Monday, February 9
We headed north from Auckland on Monday after our orientation, where we were inundated with information about making our year in NZ as fun and comfortable as possible. We had a great first 4 days in NZ, but city living was expensive and we decided to head north to do some requisite fruit picking. Several different people directed us towards Kerikeri at the northern tip of the Bay of Islands because it is famous for its citrus apple orchards and vineyards. We made it to Kerikeri in a very leisurely 2 days with plenty of stops at beaches for swimming and back roads through forests.
Tuesday, February 10
We camped at a small regional park Monday night and woke up to rain beating on the tent. We decided to hold off on breakfast and head for Goat Island Marine Reserve and make breakfast there. Goat Island was NZ’s first marine reserve to protect the over fished area. Now it is a very popular snorkeling and diving area with thousands of fish that can even be seen from the standing on the beach.
We were the first to arrive at the serene cliff side overlooking the reserve. Just as I accidentally lit a HUGE semi-uncontrollable blaze on our camp stove, two tour buses and 5 packed family cars pulled up to watch two panicked Americans rush to put out the fire in this ‘ecologically sensitive area’. Eventually, everything settled down and we enjoyed our scrambled eggs and coffee before heading down to the beach for a quick swim. We continued on a whimsical route north.
Wednesday, February 11
We arrived in the Bay of Islands this morning – New Zealand’s beach playground. On the suggestions of several people, we headed straight to Kerikeri to find work picking fruit. However, upon our arrival we found out that the Northland was actually between seasons and no paid help was needed until the end of March when the vineyards needed assistance picking grapes. Fortunately, we had a couple of options and were excited to try out WWOOF (Willing Workers On Organic Farms), which provides an opportunity to work on an organic farm (varying in size from small self-sufficient homes to larger farms who sell their produce at markets) in exchange for room and board.
After a few calls, we found a couple who owned a woodworking shop and had been so busy with work that several things around the house had been neglected. Our first encounter with Phil and Sandy was quite awkward and actually had Rachel and me anxious to bolt asap. We arrived to their home just as Phil and their 26yr mentally handicapped daughter, Tijani, were going for their daily swim. Sandy didn’t quite have our room ready so she encouraged us to hop in the car and go for a swim. Rachel and I, trying our best to be gracious guests, hopped in with Phil (a man of few words) and took off for a secret swimming hole. It was after I saw Phil’s 7 ½ fingers on the steering wheel and we were driving through a field in the middle of nowhere that images of Texas Chainsaw Massacre flashed through my head. I started panicking and decided that WWOOFing was definitely not for us. We needed to get out of here as soon as possible. We arrived at a trailhead and Phil told us to go ahead down the unmarked path because Tijani was a slow walker and it would take her a while. I was certain at this point that we were walking to the slaughter and started looking around for any sort of weapon.
We made it safely to the swimming hole and it was one of those beautiful places you see in National Geographic that you can really only find with the help of a local. We swam with Tijani, Phil, and their dog before heading back for Dinner. Turns out Phil and Sandy were lovely people and we were really sad to leave them. Their house was also a pretty fascinating place - there was one room in the whole house that had a door. The house was designed and built by Phil as new rooms were needed for their kids. The climate in the Northland allows them to have a completely open-air house and the only water they used was rainwater. (Phil’s missing 2 ½ fingers had come in his 50+ years of woodworking/construction work).
Thursday-Saturday, February 12-14
WWOOFing asks for 4-6hrs of work from the participants each day. It is safe to say that Rachel and I were not overworked. Phil and Sandy’s typical work day involved an obligatory 45min tea break at 10:15 – just an hour after we started work and lunch was to take place exactly at 1pm. After lunch, we were free to do whatever we wanted for the rest of the day. Our work mainly involved trimming and killing willows because they had taken over the stream running behind the house and kept the water from moving. Apparently, you can plant a live willow branch in the ground and a whole tree will grow from this. Over the years, branches had fallen into the stream and trees were growing everywhere. Phil prepared us a chemical treatment to apply to the willows. With a laugh, he told us it was the same Agent Orange used in Vietnam. Rachel and I took turns paddling a dinghy up and down the stream cutting and killing and willows. We spent the afternoons at the nearby beach in Paihia. We left Phil and Sandy’s Saturday afternoon to head for Russell, a small romantic town on the other side of the bay. We had a fun Valentine’s Day dinner at a waterfront restaurant and went to sleep excited for our swim with the dolphins in the morning.
We headed north from Auckland on Monday after our orientation, where we were inundated with information about making our year in NZ as fun and comfortable as possible. We had a great first 4 days in NZ, but city living was expensive and we decided to head north to do some requisite fruit picking. Several different people directed us towards Kerikeri at the northern tip of the Bay of Islands because it is famous for its citrus apple orchards and vineyards. We made it to Kerikeri in a very leisurely 2 days with plenty of stops at beaches for swimming and back roads through forests.
Tuesday, February 10
We camped at a small regional park Monday night and woke up to rain beating on the tent. We decided to hold off on breakfast and head for Goat Island Marine Reserve and make breakfast there. Goat Island was NZ’s first marine reserve to protect the over fished area. Now it is a very popular snorkeling and diving area with thousands of fish that can even be seen from the standing on the beach.
We were the first to arrive at the serene cliff side overlooking the reserve. Just as I accidentally lit a HUGE semi-uncontrollable blaze on our camp stove, two tour buses and 5 packed family cars pulled up to watch two panicked Americans rush to put out the fire in this ‘ecologically sensitive area’. Eventually, everything settled down and we enjoyed our scrambled eggs and coffee before heading down to the beach for a quick swim. We continued on a whimsical route north.
Wednesday, February 11
We arrived in the Bay of Islands this morning – New Zealand’s beach playground. On the suggestions of several people, we headed straight to Kerikeri to find work picking fruit. However, upon our arrival we found out that the Northland was actually between seasons and no paid help was needed until the end of March when the vineyards needed assistance picking grapes. Fortunately, we had a couple of options and were excited to try out WWOOF (Willing Workers On Organic Farms), which provides an opportunity to work on an organic farm (varying in size from small self-sufficient homes to larger farms who sell their produce at markets) in exchange for room and board.
After a few calls, we found a couple who owned a woodworking shop and had been so busy with work that several things around the house had been neglected. Our first encounter with Phil and Sandy was quite awkward and actually had Rachel and me anxious to bolt asap. We arrived to their home just as Phil and their 26yr mentally handicapped daughter, Tijani, were going for their daily swim. Sandy didn’t quite have our room ready so she encouraged us to hop in the car and go for a swim. Rachel and I, trying our best to be gracious guests, hopped in with Phil (a man of few words) and took off for a secret swimming hole. It was after I saw Phil’s 7 ½ fingers on the steering wheel and we were driving through a field in the middle of nowhere that images of Texas Chainsaw Massacre flashed through my head. I started panicking and decided that WWOOFing was definitely not for us. We needed to get out of here as soon as possible. We arrived at a trailhead and Phil told us to go ahead down the unmarked path because Tijani was a slow walker and it would take her a while. I was certain at this point that we were walking to the slaughter and started looking around for any sort of weapon.
We made it safely to the swimming hole and it was one of those beautiful places you see in National Geographic that you can really only find with the help of a local. We swam with Tijani, Phil, and their dog before heading back for Dinner. Turns out Phil and Sandy were lovely people and we were really sad to leave them. Their house was also a pretty fascinating place - there was one room in the whole house that had a door. The house was designed and built by Phil as new rooms were needed for their kids. The climate in the Northland allows them to have a completely open-air house and the only water they used was rainwater. (Phil’s missing 2 ½ fingers had come in his 50+ years of woodworking/construction work).
Thursday-Saturday, February 12-14
WWOOFing asks for 4-6hrs of work from the participants each day. It is safe to say that Rachel and I were not overworked. Phil and Sandy’s typical work day involved an obligatory 45min tea break at 10:15 – just an hour after we started work and lunch was to take place exactly at 1pm. After lunch, we were free to do whatever we wanted for the rest of the day. Our work mainly involved trimming and killing willows because they had taken over the stream running behind the house and kept the water from moving. Apparently, you can plant a live willow branch in the ground and a whole tree will grow from this. Over the years, branches had fallen into the stream and trees were growing everywhere. Phil prepared us a chemical treatment to apply to the willows. With a laugh, he told us it was the same Agent Orange used in Vietnam. Rachel and I took turns paddling a dinghy up and down the stream cutting and killing and willows. We spent the afternoons at the nearby beach in Paihia. We left Phil and Sandy’s Saturday afternoon to head for Russell, a small romantic town on the other side of the bay. We had a fun Valentine’s Day dinner at a waterfront restaurant and went to sleep excited for our swim with the dolphins in the morning.
Well, I'm certainly glad they didn't kill you! Sounds and looks great. I can't wait to hear about the dolphins!?
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