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...