Kia Ora! We are continuing to really enjoy ourselves in Wellington. We can't say enough about the city. While we don't think we could make it "home", it is a great city for people our age at this point in our lives and definitely a good choice for a place to live for 4 months. We have been continuing to tour around Wellington and the surrounding areas, but the weather hasn't been cooperating at all and this isn't a city where there's a whole lot to do when it's pouring rain! When it is nice, we have certainly been taking advantage by going to the beach and doing outdoor activities. We have been walking a lot and Clem has started running more...he loves the hills! (Me, not so much!). We spent some more time at the Te Papa NZ National Museum, which is huge so we tend to only do one floor at a time and save it for rainy days. We also went to the city gallery to see this art exhibit that completely revolved around dots. Yes, tons and tons of dots. It was fascinating and I highly suggest you google Yayoi Kusama - Mirrored Years. She is an 80 year old Japanese artist whose work is influenced by her childhood and her mental illness. She had many episodes as a child where her world would turn into dots. A very interesting story that fascinated even us, who aren't that big into the art scene. We also planned at day trip to do a hike to see fur seals in Island Bay, called "Red Rocks" (approx 20 mins outside of Wellington). It was beautiful when we left home, but got very windy when we got off the bus. We walked an hour to get to the entrance of the hike and then ran into other travellers who advised us not to go any further. They had to turn around half way because the wind was too strong and they were being pelted by rocks! Like we've said before, they don't call it "Windy Wellington" for nothing!! The wind literally stops you dead in your tracks and you can't walk forward at all. It's quite fun some times, actually. We will plan to go back and do it again on a nicer day. Apparently when it is really clear, you can see the South Island from the rocks. We also have a hike right behind our house that takes you up to the top of Mount Victoria (the neighborhood we live in). It's only about a 20-25 minute hike up, but it's very steep and well worth it when you get to the top. The views of Wellington are amazing! We did that on Sat morning before heading to the Cricket match between NZ and Pakistan. Cricket is an interesting sport to say the least...just put it this way- the game we saw lasted for 5 days! It's not the most exhilarating to watch, but we had a really great time with all of our NZ friends.
Clem has been busy looking for work and although it sounds really crazy, he can't find anything! He has tried everything and will do anything, but the competition for the jobs is unbelievable! He dropped off many resumes, and has had some interviews but hasn't heard back. He is looking for anything in retail, cafes, bars, etc. To give you an idea, he dropped a resume off at Mitre 10 (like Canadian Tire) and the manager told him he had 75 applications for one position on the floor in the power tool department! Cafes will not hire unless you have your Barista course and many years of experience (they don't mess around with their coffee here). The working holiday visa has been a deterrent as well as you can only work with one employer for 6 months and as soon as some employers see that, they tell you they are looking for someone long term. It's not a big deal, but he would like to do something part-time to balance out our rent while we are living here.
It's quite funny, because I don't think I've read a brochure in my life and suddenly I've become obsessed. Brochure stands look like gold mines to me these days...especially if they've got coupons in them. Clem and I may run a little test to see how many time we can use a "Buy 1 get 1 Free Coffee" coupon from the Wellington Visitor's Guide. It's for Esquires Coffee and we've already used it three times. It's funny how you change when you are travelling and if we've learned anything so far (and we certainly have!), it's not to take anything for granted!
In the meantime, we are keeping busy planning for our tour of the South Island, Oz and SE Asia. We are going to be doing the South Island in the 2 weeks before we leave NZ, as we fly out of Christchurch to Australia on March 5. I really enjoy planning, but have to keep reminding myself that I can't plan too much...something I am getting used to as a traveller!
We find it hard to believe that it is almost half way through December. Christmas certainly isn't the same here. Nobody has lights up and only some people put up Christmas trees! I haven't even heard any Christmas music playing in the stores yet! It will definitely be one to remember and I know you will all hate me for saying this, but I think I like my Christmases in the snow! (I know, I know, it was -38 with the windchill today in Edmonton- I've had a few emails!!). We plan to cook our own little turkey dinner on Christmas Eve, so looking forward to that as well as our 1st anniversary on the 27th :)
Ok, I think I've rambled on about enough randomness now, so we hope all is well with everyone where ever you all are! We will post again before Christmas. Until then..get your shopping done!
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