#nelson.

where: the botanical garden.

The garden had been far more crowded than Vincent had anticipated. He'd figured the crowd would be dispersed across town due to the different events, but as the residents of Aurora Bay always did - they had proven him wrong, once again.

Tiny hands tugged at his shirt as his blue eyes scanned the crowd for familiar figures. Yet, it was the mumbling of his two year old that pointed him in the right direction. Harley always had a distinct knack for spotting her favorite uncle, even in the most crowded room.

"So," Vince said as he approached, "find anything good?" Their sole mission, after all, had been to find a decent enough tree to take home to decorate. The storage tote of ornaments had already been taking up enough space in the living room for long enough. "Cause, I did!" He chimed, offering a warm paper cup to his child and then another to his brother. "A hot chocolate for you, and an Irish coffee for you."

We got a ride with a super nice guy almost immediately from Saint Arnaud to Nelson. He is an ex-military man who paints power towers with his son and a crew of boys. New Zealand, he told us, is the only country in the world who doesn't turn off the power when painting is being done because they don't have a large enough grid to redirect flow. He told us about his failed marriage, love interests and asked for advise on how to help his suicidal teenage daughter. I suggested he get her a wolf dog; worked wonders for me. One good thing about having struggles with depression, is being able to relate to people in that situation. When he dropped us off he simultaneously picked up another hitch hiker. New Zealand is GREAT. Seriously, everyone here is so nice. Everyone says hello on the street and asks where we are off to. People give rides easily and will let you camp in their yards. There are few homeless and everyone is very laid back, from what I have experienced. It is a wonderful country.

We stayed at The Bug in Nelson again. We LOVE The Bug, Bug Lyfe, yo! Our old trekking mate Oscar is woofing at The Bug now and it was a treat hanging out with him and the other Bug crew folks for a few days. We spent that time drinking, eating well, resting our joints, reconnecting with family and friends via the interweb and busking. Busking was great in Nelson, we tried out different locations and days, times of day, playing together and separately. It seems we do best in the afternoon, outside of grocery stores, individually. I practiced the new songs I've been writing and got great receptions! People have been really kind and supportive of my musical pursuits. I even got the chance to record a song at The Bug with a couple who are traveling around writing for a wine publication. They had professional recording equipment and asked me if they could have me play a song. They promised to email it to me, but I haven't gotten it yet.

One night we met another American guy and a German boy traveling together and all went out to the bars to support our Bug friend, Jack, who had a show. He did super well, I was impressed. He also called me up to play a short set, about eight drinks into my night, on a guitar with a broken string. Not my best show. But fun!

On our last evening in Nelson we biked with a new friend, Brooke, to the marina and down to the beach where she and I swam in the warm ocean like mermaids. So much love.

Turns out Terence from the Redhills Hut was full of shit and only 3 people have died doing the Waiau Pass, not 300. 1 person disappeared, not 60. Liar.