There's a voice, that keeps on calling me............

I don't really like to start my blog entries on a downer but as i sit here in my empty house, trying desperately to absorb every last bit of the amazing view that has greeted me each morning for the last 7 months, it is difficult to not feel a smidge of melancholy. I move out today. All that is keeping me here is the washing machine (washing our towels and tea towels), the dishwasher (washing the remains of last nights mexican off the crockery) and the prospect of waiting for the guy who is gonna steam clean our carpets this afternoon. Biff is all packed up and ready to go and i can tell he is eager to get to our first stop.............Queenstown. We have decided to stay a few extra days at the campsite in town, the same place we stayed at when we first arrived here back in April. I remember it as if it was yesterday. We arrived to fog and rain but were very excited by the light dusting of snow on the hills and mountains. I remember thinking it looked a lot like Forks from the Twilight books/movies. Today it looks no different. Windy, wet, foggy and still a light dusting of snow on the local peaks. It seems winter is as reluctant to leave Qtown as myself.

So the last few days have been filled with cleaning and packing and swallowing down feelings of sadness. JC and Laura left a few days back to go and work on the Milford track. They are going to be lodge hosts at the first stop on the track, Glade lodge. They are out in the middle of frickin nowhere but i can't imagine any two people better suited for it. JC is able to amuse himself very easily and has taken a lot of new stuff to learn on his guitar which probably means that if/when i see him again he'll be playing like SRV (Stevie Ray Vaughn - my guitar idol). Laura will also busy herself there. They are staying in NZ for another 18 months i think as they have the option to extend their visas to 2 years. I think they are keen to head back to Qtown for the winter season and get jobs on the hill. It will be much easier for them too as the company they work for now own NZski and both of the resorts. I'm super jealous. Not because of the jobs on the track but because they can stay for another season. I will miss them a lot and the last few weeks they have stayed with us have been a riot. We have the same sense of humour and all i have done for weeks is piss myself laughing. Take care guys and hopefully we will see you soon. Mazal Tov!!

It seems the draw of Qtown has gotten it's hooks into others too. Richard actually left a few weeks back to go see the rest of the south Island but has somehow found his way back here and is staying with Dickon and some of his other friends. He said he went to Invercargill and thought it was shit, then had a bit of fun in Dunedin but found that people he met weren't nearly as fun as the people he had left here so decided to come back for a bit. I think he is job hunting for a summer job so when he says a bit, i'm thinking he's here for a while. Dicks has decided to extend his stay too. A few months ago he was desperate to get back on the road but since splitting with his girlfriend he has had a change of heart. It helps that we have all made so many friends here who are staying for the summer and are all currently job/flat hunting. I am again super jealous as the prospect of Qtown in the summer looks amazing. It looks gorgeous with a light dusting of snow but when the sun comes out and makes the lake twinkle it is truly a spectacular setting. Gorse has started to bloom and the hill sides are now doused in a myriad of green and yellow. Summer here is going to be insane.

Shame i will miss it but i am trying hard to focus on the next few months for me and trying to get my head around being back on the road again. The novelty wore off pretty quick last time and the thought of being back in a confined space for prolonged periods and constantly twatting my head is also getting me down. But to be fair, there are much worse places in the world to be in a little white box. I will again see the ocean, beaches and the stunning landscapes that NZ seems to have around every new turn. Not bad really.

Apart from packing and cleaning and a lot of swearing, i have also managed to get out and about this last week. After i cut my last blog entry short i headed into town and met up with Dicks and Rich (or the 3 must-get-beers as i have nicknamed us) to catch some of the last few gigs of the Jazz festival. The weather wasn't as good as i had hoped but we still sat on the village green listening to people warble away. We grabbed a bite to eat but by 2.30pm the pull of alcohol was tempting us too much. Rich bailed to the internet cafe so me, Dicks, JC and Laura went and got a box of beers. As we drunk them a few more of our regular crowd filtered up and before we knew it there were 9 of us on the lash in the sunshine. We then headed into what has become our regular haunt, Brazz. For the last few months we have been there pretty much every Sunday. I think it might have something to do with the $3.50 beers. After a few in Brazz we headed over to another regular haunt, Montys, to go see a blues guitarist we had seen a few nights before called MoJo Webb. He is an Aussie guy but man can he play the blues (check out his website). After more booze and a lot of dancing i had to call it a night as my body was starting to reject alcohol and i was way too drunk to continue. Kate had joined us by now so she gladly escorted me home for some much needed sleep and water.

The next morning i had MoJo Webb tunes stuck in my head all day. When they did finally abate, JC would start whistling them and they'd be straight back in there again. Not such a bad thing as he was awesome but it does get a bit annoying.

So, that is it for my little adventure at Greenstone Terrace. Tonight i sleep under the stars again (which i can see through Biffs roof vents). Not sure i will Blog again before i leave town but we are finally going to Milford Sound tomorrow and have a few leaving parties to attend before we head off on Sunday. So i will catch up with you guys soon.

Peace

D

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