We spent the past week (also our last week) on the sweetest farm out in a town called Little Akaloa on Decanter Bay. Our hosts were the best. Can't thank them enough for taking us in when we really needed it and on such short notice. Marie was so kind and helpful and we had some good laughs. Her five year-old son Felix, as loud as he was, he was one of the cutest little boys I've met. There was an eight year-old girl named Leo who was by far one of the smartest and most cunning eight year-olds I've ever met (She somehow managed to lock her sisters iTouch for over 40 years, yikes!). And then there was Brad, the husband, the dad, and the slave driver. Ha I'm kidding! It was such a wonderful family. They even catered for my gluten free vegetarian diet (I had tofu for almost every meal, but Brad not once cooked it the same way twice, thanks for keeping things interesting!). The work was often hard but it felt good after not working for two weeks. I did some lawn mowing, removing flax (super hard), weeding, harvesting, compost making, transplanting and my personal favorite, shoveling sheep shit for fertilizer (I kid, it was not my favorite, it was probably my least favorite job I have ever been given as a WWOOFer). But after a days work was done we would run to the beach and hop in. I learned how to paddle board, thanks to Claire, and we even were able to successfully surf (small waves) with the two of us on it! This family was wonderful (did I mention that already?), and we got along very well. And the instant they said that they had been to Point Reyes Station, I knew it was meant to be. Marie is French, while Brad is originally from New York, and they had only moved to NZ four years ago. And before that they were living in Seattle. So no, not true kiwis but they still had so much knowledge of this country and the area of the Banks Peninsula. We got to spend Easter morning with them, but they are Jewish, so we didn't celebrate too much, just got to watch the kids hunt for Easter eggs from afar while the rest of us put sheep shit through the shredder (part of the process of making it into fertilizer). Fun. I am going to miss that family and that farm, it was very impressive and inspirational how much they grew themselves (look out mom and dad, when I get home this summer lots of vege and fruit will be planted).
So now here we are, back in Christchurch, at the airport in fact. Time to look back at this trip and smile, because it has been so much fun.
It's true what they say, the majority of the kiwis here are some of the kindest people I have met in my life. They have been so helpful on our travels here. NZ sure does make it easy to travel in with all those i-sites (NZ's official visitors information center, there are over 80 in the entire country). Honestly don't know where we would be without them. So great you could go in and ask almost any question about NZ and they would try their best to answer, questions from the cheapest place to stay, to booking buses and ferries to telling us the best place to get a decent burrito, thanks guys!
I have crossed paths with so many amazing people here in NZ. From other WWOOFers, to our hosts, to roomies in the backpackers, to the people that picked us up hitching (have probably gotten well over 40 hitches by now, and I can most likely remember every single one of them if I tried). I have loved sharing the stories and experiences with everyone. It seems to be a pretty small country over here and we have ended up running into people we've met, more than once. It has been a lovely surprise to see familiar faces again (In fact we are hanging out in the airport with one right now, a roomie from Dunedin).
I am so thankful for the weather we have gotten while being here. With the exception of the couple days it hosed on us, the sun has been shinning bright. There are so many beautiful landscapes here, and I often found myself just starring out at the ocean, the mountains or the lakes for hours.
New Zealand has been a place of firsts for me. I first experienced hitch hiking here. I did my first real backpacking trip, my first time I drove on the other side of the road and my first time seeing a kiwi bird. It was my first time I tried bungy jumping (did I mention that already? Thank you AJ Hackett for inventing that, it definitely won't be the last time I do that) and my first time seeing a glacier.
This has been the longest I have been away from home and oddly I don't miss it too much. I guess that's because exciting NZ has been here to entertain me. I've been looking back but now it is time to look forward.
Time to keep following the sun, Australia is up next. What I have heard about Australia so far: deadly animals, more expensive than NZ (joy), very hot and dry, good beaches, good surf, nice people (but not as nice as the kiwis), and a BIG country. But I don't know what to expect. I guess I'll just have to go down under and see. Until then,
Cheers!
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