Conglomerate

I don't have a nicely packaged post for you as I haven't been taking many pictures, but I somehow have nearly a week to account for, here!

C and I finally left the cozy B&B where we'd been staying/working and made our way back to the east coast, this time via Lewis Pass, and spending a night at a hospital-turned-rustic-lodge in an area that used to be a gold mining boon community. Cool to see the old school at Blackwell...

...and the mining ruins near where we stayed at Waiuta Lodge.

Back in Christchurch...

... C and I parted ways and I took a bus north up the coast a couple hours to the seaside town of Kaikoura, with its towering mountains on one side and turquoise waters on the other.

I've really enjoyed the mellowness of this great spot for the past week. After a few nights at a really nice hostel, I saw a sign in a salon window from someone looking for short-term housekeeping help in exchange for a free place to stay. Which is how I got to spend the second half of the week in this lovely waterfront house, making bathrooms and windows and ovens clean for a few hours per day, and otherwise be unbelievably relaxed and lazy, watching the water change colors from day to day, and even hour by hour as the clouds and wind moved through and past. So beautiful. Plus I got to make some Kiwi friends in the bargain. What a deal. And what a nice town. Here's the view from the house where I've been staying. Can't beat that.