Farming, NZ style

I'm currently waiting to go to the airport, my last day in NZ. Somewhat saddened at that thought, since this is quite the cool place to travel, to adventure, to meet interesting people. Yet, the 3 weeks here give me confirmation that I could live here comfortably, so will consider finding work here and coming back to live for awhile.

My last posting was from a farm near Wellington, if I recall. In the week since, I've celebrated Christmas, French style. The second farm, a blueberry farm with cafe and kid's programs, was owned by an American lady and her 10 year old son. She picked me up from the train station and promptly brought me to Christmas eve dinner at her best friend's house - a lady from France who was a great cook. BBQ'd scallops and mussels, potatoes au gratin (does that mean with lots of cheese?), bread with dips appetizers, fresh veggie salads, and tiramisu to top it all off. Nice folks to share the holiday spirit with. My "dirty Santa" (white elephant, in which you could steal another's pick) present was a long NZ pencil. Christmas day was spent with the son's excitement at opening presents, blueberry pancakes I prepared, and a nice dinner with the three other volunteers who were staying there. In the middle of the day, I worked on building a raised garden bed, and finished the day jumping in the river that ran past the property.

After another day finishing the project, I left the farm to start hitching a ride north. I didn't get the full 7 hours to Rotorua, since I left so late in the day. But, when it began to get dark in a country town named Bulls, I stopped expecting a ride and started looking around for a place to put my camping mattress. I got some food at one of the only opened places, and asked a couple if they knew of any other accomodations, since the hostel was locked and the lights were out. That inquiry led to an invitation to crash in their living room for the night. So, it worked out to be another adventure on this trip. They were a friendly middle aged couple with 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 birds. The man was a weapons consultant for the military, she was a former police officer and Christian missionary to places such as China; none-the-less I felt fairly safe in their company...
The next morning, she suggested I include a sign to my next destination, "Taupo," to go along with my thumb. It worked within 5 minutes of being dropped at the highway junction corner. A guy heading there to work on his friend's house drove me the 3 hours straight through. I bought him some coffee and he shared his Christmas shortbread cookies. Leaving Taupo was a lot more grueling, but I finally made it to Rotorua late that day.

Rotorua might be compared to Yellowstone with a city built around it, with geothermal activity throughout the region and a strong sulphuric stench. Went there specifically for river rafting. The Kaituna river has the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world is the claim. One company I contacted invited me to go down the river with them, politely asking only afterwards if I was young enough to qualify for a working visa (since I told them I was interested in their company)... I'm not. But, I'll see if I can figure out another way to work as a raft guide here.
My last night in NZ was spent lounging in the hotspring waters at the spa on the shore of Lake Rotorua, a refreshing way to wrap up the trip and get warm before heading back to winter in Seattle.

Okay, I'll head out to the airport now. Next posting will be from Seattle.
Cheers.