New Zealand – 28 January 09

I awoke this morning to the sound of birds I didn’t know, and one that I did – a rooster. I can’t even remember the last time I heard a rooster crow.

I arrived yesterday afternoon to Clare and Brian’s 7-acre home on Golden Bay, the northwestern tip of the South Island, New Zealand. It’s very q-u-i-e-t here – no road noise, no human-made cacophony, only birds and the occasional gurgle from the hot water heater (heated by a solar panel on the roof). Their home is mid-way up a mountain, overlooking a valley to the left and the ocean to the right … peaceful. It’s been a balm to my soul.

The picture to the right is from my bedroom patio, looking right, down to the ocean. You can see the hot tub cover (tan) in the foreground, then it drops down to the valley and then out to the ocean.

I went to my room at 6pm to lie down for 20 minutes before dinner. I awoke at 3am, still fully clothed, to use the long-drop (the eco-friendly version of the toilet – I thought it would be gross, but I couldn’t smell anything but
sawdust) and went back to bed for another 5 hours – 14 hours of sleep. Yeah, it’s physically soothing here.

They call this season “summer.” I would call it spring. The days are typically in the mid-to-high 70s; the nights require a duvet … perfect.

Oh, it took 1.75 – 2 hours to get here from the airport at Nelson; I stopped counting the organic garden produce signs – clean air, clean ocean, and organic produce. Having been here before, I can say the people match the environment – friendly, unlocked doors, very low crime rate. The animal life also matches the environment – no snakes, no poisonous anything, no 4-legged predators – a paradise for campers and backpackers and me.