A happy holiday, indeed!

Tom and I finally found work at the Rhythm and Vines festival in Gisborne.  It started ten years ago as a relatively small music festival in a vineyard and has been getting bigger and better ever since.  A few weeks ago we signed up to volunteer in exchange for admittance because we had heard it will be loads of fun, but knew there was no way we’d be able to afford the $200 tickets.  We got emails saying that there were enough volunteers, so they wouldn’t need us.  Thanks to Tom’s experience at See Tickets in Nottingham, we were able to score paid work instead.  So far we’ve been working 12 to 14 hour days, but we’ve been told things will slow down and we’ll be able to celebrate the New Year.  The live music the night of the 31^st goes ‘til 8:00 a.m., so if we manage to stay up that late after a full day of work we’ll be some of the first to see the light of 2011.

Our Christmas Eve camping site

We worked Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, but managed to have a really lovely Christmas in between.  We drove back down to the Mahia Peninsula to celebrate, and camped on the sea, surrounded by Pohutukawa trees in bloom.  It was really strange to be wearing a bikini and loading on the sun screen instead of spending the day out in the snow or in a warm kitchen.  We went for a walk on the beach, then met up with our friends John and Angela from Taranaki.  The four of us went for a surf and then had some really nice food.  We had New Zealand mussels, sirloin steak with portabella mushrooms, nice salad, and ham from the pigs we helped feed a month ago.  After fishing and a small bonfire we sat around a picnic table with our lantern, drinking beer and wine and having a good laugh.  Boxing day we got up early, went for a quick surf, and got back to Gisborne in time for work.

Dear Santa,

I'm not sure if you read my blog.  I was going to send a letter to the north pole, but we couldn't get much farther from there unless we went to Antarctica, so I don't think it would get there in time.
We're not sure where we're going to park the van on Christmas eve. We're also not sure how you're going to land all the reindeer on the roof.  Since we don't have a chimney, will you squeeze in through the exhaust pipe?
We don't have an oven to bake you cookies.  Do you like fish?
We also don't have anywhere to hang stockings or put up a tree.  Where will you put our prezzies?
It will be really, really hot here in your Santa suit.
Maybe, to save you all the trouble, we could just give you our bank details and you can transfer some money? We've been really good.


Thanks, and safe travels,


Katie and Tom

still unemployed, back in Gizzy

First off, I regress.  In my last blog I translated what I thought was an American phrase for my British friends.  How daft of me!  I should have known better than to think that there’s a phrase, other than “go figure”, that the Americans have and the British don’t.  When I mentioned my error to Tom, he took the mick a bit.  I’m sure I heard the words “plonker” and “numptie”.  My apologies, Brits.  I should have asked Tom, but he was probably off looking at fishing supplies when I wrote that bit.  Go figure.

One of Tom's new friends

We gave up on Napier.  We spent a few days looking for work but no joy.  We had to spend some money staying at camp sites, the library charged for internet, and the sea wasn’t nearly as fun (i.e. no surf or snorkeling) so we came back to Gisborne.  We decided if we’re going to be unemployed we may as well do it somewhere where we can have fun in the sea and work, instead of pay, for our stay.  Murray is letting us stay at his orchard, and in exchange we’re spending a couple of hours each day clearing the bramble and other nasty plants out of his citrus trees.  There are sheep in the orchard.  They follow us around waiting for us to feed them.  We were surprised to see them eat oranges, but they love 'em!  

Every now and then I have to remind Tom to get back 

to work, otherwise I swear he'd just play with the sheep all day. 

The van from half way up the hill,
on my way to the caves

Our way back to Gizzy (the local nickname for Gisborne) was interesting.  We spent the night beside a beautiful lake, and then stopped to check out some caves.  Tom’s foot is still hurting from our trip to the Rere waterslide so, as much as he hates it, he’s been taking it easy over the past week.  The hike to the caves turned out to be up a steep hill, so I went on my own.  It was a lovely clear day, so when I got to the top of the hill I could see for miles in every direction.  I heard a funny slapping noise, and when I turned to see what it was I saw a magpie flying straight at me.  It got pretty close to my head.  I thought to myself “that was weird” and kept walking.  I must have been close to his nest, because he kept flying at me.  He’d swoop close to my head, then fly straight up into the air, and dive bomb me again.  The only protection I had was a camera bag on a long strap that I kept swinging around like num chucks.  At first I was using it to protect myself.  I eventually started trying to hit the damn thing just to get it to leave me alone.  It was psychotic.  I ran in multiple directions to get away from its nest, but by that point I don’t think it mattered to him any more; he wanted my eyeballs on his talons.  If I hadn’t had that camera bag, I’m pretty sure he would have gotten them.  I never did get to the caves; I finally retreated, looking over my shoulder the whole way down the hill.  Bastard psycho magpie.  I wish someone could have seen it.  Better yet, I wish someone could have taken a video; I could have sent it into the Alfred Hitchcock Society and scored a leading role in the “Birds” sequel.

I had to Google an image of the Australian Magpie
because I was too busy using my camera bag as a weapon
to get a photo of the one that attacked me.

one of my first times standing

I've had a little more success with surfing.  I’m to a point now where I can stand up on my board.  Tom originally thought it would take me about 15 sessions in the sea to get standing, but I've done it in 4.  I’m wobbly, and they’re only little waves, but I’m standing nonetheless.  I'm itching to get better.  Unfortunately the swell has dropped off, so the sea resembles a pancake at the moment, but it should pick up before Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas…it’s a bit surreal having it in the southern hemisphere.  It’s the middle of summer here.  We spend the day in shorts, T’s and flip flops, and then when we walk into the supermarket we hear Christmas music.  It’s a far cry from the snow everyone’s getting in the northern hemisphere.  Back in the US and UK, the days are short, and everyone’s been hearing about Christmas for a couple months now.  The Giborne street decorations didn't go up until a week or so into December.  It just doesn't seem to be as hyped up here, which is quite nice.  

Tom fishing the golden hour

Whist there's no swell, we've been entertaining ourselves with fishing.  Prawns are so cheap here we buy them to use as bait.  It seems a waste to use such nice prawns as fish bait, but they're often cheaper than actual bait, so we buy 2 packages: one for the fish and one for our dinner.

a close up 

Tom fishing under a Pohutukawa tree

There are trees called Pohutukawa trees, sometimes nicknamed the New Zealand Christmas tree, that bloom in red flowers this time of year.  They get massive, they’re everywhere, and they’re lovely.  

We're hoping to spend Christmas day on the beach.  I'm planning to wear my bikini and a Santa hat.  If the weather's nice we're going to buy a disposable barbeque and grill out on the beach.  I'm a bit gutted to be missing my third Michigan Christmas in a row.  I wish we could have all of our friends and family here to celebrate with us.  We've decided to buy each other lotto cards instead of proper presents... so maybe next year...

Unemployed

We picked tons of citrus.  4.7 tons to be precise.  3,437kilos (7561lbs) of Tangelos and 900kilos (1980lbs) of Navel Oranges.  We were happy with the pay.  We got paid by the weight, but if we had been paid by the hour we would have made a bit less than minimum wage.  It was under the table (Brits: this means “cash in hand”) so we were quite pleased.  When you factor in the shower, kettle, and toilet that we had for the week on top the cash, we did quite well in Gisborne.

Cooks Cove

Hole in the Wall

Other side of Hole in the Wall

 We had a lot of fun there as well.  It was raining one day so we left the orchard to find some waves.  We passed the surf spot we were looking for, and ended up at Cooks Cove.  It's named after Captain James Cook, who landed there in 1769 on one of his three voyages around the world.  The rain let up just long enough for us to make the hour and a half hike to the cove and a place called “Hole in the Wall”.  After a bit of exploring we noticed the sky was looking a bit ominous, so we missioned back to the van, but not in time to beat the wind and rain.  It was nice to be able   

to make a couple of bowls of hot soup after over 2 hours of hiking in bad weather. 

After finally getting all the gear I need, I went for my fist surf in Gisborne.  Remember those MasterCard adverts that went something like “Roast Chicken with all the trimmings: $21, Bottle of Wine: $19, Chocolate caramel cheesecake: $12, Having a nice dinner with the family: priceless.”?  Well I have my own version:  “Wetsuit: NZ$300 Surfboard: NZ$500, Booties: NZ$ 50, Surfboard Leash: NZ$60, Dropping into my first big wave, falling off my board and then having it hit me in the head from behind: Pretty bloody expensive.”  Hopefully I’ll be able to edit that in the next couple months.  I’m hoping standing up on my first wave will make the initial expense “priceless”. 

We went to the ReRe falls and waterslide.  We had seen it on a tv program before we even came to NZ , and really wanted to find it.  We found out when we were in Gisborne that it was only about ½ hour from where we were working.   The falls were nice, but the real highlight was the waterslide.  It’s a giant slope of rock with a steady river of water rushing over it into a deep pool at the end.  The rock is mostly flat, but there are just enough cracks and bumps to keep it scary.  We borrowed a couple of body boards and had loads of fun sliding down it.  Tom attempted to slide down standing up, and not surprisingly hurt himself.  He keeps saying he needs to quit acting reckless and try acting his age instead, but I have yet to see that happen.  Maybe in his 30’s. 

climbing back up for another go

There was a guy called Tony who worked for Murray and was in the garage almost every evening working on his stock car.  Every two weeks he enters it in a race, smashes it into a bunch of other cars, and then works every evening to fix it up just in time for the next race.  We had a good time watching all the events, and it was especially fun to have someone to cheer for.  The people watching was good too. 

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with our new friends Lucy and John.  Well actually, we went to their house for dinner, and somewhere between the chips and dip and putting the meat on the barbeque I said, “is today Thursday?  I think it’s Thanksgiving today.  Happy Thanksgiving!”  John and Lucy (and lots of other Kiwis) were under the impression that Thanksgiving is just part of our Christmas celebrations.  I guess that’s because they only see or hear of it on tv around Christmas time.  We had a lovely salad with roast veg, potato salad and lots of different meats on the barbeque.  It wasn’t exactly traditional Thanksgiving food, but it was a feast indeed, and we sure have a lot to be thankful for. 

after the storm

sunset from Kaiti Hill

The Mahia Peninsula 

The result of not wearing makeup for months:
I look horrible, but catch snapper.

We heard that there was stone fruit (peaches, apricots, nectarines, etc.) to be picked in Napier, so we left Gisborne and headed south along the coast.  We stopped in the Mahia Peninsula on the way and had a lovely time there.  When the sun is shining the water is a gorgeous turquoise colour, and looks like something you’d see in a flyer for a tropical holiday/vacation destination.  It seems to be the divide between the two types of sand we've seen; one side of the peninsula is Blacks beach, with black sand, and the northern side has golden sand.   We went fishing both nights that we were there, and had snapper for breakfast both mornings.   I caught two the first night, and Tom caught one the following.  It was nice to actually catch fish, especially because the last few times I’ve been fishing in the UK with Tom we haven’t caught anything.  It seems our luck has changed (or maybe we’re just fishing in far better seas.) 

Unfortunately, the luck we’ve had fishing hasn’t transferred to our search for work.  We’ve been in Napier for a couple of days now and haven’t had any luck finding work.  It’s getting discouraging; to the point that we’re considering getting “real” jobs for the summer.  I’m really disappointed.  I wanted to spend a few weeks in Gisborne, then a few weeks in the Bay of Plenty, then the Coromandel Penninsula, and then northland (the northernmost part of the north island).  That would be entirely feasible if the work was available now.  However, the fruit picking doesn’t really pick up for another 2 weeks, and we’re not sure what to do in the meantime.  We can’t really afford another two weeks of holiday, so it looks like we might be “settling down” for the summer.  I know I can’t complain, but I still want to.  What’s the point in living out of a van if we’re going to park it in the same place for the summer?  Tom assures me we’ll still go to all those places, but going for a week won’t be the same as spending the next couple of months exploring.  Then again, we're not even sure if we'll be able to find proper jobs for the summer, so we may just have to take the next 2 weeks off and live on noodles and the fish we catch with bait we find in the rocks...

working in Gisborne

Manawatu Gorge

From Wanganui we crossed the north island and headed toward the east coast.  On the way we passed through the Manawatu Gorge.  It was amazing.  It made me glad Tom does most of the driving.  The road that passes through the gorge was narrow and winding, so he had to really focus on driving, whilst I was hanging out the window trying in vain to take a photo that would do it justice.  

Driving into Napier

The rest of the drive was almost as scenic, and then we arrived in Napier.  It’s by far our favourite city so far.  It was destroyed in 1931 by an earthquake, and had to be rebuilt.  They piled the rubble onto the beach, covered it, and made it into a lovely promenade.  They built new buildings, all in art deco style, and amongst all the lovely architecture are palm trees and nice gardens.  Tom said it reminded him of his mum’s photos of Miami, but I guarantee it’s a much more chilled out place, and although I’ve never been to Miami, I’m fairly certain I prefer Napier.  It’s lovely. 

Tom at the bottom of the waterfall

We drove to the top of Bluff Hill and could see for miles in all directions.  The sea was a lovely turquoise-green colour.  On our way back into town we stopped at a park filled with really nice flowers surrounding a waterfall.  One minute I was taking photos and then next I couldn’t find Tom anywhere.  Not surprisingly, he had climbed half way up the waterfall.  He said I couldn’t join him because I’m a girl, I was wearing a skirt, and probably wouldn’t be able to climb that high.  Anyone who knows me at all knows if you want to get me to do something, tell me I can’t.  5 minutes later I was also half way up the waterfall, taking photos of his first fresh water shower in 3 days.    

We had a lovely night camped out next to a vineyard on the sea.

 

We loved Napier, but unfortunately it was a bit disappointing in one very important way: surf.  They get plenty of waves in the area, but conditions have to be just right.  If I want to get good at surfing, I need to be able to do it consistently, and Napier didn’t quite have that on offer.

black swan somewhere between
Napier and Gisborne

We decided to head north toward Gisborne.  Once again, the drive was fantastically scenic.  The 207km drive took us about 3 1/2 hours to complete because it was up and down hills and around winding roads the entire way.  It’s funny because according to our road atlas we’re on “highways”.  If you looked at a map like that in the US or the UK you’d expect a highway or dual carriageway, respectively.  Regardless of what you call it, you’d think there would be two lanes of traffic in each direction, with a median/central reservation dividing them.  Not here.  The highways are one lane in each direction, with hardly a shoulder, and only an occasional passing lane.  In England, they’d be called an A-road; I’m not sure what we’d call them in the states, a “nice country road” maybe, but the assumed speed limit would be 45mph when there’s a straight enough stretch to get up to that speed. 

Highway 2

Poverty Bay and Gisborne from a distance

Sunset just outside Gisborne

Gisborne is a nice city.  It’s the first city in the world to see the light of a new day.  If we’re still in the area for New Years Eve we’ve decided we’re going to go camping and stay up ‘til the sun rises.  That way we’ll be able to say we were the first people to see 2011.  We’re 18 hours ahead of Michigan, and 13 ahead of the UK, so essentially we’re always a day ahead of most of the people reading this.  

Our first full day in Gisborne was devoted to trying to find work.  It was a bit discouraging at first, as none of the vineyards need workers, but we finally stopped in to a citrus orchard where a guy called Murray said he had oranges to pick.  The orchard surrounds his main business, which is a timber haulage company.  The citrus is hardly how he makes his living, it seems more like a bit of extra pocket money for him, but we’re sure glad he has it.  He’s been really good to us.  He told us where he keeps the key to his beach side flat so we had a night in an actual building, and he’s let us camp in his orchard (complete with a hot shower, a sink to wash our dishes in, and internet) since then.  We’ve spent the week picking his organic tangelos.  

The oranges, vineyards, and

mountains in the background.

I could romanticize it…

They’re the most amazing fruits.  A cross between mandarins and oranges, they’re the sweetest, juiciest pieces of citrus I’ve ever experienced.  We’re allowed to help ourselves to as many as we like, whilst working under the springtime sunshine.  The orange blossoms are really fragrant and smell amazing.  From our ladders we can see vineyards and farms stretching for miles, with mountains in the background.  Every now and then we come across a birds nest with pretty blue eggs or newborn babies, and do our best not to disturb them.  Tom’s been having fun learning how to drive the tractor/forklift.  

Or I could complain…

The sacks we fill get really heavy, so we’re both getting back ache.  The branches scrape your arms and legs unless you’re wearing jeans and long sleeves, and then it gets too hot.  The leaves and oranges that I thought were covered in dirt are actually covered in shit.  Literally.  It’s the poo of tiny white bugs (an invasive species from Australia) that look far too small to leave much of anything behind, but because there’s bazillions of them it starts to add up.  They’re not the only bugs in the trees.  I did well not to fall off my ladder the first time a cockroach scurried across my arm.  They’re harmless, unlike the occasional wasp with a nest, but they’re still not pleasant.  In the middle of the afternoon the sun becomes unbearably hot. We’re still not sure how much money we’re making.  We get paid by the kilo, but we’re not sure how much, or how many kilos we’ve picked, so we’re trusting Murray to pay us decently for a long week of work.  

The reality is somewhere in between…

ripe for the picking

We’re happy to have work.  We’ve started picking every morning, taking a long break and swimming/surfing during the heat of the day, and then coming back to work when the evenings start to cool down.  Fortunately, we both have mums who have taught us to work really hard, and I have the added motivation of wanting to get back to Michigan for my best friends’ wedding in August, and that’s enough to keep us grateful for the work. 

I took this photo of Tom whilst testing my new wetsuit

Tom with the sea to himself

IThe surf here has been good.  It’s often small, but perfect with light winds.  Considering the size of Gisborne, the waves aren’t very crowded, so it’s not uncommon for there to only be 4 or 5 people in one spot.  Last night Tom was the only one in the sea.  

Publish Post

The citrus will only last a few more days, and then we’ll have to find somewhere else to “make a living”.  Murray thinks he may be able to find us work.  If not, there are kiwis to be picked in the Bay of Plenty, apples in Hawkes Bay, and hopefully plenty of other places in need of a couple of modern day hippies to do some odd jobs...

off to a good start

Before I conclude my bit on Taranaki, I have to mention the sister peak of Mount Taranaki.  My American friends will not find this as funny as the English, but oh well.  There’s a smaller peak that’s part of the same volcano, and it’s named after the first woman who ever climbed it: Fanny Fanthom (pronounced "phantom").  Not a joke; it was her real name, and a part of the volcano's named Fanny Fanthom as well.

Mt. Taranaki and, just to the right, Fanny Fanthom

my "closet"

The van is finished.  I don’t mean to brag, but it’s pretty amazing.  We’re going to have so much fun in it.  I even managed to fit all my clothes for the summer into a painfully small space.  We left Taranaki last night and travelled south along the coast to Wanganui (Wong-ga-NEW-ee). 

the road we camped on,
lined with honeysuckle

We didn’t have to search long before finding a great camping spot.  The road we ended up camping on is lined with honeysuckle that smells fantastic.  Just ahead of us was black sand dunes covered in nice bushes and flowers, and beyond that was the sea. 

Tom in the "kitchen"

Tom made a really nice dinner last night, the first of many to be prepared on our little Campmaster gas stove.  After a short and cold walk on the beach we ended up going to bed at about 8:30 because it was dark and we don’t have any candles or lights yet, so we didn’t really have many other options. 

When we were eating breakfast this morning a couple of shark fisherman stopped and gave us a few of pieces of Gurnard.  I’ve never had it before, but Tom says it’s great fish.  Between that and the few things we have in the chilly bin (US: cooler, UK: cool box) we’re set for food for the day.

I’ve been having fun learning yet another version of the English language.  Sometimes Kiwis use the words and phrases that the British do (mate, mum, wicked, skint, etc.)  Other times they use American lingo, like “go figure”, dollars are also “bucks”, and clothing words (pants are pants, not knickers; vests are vests, not bodywarmers; tank tops are tank tops, not vests)

Then there are times the Kiwis have their own words for things.  Flip flops are “jandles” (rhymes with sandals).  Rain boots (US) or Wellies (UK) are “gum boots” or “gummies” for short.  Charity shops are called “op shops”.  One of my favourites is another one of their words for a four wheeler or quad bike.  They use both of those terms, but they might also call it a “farm bike”.

After spending a few hours sorting out insurance, AA cover, and finding some sheets for the bed, we’re planning to begin our journey to Napier.  We’ve heard the east side of the island will have fruit to pick, waves to surf, fish to catch and plenty of sunshine.  I’m not sure we’ll make it all the way there today.  We may end up making camp before we get there.  This is partially because we have a fair bit to do today, and also because a comfortable cruising speed for the van is about 80.  Kph.

adjustments

I have a few adjustments to make:

I haven’t worn makeup in nearly two weeks.  I can’t say I miss it.  That one will be easy.

I get about 2 hours of internet every few days.  This one will take some getting used to.  The closest wi-fi connection is about a half an hour away, and only open during business hours.  In some ways it really frustrates me.  At the same time, it’s kind of nice.  Granted, I don’t know what everyone’s up to according to Facebook, but I’ve fed chickens and pigs, spent time on the beach, drank nice wine, seen some absolutely amazing sunsets, and worked with power tools.  Part of me wishes I could “update my status” more frequently, but an increasingly bigger part of me is realizing that, if I was constantly updating my status, I wouldn't be out doing the things that make my “current status” so exciting.

I have to downsize.  Again.  I thought I was packing light when I came here with two suitcases and a carry on.  Now, to fit into the van, I have to leave most of it with John and Angela and fit my entire wardrobe for the summer and my laptop into a space that’s about 50cm long, 10 cm wide, and 43 cm deep.  It’s kind of like having to fit all my clothes into one drawer, but at least a drawer would be easier to get to; my clothes space is going to be under the bed.  I have a feeling I’ll be wearing the same few things over and over.

It’s November.   According to everything I’ve ever known, this is the time of year when the days are getting much shorter.  In America it’s almost Thanksgiving.  Nearly time to eat nice food, spend time with family, and take note of all the things in life you’re thankful for.  If you’re an American in England, this is the time of year when everyone asks you, “what exactly is ‘Thanksgiving’?”.  (So…you just get together with your family and eat a big meal?  So…it’s like Christmas but without the presents?...)  I have a feeling the holiday will come and go just like Halloween did.  Back home Halloween is one of my all time favorite holidays.  The most recognition it got here was when we were working on the van and I asked, “Isn’t today Halloween?”  Tom checked his watch and said, “Yep.”

If it hasn’t yet, it will probably snow soon in Michigan.  I thought of the Michigan snow the other day when the sun was blazing down on the beach at Kumera Patch.  The sand here is volcanic and black, but it reflects the sun and sparkles the way the snow does on a crisp winter day. 

volcanic sand on our way out to Kumera Patch

As much as I like crisp winter days, I’m not exactly gutted to be missing out on all the really cold, short, wet days in between.  I’ll happily take sparkling black sand instead.

In New Zealand, spring has sprung.   It still gets quite cold at night, but if the sun’s shining during the day it heats right up.  When the New Zealand sun is blazing down it feels like we must be near the equator.  Any time I comment on the heat of the sun, Angela says it’s only just beginning.  “Just wait ‘til summer,” she says every time.  Everyone here is adamant that the sun is really intense and we need to be careful.  Tom didn’t heed the warnings and the back of his neck got fried just working on the van.  Apparently we’re underneath the hole in the ozone, which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “direct sunlight.”  This is not exactly great news for an Irish/Polish/Dutch girl with a family history of skin cancer.  Hell, I burn on a cloudy day in England, and have to be careful in Michigan in May.  I should have invested in sun screen before I moved here.

The van is nearing completion.  The frame for the bed is established, along with the fold out kitchen and space for surf boards.  All we need to do now is finish partitioning off our storage space, screw down the plywood, cut the foam mattress to fit, and add the finishing touches (duvet/comforter, cooking stove, curtains, etc.)  

Speaking of curtains, I miss my mum.  The edges had to be sewn to keep them from fraying, and then the sleeves for the bamboo rods had to be sewn.  I tried, on a couple of different occasions, to work Angela’s sewing machine, but it just didn’t agree with me.  I rarely get homesick, but mom, I was missing you to the point of tears.  It got to the point I took all the thread off and followed the instructions on the user manual to a tee, but still managed to jam the damn thing.  At one point I was convinced I had broken it.  Angela sat down, fixed the thread, and sewed the edges as if there was no effort whatsoever involved.  To be fair, she did say that the machine gave her some trouble, and it didn’t help that the material is quite thick.  Either way, I hate sewing machines and miss my mom.

Next on the agenda: find me a wetsuit, and research seasonal work in New Zealand so once we have the van sorted we can hit the road and find jobs.  

First week in NZ (my fellow Americans: it's pronounced N Zed)

 Tom and I arrived in the Taranaki region of New Zealand almost a week ago.  Since then we’ve bought a van, came up with a plan, and met some really great people.  All the while we’ve been in constant awe of the scenery.

The van is a 1988 Mitsubishi L300 Cyclone. 

She’s a beauty.  It will take some getting used to, as it’s a 5 speed with the shifter on the column and doesn’t have power steering.  Driving on the left also makes it a bit tricky, but I reckon 2 years in England has me fairly well prepared.  The back door’s been replaced and is therefore a different shade of red, but I think it adds character.  I mentioned to Angela that maybe we should call her “Big Red” but apparently that’s another word for “period” to Aussies, so I changed my mind.  We’ll come up with a name eventually.  There was room for 11 when we bought it, but not anymore.  We’ve taken the back seats out and are converting it into a storage unit/kitchen/love shack on wheels. 

The plan is a good one. 

New Zealand is one of the only places in the world where you can park just about anywhere and camp for free.  When we see a good fishing spot or some nice surf we’ll park the van, catch some dinner or some waves, stay the night, wake up to a lovely view of the sea, and start again. 

Unfortunately, we also have to work.  I’m still hoping for a teaching job, so I’ll spend a fair bit of time stopping into schools and searching for positions online.  In the meantime, we’ll be finding as much seasonal work as possible.  There are quite a few vineyards and fruit orchards near Gisborne, as well as plenty of coastline, so we’re thinking of heading in that direction once we get the van sorted. 

The people and scenery here are amazing.

Everyone in New Zealand has been really lovely so far.  It’s a very chilled out place where people are friendly and keen to help out.  Tom’s friend John and his girlfriend Angela have been especially good to us since we’ve been here.  They’ve given us a room, loads of really nice food, great advice and the local’s tour of the area.  They’ve shown us fishing spots, surfing spots, and even drove us 3 hours to Hamilton to find our van.

John, Tom and Angela on our tour of their property

Their place is amazing.  It’s over six acres and comes complete with a stream running through it, three cows, three really cute pigs, a lemon tree, veg garden, four hens and a rooster.  Randy, the rooster, has a great set of feathers and an even better cock-a-doodle-do.  We woke up this morning, like every morning we’ve been here, to his call amongst a chorus of New Zealand sparrows, and cows mooing in the distance. 

Randy the Rooster

Randy, the veg garden, and Mount Taranaki

From John and Angela’s kitchen we have an impressive view of Mount Taranaki.  You can see it from just about anywhere in the Taranaki region, provided it’s not covered in clouds.  Our first day here we caught a glimpse of it, and then unknowingly drove along the base of it to John and Angela’s.  The next morning the clouds had cleared and we couldn’t believe such a massive volcano had been so close and we hadn’t noticed it.  It’s spectacular.  All of the scenery here is. 

The view from John and Angela's kitchen window

Tom

Just about everywhere we’ve been in the Taranaki region we’ve had a volcano to one side of us, and the sea on the other. The main road that goes between the two is called Surf Highway 45.  No joke.  It’s on all the road signs and maps.  Because it’s a relatively round peninsula, there’s always somewhere that is getting swell and sheltered, no matter where the wind is coming from.   As you drive around the peninsula, there seems to be millions of rivers and streams, wild white lilies, and punga trees (trees that look like giant ferns, with a trunk and shape similar to a palm tree).   

Another thing you see a lot of in Taranaki is cows.  Loads and loads of cows.  You know how everyone thinks New Zealand is full of sheep?  Not here.  Cows.  Lots of them.

I’m well impressed with John and Angela.  On top of taking care of all their animals multiple times per day, they also manage to be out planting a vegetable garden, burning bramble, fixing up the stream in their backyard, chopping wood, etc.  They also find time to live well.  They prepare and eat some really amazing food, drink nice wine, play board games, and enjoy the simple life.  I don’t think it’s mere coincidence that they don’t have tv or internet. 

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I love how nothing goes to waste in their house. The pigs eat everything, including tea bags, excessively rotten food, chicken carcasses, you name it, and all from a trough that they piss and shit in whilst they’re eating out of it. As you may have guessed, the pig shed smells awesome. A small part of me finds them completely revolting, but a much bigger part of me thinks they’re fantastic. They’re cute, they’re friendly, they eat all your food waste, and they’re delicious. One of them is missing the nose ring that keeps her from rooting up the garden. Tom will have to pin her down whilst John puts the ring through. Apparently she'll be squealing like crazy. I'll be cracking up, camera in hand.

Now off to work on the van...