Settling in Motueka

We drove to Nelson to reconnect with the world (get wifi and groceries) and continued to Motueka where we had received a job offer. If all went well, we'd be working at an apple orchard the coming three weeks.

We found a campsite in the Motueka harbour. This spot is popular for its salt pool. It's a swimming pool built in 1930 (according to one of the volunteers). At high tide, water from the sea flows over the edge into the pool. Every so often during low tide, a volunteer opens a bottom hatch to empty the pool and clean it. Occassionally, small fish even make their way into the pool. The campsite had drinking water and toilets, and being so close to work, this was an ideal spot for us. Enforcement of self-containment was strict here, we saw a few people get caught. And unfortunately, stays were limited to two per month, but we figured if we alternated campsites, we could probably get away with more.

We quickly figured out the key spots in town. The grocery store, library for internet and power, and the dumping station, for gray water disposal were all nearby. And a self-serve gas station had the best deal on gas. Anything to make earning money as efficient as possible.

Day 2 of our stay here (Dec 5th) was the eve of Sinterklaas (Dutch Santa Claus). We celebrated with speculaas, tangerines and a hot cup of cocoa and coconut. Mmmm!Read more