Life in Motueka (and adventures that ensued)

I met the “Organic Breadman lady” at the Nelson Saturday market and once people had dispersed she packed up the trailer and toted me (and all of my life possessions) back to her place in Motueka. Claire and her family were away on a weekend camping trip, but she had snuck away for the day to run the Breadman stall and drop me back home. She showed me my campervan (see “Happiness” post for pictures) and I settled in for the night. In addition to the campervan, there are three sleep outs on the property that hosted: an old Kiwi guy, a French couple, and another couple that was American and German. There was also one German girl in a tent next to my campervan. We all shared a kitchen toilet/shower area attached to the main house, but had our separate little areas on the property that were divided by lots of beautiful vegetation and some creative fencing.

Some travelers hanging out around two of the sleep-outs.

I introduced myself to the other tenants and then worked out plans for a ride up to Paynes Ford for some Sunday climbing. There was a possibility of heading up that evening, but I didn’t have a tent to camp in and wound up finding a ride with some others for the next morning instead. This worked out perfectly because I was pretty excited to put my clothes in drawers and get to sleep in my own bed, in my own space - with a locking door and everything!

Happiness is... Fruit Trees and Furry Friends

I am sitting here in a campervan that, for the next two weeks, I get to call my own. There is a friendly, excitable dog outside, a cuddly kitten hanging out near the kitchen, a saltwater swimming pool on the beach a few hundred yards away, some travelers hanging out by the fire, wine in a glass beside me, a cool breeze blowing outside, and a cozy bed (that is not a bunk) waiting for me to crawl into it. At this point in my travels, this is happiness.

I spent the past couple weeks in what I can only describe as a “funk.” My family departed in Auckland and I flew back to Nelson to figure out what was next. The problem was that I spent too much time thinking about what I was going to do with my family that I hadn’t properly planned what would happen after they left. I hadn't even arranged a ride from the airport or a place to stay that night. I spent a week “job searching” though I think I was looking in all the wrong places. I also did some exploring with people I met in the various hostels I stayed at, but continued to return to the notion that I needed to be figuring out what was next rather than simply enjoying the day in front of me.