WWOOF #4 A Cool Farmily

This adventure takes place on a small family farm south of Napier. This farm consisted of a mother, father, three children (all girls aged 4, 6, and 11), some sheep, 2 milking cows, chickens, an alpaca, 3 cats, an adorable kitten, 3 dogs, an old horse, 4 rabbits, several ducks and ducklings, calves, the cutest lamb (named Stevie Nibbles), and possibly more I'm missing. They had names for almost everyone; I have no idea how they remembered them all. They attempted to be as self-sufficient as possible, but in a laid-back way. It's not their main concern. They make their own milk, butter, cheese, bread, beer, and more.

I had a really great time there. I helped with the daily job of milking the 2 cows and feeding calves. I helped pull thistles. I helped pick black currants. I helped with some general sheep care. I learned a lot of random farm things. I helped trim some incredibly overgrown hedges. I planted potatoes and beans and cauliflower. I saw a nearly hatched baby duckling. I helped take down some fence. I helped put a small watering system into a greenhouse.

As an added bonus, their neighbor had a very large sheep farm and happened to be sheering on my second day. We stopped by and I got to watch the professionals at work. IT WAS SO COOL! It looked very impressive. And their neighbor was great. He was more than happy to explain everything to me. Success.

The milking shed.

Poppy being milked.

Calvies!

The adorable Stevie Nibbles.

Cool view from a nearby hill.

Another view.

Things that go together well.

I really enjoyed just being a part of the family. I didn't take off to do something else in the afternoon. I hung out with them. I played with the kids. We bounced on the trampoline and went on walks and climbed trees and made up adventures. I read my book outside or in the comfy living room. I watched cricket on TV and had the game hopelessly explained to me. We had some very interesting conversations about politics (both NZ and US), life in NZ, kids, family, jobs, and everything. I enjoyed home brewed beer. I was taught to juggle. I plotted ways to steal their kitten and Stevie Nibbles and maybe Possum the dog. It was really lovely. 

I found a lot of parallels to my childhood. In the farm, in the general family attitude, in the creative minds of the girls, in books and toys I used to have, and in strange little coincidences (like the way they tallied allowance money on a dry-erase board). There was just an enormous amount of nostalgia. I miss you childhood; you were great. 

Other things to note:

• nothin

WWOOF #3 Flowerbed and Breakfast

Last week (maybe longer, I don't know. I don't believe in time.), I tried my luck with another WWOOF host. I was to help at a Bed and Breakfast near Napier. I arrived on a Friday evening and was greeted by a slightly drunk older man. He apologized and explained that they'd had family visiting for the afternoon and handed me a glass of wine. So that I could catch up and he wouldn't feel as foolish. I guess it was off to a good start?

The place was really great and beautiful. I was given one of the rooms, so I had my own bathroom with a shower and a tub! I actually took a bath and it was amazing. The place had a great yard and garden and fruit trees. It was lovely.

One day I hoed (that's possibly a word) and weeded a vegetable and flower garden.

Another day I trimmed a bay tree and cleaned up flower beds.

Another day I cleaned out and enlarged a flower bed and added a bench and walkway.

Fancy bench. Just hope a grapefruit doesn't fall on your head.

I also transplanted blueberries, planted petunias, tied up and pruned tomatoes, destroyed some day lilies, and other random tasks.

I really enjoyed myself and had a great time. The couple running the bed and breakfast were nice and understanding and we got along very well. I found that I got along especially well with Jes.  He'd give me the right amount of instructions and room to figure things out and I never felt like I'd be doing something wrong. He also explained everything well and answered all my questions. I learned a lot.

He was a bit of a grumpy old man, but in a good way. He was a little difficult to read, didn't put on a face for show, didn't talk if he didn't have anything to say; he was who he was. We were kind of kindred spirits. He wouldn't give in to my terrible jokes. Sometimes it seems like I'd tell twice as many so I could still get some laughs. Overall it just seemed like they cared about me having a good stay and experience.

I also got to spend time with some of the guests, who were interesting. One night we made pizzas in an outdoor brick pizza oven, delicious.

They gave me suggestions of places to spend my afternoons, and that was also super. The Hawk's Bay area is gorgeous. I enjoyed some time in Napier, which is a very pretty port town.

Not a great picture, but I didn't take many.

I hiked up Te Mata for some stunning views.

And hiked to a surprisingly large waterfall, Shine Falls.

And when I left I picked apricots, grapefruit, and plums to take with. They also gave suggestions of places to stop, which have worked out very nicely. My happiness and well-being are fully restored. Hooray!!

Other things to note:

• This update is vague and uninspired because I waited too long. Note to self: be better.
• I had my first pizza with anchovies. It was ok.
• I'm very happy that apricots are pronounced ape-rocots, like I've always preferred. I'm torn on whether to say to-may-toe or to-mah-toe. I've never thought that song would actually apply to my life.
• I'm really getting spoiled for waterfalls. I have to consciously not take them for granted.
• I've been watching a few cricket matches. Even with explanations, I do not understand.

WWOOF #2 I won't be going baaaaack

I'm not sure how to write this one. It started out fine, but at the end I was terribly unhappy. It wasn't a terrible situation really, it just got in my head and took over. I had started writing about what I was doing the first day or two and it was all happy and optimistic, but that's not what you're getting now.

So it was really a mix of good and bad. A lot of decent things happened this last week. A couple really great things happened. It seems a bit overshadowed by darkness at the moment. I would just like it noted that there was a lot of shadow ignoring and I still think I got a lot of good out of the experience. So here it goes.

I went to a 'farmlet' (read: hobby farm) just south of Tongariro National Park. The main reason I went was because they (a couple probably in their 60s who I will rename Jane and Jeff) had 40 sheep that they were going to sheer that week. They said they could use the help and that's an experience I would really like. So the plan was that I would be there for about a week, leaving before Christmas, helping with sheering and gardening. Sounds nice.

I planned some things I wanted to do in the area. Jane said it would be fine, better even, for me to do a full of work then full day off pattern instead of just half days. Still nice.

So I arrived in the early afternoon and Jane needed to help her daughter move, so I helped with that, which was fine. There was a moment where I found myself on the side of the road next to this large van with a flat tire(tyre?), stranded with someone who was basically a perfect stranger. I again wondered how my life is becoming all these strange moments. We solved the problem and all was well. Still good.

The next day I just did a half day because that was how it turned out. I enjoyed what I was doing. I trimmed hedges and weeded. It turns out that I really like trimming things. It's kind of artistic, like sculpting nature. Lovely.

I started to notice that Jane and my personalities did not go together well (read: I hated hers). She was good at making me feel stupid when I wasn't. Obviously I didn't know exactly the way she gardens and I'm not familiar with all plants ever. If I didn't know what to do next, I'd feel like I should have. But if I guessed and wasn't quite right, I'd feel dumb too. But working with people different from you is part of life, an important part, so I wasn't super worried.

The next day, Friday, I did a full day. In the morning I did some pool cleaning, which wasn't really what I came to learn, but was fine. Then I did more trimming and weeding, so I was happy enough. I was free all Saturday and then we'd sheer sheep on Sunday. Great.

I had a great Saturday. I went to the Army Museum, which actually had a lot of rugby in it and was very interactive.

I smelt it. I don't know why.

Then I did some hikes in Tongariro and enjoyed the day.

Volcano!

I need to touch that water!

I got back around 7:00 to find that they has sheered the sheep without me, the whole reason I was even there. Jane pretended that she had been distressed that I wasn't there and that she thought I'd be back earlier. But she hadn't bothered to text me, and she's not a great actor. I started to figure out what I didn't like about her personality. She was controlling in kind of a passive aggressive way. She'd ask how you'd like to do something or when. But then tell you how. But almost sneaky; yet not at all. Just in a difficult way to counteract.

I was going to do the Tongariro Crossing (a very popular full day hike) on Monday. But since we wouldn't be sheering on Sunday she decided it was best for her if I did it then, but tried to make it sound like it was best for me. I was going to take a shuttle where you park at the end and they take you to the beginning. But Jane insisted that was dumb and there was a shuttle that would pick me up. So I did that and ended up hiking at my speed and enjoying myself and walking the Tongariro summit and missed the shuttle back by 15 minutes. Even though I really rushed myself at the end. So I was stranded about an hour from their place, but was able to get myself back. I was mad I'd let myself be bullied into things that were wrong for me.

But the hike itself was super great and beautiful and wonderful and I loved it. Here are some pictures.

Gary climbing Mt. Doom

So at this time I just start to fester in my own anger. I'm living with them, so I have to be nice and...I don't know. It's just a weird situation.

On Monday I worked a full day since I'd taken Sunday off. But what I was doing seemed to be devolving into cleaning and chores and things that I did not come to New Zealand to do. I knew that I was being take advantage of and was not happy. So I made up an excuse (read: I lied) and said I needed to change plans and leave the next day. Which I did and was great and I'm happy again.

I am a little upset that I never confronted Jane and she doesn't know how much I disliked her. Or that I was aware that she was taking advantage of me. Oh well. I'm getting over it. Thanks for the therapy session.

I'm now back to camping and hiking and doing whatever I want. Hurray!

Other things of note:

• Credit to my dad for the title pun. He's been using it my entire life.
• I did upload some videos of me being a lunatic. They're more for future me to enjoy than anyone. But if you have too much time and are missing being annoyed by me, here you go. One, Two, Three.
• It's Christmas Eve for me right now. Merry Christmas!!
• My hair is growing. The short bangs have descended.
• In the rare occasion I listen to the radio, it's all Justin Beiber and One Direction. I think it's growing on me. Send help.

WWOOF #1 A Great Place to Bee

 "I'll meet your ferry. I'm wearing a denim jacket and green dress."

And that's a text from a stranger I met on the internet.

Alright, it's not from a complete stranger. This is from my first host from the WWOOF NZ website. WWOOF stands for 'World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms'. It's an organization that connects organic farms with people who'd like to work on and learn about them. Hosts provide a place to stay, meals, knowledge, and experience, in exchange for 4-6 hours of work a day. I went to an island off the coast of Aukland, called Waiheke. I was hosted by a family (mother, father, and two sons ages 8 and 10) who have a honey business with hives all around the island. I stayed in the guest bedroom in their beautiful house that had an amazing view.

It was definitely strange to be all of a sudden living with a family. But they were very welcoming and kind. This was obviously something they were used to. I did my best to adjust and in the end felt pretty comfortable. Sometimes it was pretty cool. I even learned that halfway around the world everyone can play the Heart and Soul duet.

Funny story: One day I was in town with Richard (the beekeeper) and he introduced me to a friend we ran in to. The friend asked how long I was staying. At the same as I answered "two weeks," Richard answered, "When we give her her passport back." Hilarious. Really funny joke. But also, I've known you about two days and all my stuff is at your house. So...nope.

For the first couple days I was mostly packaging honey. Pouring honey into jars, labeling them, and sealing them. Not terribly interesting, but I listened to music and it became soothing. I was no longer stressing about travel, just smelling honey, repeating the same movements, letting my mind do whatever it wanted.

As an unfortunate side note, I've had a cold for ages now. I had quite a sore throat when I arrived on Waiheke; I had a slightly deeper voice. That quickly progressed to my raspy man voice and at times I had no voice at all. I think I am finally getting better and after two weeks I'm down to just a nasal voice. My hosts never heard my real voice. And probably thought I was a much more shy, quiet, and uninquisitive person than I am. It was extremely frustrating to have so much trouble communicating and an extra barrier to expressing myself when I was already feeling a bit insecure. Blargh.

Back to the neat stuff. 

I also helped collect a swarming hive. I helped to clean and bleach old hives. I made a ton of sugar water. I helped to graft some larva to become queen bees. I traveled around the island to check on and move hives. I helped plant wildflowers. I learned a bunch about bees and diseases they get, and about honey, and New Zealand, and a lot of random things.

 And I made candles out of beeswax, which smelled amazing.

After mornings/early afternoons helping out, I would go off and explore. The island has a lot amazing walking paths, beaches, and beautiful views. I really enjoyed it. There was even a beautiful beach a very short walk away, maybe 10 minutes. And as you could not drive to it, many people would swim and lay out naked. I couldn't convince myself initially, but by the end of my stay I joined in; it was great.

I was there over two weekends. I used them to go on longer hikes, to a strange local museum, and to a few of the many vineyards. And of course, on an island of wine, I went to the one brewery.

It was really an incredible place and a great first stop. Hopefully I haven't set the bar too high. For now I'm back to Auckland to figure out where to go next.