New Zealand - You Know, Just L.I.V.I.N.

The past couple of weeks we have taken full advantage of the fact that we don’t have to worry about moving anywhere for awhile. Both of us are settled in our jobs, have a place to call our own (until it sells…and we all know what a long drawn out process that can be) and living reasonably normally as temporary residents in Nelson, New Zealand. I reckon if you had asked either of us a year ago whether we’d be living half way around the world anytime soon, we both probably would’ve told you that more than anything we’re working to make Seattle and Missoula meet somewhere in the middle. Well, as you all know, and have been reading about, we decided to take our long distance relationship to the next step with a huge head first dive into not only living together but doing it somewhere completely out of either of our comfort zones. And I can tell you confidently, ask either of us if we would’ve had it any other way, the answer would be NO WAY.
So, for this blog entry, rather than tell you about some fabulous place we have visited and share a million choice photos from an adventure…we’re going to tell you about New Zealand living for us…how the day to day is and what we’re still getting used to along with what we couldn’t live without.

New Zealand couldn’t live without or things we will miss once back in the States:

1. Electric Kettle. The easiest thing on the list to come up with…we use ours everyday at least 4 times. We will definitely buy one when we get back to the States.
2. Jazz apples, Kiwis, Mandarins and Lemons. These fruits grow literally EVERYWHERE and are cheap as chips, they are always present in of our fruit bowl.
3. Hot Tea. Where this was a constant in John’s life, I had been a devout coffee drinker until moving to New Zealand…now, I couldn’t do without my early morning, 10AM, afternoon and nighttime tea breaks. (Yes, these are considered part of a working day at the Nelson City Council, along with biscuits)
4. Fish and Chips. Fresh, piping hot, great portions, cheap, delicious.
5. Green Lipped Mussels. At around $4 a kilo, these delicious shellfish are a constant on our grocery list. (Kilo is approximately 20 mussels)
6. Saturday Markets. We rarely miss one, think Pike Street Market but smaller or summer Missoula Saturday Markets. We can find anything as far as local produce, eggs and most recently manuka honey (thanks for the tip Shmeegs).
7. Sushieze. A weekly asset we will take back with us.
8. The View of the Mountains and Ocean. You have already seen lots of this.
9. Access to 12 local breweries. Too bad the beers cost double or triple of that in the States, but John is working on getting more and more of them for free, as he does.
10. Access to several National Parks and Outdoor areas. We’ll be able to find plenty of this once we move back but it is great to have.

Weird how much of these involve or revolve around food and drink huh?

Nelson treasures we’ve come to love:

1. The smell of wood burning fireplaces in the city. I LOVE this about Nelson. Every winter night or early morning, if you walk outside, the air is filled with the smell of firewood. Unfortunately, we don’t have a fireplace, but at least we’re able to enjoy the smell of everyone else’s every evening!
2. Eragon the Swan. On the path along the river that I take to work, there is a spot where no matter what time you go by, Eragon, the notorious Nelson City swan is swimming about. He’s supposedly a mean bastard, but what swan isn’t?
3. Phenomenal Sunsets. We shared some when we lived at the pimpin pad, which, across the water, of course are amazing. Above’s a shot from the street we live on into the hills above town. Simply beautiful. 
4. Public Art. Along with all of the natural beauty of the town, Nelson embraces the fact that they’re well known for being the most artistic and creative region in New Zealand. No matter where you turn, it seems there is a different art installation to discover. Below’s a shot along the river that I took on the way to work…where normally I would think this is quite tacky – there’s something about it that caught my eye.
5. Running/Walking Paths. Yes, we have become more active around Nelson and take full advantage of the many paths around to exercise. We are planning on coming back a few kilo’s lighter.
6. Nelson Public Library. Not only do they have FREE, YES FREE internet daily, they also rent out movies for $2 a piece at 2 weeks at a time. We have found some locally produced gems. Check out The World’s Fastest Indian and Flight of the Concords Season 1 and 2 next time you get around to it. Whale Rider is still on the list.

New Zealand we’re still getting used to:

1. NO Clothes dryers. Sure they have them here, but not in any of the places we’ve lived…with the exception of the hostel for $4 a dry cycle. Laundry has taken on a whole new meaning in our lives. It requires no rain, a full day and hopefully a gentle breeze upon your clothesline.
2. Everything has a price. You want tomato sauce with your chips…$1 You want the trash man to pick up your rubbish…$2 per special bag required. Sure, they’re little things (and there are many more) but when you’re living on a budget, those things add up!
3. Single Paned Windows. Talk about killing any heat retention from running the heat pump (wall mounted heating system in NZ). These windows do nothing for insulation…making most buildings quite cold this time of year.
4. DRIVERS. I guess drivers are bad anywhere you go but come on mate. Tell me how this makes sense; in the States if you are taking a right hand turn at an intersection with no light would you ever consider giving the right-of-way to someone turning left in front of you? The answer is HELL NO, but yet that is a common practice here, opposite of course because they drive on the WRONG side of the road here.

Noteworthy dinners over the last two weeks:

1. Gramma pancakes. Ohhhhhh so good, thanks Mama Sanden again for the Homemade Raspberry Jam. We are out by the way; enter in your own expletive here.
2. Chicken Curry Pizza. We’re getting better and better at this homemade pizza thing.
3. New Zealand Crayfish with scallop and orzo pasta. First Crayfish in New Zealand. It looked like a lobster, minus the claws, add on some pokey snow crab legs and serve it to me fresh next time.

Hope you found the information interesting…the truth is, the Adventureship got sick and had to have some work done – hence the travel funds were spent elsewhere and we haven’t any new adventures to share, however, she’s back to normal now and feeling great. So, we’re back on the road this weekend to explore Greymouth, Punakaiki and Westport, a few small towns on the West Coast. Stay tuned for photos and commentary on how the trip went. Cheers!