There is no water shortage here. To celebrate, apparently, the clever kiwis have devised toilets that use about 25 gallons per flush. I kid you not! Krista was the lucky one to first experience this...I heard her let out a wild yell from the loo in our hotel. When it was my turn I yelled too! We call it the wild white water rushing rapids. Shocking to anyone from California.
I want to mention that there is a way to travel relatively cheaply in New Zealand! Don't have kids. Or at least don't bring them. In every town and city there's a great abundance of 'backpackers' lodgings, often in very key locations and sometimes offering very attractive accomodations, usually for about $20 a night. They usually have shared bathrooms, of course, being based on the hostel model, and thus also have a built in social milieu that I, personally, find attractive---meeting folks from all over the planet who have been off having adventures. Alas, such pleasures are not for us. Many of them don't accept kids and they all charge per person, making them about as expensive as a private hotel room. And the shared bath is the death knell. Oh well.
Another way these 'backpackers' save money is by buying a car on arrival and selling it on departure, usually for about the same amount. This is so common there are whole networks set up, as well as bulletin boards everywhere. Often the cars come complete with tents and all the camping gear you'd need. So unless they get unlucky and face an unexpected automotive repair, these folks travel for just the cost of the petrol. Damn clever.
The petrol, by the way, costs $4.94/gallon--US dollars. Cripes. I'm glad we didn't hire a camper van! It cost about $70 NZ to fill up our little toyota.
We did have a financial breakthrough...we found two nice little thrift stores--a red cross and a salvation army--which stock really nice warm clothes for $4 or $5. I bought a seemingly brand new levi shirt for $4 and Krista found Eden a nice wool hand knit sweater (er, jumper) for the same. Sorry to bore you with our petty finances...It's just such a shock, still.
We need a lucky break! Maybe a nice house sitting gig? In Takaka?
We've really enjoyed staying put in our little room for some days. We have a great view on 3 sides. Moving everyday is hard, even with our own car. It would be heavenly to score a place for a few weeks. Still, I wonder what the hell we're doing here. Last night we watched a Friends episode on TV. Pathetic. I can't imagine having watched TV in Bali or Thailand.
Nelson is beautiful. The trees are in full Autumn colors. The air is crisp and clear and there's a clean-ness here that I associate with being right on the Ocean. We've gone for some drives and the city winds back into pretty valleys and along the hills overlooking the water. There are pretty parks and lots of cafes. No big box stores and plenty of folks downtown, enjoying the cafes and shops. I guess it's a school holiday this week so maybe there are more kids out than usual.
I can see why folks would want to emigrate here, if they could afford it. I'm not really drawn here personally, but in the event of fleeing a total fascist takeover of the US (I mean a more sudden and overt one) this town would be a top pick.
Anyway, that's it for now.
love always
rob
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