the best hostel in NZ?

Luckily I (and my shorts) made it, no thanks to the driver who was unsympathetic verging on the obnoxious. But still, made it! It's funny in retrospect!

We stop off a seal colony on the way out of Kaikoura - it was a breeding colony, with a raised platform from which you can look down on the tiny seal pups frolicking in rock pools and, in one case, chasing a seagull. They are unbelievably cute, and all the girls react in a chorus of 'ahhhhs', much to Carl the bus-driver's feigned disgust. Another quick stop at The Store at Kekereng for a breakfast of tasty muffins, seated at tables on a terrace looking out at the beautiful, deserted beach, and we're on the road again headed for Picton.

I get the usual half-serious mini-lecture from the bus-driver about not staying in Magic-affiliated hostels, but there is no way I would be changing where I'm staying here - Picton is the location of the hostel I've most been looking forward to staying at, The Juggler's Rest!

Luckily Carl drops me off at a hostel nearby to JR, and it's only a five minute walk along the residential streets to find it. The street it's on is backed by hills of bush, and the 140yr old villa can't be seen on the approach due to the ivy-covered fences surrounding it. I step through the open gate and it's better than I could have imagined. An old house with a wooden deck with sofas and chairs, a sunny courtyard in front, and a garden/tiny camping area half-encircling the building. There are hammocks strung between the trees, prayer flags hanging over the bbq area, and best of all, a large sign saying simply 'Poi' hanging over a green shelf crammed and hung with juggling clubs, poi, a basket of juggling balls, devil sticks and diablo. There are a few guys lounging on the deck area, and it all looks so bohemian and cosy that I immeadiately want to move in permanently!

Inside the hallway opens up into a large kitchen-lounge area with a wood-beamed ceiling; there is heavy dining table and chairs, sofas, easychairs, two giant beanbags, fire-staffs hanging on the wall, and signs all around advertising the veges available from the garden, the fresh-baked bread and homemade jam available for breakfast, recycling info, poi/juggling workshops, and a basket of eggs on the counter-top with a little jar to hold the 50c charge. There is an honesty-box of sorts for the internet and for donations for vege use - the owner Nikki shrugs off formal charging by saying that 'it's their karma whether they pay or not'. She is originally for Derbyshire, and bought the hostel after working there for two years. She's a fire poi spinner, and very cool and laid-back.

I love it - it feels like staying in a large, multi-national home rather than a hostel. When I go out and start attempting to juggle, Per, a Swedish guy working here for a few weeks, immeadiately helps me out, showing me a simple way to learn, though I'm still dropping the balls all over the place! In the evening everyone sits around in the kitchen-lounge, playing music on the stereo, cooking together, surfing the net, reading, or chilling out on the deck outside (swatting sandflies constantly!). I've booked two more nights, even though I know nothing about what else Picton has to offer but the QCT and the Queen Charlotte Sound kayaking trip I've booked for Sunday.

written by  LizIsHere on February 12, 2010 from Picton, New Zealand
from the travel blog: New Zealand & Australia 2010
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