Rory is a nice man we stayed with for 5 days. After our brief stay in Blenheim, we decided to do the HelpX experience another time to save up a bit of money and try to do some kayaking in the area. Rory was a good fit for us, having hosted a few people before us and knowing the drill. The only down point was that we had to sleep outside again and not in a comfortable bed as is usually the custom. He had his own van to offer as a shelter and we experienced the arrival of winter big time!! The temperature went pretty close to 0 oc a couple of nights but we sucked it up with lots of blankets and got a nice preview of what it will be further south. Good sign though, we realized our van is better insulated than we thought at first with all the carpet on the inside walls.
We had some nice conversations with Rory, who was born in Sri Lanka from English parents. His family had gone there during the colonial period and his dad owned a tea plantation. They had to move when times changed over there and British settlers were not welcome anymore. He then travelled a lot, going to over 30 countries in a span of a few years. He now runs a transport business, driving hikers to the foot of mountains and trails and picking them up at the end of their journey. He was laid back with us and made us do all sorts of chores during our stay. Dana sat in front of the computer most of the time, helping him update his website with abundant information on each trail. She did have time to help me with reorganizing the compost section the first day and move some stuff from behind the house to the new shed Rory put up. I dug a ditch (a meter or two every day) so he can bury some electrical wires, washed his little boat and a big work table in the shed, screwed a long shelf to a wall and helped him move around a wrecked van. I did manage to put that damn van right in the ditch I had just dug up a bit, but more scare than harm. We laughed about it later, especially after Rory got out of his van a bit confused about what I had just done and then had to run to stop his vehicule slowly going down the hill…
That Saturday night, we all went to the local pub to watch the “rematch” of the All Blacks vs France rugby match. Of course, as a french speaker, they all associated me to the French squad, but nobody gave me a hard time inside the place. Luckily for me because Les Bleus managed to do worst than the previous week and got a severe beating, 61-11 the final score…… The worse loss in France’s history, I was very quiet for a while… Doesn’t matter, All Blacks against CANADA next week!!! I couldn’t believe it.In our spare time, Dana and I went to the beach one morning to grab some mussels we could eat that evening. We checked out the best time to go, and the low tide was right around 10:30 a.m. We parked where Rory had told us and wandered a bit on the beach before finding the perfect spot. We found so many big mussels, I was so happy; we ended up with 99 in the bucket, not even knowing that the limit is 50 per person!!!. We looked up on the internet for a mussel chowder recipe and Dana cooked the best Boston style chowder (tomato creamy sauce instead of white creamy). I thoroughly enjoyed that meal and we popped up the bottle of Chardonnay we had bought in Renwick. Delicioussss, we watched movies with Rory that night, and almost every night we spent there as a matter of fact. The weather ended up being a bit too cold for kayaking, but we still had a good time in the Nelson area. The last day before we left, we visited the city in the afternoon and parked the van in front of the park where the first Rugby match was ever played in New Zealand, in 1870. We walked a little bit through some streets and stopped in a few stores in town. The sunset was pinkish on the horizon, and we drove back along the coastal town.
That Saturday night, we all went to the local pub to watch the “rematch” of the All Blacks vs France rugby match. Of course, as a french speaker, they all associated me to the French squad, but nobody gave me a hard time inside the place. Luckily for me because Les Bleus managed to do worst than the previous week and got a severe beating, 61-11 the final score…… The worse loss in France’s history, I was very quiet for a while… Doesn’t matter, All Blacks against CANADA next week!!! I couldn’t believe it.In our spare time, Dana and I went to the beach one morning to grab some mussels we could eat that evening. We checked out the best time to go, and the low tide was right around 10:30 a.m. We parked where Rory had told us and wandered a bit on the beach before finding the perfect spot. We found so many big mussels, I was so happy; we ended up with 99 in the bucket, not even knowing that the limit is 50 per person!!!. We looked up on the internet for a mussel chowder recipe and Dana cooked the best Boston style chowder (tomato creamy sauce instead of white creamy). I thoroughly enjoyed that meal and we popped up the bottle of Chardonnay we had bought in Renwick. Delicioussss, we watched movies with Rory that night, and almost every night we spent there as a matter of fact. The weather ended up being a bit too cold for kayaking, but we still had a good time in the Nelson area. The last day before we left, we visited the city in the afternoon and parked the van in front of the park where the first Rugby match was ever played in New Zealand, in 1870. We walked a little bit through some streets and stopped in a few stores in town. The sunset was pinkish on the horizon, and we drove back along the coastal town.
photo section:
me finding some big ones!!
view from the mountains
nearby a Lord of the Rings location
at the park where the first rugby match was played
view from the mountains
nearby a Lord of the Rings location
at the park where the first rugby match was played
No comments:
Post a Comment