Devoted readers will probably have noticed that we haven’t couchsurfed for some time lately. It certainly isn’t for lack of trying, but we’ve spent a bunch of time in the lightly-populated Otago region, where there simply aren’t many couches to be surfed. We spent our first week and change in Blenheim in a backpackers, but even though we had a double room, there was Sky TV and a ping-pong table, Becky wasn’t really feeling the place. Perhaps it was because the fact that there was no private changing area for any of the showers there, or the place was full of somewhat-unfriendly German backpackers, there was often no room in the kitchen to cook or even to sit, or because it just made us feel like depressive migrant workers. Whatever the reason, we were compelled to find some more couchsurfers in Marlborough.
Fun times in Marlborough For a few nights we did a bit of couchsurfing with a couple from Seddon, Angie and Graeme. Their house was full with Angie’s children, so they put us up for a few nights in their caravan, which had lights and a heater; deluxe accommodations compared to some of our previous stays! Angie and Graeme were really hospitable, cooking dinner for us one night and letting us have run of the house. Angie’s youngest child, Bri, really seemed to enjoy having us around, and insisted that she and Becky paint their nails together.
Graeme and Angie, our Couchsurfing hosts in Seddon (and Mt. Gay Rum afficionados)
Interestingly, Angie and Graeme had just returned from a trip they had won to the States and Barbados, through Mount Gay rum. We were thinking it was funny to meet someone who had actually won a sweepstakes, but figured that the odds of winning must be much better in a small country like NZ as opposed to the good ol’ USA. They showed us their pictures of the trip, and the main takeaway seemed to be that in Barbados apparently just about any time of day is a good time to drink rum. The only downer to staying there was that Becky stole more than a few of the dozen (literally) blankets we used at night, freezing me out a bit. Also, Seddon is about 24 km from Blenheim, meaning that we had to get up even earlier than we’d been doing, around 6:00 am, to pack lunch and drive into work in the morning.
The road to Seddon is a typical Kiwi affair, twisting and turning up and along a mountain range, with little room on either side. Driving into Montana one day, we blew our rear driver’s side (the right side, of course) tire just before we turned into the work driveway. This was pretty fortuitous for us, as if we’d blown one on the narrow road to Seddon we’d have had nowhere to change it for several kms and would’ve had to roll along on a very flat tire. When we went to change the flat we found our spare just fine, but discovered there was no jack or lugwrench, d’oh! The mechanic we bought the car from swore up and down that there was a set in the car, but we’d forgotten to look when we bought Ron and hadn’t had reason to look since then. Luckily, some of the other vineyard workers stopped and helped, and we got our spare on in no time. They even called into town and got us a good deal on a new tire – gotta love friendly Kiwis!
Anyway, after a few days in the caravan, we said goodbye to Angie and Graeme and headed off to another couchsurfing location. Chris had been in contact with us on a Friday and said we could spend the next couple nights with them, which we were happy to hear. After a cold day in the vineyard on Saturday, Andrew and I had a few hours to kill before we could meet Chris and her partner at their home. After a chilly, damp, and overcast day, we were set on finding a cozy coffee shop to sit and have a hot drink in until we could head over to their house. New Zealand prides itself on its coffee culture, and even in small towns you tend to find heaps of cafes, but this sadly wasn’t the case in Blenheim on a Saturday at 4:00 PM. Many New Zealand shopkeepers tend to keep fairly limited hours, which we as Americans tend to be unaccustomed to (you mean I can’t by a flat screen TV at a Wal-Mart Supercenter on a Sunday night at 11:00 PM?), closing early on Saturday if they’ve opened at all. We were even missing good old Starbucks that Saturday when we had to instead head to one of the only establishments that seemed to be open – a pub. There, we were able to drink a beer (not exactly a warm cuppa) and watch the rugby match, which I suppose was nearly as good.
Next we were off to our couch surfers, Chris and Martin. Though we’re becoming a broken record on the subject, let us say again that couchsurfing is an amazing thing! Chris and Martin gave us a warm greeting and welcomed us into their home for a home-cooked meal. Our accommodations there were deluxe. It was a lovely guest bedroom, with a heater, and an electric blanket, which are really luxury items in the New Zealand winter. We even had an ensuite bathroom, which I can venture to guess was the first time we’ve had our own bathroom since leaving the States (and living in Vermont). And while all of these things were lovely, the best part was really in meeting Chris and Martin. These two are an amazing couple with a lovely story about how they arrived to find one another. This is a second marriage for both of them, and they have created a really wonderful life together. They are both into outdoor activities such as rock climbing and abseiling and teach a mountain safety course. Martin used to be a pretty regular mountaineer in a previous life and described some of his interesting treks in the UK (his first home), Australia (his second home), and in New Zealand (his current home). He is a civil engineer who’s primary post is inspecting all of the bridges around the South Island. His partner Chris is an artist who makes her living by painting pet portraits on commission, and who also does lovely landscapes. Together they are both interested in the practice of Reiki, which is an alternative healing technique. All of these things meant that we shared many interesting conversations together over the dinner table.
Martin and Chris, our Couchsurfing hosts (and Reiki afficionados)
It’s always great when we are able to spend some quality time with our couchsurfing hosts outside of the home. We spent a great Sunday with Chris and Martin taking their dogs (two Weimerauners) for a walk by the river. Later, we bundled up and went to an outdoor obstacle course area where they teach their mountain safety classes. Their was a grownup size hamster wheel, zip line, sliding board, etc., which were all good fun on a Sunday afternoon. Later we stopped into a local winery and distillery for some sampling and went back to their home to enjoy another delicious meal together. It’s people like Chris and Martin that really make couchsurfing great. We feel truly fortunate to keep coming across people like Chris and Martin on our travels and hope to see them again in the future. After two short days, it almost seemed too soon to leave. I’m sure we could have stuck it out longer in the vineyards if we were able to come back to Chris and Martin’s every evening. But with my sister Marie and her boyfriend Alexis on their way, we said our goodbyes and look forward to seeing them again on our return trip through Blenheim to catch the ferry back to the North Island.
Becky and Martin on the giant hamster wheel
And Andrew on the zip line!
Fun times in Marlborough
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