Change Underfoot

This week has been pivotal in planning how to spend the rest of my time in New Zealand. The theme of the start of the week was finding a way to enjoy the rest of my time in Rotorua. I was prepared to dig myself deeper here by finding WOOFing opportunities or applying to a couple restaurants for evening work. With an entire month until my ferry, I knew working 1-2 days a week at Zippy’s wouldn’t cut it, especially living out of the van full time. Honestly I wasn’t that happy about staying. It was raining, and the forecast showed no end in sight. A rainy day without work means doing whatever you can to kill time. Without any creative endeavors at the moment, killing time means holing up in the library to read, write, research, facetime etc. You’re options are limited when you don’t have cash to blow.

I ended up talking with my mom on a day where I was especially dreadful. She helped me realize what I need to do. Instead of further rooting myself in Rotorua, where I’m currently unhappy, why not just leave? Everyone around me had been suggesting I keep exploring the country, but for some reason I was stubborn to get a move on. Here are the few reasons I can think of why.

1. When I got to New Zealand I had no idea how I would fill my 6 months. I lunged at the opportunity to stay in Rotorua to take up a chunk of that time. For some reason I was afraid to move along sooner than planned, because it left more time for me to fill elsewhere. I know how silly that is now, but frankly that’s how I felt.
2. I was worried about walking out on Morgan sooner than acceptable. When I committed to working at the cafe, I knew I would have to stay a while. I thought I would have a lot more hours than I do. The reason I booked my ferry when I did is because it often gets quite busy between Christmas and New Years and I wanted to help/make some $$ before venturing off without any planned income. Three things changed. First, I found out Morgan is super easy going about when I leave. Second, he hired another dishy, so I feel less guilty about bailing. Finally, I realized I have enough funds to sustain myself and therefore shouldn’t sacrifice the enjoyment of my gap year out of financial concern.
3. My ferry was non refundable. Again, mom helped me realize 173 NZD isn’t worth 5 weeks of misery here.
4. I had an offer to stay with Mike from the 15th onward. Going forward, I’m not sure how many more opportunities I’ll have to stay in a real house, so I was hesitant to let that go. This is an example of my own stubbornness and what you might call selfishness. I’ve been spoiled by the generosity of others thus far, and even though I planned to live in my van full time, it’s a lot nicer to stay somewhere, especially when the rain is as relentless as it has been this month. I could list every detail of van life I’m saved from by staying in a house, but it would sound whiny. It’s just plain easier, and the company is really nice. My setup is pretty good when I’m traveling around, especially without the bike. However, it’s somewhat dismal when I’m stationary for days at a time.
5. There may be other smaller reasons I was stubborn that aren’t worth mentioning as they’re less significant and I’ve already justified them to myself.

When do I leave? Well, there’s no reason to stick around unnecessarily. My current parameters are work commitments through Wednesday and a package from mom, which should be here by the twelfth. If the weather’s good next weekend, I may try to go to Taupo for some boating adventures with the Weals. If the package arrives by the end of the week, I’ll just stop in Taupo on my way to Wellington. I may want to check out Wellington for a couple days before my ferry ride, which I should be able to schedule on short notice before Christmas traffic heats up.

What’s next? There are two options that seem to make sense.

1. Go to Nelson for a few weeks to relax, explore, and visit with our family friends Tom and Robyn. Next, travel to Queenstown and join Reid Picot’s friends who are around my age, ride mountain bikes, and live together. This could be a good social opportunity for me. I could work part time. Then I could come back to Nelson around the time my mom/sister/sister’s friend might be visiting.
2. Go to Nelson and settle in for a while. Get a job at a bike shop to give myself a better shot at having a good social scene and interesting work. Then go to Queenstown afterwards.

Time will tell what makes the most sense.

Key happenings of the week:

After leaving the Tague’s I went up Mount Ngongotaha again. I ran into Richard who gave me cashews last time. I stopped at new world and bought some organic chicken and granola type substance. I went back to the Tague’s too cook it up along with some rice which I have been living off the last few days.

I discovered the Red Cross opportunity shop. Over the past few days I’ve found a cake mold that fits in my cooler and keeps my food from getting wet when the ice melts, a Subaru rally team hat, a bigger pot with a lid, a spatula, and a slotted spoon for poaching eggs.

The library has some used books for sale. I found “Views Above Tahoe and Reno” which I bought to pour over, as well as a collection of short stories that looked interesting.

On a walk around Blue Lake I discovered some public barbecues I hadn’t noticed before. Now I don’t have to be afraid of making a mess cooking meat in my van. Score.

Found good deals on produce and live music at the Thursday night festival.

Fuel prices dipped overnight and I bought my cheapest petrol since arriving. I used my 6 cent per liter voucher from Pak N Save to pay $1.90 per liter.

Went to a tavern called the Pig and Whistle for live music on Saturday night. My overnight parking spot at the bike shop is right across the street, so instead of trying to fall asleep with the bass rocking my van, I headed towards the sound. I didn’t order any drinks, because I didn’t want to pay for them. That gave me a good lift.

My coworker Jayden invited me to stay at his place last night. It had been raining nonstop, so I gratefully accepted his invitation. We played with his brand new puppy, ordered Indian takeaways, and went for a romp in the mud in his 4WD van. I washed my clothes too. It was super nice of him.

I checked out the indoor Sunday market this morning. A gentleman outside started talking with me, and after explaining my story he offered me a free punnet of organic strawberries from his stall. It made my day. Less than 10 minutes later I started talking to another guy who ended up being a local dealer and offered me synthetic marijuana. Just yesterday I read an article in the paper about a local guy who died from smoking synthetic marijuana. His sons were found by the police in separate synthetic marijuana incidences within 24 hours of their father’s death. Apparently it’s prevalent around here. No thank you! I saw Rob and his wife Annika at the market.

I got called into Zippy’s because it was super busy around lunch time. I provided relief for about 2 hours and enjoyed a free lunch afterwards. That was nice.

The library’s getting ready to close in 5 minutes and I don’t want to revisit this, so I’m going to add my photos and clear out. Bye!