Still in Motueka....

I now know how to milk a goat and make a wizard/ spoon. Pretty important life skills really. The blacksmiths had a couple of goats with a kid each that they milked, which was passed to me as their wwoofer, so over the week I obtained a proficiency in goat dragging.
Along with this, I spent a few hours forging out of steel over a few days on a coal forge, something I have wanted to do for years! It was awesome fun and i ended up making a spoon with a wizards face on the handle (there will be a picture...).

Ever onwards I joined Jane, Graham, Mat and Rebecca (Mums old school friends sister) again, just down the road. They are a gorgeous family and i had a lot of interesting conversations about Buddhism, as they practice, and I am interested in meditation but have no knowledge of it. This was very insightful and I had a wonderful relaxing week when i wasn't cycling up a 20km hill. On the Monday and Tuesday I had a little adventure into the renown Abel Tasman National Park, choosing to take the inland track instead of the coastal track (which is a flat graveled walkway cut through the bush where you can get picked up and dropped off by boat from some of the idyllic beaches). I felt this was rather below the experience I was looking for so instead i walked a deserted rough path threaded through the beautiful continuously changing native bush, over trees and around rocks. I saw 3 people in the 2 days I was on that route. It was absolute bliss. It took me just over 6 hours to walk 15k up to 1060m, the views are totally breathtaking. I stayed the night on my own in a shelter at 1000m sleeping on the floorboards in temperatures not far from freezing. I don’t think I will ever forget those 2 days.

I was passed on to a friend of Jane and Graham who needed 3 days paid strimming around the electric fence border of their 12 acre property, that was ok for 2 reasons, one i got paid and two i got to use a quad bike! Something else I have wanted to years and years.

I am now wwoofing with a Dutch family I met through one of my previous hosts, who are again a really beautiful family, who I am learning a lot from.
Last night I sent off my application to Treble Cone ski field to work the winter season (late June to September) as a lift operator, I’m slightly apprehensive, but its the first time I have ever really applied for a proper job, so we will see, and I will find out in May.

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