In a little over 2 days I have travelled from Middle Earth - Matamata
to Wind - Wellington, and finally onto Fire, in the form of Nelson ;
sunshine capital of New Zealand.
I know the fire link is a little tenuous but had I not used it then
my title wouldn't have worked & it's taken me all day to come up
with one.
As I type, Murray & Kaycee have gone to bed & I'm watching 'Cold Mountain.'
I'm as little concerned about Murray to be honest, he was walking stiffly
when I arrived & mentioned a cramp in his left leg. His ankles have almost
completely seized now & he is alternating sweats with chills.
I suspect it's some kind of virus. I told him it was a drastic way to get
out of the horse-riding trip I have threatened him with.
He teaches me kite-buggying, I teach him horse-riding, seems fair to me.
Just before he went to sleep, I asked if I could have the house if
he doesn't make it through the night. I promised to take care of Kaycee.
Seems like I might not need the axe after all.
The day started early at 0630 today with a shower, quick catch-up Blog,
breakfast then a trolley-ride into town with Milky's Mum. Unfortunately,
my plans went awry after that, for the Lynx which I thought I was travelling
on doesn't sail until December, so I had to cover 2.5kms in 20 minutes to book
on the Interislander 30 minutes before she sailed.
Luckily, I flagged down a passing cab, right about the time I had lost the
will to live in the most biting wind I have ever encountered.
I now know how Oates felt ...
'I'm going to look for the Interislander, I may be some time.'
I caught the ferry by the skin of my teeth & almost immediately wished
I hadn't.I've never known a crossing like it & was extremely grateful
that I'd only had toast at Milky's Mum's. She obviously knew something
I didn't as she commented 'It's probably wise' when I told her I was
only having toast.
I won't dwell on the crossing, partly cos I'm hard but mostly because 'humour
is only other people's misfortune' (copyright E.Tanner) & I'm not giving you
lot a good laugh. I did what I always do in times of hardship & emotional
distress & went to sleep, blocking out the retching sounds.
When I awoke it was to a slightly less turbulent crossing & 2 hours later
we coasted into a serene Marlborough Sounds, much to my relief.
The Kiwi next to me was talking to his friend on the phone ...
'She's a beautiful day in Picton' he said
'The Sounds are as flat as'
How good it is to hear those idioms again :)
The rough conditions added 35 minutes on our crossing & I fully expected
my 1255 bus to have long gone, as we disembarked at 1330.
I went to the InterCity Bus stand without much hope of them being
able to get me on a bus to Nelson that day, to have the girl on the
desk say 'They're waiting for you, that's your bus there.'
Sure enough there was my bus & all it's passengers & I didn't even
attract any filthy looks from the passengers who had waited 35 minutes
for the green person to board.
I've never enjoyed a coach journey as much.
Partly because we were on terra firma but mostly because we replicated
the fantastic drive I used to do in 'The Beast' from Seddon to Nelson.
After the biting wind in Welly, the sun splitting the sky was a very
welcome treat indeed.
The most poignant moment of the day was when a blind lady & her golden
retriever guide-dog boarded the bus at Blenheim. I always want to cry when I
see these partnerships & I hasten to add I don't mean from pity, but
just because I find their working relationship so tremendously dignified
& touching.
It struck me as a particularly cruel irony to be without sight in a country as
breathtakingly beautiful as this one.
We trundled into Nelson bus station some 30 minutes late & I immediately
recognised Murray, despite the beard which I had forgotten about.
Soon we were in the van & underway, chatting like old buddies & that's
kind of been the theme ever since, until he feigned illness to get to bed.
We cleaned out the van, then took a stroll up the valley to watch Kaycee
dive for stones in the river. Murray's abode is even quiter & more beautiful
than the photos suggest. A busy little stream runs past the bottom of the
garden and the air is viscous with birdsong. I like it here.
We have talked ever since (with me trying to listen more than talk, since
Bridget saying I talk too much ;) ) & I remarked that it felt lilke I'd
been here for days not hours.
'That has to be a good sign doesn't it ?' asked Murray.
He's right.
Cx
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