Chasing waterfalls and a whole lot more!
QTown
North to South
Hobbit holes, dragons and volcanoes!
Driven like it was stolen.
Bees, honey, beaches, mountains, beauty
(Disclaimer: I stole the idea for this post title from one of my best friend’s wife, Bekah, who writes a very impressive blog, The Happy Ones, and titles most of her posts “Adventures in _______.” So thanks Bekah! Also to note, she may or may not be largely responsible for me being in this country right now).
I just finished week one of my first New Zealand WOOFING experience. WOOFing is what WOOFers do, and WOOFers are people who WOOF and WOOF, as I mentioned in my previous blog, stands for Working on Organic Farms. It benefits both farmers, or other people in the food-related business and those traveling through the country. The WOOFer agrees to work 4-6 hours a day on the farm, vineyard, ranch, orchard, etc. in return for food and a place to stay. I got the pleasure of working for a couple with a bee keeping business as well as a beautiful personal orchard and garden on a beautiful piece of land tucked up on the very green, sub-tropical rainforest mountainside along the east coast of the Coromandel peninsula on the north island. It’s just 15 minutes to the beach that Captain Cook landed on and 20 minutes to the picturesque harbor town of Whitianga (FYI: wh makes a f sound). Maarten and Jenny have been wonderful to work for and get to know. I have already learned quite a bit about bee keeping and the area.
I got here at midday on Wednesday the 21st, and went right to work. In an effort to keep things short, I’m gonna bulletize my days. But I’d love to share more when times allows.
Day 0: Misc. work on the property including stacking firewood and work in the orchard…followed by a dip in the swimming hole on the peaceful river running through their land.
Day 1: More stacking of firewood, picking strawberries in the garden, and cleaning the roof. Short run/jog (only my second post broken back run). Another dip in the river.
Day 2: Mowing/weed whacking in the orchard and garden. Cleaned the honey room. Kayaked up the river.
Day 3: Harvested honey (more on this later). Vistied Hot Water beach (a natural hot springs on the beach (you just have dig your own hole to find the hot water)
Day 4: Harvested more honey. Extracted honey in the afternoon.
Day 5: Harvested that good honey! Went into town to buy a kayak. Realized I didn’t have the type of rails I could tie it down with - didn’t buy the kayak.
Day 6: Last honey harvest of the season. Extracted honey. Visited beautiful Hahei Beach.
Day 7: Extracted honey (only a few more boxes remain from this harvest).
Not mentioned in the bullets was the great cooking from Jenny and sometimes Maarten too! Can’t beat well-cooked food straight from the ground to the plate. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits every night. I also had my first New Zealand lamb shank…yum!
It has been great working, learning, and exploring this enchanting place. I look forward to another week of enjoyment here. Enjoying the work, enjoying the people, enjoying creation, and enjoying God’s presence.
Much more to come…
Greetings from the Coromandel Island, a mountainous, rain forest peninsula. It's beautiful! Very green with a lot of rivers and nice beaches too. WOOFing is a worldwide phenomenon that has great popularity here in NZ. Urban Dictionary describes WOOFing as follows: When a young person throws caution to the wind, rejects their material possessions and travels the world Working On Organic Farms for the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms organization. They pay for the plane ticket, but then have free room board in exchange for back breaking labor on an organic farm.
I found an opportunity WOOFing with an amazing family that owns Wild Joy, a Honey & Herb Farm, on the Coromandel Islands! It has been good so far. I've done quite a few chores around the farm, from stacking wood, to picking up windfall apples, picking strawberries, cleaning the honey extraction room, and I finally donned the bee suit to help harvest honey. Hot and heavy work, but its has been really neat so far. The farm owners are really nice and food has been exceptional - almost all of it has come from the garden and orchard.
I have been exploring the peninsula, waterways, and beaches in the afternoons once my work is done. Can't wait to share all my explorations. I'm posting this from the farm's computer and satellite internet as I've been 'disconnected' without a signal for the past week. I'll share more once I get more 'connected' and am not so bzzzzy!
Much more to come...
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