It is a very rainy day today (April 11^th). So rainy that the Anatoki Salmon farm is closed today. The forecast is so bad that people are afraid of floods.. 

The last months we have been living in the River Inn and working at the Anatoki Salmon farm. It was a turbulent time. 

First, believe it or not, I felt homesick quite a lot. There were moments I felt very sad and very unrooted. I missed my family and friends. I talked a lot about this feeling with Jelle and some friends that I made here. Turns out that being so isolated on an island creates a different form of distance. New Zealand is so far away from everything. Also, although I do love, adore, and admire (being in) nature, I do love cities and I do love being close to where ‘it’ happens. New Zealand is not your country for the last. The nature is beautiful, but there are so few people here. The people who do live in New Zealand love it and would never like to live in a city like Amsterdam. I learned during the last few months that I love to be a little less isolated, to be there where a little more is happening. Luckily the feeling of being homesick comes and goes and is gone now for a few weeks. 

Second, Jelle and I faced some difficulties in our relationship. Turns out that living together in a van, working together, hanging out with the same friends, and doing the same activities in the days off makes you kind of sick of each other. We still do love each other, but we did have some doubts during the last couple of months. Me feeling sad, dramatic, and homesick did not help. Luckily, we love communicating openly about it and we made it through. We still live in the same van and have the same job. We do try to do more separately, which is not easy because things are mostly simply more fun when Jelle joins. 

Like I said, a turbulent few months. 

Our daily life 

The last two months Tūla was parked on the grass field next to the River Inn. Geertje (a.k.a. Gigi, one of our colleagues) recommended the River Inn to us. The River Inn is an old building including a bar and some rooms upstairs for visitors, surrounded by a big grassland with some smaller houses for the owners and some tiny homes, buses and huge campervans for long-term stayers. Between the tiny houses there is some room for temporary visitors for their tents, vans or campervans. We slept in our van and used the facilities of the inn. We could use the kitchen (including four gas pits and a gas tap that must be turned off if you leave the kitchen, otherwise the building could be blown up), the living room (including couch), the bathroom, and the laundry machine. When we arrived there, we tried to bargain for a lower price, but this was not successful. We decided to stay anyway. The property is owned by Ritchie and Paula. Ritchie is direct in communicating (‘recht voor z’n raap’), likes to make a joke, but is serious when necessary, and is basically the guy you would expect working in a pub. Paula has been through a lot, but she is still going strong and one of the most loving and caring women that you will ever meet. 

A few people are living at the River Inn property for a longer time. Every morning when finding my way to the toilet from our van the terrace was filled with at least 5 people, all starting the day early working in construction or on a farm, always open for some small talk. Some people would play the guitar and banjo to make the living-room always a nice space too cuddle up to read a book, play a game, have a conversation, or watch a movie. 

We worked (more or less) 5 days a week from mid-February until now. Anatoki Salmon Farm is a place where people can catch their own fish in the lake at the property. Customers pay for what they catch (per kg), and can get it filleted for free, and hot-smoked for an additional price. It the beginning Jelle worked mostly in the rod shed: handing out rods and explaining to customers how to catch and kill a fish. I worked in the café. People can order coffee and drinks, side dishes to eat with their fish, and salmon platters, salmon bites (‘zalm bitterballen!’), and salmon pizza if they do not feel like fishing. 

Some days, Jelle and I were pulled from our “normal” activities to do other maintenance things. One day we needed to clean one of the ponds. We put on some dry-suits and took some brooms. It was an endless game, since every time that you brushed the floor the water became so unclear that it was too hard to see what you were doing. Another day we needed to pick bone the cold-smoked salmon. Nowadays, Jelle is also working in the café and barely ever working in the rod shed. 

When we started working we were still in the end of the summer rush, but right now most days are very quiet, making the work more boring. It involves a lot of cleaning now, more than helping customers. I do not mind cleaning but I do get my energy from helping customers. Thus, I am happy we only have a few days of work left. 

Some of the local and long-term workers at Anatoki: 

1. The Dutch managers Siep and Dan, we would daily come in the café to have a coffee in the weekend with their kids, but mostly only with Siep’s parents Jan and Gerda. It is definitely a family business. When the three kids come back from school, they will always come to the café to have a little conversation with us, or to put a dead eel in our face when they happen to have found one. 
2. Anna, who grew up not too far from Tākaka in the middle of nowhere. A real country woman, who also happens to love doing her nails and have exotic hair accessory. (Thanks for the pedicure Anna!) She hates biking, but she loves hiking in the rain. 
3. Ryan, a young man (my age) who is, well, just Ryan. He loves hard-techno tunes, or hard-rock? I am sorry if I am being rude, it just all sounds the same when it is morning and you haven’t had coffee yet. He loves racing in his car. Has multiple dreams about creating his own company in the near future. He has a dog and he lives in his caravan on his friend’s ground. 
4. Kyla, not a girl not yet a woman who has been working at Anatoki since she was 14 years old. A very open-minded soul, who definitely seems older than she looks when you talk to her (well most of the time). She knows everything about the café, is very specific about how she likes everything to be in the café and in daily life but has no clue what she wants to do after she finishes High School. Oh, to be young. One day on a not so busy day we (Kyla and me) learned how to line-dance in the middle of the kitchen via a Youtube video).

In the beginning we worked with Geertje, and Yiğit. Geertje lived in the River Inn with us. A lovely young woman (‘een echte Brabander’) who lost her heart in New Zealand. One day we were planning to go to a full moon drum circle with her, but because of bad weather we stayed inside. We made savory (Dutch) pancakes with plant-based cream-cheese, cold smoked salmon from Anatoki, and leek. It was delicious. We drank red wine and met a new friend Will, who is still stuck in Tākaka (better known as Stākaka), because they enjoy it here so much. Will is for ever known as the person with the plastic wine bag with red wine. “It is cheap, but good enough.”, they said. 

Yiğit, our colleague we got to work with only a few weeks, is a world-traveler and hippie. He loves the last airbender, acting, yoga, and spirituality, and watches similar (nerdy) youtube videos as Jelle. One day Yiğit said a quote from a certain video and Jelle and he started to continue to quote together. Another day at work Yiğit met his soulmate (he said), I really hope it works out well for him! (When we told Geertje later, she said: ‘Again?’ Apparently, he is a lucky person with many soulmates). Jelle bought his bike when he left. The bike has a story on Yiğit’s blog that you might enjoy reading as well (you can find it here).

New Zealand is a small country, it is almost like a little town itself. Therefore, it happens more than often that you run into people you met before at a different place and location. The first week of work Alejandra and Wout (two friends that we met at Sacred Earth and spent Christmas and New Years with) where in Tākaka independently of each other. Jelle and I were really stoked and thought we would hang out with them quite a bit, but in the end we only ended up having one drink with them during the open mic night in the Roots bar. A lovely evening which included a few beers and some dancing as well. But well, we will probably see them again soon, because New Zealand is small and travelers tend to go to the same places.

We tried to bike to work 2 to 3 times a week. The other days we would take Tūla, because we wanted to go climbing after work, do groceries, it was raining, or we were just lazy (or running late in the morning). Geertje en Yiğit were leaving after only a few weeks of working together. They have spent the whole summer at Anatoki and were ready for their next adventure. It was sad to say goodbye to such beautiful souls, but luckily New Zealand is small and we will probably see them again. We meet many people all the time, and some we just spend a day with or an evening. I do not want this blog to be a gratitude to all the beautiful people who we met, but still I want to introduce you to the people who made the most impact on us and in our daily life. Traveling is about the beautiful country, culture, and scenery, but also about the beautiful people you meet along the way. 

So next I would love to introduce you to the people we worked with the most part at Anatoki, after Geertje and Yiğit left.  

1. Will from the UK (who I just mentioned before) started working at Anatoki Salmon farm for a few weeks to help with the big harvest and transport of fish. And the poor human being had to mow the whole land rain or no rain. Will is a person with an incredible amount of energy. They are always up for a new adventure, a drink, a talk, or a dance. They love to draw and are always carrying their drawing book. One day Jelle and I had dinner with Will at Pattons rock beach, and we made a shared drawing. What a fun activity to do together!
2. Casper a lovely alternative human being from Sweden. They seem very introvert and shy in daily life in the beginning, but as soon as you get to know them better, you learn that they are a very good listener, always open for an honest conversation and are also very open for a bit of craziness time to time. And on stage… this human being turns into a powerhouse with a Scottisch/Irish accent. What a voice, and a very creative soul too, they write their own songs! 
3. Christa from the USA. I wish I had more time to get to know her. She was already in Tākaka before and just came back for 2 weeks for a hippie festival and work a bit at Anatoki Salmon farm. She is funny, enthusiastic about every plan that you suggest, loves nature, and a good chat. 
4. Alfons comes from Germany and is a real outdoor lover, but also loves a good party. I know he would immediately be friends with all my Vancouver friends. He has a kayak and goes into the wild to catch some fish every other week, loves to surf, has been skiing since age 2. He is a kind person that is secretly also a bit of a nerd on the inside. He is kindhearted and always open for a new idea or plan. 

Luckily, because Jelle could not hold his idea any longer, they were all very stoked to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons. I say luckily, because I promised Jelle that if he could not find a crew by the end of the month, that I would play a game alone with him. Which is a lot less fun (I assume). Dungeons and dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game. So, two nights we were sitting on a table with Jelle (the Dungeon master), Anaerion Valdis (Dragonborn Paladin), Hagrid (Half-Orc Druid), Irulan (Elf from the Dark Woods Rough), Valdoza (Half-elf Druid), and Jayola (Goliath Barbarian). You may guess for yourself who played who. 

On a day off we would go climbing (in Paines Ford), hiking, chilling, or we spend it fixing our van… Tūla is an old lady (not as old as we are, but she is from 1999), and she needs some attention from time to time. For example, on our way from work one time a colleague told us in the supermarket that our brake lights were not working. Another time we were signed on the road by oncoming traffic, and turned out that one of our big lights was not working. 

If we had two days off, one of these days we would go out on an adventure, and one day I would spend at the Wholemeal. I would order a coffee and a Vegan Sandwich and I would work on my manuscript of my Master Thesis (which I finally submitted again to a journal (so fingers crossed), write poems, search for next adventures or search for new challenges in the Netherlands, or I would work on my book (a young adult low fantasy book). For the last I have had this idea in my head since I was 12, and I even wrote a decent number of pages when I was a teenager. Then life took over and I stopped writing, but the story never left me. Here, I finally find the space and the time to write again. 

One time we went to Cape Farewell and walked all the way to Wharariki Beach (only an hour hike). It was a beautiful hike almost on a Scottish like landscape. The wind was intense and the power of the ocean was felt in your bones. The sound of the ocean beneath the cliffs was incredible. Some bits of this considerably easy hike felt a bit sketchy because of the wind. The wind was so powerful that it almost felt like she would blow you off the cliffs if you walked too closely to the edge. In the end we made it to Wharariki Beach. This beach is also known as Windows beach because Windows uses this beach for one of their screensavers. You might recognize it on the pictures. However, when we arrived at the beach we were absolutely amazed by the beauty of the powerful rocks in the ocean, but we both did not see the holes in the rocks. I was so sure this was the right beach, but we did not see the rocks, at least we thought. Jelle even started to doubt if I was right. However, I told him I was 100000% sure, because I was. We kept walking along the coastline, and FINALLY we saw the windows view. We were looking at the right rocks, just from the wrong side. We met a nice photographer who made some pictures for us, and even of us with his own camera. I wonder where these pictures will end up, it was a whole photoshoot. 

Funny enough, on our way back to the track to Cape Farewell we were followed by two groups of people who thought that we were heading to the window rocks. Because of a language barrier and them saying screen a couple of times, and us just saying Cape Farewell a couple of times. It was difficult to make sure what both of us meant, but finally we were able to tell them that this was not the right way. Lucky for them, otherwise they might have followed us all the way to Cape Farewell.

Tākaka is known for her many swimming spots in the river. So, the first month of work we would bike or drive to a spot just two minutes up road to swim in the river. The brave ones would jump even in the river from a rock. I was not feeling that brave. I felt brave enough by swimming in the cold water. Jelle of course, always searching for some dopamine, loved to jump of the rock.

Soon enough I could not swim anymore though, because I decided to make an appointment with the local tattoo artist. Earning minimum wage made me doubt for a few weeks but talking with Jelle and some friends/colleagues around I decided that this was the moment. For a long time I had this idea in my head that I wanted a gratitude for mother earth on my back. A woman, a live tree, and a dreamcatcher. All together. A dreamcatcher, because I can lose myself or get stuck in my own thoughts and dreams about the future a lot. To remind myself to stay grounded. Not the best artist myself I gave the freedom to Marion (Bop Ink) to design my idea. You can see the result on the pictures. For Jelle it was not a very fun experience. He went with me to the studio and to see the start of the tattooing, but soon enough he could not watch anymore. He was there for support but was actually more nervous than I was. Luckily, he is already very used to the tattoo now.  

When I sent the pictures to my parents, my mums first reaction was: ‘WHY?’ (Okay maybe not capitalized, but that is how it was received by me). To be fair, I did not warn them ahead of time. 

The tattoo meant that I was not allowed to sweat for 5 days, and not allowed to swim (in lakes/river/sea) for a month. It also meant that on the next two-day hike trip Jelle needed to carry a heavy backpack and I only a daypack. 

But first we had a little practice round we went on a beautiful hike with Will on the Parapara peak. A 10-hour hike (including breaks), starting with a river crossing. We were a bit in doubt about the timing of a hike, because 4 out of 5 weather apps told us it was going to be heavy rain at least at one moment during the day. In the end we decided to risk it. Jelle wore our daypack, and I was free as a bird without a pack, because my tattoo was still healing (Thank you, love).

This hike started with a river crossing. Since we all just put on our hiking boots, we were sure we would be able to cross by hopping the rocks. Will, our guide for the day, leading the way was gracefully jumping from rock to rock, then suddenly they were sitting in the middle of the river in the water. Soaked. We were still close to the car, so they changed quickly in dry clothes, and we tried again. This time taking our shoes off (well Will did not because their shoes were already soaked). The hike was beautiful and long. The length was the most challenging. First we walked next to a stream, climbing over rocks and roots and finding our way to the sometimes grown over path, then some ascending before reaching the ridge, and by that time your not even half way. The ridge gradually leads you up to the top of Parapara peak. First through the forest with only time to time a sneak peak of the view, and by the end you are above the bushline. With a panoramic view over the Farwell pit, Golden Bay valley and the mountains surrounding it, and the ocean on all sides. What a stunning hike. Hiking in New Zealand is very ‘gezellig’ because there are always many Fantails (Pīwakawaka) flying around looking for insects around your feet, and New Zealand Robins (Toutouwai) and Tuis (among others) make the forest always full of sounds. You will never feel alone. 

Will used their map on their phone to tell us every 15 minutes how far we were and was running in front most of the time. Jelle was mostly tired of work and contemplating if he should have gone on this hike. Unfortunately, Jelle and I brought not a lot of food, because Jelle had to carry everything and we just underestimated how much we would need. Will was our savior with enough snacks for at least two other people. It did not rain the whole day. We did see the rain far above the ocean, probably stuck there. Therefore, we think the only reliable source for weather forecast here in the Golden Bay is probably the Mountain Forecast. 

Welcome Flat Hut and Fox Glacier

In the middle of March, we had 5 days off. Jelle and I decided to go on a little road-trip to the south. The days before we took the time to empty or dirty water container and fill up our other one.

We left on a Thursday evening after work, did some grocery shopping, and crossed the hill to Motueka and were planning to stay there at a beautiful freedom campsite next to the beach. Unfortunately, it was full when we got there. Tired after a week of work and hungry, we both started to be a bit grumpy. We decided to make dinner at this beautiful spot anyway and drive further after that. A bit of a windy place to make dinner, but it worked, and we were lucky enough to be sitting on a picnic table next to some people who were practicing with a dragon staff (for fire dancing). They did not light it up but it was very nice to watch them making their movements. 

After dinner we had enough energy to drive to the next freedom campsite (Alexander Bluff Road Reserve). The next morning, we took the fastest way to get as close to the start of our multiple day hike. On our way we quickly stopped at Fox Glacier, a short hike to a viewpoint to the glacier. It was a simple nice hike, but the glacier was less impressive than we thought. Both having done some mountaineering in the European Alps, we are a bit spoiled, I guess. What is special about this glacier, however, is that it so close to the ocean “with a terminal face as low as 300m above sea level” (source: Wikipedia). Mostly people explain that it is too busy with tourists, and Wikipedia confirms: “1000 people daily visit it during high tourist season”. I guess we were lucky because we did the hike just between some rain showers at the end of the afternoon, and we were only with one other couple at the viewpoint. 

Jelle and I were very surprised about the helicopter tourism in this area. Apparently, it is quite ‘normal’ here to take a helicopter flight over the glaciers, and if you pay a bit extra, you even have a landing on the glacier and maybe a short hike. Most of my (Dutch) friends in the Netherlands did this, and most people we met over here did it too. Of course, Jelle mentioned that probably environmentally it is not worse than going on a boat trip to see whales because the number of boats that take off is much higher than the amount of helicopter flights. Anyway, we both were a bit surprised. 

Funnily enough we slept that night at the freedom campsite next to another Salmon farm. 

The next morning, we made our way to the start of the 2 day track to the Welcome Flat hut. On our way there we read on the DOC website that because of the high risk of landslide on the trail, they recommend filling out an intention form online to let someone know that you go on this hike and when you are planning to be back. So, we fill in the form and used my dad as contact person. However, before I had time to send him a text to let him know that he would be using him for this and that he should not worry, we lost connection. Oh well, should be fine right? He would probably understand and not worry? 

The hike started with a river crossing. The signs tell you that if the river is too high to cross, you should not go on the hike because the hazard of landslides will be too high. We crossed the river safely (we did remove our shoes though, just to be sure, and also because we remembered Will’s little accident on the Parapara peak track). It was a beautiful hike along the river. It was long but pretty mellow. Some parts you really needed to watch your feet when crossing the rocks next the river, and one time we took a wrong turn. Taking a break next to the river was only fun for a few minutes because the sand-flies were coming for us. We made it to the hut just before dark. It was our first stay in a hut and definitely something else. It was cozy and busy. I must admit that I missed my tent and the quietness of that, but it rained during the night so I was kind of happy that we stayed in the hut. Next to the hut are some hot-springs, and after dinner we made ourselves sit in the hot water. So relaxing. I must say I was a bit nervous for my tattoo, but the water was not deep at all. I just sat with my back above the water while Jelle lay down with only his head peaking above the water. Unfortunately, there were too many clouds to have a beautiful sky. But I guess we are spoiled here with beautiful skies most of the time anyway (I think I cannot count how many times I saw the milky-way since we arrived in New Zealand), so I did not complain. 

The way back the next day was a mental challenge, the hike felt so long. Mid-way I hurt my knee (‘Het zal eens niet’), just on the part of the track where it is strongly advised not to stand still, because of the landslide hazard. Fortunately, the pain slowly decreased after a few minutes and I could walk again. Soon enough I did not feel the pain anymore at all. No landslides. We made it all the way down and drove all the way to Franz-Josef Glacier for a lovely meal in the Blue Ice Restaurant & Bar. We shared some mussels for a starter, and Jelle had Fish and Chips and I some John Dory with vegetables as a main. All together with some white wine. It felt like we deserved it. Somehow Jelle found the energy to drive all the way up to the Treetops Café Overnight Campervan Parking.  

The next day we made it all the way to Westport via the coast. Which was a beautiful road with stunning views over the ocean. We made a quick stop in Greymouth for some grocery shopping, getting some tools for some additions we wanted to make on Tūla (I also managed to not so secretly buy a plant to make our home even more homy. Jelle accepted!), and a take-away coffee at Blanchfield’s Bakery. We did some sightseeing along the way. Stopped for the pancake rocks, beautiful rock formations with funny signs along the way explaining the rock formations, like: ‘Topping of the pancakes’ explaining which plants grow on top of the rocks. We bought some tourist sweaters in a local shop there. I still remember the reaction of the man in the shop on Jelle’s T-shirt that I bought for him in India: ‘Yak, Yak, Yak, Yak, Yak,’ He said while dancing his head left to right. That night we slept next to the beach at Kawatiri Beach Reserve. Together with many very rude Weka’s. The next day we made it all the way back home to the River Inn. 

Back to daily life

Tākaka is a hippie town so I expected it to be easy to find a yoga school. It was not hard, but it was also not like Amsterdam (Tākaka is still a rural town). I did find a place with Debora at Bayyoga. I would bike to the community hall every Tuesday evening for some Yin yoga, and last weeks additionally some Vinyasa yoga on Fridays. I wanted to practice yoga more often, but the River Inn was not really the place for it. In the beginning of our stay there I started running, to the ocean and back. I only managed to keep up for the first three weeks or so. After that I got so exhausted after work that I mostly did not feel like doing anything. Sometimes we made it to go climbing, but we tried to relax and chill as well. We did not want to burn all our energy, and we did want to enjoy ourselves.

Soon enough we made little routines for ourselves. On Yoga days Jelle would make dinner for example. My days spent writing in the Wholemeal started to be a weekly thing. On Saturday mornings we would leave for work extra early to pass by the local market for some local fruits and vegetables, and after we would go to Bakka’s Bakery for a sourdough bread and some sourdough croissants. Amazing. If you have ever the opportunity to taste a plumb or peach here, you are forever ruined. These are so very delicious! Our peaches and plumbs in the Netherlands taste like nothing compared to that. 

One day Malena and Peter invited us over to their place to harvest some peaches. They are the couple we stayed with before (last blog) WOOFing. Malena made diner for us and we had a lovely evening. That evening we met Kim, a lovely woman from the UK who has been here for almost a year know. She wanted to stay in town longer as well, and we told here we were staying at the River Inn. She ended up going there as well.

Sometimes I started to dislike the River Inn. I wanted to be more in nature. If that was the case we would drive too Patton’s Rock (beach), and we would make dinner there. Or we would take some Thai food from Kim-lee stall in town and eat it at the beach. We tried to do that at least ones a week.

Wednesday’s there is Open-Mic night in the Dangerous Kitchen. Unfortunately, they have absolutely amazing Vegan pizzas here (as we discovered with Sima (see last blog)). Which made us eat pizza there a few times (and spend too much money) while listening to locals and travelers performing (singing, playing an instrument, or spoken word). A very chill atmosphere with always a very supporting crowd. Jelle signed up in an impulsive moment and performed Bohemian Rhapsody on the piano. Sadly enough his muscle memory was not helping him that evening. He made it half-way through and the audience sang along. It was a lovely performance if you ask me, but Jelle was not that happy. Next time we went there with Casper and Kim. I read a poem that I wrote about feeling homesick (you can read it here). Jelle sang ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ (Captain Fantastic version, if you did not watch the movie yet, go watch it now), and decided to focus on his vocals and not play an instrument while singing. Soon enough though one of the local artists recognized the song and played along on the guitar. Jelle also played a classical piece on the piano. After that Casper performed. They needed some convincing, but then they did and it was amazing to listen to them singing and playing the guitar. They owned the stage.  

Tākaka is a hippie town. And what is a hippie town without a drum circle at full moon? So on the 25^th of March Jelle and I joined. It was a magical night. We were both very tired. At first, we just sat next to the fire absorbing everything what happened around us. Then people started dancing next to the fire, and I took off my shoes and danced along for a few hours. 

Tākaka is a hippie town so many people walk bare feet all the time. One time I felt like a real tourist that wanted to experience everything so I took off my shoes to go into the supermarket bare feet. It was mostly cold. I am not sure if I felt more free or more rooted. I guess I should experience it more at different locations if I really want to get the feel. 

Angelus hut

Last few days off I wanted to go on a multiple day hike again. However, Jelle did not feel like it. Therefore, he decided to relax in the van in Nelson and just drop me off and pick me up. On a Saturday evening we made it all the way to the freedom campsite past Motueka again to have pasta with some hot-smoked salmon from the Salmon farm (it was about to expire). 

The next morning, we drove to Nelson lakes to have some breakfast next to Lake Rotoiti. By that time, I started to be a bit nervous. The hike was graded as an advanced tramp, and it was the first time for me to go on a multiple day hike all by myself (only one night). 

Soon enough it was time to say goodbye to Jelle and start the hike. The start was an easy path and a very steep ascend all the way to Robert’s peak it was very busy on the track because this part is part of the Robert’s circuit a popular day hike. After the steep ascent it was time to follow the ridge. The weather cleared up and all the way I had spectacular views all the way to the ocean. I talked with some people along the way and had lunch at the midway point Flagtop Peak (the highest point of the track). There I met some Kiwi men who were pretty amazed by my sourdough bread with peanut butter and boiled eggs (boiled before the hike) (my mother’s worst nightmare). It was delicious. Reminded me a bit of Gadogado. Apparently, this is not a well-known dish up here though, because nobody seems to know if I explain this delicious Indonesian dish. The other day I prepared this dish for Will, who also had never heard of it before. 

After Flagtop peak the hike started to be way more demanding. A lot of scrambling over rocks, a lot of exposure. I must say a few parts were very scary. Doing this alone I had not a lot of time to think about it. Just keep going and going. It took a lot of my energy and soon enough I decided to definitely not walk back the same way. It was worth it, the views and the trail was gorgeous, but I was mentally exhausted when I made it all the way through. When the hut came into view: an alpine hut with a huge terrace looking over a stunning lake. I sat down and ate a snicker. A group Austrian/ Canadian friends asked me to make a picture of them, when I sounded doubtful one of them assured me that I could stay seated while taking the picture. ‘Well yes of course!’ I replied then, with my mouth full. 

In the hut I met another lovely Canadian girl (Ali), solo-hiker and traveler. Who happen to live in Vancouver, and she grew up on Bowen Island. I immediately loved her of course. We both felt the same about the mentally challenging Robbert’s ridge. She said she even cried a part of the hike. A relief cry, a detoxing cry. I did not, but I did understand where it came from. A hike can open up your soul, especially doing it alone. 

With the Austrian and Canadian group, I took a dive in the little lake next to the Angelus lake. It was so refreshing and lovely. I had a peaceful evening. Waiting a long time for my water to be filtered (Jelle, who mostly takes care of this on our hikes told me later that I should have gotten rid of the air in the tube… How would I know?), reading, talking with some people. Listening to people around me in the hut talking. Going to bed early. 

The next morning, I convinced Ali to go for another swim. I am not so sure if it was a good idea in the end. My body still being cold from sleeping, the water cooled me down to my core, to my bones. My feet and bones stayed cold until I started hiking again. Ali did go a different way than I did so we had to say our goodbyes. Although I am sure I will see her again, because it is New Zealand. 

I walked back via the cascade track and via the cold-water hut (19km). It was challenging, but not as challenging as the day before. It started with a steep decent over a rocky terrain, surrounded by beautiful waterfalls. The rest of the track was through the forest. It was beautiful. It gives you so much freedom to hike by yourself, and to really listen to your body when deciding when to take a break. It was also kind of trippy. I started to see birds when there were no birds, a boat in the Rotoiti lake, when there was no boat. The flat few hours along the lake were mentally challenging, and when I was really getting annoyed, I decided to do what I cursed other people for the most. I started to listen to music on my phone. Out loud. Because I forgot my headphones. Luckily, I only saw two teenagers at that part of the hike and no-one else. The birds seemed to like Taylor Swift because they kept singing along. 

What a beautiful experience. When I had mobile connection again, I texted Jelle and he started to walk towards me. The last 10 minutes of the hike I was freed of my backpack and I had company again. It was good to see Jelle again after being apart for one night…

We stayed at a DOC campsite next to Nelson lakes (Teetotal Campsite) and the next day we drove back home with our home. To save money we decided to leave the River Inn. We said our goodbyes to everyone and left the next day (after doing some laundry, charging all our stuff, and taking a deep cleansing shower). 

We took the worst time to move. The last week were the rainiest days we had here. Showers, showers, and showers. Showers like we do not have at home. The river was so high it flooded some roads further up town. One day Anatoki Salmon farm was even closed and we missed one of our precious workdays, because of bad weather. We spent most of the day in Tūla, playing games, reading, watching Netflix. We drank a coffee at the place were Kim (our UK friend) worked and Anna (our colleague) gave me a pedicure!

Work on these days is less fun as well, because it is not busy at all and we just have to clean a bunch. 

Fortunately, the weather cleared up now (April 16^th). Yesterday we took Will climbing, and tomorrow we go on an easy hike in the Cobb Valley to the Sylvester hut and lake. 

We have our last workday in about a week. I am very excited to be back on the road and to be more flexible again. Also, Jelle’s parents will be coming over for two weeks soon, and I am planning to do a yoga retreat in the end of May. All exciting plans. First, we are trying to sell our bikes… 

Fortunately, I do not feel homesick anymore lately. And. Jelle and I are stronger than ever in our relationship. Up to more adventures (and yes our plan is still to fly back to the Netherlands in the end of June). Ready for it?