Hello again!
Still having a good time here in Blenheim. I feel like my jet lag is spreading itself out, because I’m a bit more tired than usual. Also not sleeping particularly well, but I’m sure it’ll get better! Popping Ginseng pills as my 'uppers'.
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| Mouth of the bay at Picton |
Saturday, after writing my last blog, friends Sean, Kez & Marie picked me up and we headed to Picton for a bit of beaching and sight-seeing. As we headed out of town, it was grey but ended up being sunny out in Picton! Kez and Marie have been living out of there van and had been parked outside of The Station backpackers so had a big bed in the back. Mom called while we were driving “What are you doing?” Me: “Lying in a bed, in the back of a van, drinking a beer, heading to the beach”.
Picton is where the ferry to the north island departs, and it was in when we got there. It’s a massive ferry, probably the length of the Alaskan Ferry Taku, but much higher. Such a beautiful city, at the end of an inlet with quite a few islands (“Millions!” said Kez; “Twenty, tops” said Marie) in front so very protected.
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| Sean on the beach |
We made our way down to the small pebbly beach and Sean went for a swim. It’s pretty rad being able to drink beers anywhere (except in downtowns) without much problem. Picton is very touristy city, with lots of restaurants, kayak tours, whale watching boats, a maritime museum, and small harbor. I picked out a house on the bluff overlooking the inlet and whole town “I want that one!” We went to one of the cafes for some fish and chips, and a cocktail. 1. New Zealanders don’t know how to make bloody marys, one bartender didn’t even know what it was! Very sad…the fish, however, was delicious. No heavy batter, just pan fried white fish of some sort.
Saturday evening was very chill, for me, hung out at The Station...a bit of music and wine…some kiwi-flavored vodka (only in kiwi-land). I went to bed around midnight, but most people in Copper Beech went out til 3 am...then there were a bunch of Rugby games on though, so many of the folks were up late watching them. My roomie Courtney was up til 5 am, and my Irish friends Rory and Niall stayed up until 7 am, watching Ireland claim victory over the competing team.
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| Beautiful Marlborough wine country |
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| Roomie Courtney (from CA) and I at Withering Hil |
Sunday, my backpacker’s offered a winetasting tour, free ride and most of the wineries don’t charge for tasting. We made it to four wineries and a chocolate factory: Withering Hills (good Pinot Gris), Villa Maria (good Late Harvest Riesling), High Field (yum Chardonnay and single vineyard Sauv Blanc), Cloudy Bay (nice Gewürztraminer). Makana had delicious yummy treats we got to sample, but a bit spendy! Perhaps I’ll splurge before I leave on some chocolates for friends (and those friends will be required to share with me) I bought ONE Champagne Truffle for $2, and saving it for a special day or chocolate emergency (in case of emergency, eat truffle).
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| Fellow Indevin-ers at High Field |
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| Gianni and I shared a glass of Sauvie at High Field. Yum! |
Monday was my ‘last day of freedom’, I slept in until ten; did a bit of yoga; went on a run; did laundry; and mended my bag. It was relaxing…hanging up clothes to dry outside, and sitting on the porch for three hours, drinking tea and sewing! It’s so cool living in a backpackers, whoever doesn’t have work for the day comes and sits for a bit, or is just running around. You’re never lonely! Danish and German girls giggling, Italian guys singing opera in the shower, bread being baked, Led Zeppelin blasting from the radio in the kitchen :)
Today was the first day of work and was filled with bureaucracy…paperwork, rules, a short tour, waiting for the next training lecture. They serve awesome food though, we got little meat pies and quiches for breakfast tea break, had a great spread for lunch, then fruit with afternoon tea break. We had to fill out self-evals to help them place us in certain jobs around the winery. I’ll be day shift (7am-7pm) in the white cellar with a few friends, I’m not sure how many total people. I think we’ll be doing basic pump-overs, transfers, cleaning tanks…etc. Other assignments are presses, filters of different sorts, cleaning crew...
Since we’re already getting a lot of grapes (700 tonnes tomorrow) they decided to push back training tomorrow so that we can just get started on work! So head in tomorrow at 630 am, ‘til about 630 pm. We got issued sweet orange reflector vests, safety goggles and pretty white gum boots. Fashion!
Visited ‘the warehouse’ after work. Wal-Mart…woot!
This evening, sat around trading curse words and phrases with my friends at Copper Beech after dinner. I can now insult you in German, French, and Danish! I taught them the little known ‘a**-hat’, thought that was a funny one they wouldn’t know. Hee hee!
Cheers!
p.s. for those who don't know, you can click on the photos to make them bigger in and in a new window.
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