Days 111-117

Day 111,
We woke up and had some breakfast, did a little work on the computer and relaxed at home before Andrea headed off to work. I (John) hung around the house for the while before heading into town to runs some errands and stop by Hislops Cafe to see Andrea and get a coffee. Still loving the free coffee!

When I got home I called and purchased some tickets for the All Blacks vs. Italy game on June 27th in Christchurch. That will be awesome! The All Blacks are the New Zealand national rugby team. They are widely considered the best rugby team in the world even though they have only won one World Cup

When Andrea got home we relaxed a little before heading to bed.

Day 112,
Once again we woke up, had some breakfast and did a little bit of work on the computer. Andrea headed off to work and I went to main street to send a package back to the states. After getting the package sent I headed home to relax and hang out with our house mates. Andrea came home after work and we watched TV for awhile before heading to bed.

Day 113,
We woke up early to say bye to our housemates Jana and David who are going to the Czech Republic for 4+ weeks to visit Jana's family. After saying bye to our friends we had some breakfast and hung out for a little bit before Andrea headed to work and I worked on moving our stuff to the upstairs bedroom. After getting our stuff moved I met our friend Cally for a hike. We went for a quick hike near the base of Mt. Fyffe. After our hike we stopped by Hislops Cafe to say hi to Andrea and grab a coffee. Later that evening I met Cally at the local pub to watch the All Blacks vs. France game. Andrea came down after work and we watched the rest of the game and had a beer before heading home to go to bed.

Day 114,
Andrea got up and went to work bright and early today. I slept in a little then had some breakfast and did some computer stuff before starting to clean. I spent most of the afternoon cleaning our room and the bathroom downstairs and vacuuming the whole house. Andrea came home later in the afternoon and we had some great stir-fry before watching Andrea's favorite TV shows (Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice).

Day 115,
Andrea woke up early to head to her weekly Monday morning meeting at the cafe. When she got home we had some breakfast, did some internet stuff and relaxed. We stopped by the Woolshed to do some shopping on the way to Andrea's work. I walked with Andrea up to the cafe then headed down to the movie store ($1 movies on Mondays), the grocery store and the fish shop. On the way back I stopped by the cafe again, got some coffee and heard about a laboring job next door at a motel that is being built. So on the way by the motel I stopped in to talk to the builder and I GOT A JOB!! Holy cow I have a job! I ran home to drop off the food and movies then headed back to the job site to work for a couple of hours.

After a couple of hours of work I headed home to get ready for dinner. Our friend Cally came over after awhile and Andrea came home after work. We put together a really nice sushi dinner.













We even made some tempura vegetables to go with the sushi rolls.



















After dinner we played a game of cards before going to bed.

Day 116,
I (John) got up early to head to work. Unfortunately (or fortunately) is was cold and rainy, so work was canceled for the day.













So, I headed back home and crawled back into bed with Andrea. We slept for a little while before getting up to have some brunch, watch some TV, do a little computer work and just hang out together. We took some photos from the house of the cool looking sky













and the snow...Andrea loves the snow!













Later that afternoon we headed down to the grocery store and along the way we stopped at Dusky Lodge to talk to our friend Fran. After our weekly trip to the grocery store we headed home to watch a movie and have a really nice dinner. The sky just before sunset was incredible.













Pretty awesome eh.













We enjoyed watching the colorful sky.













Then we relaxed with some baths and an early bedtime.

Day 117,
I woke up and headed off to work. Andrea got up had some breakfast, relaxed and did some computer work (Tuesdays and Wednesdays are her days off). I came home to have some lunch with Andrea then headed back to work (cleaning up the site, it has sat half built for almost two years). Andrea went into town to do some shopping and some computer work at Global Gossip. We got home about the same time. We cooked so dinner, relaxed a little and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Days 104-110

Day 104,
Another day in Kaikoura. We slept in a little, had some breakfast and went online for awhile before Andrea left for work. I (John) hung out at the house (see below) for awhile,













before heading to Hislops Cafe (see below) to visit Andrea and have a coffee













I returned home after my coffee and worked on our blog for awhile before heading down to the local pub to meet friends Fran, Cally and Megan for quiz night. Andrea stopped down after work and we stayed for a little while before heading home. We watched a movie then headed to bed.

Day 105,
Started with a nice breakfast then some internet work and writing a few postcards. We did a little shopping on the way to work (for Andrea). After dropping Andrea off at work, I headed to run a few errands and grab some socks for Andrea. After bringing Andrea her socks I headed home and relaxed while I waited for her to come home from work. When she got home we watched some TV and hung out before heading to bed. Very exciting day!

Day 106,
I did something new today! Anyway, we got up, had some breakfast and did some stuff online before Andrea headed to work. While Andrea was at work I headed down to the beach with our housemate David to do a little fishing. The fish don't bite very well in the winter here, but it was fun to get out and get a line in the water. We sat on the beach watching our lines until the weather got bad and we had to reel in without a single bite. We stopped by Hislops Cafe to pick up Andrea after work and headed home. We relaxed at home for awhile before Andrea went back to work and I headed up to Cray Cottage to hang out with Fran and Cally for a little while. We relaxed at home later that evening watching TV before heading to bed.

Day 107,
Andrea woke up and headed to work for the morning shift. I slept in a little then went down to visit Andrea at work and get a coffee. I went back home and did some planning for travels after we leave Kaikoura. When Andrea got home we had some dinner, did a little computer work and watched some Gray's Anatomy and Private Practice before heading to bed.

Day 108,
Andrea got up early to head to the standard Monday 7:30 morning meeting at Hislop's Cafe. Andrea came home and woke me up, we had some breakfast and did some internet stuff before Andrea went to work. I relaxed awhile before heading to the movie store and Hislops for a coffee with our friend Cally. After the excursion I headed back home and waited for Andrea to come home from work. We watched a little TV and relaxed before heading to bed, there is a pattern developing here.

Day 109,
We got up, had a little breakfast and then talked to our good friends Jeff and Lydia on skype. It was really cool to talk and see them (most parts). After a great conversation we headed into town to have some Thai food and stop by the local internet cafe to print off a CV. I dropped the CV off at a local pub/restaurant (I am still looking for a job just not quite as intensely as before). From downtown Kaikoura we headed out to New World grocery store and fooled around a little...






































After getting a few things at the grocery store we headed back to the house for a little dinner with our housemates. Jana made some great pizzas for dinner.














We stuffed ourselves with pizza then headed to the local pub for quiz night. Some how Andrea and I won and our housemates David and Jana took second place. I'm not sure if we would have won without help from David. With our double win we had $75 worth of alcohol to drink. We played some pool and drank our drinks, then headed home to bed.

Day 110,
We slept in a little (or alot) then had some good breakfast and relaxed. We watched a couple of movies and did some laundry. We keep pretty quiet all day and just enjoyed the scenery.













Later in the evening Jana cooked some awesome seafood chowder.













She even stopped cooking long enough to take a picture with her husband David.



























It was some of the best chowder we have ever had! Thanks Jana!

Days 100-103

Day 100

Cannot even believe how fast time is going by, to think we have been here for 100 days is amazing. We decided to celebrate 100 days in New Zealand by sleeping in! :) We thought it was a good idea as well. The weather was crazy today, really windy, cold and there was a mix of sleet and rain.

Interesting fact: sleet, hail and snow seem to have different definitions to different folks, some thought it was snowing, others felt like it was hailing, while we just thought it was sleet.

So we cooked some breakfast and listened to the wind howling against the house. Our house mate David was kind enough to bring me (Andrea) to work, Hislops Cafe, so I wouldn't get soaked along the walk.

We have a beautiful view of the mountains from our living room window, this is what it looked like today.



























Quite dramatic and beautiful.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch.... John and our friend Fran tried to go to the Cold Water Classic Surfing competition again today, only to find out that it was no longer going on. They did run it early in the morning before the weather got too bad, but decided that snow wasn't surfing competition weather.

John went to the grocery store on the way home and this is what the parking lot looked like in less than an hour.















After I got home from work we watched a movie, Around the Bend with Christopher Walken.

Day 101

Today is Monday, June 1st, and is a holiday in New Zealand, as we celebrate the Queen of England's Birthday! All schools and most work places have the day off, except for those in hospitality, so I headed into work after a quick breakfast.

John did some socializing around town and came into Hislops for a coffee while he was reading the paper.

After work we cooked some pasta for dinner and did some planning for the rest of our time here in New Zealand.

Day 102

This is a view of the mountains this morning, the snow is starting to stay in the mountains.













I had the day off so we hung out at home in the morning and did some laundry. It was a nice day outside so we got to hang our laundry outdoors! Big day, big day... We did some work on the computer before taking our bikes out to cruise around town. We stopped down at Global Gossip to see if Cally wanted to come over for sushi this evening. Then we biked down to Dusky Lodge to invite Fran over as well.

Our biking journey continued as we did our weekly bike trip to the grocery store with our back packs. We got our food for the week, and stopped at the fish store on our way home to pick up some Salmon and Tarakihi for the sushi.

We got home and hung out for a bit before Cally and Fran arrived.

Then we started making sushi...Yummy!








































After dinner we played some cards and enjoyed some good conversation. It was a great evening!

Day 103

Today was a beautiful day, so we were going to take advantage of it. After breakfast we spent the morning on the computer and organizing things around the house.

Then a quick lunch before heading out on a nice walk up to the Kaikoura Lookout! This is us on the top of the lookout.














The view from the top was amazing, and it was the perfect day to enjoy the view. The picture below is the town of Kaikoura along the Pacific Ocean with the mountains in the background. Kaikoura is on a peninsula and the ocean is towards the north.














The view below is a look back, the ocean in this case is towards the south.



















The land is beautiful and the view is breath taking...


























The walk back towards town was nice along the ocean. The sign is an old backpackers that was bought and turned into a rental property. I just love the sign and our friends Cally and Fran were living there for awhile.




















We walked back along the ocean and there is a nice big wooden chair along the coast, we stopped to take in the view before heading back into main street Kaikoura.













We stopped at a few shops in town and then at Global Gossip to upload some pictures onto the blog.

After John was finally done shopping, we headed home to relax for a bit before heading over to Rachel and Llyod's house for dinner. Sara came as well, and we had a really nice chicken dinner and played Cluedo (Clue is what we call it back in the states.) Miss Scarlet was causing some trouble in the Ballroom with the Candlestick, but we caught her!

After a nice dinner with friends we came home and went to bed!

Days 85 - 99

Hi, we're back to provide a couple of weeks worth of updates. Still kickin' it in Kaikoura. (so don't expect much exciting in this update)

Day 85,
Today Andrea got up a little early to do some paperwork for her job at the cafe. After a little breakfast we did our cleaning at the hostel then had a quick shower and some lunch. After lunch we talked with our friends Cally and Fran about moving into a flat together. We have decided that we need to get out of the hostel. It is way too loud and we are getting sick of cleaning. Andrea headed to work after we did a little research into apartments and I headed down to look at Cray Cottage where Cally lives. Along the way I stopped to ask about jobs at a Thai restaurant (no luck). In the evening we relaxed and watched a little television.

Day 86,
Andrea got up early to clean because she had to go to work at the Cafe. I did the normal cleaning shift and relaxed at the lodge waiting for Andrea to come back from her split shift. We spent a couple of hours hanging out together before Andrea headed back to work. I went to the local internet cafe to do a little bit of internet stuff before I headed back to the Dusky to cook dinner and relax.

Day 87,
Andrea went into work, but wasn't feeling well, so she came home and rested. I did my regular bathroom cleaning (actually, I have been doing more bed making lately). See below...













Then went down to talk to Cally about a house that we were going to look at. Andrea was feeling better, so we went to look at the house. The house is rented by a coworker of Andrea named Jana and her husband David. It was a nice house and not too far from town. After our visit Andrea headed to work and I went to the movie store ($1 for old movies every Monday!!). Then I headed down to Cray Cottage to watch a film. Back at the lodge Andrea and I watched another movie before heading to bed.

Day 88,
We woke up and had our typical free breakfast before Andrea headed to coffee training at Hislops and I went to do more cleaning. When Andrea got back we had a nice brunch and hung out with our friends from the Lodge. Then we watched the classic, "Caddyshack". We had some great fish n chips from a new shop just up the road and then watched a movie down at our friend Mickey's flat with our friend Sara. We ended the night doing some laundry and relaxing in our room.

Day 89, (May 20th)
Our last day at Dusky Lodge!!
We woke up had some breakfast and did some cleaning. After completing our last day of cleaning (yippie!!) we packed up our stuff and got ready to head out. We said bye to some friends and got a ride down to our new house. We moved in with Andrea's coworker and her husband. They seem like great people, the house is nice and the price was right. After moving in we unpacked a little then headed down to town to have some lunch and watch some local rugby.

It was really cold and windy, so we didn't stay too long. Instead we headed over to the grocery store to stock up on some good stuff. Back home we made a nice dinner then watched some TV with our new housemates.

Day 90,
We slept really well in our new house. It is really quiet (except for the trains). After a nice breakfast and some e-mailing, Andrea headed to work for a little while. She came home and we had some lunch and watched a movie. Then Andrea headed back to work. I relaxed at home a little longer before heading out to support our friend Jessica as she led a karaoke night at a local pub. After the karaoke I headed down to say hi to some friends at another local pub, then headed up toward Hislops to meet Andrea and walk home with her. We made it home and went to bed.

Day 91,
We slept in and relaxed most of the morning and early afternoon. I took a ride back down to the lumber mill to see if they had any work (no luck). When I got back we watched a movie and then Andrea headed into work and I headed to Cray Cottage to hang out with Fran and Cally. When Andrea finished Fran went and picked her up and we played some cards at their place. We headed home after a game of rummy and hit the sack.

Day 92,
Andrea worked a split shift and I spent most of the day inside relaxing, reading and watching TV. The day was pretty rainy and cold so my only adventure out of the house was to meet Andrea on her way home from her first shift at work to look at running shoes at the local sports store. Nothing in stock, but some coming in soon, not sure if I will get some because they are pretty expensive. Later that evening we just relaxed and took it easy.

Day 93,
Another cold and rainy day. Not much happening again today. Andrea headed to work after a nice breakfast and some internet work. I stayed home reading and relaxing. When Andrea got home we watched her favorite TV shows (Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice).

Day 94,
Andrea had a triple split shift today with a morning meeting then working the lunch shift and the dinner shift (wow!). I had a zero split shift (no job yet). Anyway, we had some breakfast when Andrea got home from her meeting and then I chilled at home while she worked her second shift. I met her at work to get a cup of coffee (free) and walk with her back to our house to get some late lunch. We watched a little TV, then Andrea headed back to work and I stayed at home being productive (not really). After work we watched a movie and relaxed.

Day 95,
One of Andrea's days off so we took advantage. We slept in (fyi sleeping in for me is now sleeping past 9:30 am, it used to be sleeping past 7:30 am) and had a late breakfast. We did some internet stuff and chatted with Jana. She is from the Czech Republic and Jana and David are heading to the Czech in a few weeks for a month. Then we headed out on our bikes to do a big exciting trip to the grocery store (yeah food). After unpacking our groceries we went down to have "a cuppa" (cup of tea or coffee) with Cally and Fran. Then headed back home to have some dinner. After dinner we headed down to one of the local pubs (there are only 3) with Jana and David to compete in Quiz Night. We won (thanks David) and got a $50 bar tab. We finished the night playing pool and drinking our tab.

Day 96,
Andrea's second day off, so we slept in again. The weather was poor, so we spent the day watching movies, TV, relaxing and signing up for Facebook. Yep, we have taken the leap and opened Facebook accounts. We now feel like we are really hip, and in with the in crowd!

Day 97,
No much happening today. We did a little laundry, went to get a couple of things at the grocery store, did some internet stuff and watched a little tele. Then Andrea went to work and I went to look for work (nothing yet). I stopped by Hislops Cafe to get a free coffee and then went home to do a little more internet stuff. When Andrea got home from work we did a little reading then went to bed.

Day 98,
We woke up and had some breakfast before heading down to town to do a little shopping (Queen's birthday weekend, so big sales). Andrea had to head into work, so I walked around town a little more before going to get a free coffee (boy do I love free coffee drinks). After a coffee drink I headed down to Cray Cottage for an adult drink with Fran and Cally. We had a couple drinks then went down to a local pub to listen to and dance to a New Zealand DUB band called Soul System. Andrea came down and met us after work and we had fun enjoying the band and our friends.

Day 99,
We woke up and had a quick breakfast before heading down to "Meatworks" surf location for the O'Neill Coldwater Classic surf competition. It was a little cool and windy, but the suring was awesome.

The competitors had the coolest place to warm up.

It was a nice old bathtub with a bonfire underneath. Way cool.

The surfers also had interesting transportation, living quarters, clothslines...

We had a great time...













and the surfing was really amazing...

including the longboarders...

What a cool competition and what an amazing location...

Unfortunately, Andrea had to head to work, so we went back into town with Fran. Later that afternoon I headed back to the surfing competition and then went over to Cray Cottage for some drinks and cards. Fran went to pick up Andrea after work and we played another game before heading down to a local pub to see what was happening. We were really tired, so we headed home after just a couple of minutes in the bar. What a cool day watching the surfing.

days 75 to 84

We're Back!

We are still doing pretty much the same things we have been doing the past few weeks, so I will just give you a recap of some of the highlights. And actually there are a few exciting things that have happened over these 10 days. If you can't remember our typical daily activities they go something like this: cleaning at the hostel, eating, reading, watching movies, looking for work, walking around town, etc.

Anyway back to the highlights.

Day 75
We made french toast and sausages after cleaning...yummy. French toast is my favorite and I haven't made it since we left the states. After our awesome brunch we just relaxed, watched a few movies and read as it was rainy and nasty outside.

Day 76
It was a beautiful day so after our cleaning we enjoyed the view while chatting with our friends. Below is the view from the back porch of the hostel...














and a view of the pool area at Dusky lodge...

(Note we have not used the pool (closed for work) or the hot tub (nasty people and things happen in the tub), but we have been in the sauna (nice and hot) which is located just to the left in the picture)

We had a nice walk down to the beach then headed back to the hostel to hang out with friends and celebrate the birthday of Mickey our Irish friend. We had a good time having a few drinks and celebrating (John may have had a little too good of a time).

Day 77
Not much happened today, just some cleaning, relaxing, reading, napping and eating.

Day 78
DAY OFF!!! Awesome. No cleaning. We took advantage of our day off by doing some internet stuff, having lunch at the local Thai restaurant and going to the grocery store. What an exciting day off...okay maybe not too exciting, but nice.

Day 79 - May 10th - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to our Moms and all other mothers!!
Another rainy day, so we had another movie day after cleaning toilets, sinks, carpets, sheets, etc.

Day 80
We took advantage of being about 18 hours ahead of our mothers, and made a few calls to wish our moms a happy mother's day. After making our calls we headed up to the garbage dump to try to find some pants and shoes...No not actually in the dump. There is a second hand store just next to the dump. They had some real interesting stuff, but nothing I had to have. We walked around town and ran a few errands before heading back to the hostel.

Day 81
Pretty much stuck to the routine of cleaning, eating, looking for work, drinking tea (new activity? not really, but we have been doing it more lately, especially since we have been hanging out with a lot of Brits.) We also changed our room around a little (don't tell the hostel managers).

Day 82
BIG DAY!! Today is Andrea's first day of work at Hislops Cafe. They have been closed for a couple of weeks, so she went in to help clean and get things ready for when they reopen tomorrow. Andrea is going to be waiting tables at this nice little organic restaurant/cafe. She is excited to start working. To celebrate her first day at work I cooked a nice dinner of steak, potatoes and salad. Good stuff.

Day83
We did a little cleaning and had some lunch before Andrea headed to Hislops to start her first day of waiting table. I did some of those other activites (looked for a job, read, relaxed) while Andrea was at work.

Day 84
Andrea headed to the cafe to do some waiting and I headed to clean the hostel. After making sure the kitchens were spick and span I had a little lunch while waiting for Andrea to come back. Once Andrea got back we headed up to a seal colony just north of town with our friend Cally. It is really cool.

There is a small river that runs into the ocean and the young seals swim up the river to a waterfall and small pool.

The baby seals relax on the banks of the pool and spend hours playing in the pool. They are very curious and come up to us on the edge of the pool to see who we are.

The seals were very cute and we had a great time watching them play in the pool. What an incredibly cool spot!

SORRY!

Sorry we haven't made any posts lately. We have heard a few complaints, so we will post a nice long update soon (as in today or tomorrow). It's not like we (I, John) have been really busy it's just that I (John) have been lazy. New posts very soon I promise.

Also, we have joined Facebook, so look us up if you want.