Awwwwwwwwww Nelson!

the Oystercatcher 

Enter Accents on the Park...a quaint little hostel in the CBD (Central Business District, AKA Downtown) that we headed to upon arrival. A nice place to stay the first night and much better than the previous nights Holiday Park in Blenheim. The place is situated between two main roads that run straight through town and continue to the coast - less than a 5 mile stretch. We were given some info on local bars and once we dropped our stuff headed out in search of a beverage.

First stop, the Free House. A great venue for a bar, situated in an old Church. Is there a better way to feel closer to God than having a quality crafted pint in an old Church? Enthusiastic knowledgeable bartenders serving up a plethora of local wines, ciders and beers. The place was so full finding a spot to sit was a bit of a challenge, so we took our drinks outside and enjoyed the crisp winter air (low 60's). That's what they call winter! Sprig and Fern was a bit too crowded - on the list for next time. Last stop on to the 623, a chain restaurant which wasn't quite as awful a chain as most are in the states. Case in point, they had Erdinger beer on tap from Germany - John was very happy. We'll call it a night after hitting Liquor Land, grabbing a bottle of vino for a nightcap. Still sticking with Montana as the best value wine we've tried thus far (within our small budget)...wine updates to follow once the funds are rolling in.

Saturday morning brought sunshine and an opportunity to enjoy the local market. Tons of artisans, local produce and plenty of wool focused vendors lined the car park. So many great treasures, definitely heading back there once the job is solidified to do some major damage.

Checked out of the hostel and headed to the beach.  Sunshine reflecting off the water, very windy... Tons of seashells and a few people walking the shore enjoying the weather. Local kite-boarders all over the water, jumping through the air - barely missing each other...very cool to watch. After our day at the beach, time to find a new place to stay...decisions, decisions, decisions...

The Nelson City Holiday Park it is...our most cost friendly option and we get to have our own cabin! Sounds pretty glamorous for what they were asking per night... until you see that the 'cabin' looks just like a shed you'll find in the backyard housing the lawnmower.  It's a room all our own, no matter what you call it...sold for a 4 night stay.

The next four days go something like this...

1. Wake up, shower, breakfast
2. Drive or walk to library...job hunt, and hunt, and hunt
3. Grocery store
4. Dinner, bottle of wine or beers (sometimes both, depending on the day)
5. Shed time reading
6. REPEAT



Forward to Wednesday, an awesome find on Trade Me. A listing for a "Pimpin Pad" (which name my dad had some comments about when forwarded the listing). The house, located in the wood district of East Nelson is West facing overlooking Tasman Bay as well as Matari and Lookout Mountain Ranges. Not a bad view. The thought of moving out of the Shed was sad but we knew it was time. We toured the house and after a brief glance at each other, we knew...this was home (for now). When asked if we wanted to move in over the weekend, we politely asked if tomorrow would work...they obliged and we spent our last night in the Shed. Tomorrow was a new day...

oysters...oysters...oysters!!

The next morning, checked out the Library for old times sake and headed down to the Nelson City Marina for lunch. So many amazing things to see...beautiful boats (Jeff Anderson, yours would fit nicely...think about it), water so clear you can see fish swimming around and oysters, oysters, oysters. Another task on the things to do list is to investigate how we can score our own shellfish. Later that day, we moved into the Pimpin Pad, finally a house, and have enjoyed getting to know our new flatmates (as the Kiwi's call roomates) Jeff and Kat.

The view from our new porch, a step up from the Shed.

Now that we have internet at home, the days are not so monotonous and the Library is a fond but distant memory. As you can see, the view here is much different than you can expect to see at a library. Interviews took up the rest of our week...

John got a part time, performance based sales position with Stoke Brewery, under the McCashin family, in Stoke about 20 min West of the house. There is great potential to start Marketing, Social Networking and Event promotion there. We will see how the NZ craft market welcomes a Yank from the States (as the Kiwi's refer to us Americans). More brewery interviews to come, the plan is to land around 40hrs worth of Sales, Marketing, Consulting, and whatever else pays the bills time.

Shannon has been applying for any job under the sun from Wine ANYTHING to Salmon Marketing to Selling Kitchens to Hostel Greet/Meet/Front Desk Lady to Project Management...a few great opportunities on the horizon.

Making sure to not to lose sight of why we're half way around the world in the first place. To enjoy ourselves and experience new things (too bad bills still come with the territory). Stay tuned to hear about the job situation, hopefully next week will bring great news to our blog update!

With our packs ready to go...we're off early tomorrow morning to Abel Tasman and one of the Great Walks on the South Island. Photos to come...

Beer News and Brewery Updates:

Other notable Breweries around the area with potential. Founders Organic Brewing: Lagers brewed to the German Law of Purity. They also have an excellent ESB and Fair Maiden brew. Solid brews. Nelson Bay Brewing: brews a Doppelbock and traditional Lager for the only German Restaurant called Kraut's in Nelson. Townsend Brewing on the West Side of the Bay has an excellent darker Hefe, not quite Dragon's Breath but it will suffice for awhile.

A major difference between NZ pubs and US bars are as follows. There are Free Pubs and Tied Pubs, similar to how it was before the 3 tier system of Supplier, Distributor, Account in the States. In NZ pubs can be "Tied" to a brewery, usually DB(like Bud) or Lion Nathan (like MillerCoors). What this means is that the pub basically sells out to the brewery and either sells anywhere between 50% to 100% of their product. Not what you necessarily call competitive business practices. Free pubs are just that, free to put on tap whatever the customer or pub manager wants and it usually is local quality craft beer.