressing one's nose to another. This is really symbolic,

and meant so much to me. In the hongi, the 'ha' or breath of life is exchanged and intermingled,

and the huge part of this is that through the exchange of the hongi, you are no longer

considered a 'manuhiri' (visitor) but rather 'tangata whenua', one of the people of the land.

This is massive for me, and really brought it all home to me about what it is that i had been

through to get to this point. A hongi from Toney was intense, so much part of his culture,

that to share it with me blew me away. He almost looked as if he was close to tears, and i

know i was but we both held it together.

Shelly was amazing too, giving me such a big hug, and speaking to me in Maori, thanking me

and sending love to me for all i do. She then said something that even know, to think back, a

smile creeps over my face. She said

"You get it, not everyone does, but you do"

Looking at those words now, the words in their own entity seem small but their meaning for

me is massive. They see me and the potential, the understanding, the love and the vision that

i have and know that i will be great with it. It was a stunning end to a wonderful placement

with incredible people...