From Rotorua, we went to Whakatane (pronounced Fuck-ah-tarn-ay) for our first WWOOFing experience. We were there for Hallowe'en and the Rugby World Cup final meaning we managed to miss both. Outstanding planning on our part don't you think?
We stayed with a couple, C and J, for one week. In exchange for food and accommodation, we spent 4 hours a day working on their farm. They were kind people but there was a lot of unavoidable differences between us. It's difficult to explain really. They went out of their way to show us the local area, their house was incredible, and we were extremely well fed for the entire week. But our days were unstructured, something Tom and I struggle with, and it felt like we were constantly expected to be "on duty" - we never really felt we could sit and relax because it always felt as though we were going to be asked to work.
We were well looked after but we were glad to leave when we did.
Our first job was to build a wood pile out by one of the sheds. We had an amazing view as we worked, just look at what's stretching out behind me! It was hot and sweaty work but it was a surprisingly good workout. I still have zero arm muscles but I think I was a little stronger after that!
One of the lookout points we were stopped at on our way to Ohope Beach. I'm pretty sure that's Whale Island out in the distance. It's name comes from it's apparent similarity to the shape of a whale. Having never seen a whale in real life, I have no idea how good a name that really is...
Misnomers aside, the view from up there was awesome.
The farm we were staying on had a pet emu named Charlie. I can't even dress that sentence up, the awesomeness of it speaks for itself. This is me looking half excited, half terrified to be having a photo with him. Somehow the bird knew I was taking photos at it would duck it's head out of view each time I tried after this. Scary.
We spent an afternoon in Ohope, having lunch next to the gorgeous beach there. We ate insanely tasty quiche - I could only have one small piece on account of the dairy in there (a recurring problem that week) but what I did have was delicious.
We also did one of the walks through the forrest, right to the top of the hill. It was long and Meryn and I couldn't believe we were being out-walked by a 57 year old woman and a 6 year girl. But, the conversation was immensely interesting and the views - when the trees parted just enough to let you see them - were amazing.
This was one of our utterly stunning lunch spots over our week in Whakatane. The lake stretched out as far as the eye could see, with hill standing guard all around it, and it was the deepest blue you can imagine. I couldn't fit the lake into one picture!
We sat just in front of that bench and ate our lunch, and I was once again lost for words at how grateful I am to be having this adventure out here.
Another of the walks we were (so kindly!) taken to was a 20 minute forrest walk to Tarawera Falls. This was a beautiful hidden waterfall cascading down rocks from a hole somewhere up a cliff face. We did try and walk to the start of the waterfall but we're not entirely sure we made it to the right place. I mean, there was the stream and it disappeared into a rock but that's about as much as we could see. We did have some spectacular views of the waterfall from along the hill though!
One of our jobs during that week was cutting down Manuka trees. It was a huge job and even though we spent a good 8 or so hours cutting down trees, we only cleared about 1/3 of what was actually there. It was tough but I actually quite enjoyed it! I spent most of my time listening to podcasts. The time went by much quicker that way, although I might have looked a little crazy when I randomly broke the silence by laughing out loud.
We were driven back up to the house in the back of the truck and it was a seriously cool experience. Absolutely terrifying but cool all the same!
You might have noticed the extremely stylish joggers I am wearing in some of these photos. While we were in Hamilton, Tom and I realised we needed some shit clothes that could get ruined while we were working on farms and the like. We looked in some of the shops but nothing was quite cheap enough for us (we were not spending $20 on something that was going to be destroyed). Then, as luck would have it, we stumbled on a whole rack of joggers like this in a charity shop opposite our hostel. At $5 each, it would have been stupid to pass up on them! We both found a pair in our size and that is how the Team Mole uniform was born.
(For those wondering, they are the kit from a local cricketing team we have never heard of).
Adding to the list of kindness-we-were-shown-that-made-disliking-this-week-feel-so-awful, we were taking jet boating to another waterfall one afternoon during our stay. It was SO much fun, I laughed the entire time we were out on the water. There was one incredible moment when the boat was following behind a bird flying over the water; I don't know how to describe how that felt or looked but that's one of my favourite little moments of this trip I think. Hitting the rock and flying through the air the second time we followed a bird was a lot less fun and left Tom with a bruised shin but I guess not everything is perfect!
We also pulled up along one of the banks so that the three of us could walk through the trees to find a second waterfall. I had the misfortune of jumping off the boat into the mud, putting my foot out to regain my balance (and stop myself falling face first into the mud), only to find my shoe had stayed stuck where I landed and I had just plopped my WHITE SOCKED foot straight down into the goopy mess. Meryn and Tom were laughing too much to move for a good few minutes. Not my finest moment....
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