Well the Easter weekend was a bad time to get here. All the orchards and growers shut down for the holidays. So no one would consider hiring with only one day to go before a 4 day shut down. Worse though is the fact that everything here was shut down for Good Friday & Easter Sunday and almost everything was closed on Saturday and Monday. This meant there was next to nothing to do. BORING!
So Saturday was a gorgeous, sunny yet windy day so I went on a beer, wine and distillary tour of the nelson area with JJ's Tours. Was picked up by the giude Tony at 12:20, we stopped at 2 other places to pick up 5 other people and off we went. First stop was Mac's brewery where we samples 7 different brews and got a long talk about natural beer making. We stopped at 4 vinyards and 2 distillers. There were 5 or 6 samples at each vinyard and 3 or 4 at each distiller. At one stop we went into the cafe for a couple of platters. There was a variety of cheeses, to-die-for dips (minced garlic, beetroot chutney and another chutney), bread, grapes, cold meats (the only thing left on the platters when we finished), vege, olices, etc. HmmHmm. There was also a 2-man band playing old standards. All terribly civilized. The stops at the distillers were my most tempting stops where I bought samples to go. The liquers I got for desert shooters: New Zealand Cream (like Irish Cream but only 14%), Butterscotch Cream, Butterscotch Schnapps, Chocomumu and Sambuca. All in small 6 ounce plastic bottles except the NZ Cream. And a shooter glass. Got back to the backpackers at about 5:40. Quite sleepy and only slightly tipsy, amazingly enough. Had a quiet evening in watching a movie on tape... something too dumb for me to remember the title.
Sunday was quiet so I went trekking. First to the Maitai River Valley track then back to the backpackers for lunch. Then up to the Grampian track. What a climb!! Made it almost to the top but was totally pooped by the time I got to the lookout which is about a 1800 ft. climb. Did three major climbs up about a 50% grade twice and about 40% once. Geez that's hard. Could really feel the glutes throbbing when I got up top. Not to mention the hip flexors (sp?) and thighs. Going down was hard on the knees but I made it down quickly taking a different track from the junction at the "Geodetic Survey" marker before I did any long lasting damage. By then I was wiped. Returned to the backpackers, napped then made and ate supper. Sat watching another movie in the lounge but was in bed and dead to the world by 9:45.
Sunday got a roommate that is there for a few days. She is from S. Korea. A very nice girl of 22. Then Monday, the room filled up to a total of 6 single women travels all travelling solo! All from different countries... Canada, Australia, S. Korea, Africa (England & NZ originally), U.S. (Washington, DC), Netherlands.
Last night I went to a movie again. This time an excellent, yet disturbing, movie... Monster. If you can take the idea that this is a true story of the brutality of a hookers life on the highways of Florida go see it. Very well done and excellent acting. The Aussie girl was there waiting to go in when I came out from buying my ticket so we sat together. It was great to have someone to talk the movie over with on the way home. Everyone in the dorm went to bed and asleep within a stretch of 30 minutes. Amazing. And we all got along well too. All got up within about a 30 minute stretch in the morning too. Even more amazing. 4 of us are still in the room tonight.
Today I visited the World of Wearable Art and Collectable Cars Museum. Had to bus it there and back. What a fabulous place. I cannot describe the place so you'll have to check out the website (http://www.worldofwearableart.com/) for details. But I could have spent all day in the place checking out the details of the construction of the pieces. Totally fantastical, fantasy wearables. Loved it lots.
Tonight I plan to go to the Trafalgar Centre for a public session with the Art of Life teachers. I am looking forward to this. Moira, one of my roomies, is there this afternoon to meet the Guru himself. She did the first course in Zimbabwe last year. Only students were invited to that session because the Guru was there to meet students.
Must run now. Getting hungry and it is getting late. Send news of what is happening in your life.
Posted by gailene at April 13, 2004 06:02 PM