Work & WWOOFing

Before coming to New Zealand we obtained what is called a Holiday/Working Visa. Sometimes the word “scheme” is thrown in there; here it doesn’t mean you are up to no good.

Under this plan we are eligible for most jobs. However people with this scheme tend to drift toward casual jobs, temporary kinds of things where you won’t be obligated for long because remember you are on holiday. This is all well enough but after a year of travel in the van we don’t feel the need to always be on the go. Lucky for us we have those good mates in Gizzy which lends a bit of stability to our wanderings. A flat of our own may even be in the cards.

Time will sort all that out. For now though we are WWOOFers, Willing Workers on Organic Farms. In this scheme you work a half day, about 4-5 hours, in return for meals and a place to stay. All sorts of places are in the program including farm stays (think B&B with a farm) to families with small vegetable gardens to wineries with guest cottages.  Usually the stay is around a week although it can vary. Workers contact the participating farms through the WWOOFer website.

We’ve just completed our first week long stint as WWOOFers at the upscale Knapdale Eco Lodge. Knapdale is an environmentally friendly lodge and farm. It is owner operated by Kay & Kees, a hardy local couple. For us it was five hours of work and the rest of the day spent wondering around the farm, relaxing on the deck or playing with dogs. To top it off someone else cooked dinner. The someone else being Kay, an excellent cook ,who caters events at the lodge.   Both Kay & Kees stayed in constant motion as they have outside jobs in addition to managing their property. We felt very decadent stopping work after only five hours when there was always more, much more to be done as there is on any farm.

Next up for us is Brodie Estates, a vineyard with olive groves and a farm stay. It is in the up and coming wine region of Martinborough- not Marlborough the super sized wine region on South Island. Martinborough, known for pinot noir, is a village of about eleven hundred souls an hour northeast of Wellington. I’m looking forward to checking out southern North Island and then cruising back to Gisborne to be among the first in the world to ring in 2010.

I love a parade

The calendar says December but the scenery says July.  So it goes in our world of seasonal contradictions that is Gisborne, New Zealand.  Saturday was the annual Christmas parade here in Gissy and while the weather was a little more like home on this day, remember contradictions, the traditions were pretty similar.

Happy Holidays from your mates south of the equator.

Why Gisborne, NZ

Of course I’ve always, always wanted to scheme out some sort of way to live, really live in a foreign country. And New Zealand is on everyone’s hot list these days but for a leap like this it takes some special inspiration. That inspiration came from our friends Eric & Laura. We tend to share their taste in travel and adventure. At about the same time we decided on the van, they shook up their lives by moving themselves and their super cool kids to NZ.

Even though our friendship spans years and many adventures we weren’t a constant fixture in each others lives. For much of our time in Lexington, they were raising kids while Steve and I were still deciding if we liked each other.

Eric has a knack for talking people into things. He and Laura gushed about cross country skiing and we became hooked. Eric intensely lobbied us to take up running…hello marathons and ultras.

When it came to deciding on New Zealand little lobbying was needed. Their blog posts quickly did the trick. With them both, especially Laura, falling hard for Gisborne and the laid back Kiwi culture I trusted it would suit us as well.

So here we are in their New Zealand town, Gisborne, borrowing their address as I can’t live without a library card and stashing stuff at their house. Even though we are finding plenty to do on our own and trying to not crash at there place too much, we love the magic of spending time with old friends in a new country.

Choice

Enjoy this random list of what I like about NZ specifically Gisborne, NZ. Gissy is an off the beaten path beach town that I’m happy to claim as home for as long as Steve will let me. Check out our NZ additions to the Blogroll.

Love the slang, although mixed with the accent I’m occasionally left clueless.

Sunscreen sold in liter jugs. Love the sunshine but love your skin more.

Our friends’ kids have picked up the Kiwi accent yet occasionally it comes out with just a touch of KY twang.

When consumed moderately I can handle the fish and chips.

There is a local dophin- he makes headlines in the Gisborne Herald.

Chardonny is queen here. Typically not my go to grape but when in Kentucky I eat country ham, in Gisborne I’ll drink Chardonny.

Our friends’ house may contain the most Bourbon in a private residence in the whole country.

There is a butchery and the lady there is kind to Yankees just learning about lamb.

Super-sized kleenex.  I took a cold.

A luxury B&B that accepts WWOOFers.

Stay tuned…more to come although, I don’t want the word to get out about this place.

Wave the Wand

Abracadabra I’m an ex-pat. Okay not really, probably not in the technical sense of the word but close enough for me to pretend. Ex-pat, sounds so exotic and beyond it all. No longer am I burdened by McDonald’s and big box stores. Ooops they have all that here. I can overlook the development considering it is not unusual to hike across green hills with sweeping ocean views and end up at a secluded cove. For that matter it is easy to drive to an empty spot of beach.

So here is the update. About two weeks ago we landed in Auckland. Auckland is fine if your tastes run toward cities with 1.3 million people. So it goes without saying we were outta of there quick but not before doing a few basic life in new country chores such a buying Blue. Blue is pictured below in a rather straightforward intro written by someone not at all in love with Blue. I love Blue.  Blue is delightful. A fun little car that just screams I don’t live in Texas or Colorado or any other typical stateside location. We bought blue from a Canadian who has lived in NZ for 30 years or so. He gave us lots of great travel beta. As we followed him back into town- we were going the same way- he pulled off, hopped out of his car, to give us a mixed CD. We had to have tunes after all. Yep, these folks are nice.

So we did a slow roll in the direction of our friends in Gisborne. Anxious to start taking in the sights we headed off up the Coromandel Peninsula. Lovely but rainy and cloudy and what with us trying to drive and sight see at the same time it became a bit of a pain. We did hike to Cathederal Cove a popular spot on the peninsula. We skipped hot water beach where you dig your own hot tub in the sand that is then feed by under the sand springs. Sounds interesting but the weather was not cooperating. We did work in a steep but short hike up Mt. Maunganui, an old volcano in the Bay of Plenty.

Finally, Gisborne. We feared that the awful weather would follow us here. It hasn’t happened. While the weather can change hourly. We’ve had some fine days. We’ve enjoyed visiting our friends and taking in some of their favorite walks including the Makorori Headway, Te Kuri Farm and the walk to Cook’s Cove.  Then there are the miles of beuatiful beaches. This is not Florida. The beaches here are nearly empty. Town beach has a little development. You can get lunch and an ice cream cone there. On my first beach run I saw someone out training a horse.

Steve and I are ready for a break  from constant travel. We’ve picked the perfect country for it and for now are happy to hide out in Gisborne, a destination overlooked by many. The weekend is here. It will back to the farmer’s market and there are threats, er invitations for me try out the surf board. Then there is Moko the town’s pet dolphin. He makes about as much news here as basketball does back in KY.  Yes, it does seem magical.


First Couple of Weeks in NZ

New Ride

It is a loooooooong way from a extended wheel base 1 ton Chevy van, but it is much easier to parallel park.  Introducing Blue, a ‘99 Nissan March we picked up at the Auckland Car Fair last weekend.  Blue is no Norman Clyde.  With an engine smaller than a Harley Davidson Shovelhead this car feels more like a go cart than a 5 door passenger car.  Oh well, it will be easy on the petrol and keep us from buying up too much stuff during our stay here in New Zealand.

Pillows

So after sitting through our working holiday orientation, opening a bank account and buying a SIM card, off we went in search of pillows. Since we’ve had friends living in NZ for over a year, we already know the dirt on certain everyday details of life here. One is that The Warehouse is the catch all big box store.  Kiwi’s have a standard eye roll response to The Warehouse. No one likes it  but everyone ends up there eventually. I’m with em and would have gladly skipped this place but I considered this an emergency situation.

A pillow emergency? Yes pillows. We’re doing the hostel/camping/crashing with friends thing here. While our modest hostel room is fine, even seems roomy as compared to the van, I can stand up after all.  But there is one problem. It doesn’t have the quality of linens that I like. You see, I outfitted Norman Clyde, with a down comforter, 300 count sheets, four very nice pillows and a lovely blue duvet cover. While I can handle less than luxurious blankets and such, we do have our down sleeping bags, I do not do bad pillows.

Now most Kiwis would say The Warehouse isn’t the place to shop for quality anything but there we were at the end of a very long day, squeezing pillows.  We picked out two for less than $20 (NZ) each, a bargain for pillows that seem good enough. No not like what is in the van but they’ll do. I even managed to pass on the Egyptian Cotton pillowcases.

Favorites

Started this post and list a couple weeks before we left the country.

This may be the last night really camping in the van before we leave for NZ. I’m surprisingly sad. Drove by our old house in Lexington the other day and I barely grunted in acknowledgement. Now though sitting here in the van, in the Red River Gorge, down by the river at our friends’ place, I’m really fighting the tears. It hasn’t all been roses with me and Norman Clyde but it has been home to many cozy evenings with wine, good food and Scrabble.
Today we spent hiking in the RRG after long deliberations about trying to climb in cold, damp conditions. The hike turned into a real winner as for six miles or so we recounted highlights from our past year of travel. Reflecting was soothing; now I’m writing it out to share and to have as a reminder in days to come

Favorite Multi Pitch Climbs
Conn Diagonal, Needles, SD
Cat in the Hat, Red Rocks, NV
Soler, Devils Tower, WY
Ecstasy, Seneca Rocks, WV

Favorite Single Pitch Climb
Triple S, Seneca Rocks, WV
About anything at Squamish, BC
Moonshine Dihedral, Smith Rock, OR
Tricouni Nail, Needles, SD

Favorite Hikes
Mt. Elbert- high point of Colorado
49 Palm Oasis, Joshua Tree National Park, CA
Mount Saint Helens, WA
Mount Mansfield, VT

Favorite Eats
Korean dinner with our friend’s family in CO
La Posada restaurant El Potrero Chico, Nuevo Leon, MX
Coho Salmon in British Columbia prepared in the van

Most Fun Moments
Wedding anniversary in Napa
Biking to the pub in Squamish
Volunteering at the Leadville 100

Most Unforgettable Scenery
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT
Olympic Peninsula, WA
Green Mountains, VT
Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Top ‘I could Live There’ Towns
Bellingham, WA
Leadville, CO
Burlington, VT

The Hated It Then Love It Now Award
El Potrero Chico, Nuevo Leon, MX: Litter everywhere. Litter at the cliffs, litter along the road, to me the litter felt like finger nails on a chalkboard. And while that is a real problem all be it an ordinary one in developing countries, I’ve completely moved passed it. I remember the excellent, cheap fruits & veggies from Tuesday market, big beers, wonderful meals, welcoming locals and magnificent cliffs. I didn’t appreciate the mellow, climbing vibe last winter but after a year spent roaming around here and there and everywhere, I’m ready to make Potrero a winter stop for years to come.

Parked

The last few days have been big for Norman Clyde.  We slept under his roof for the last time Friday.  Saturday he rolled a 100,000 miles on the way to his parking spot.  Sunday we moved out.  Our year of van dwelling is coming to an end.  But much like the real life Norman Clyde our adventures will continue.  Sadly our van won’t make the trip, left parked in the hills awaiting our return.

So with the inside cleaned out it was only fitting that we gave ole Norman a bath.  It had been since March, if you don’t count the May monsoons of Colorado.  There was pine sap on the roof.  Acorns stuck in the rear bumper.  Mormon crickets splattered across the grill.  Mud from FS Road 9 in the wheel wells.  Take some time off buddy, you earned it.