Blenheim

So, we finally got to the South Island. We spent a few days at Hopewell in the Marlborough Sounds (Kenepuru sound to be specific). The hostel was great. We had a huge, professional kitchen (shared of course) and a very nice common room. Annie and Joy cooked Halloween food, and we had a party for everyone in the hostel. The hosts have said that we can come back for Thanksgiving and have free room and board if we prepare a Thanksgiving meal for them. Too bad we'll be working. If we do go, however, we are taking the water taxi next time. There is no way we're driving that road from hell again. A very narrow and curvy gravel road....

Anyway, we're now in Blenheim on the top of the South Island. We're working in a nursery where they do grape propagation (they grow grapevines for vineyards).. The job is repetitive and boring, but we only work 8-9 hours a day, five days a week. So it's not bad. The Blenheim area is beautiful, and I am going to go SCUBA diving if the wind ever calms down.