Ramblin' Round New Zealand: November 2010

It is raining today, which means that I finally have a day off work and time to fill everyone in on what we have been up to over the last 3 weeks! So to make my 6^th grade teacher, Mr. Parr, proud I will start off with the setting…

A little sheep on Mt Manganui

Andy and I arrived in Tauranga, New Zealand on a sunny Sunday evening. We had spent the previous day driving south from the Coromandel Peninsula and had decided to treat ourselves to a little luxury camping at one of the holiday parks described by Andy previously. A hot shower and flushing toilets were very welcomed after a week at the DOC sites, so we arrived in Tauranga squeaky clean and dressed to impress. Tauranga is a medium sized beach town on the Eastern Coast of NZ’s North Island. It has a nice little strip along the waterfront known as The Strand, where there are several cute cafes and swanky bars. Most of them have store fronts that can be opened and spill out into large front patios complete with tables and umbrellas during sunny weather. We are told that Tauranga is quite the hot spot during the summer months and it is THE place to be on New Years. The main attraction, however, is the beautiful and majestic Mt Manganui, just a 5-10 minute drive from the city center. It is a small, emerald mountain, speckled with sheep and rising up just along the ocean and beach border. It is about a 30-minute climb to the summit, where the view is spectacular and can be completely taken advantage of only by paragliding off the top and around the mountain. Andy and I have not been quite that ambitious yet, but you never know!

View of the beach from the top of Mt Manganui.

So we arrived on a Sunday and went straight to a little hostel known as Bell Lodge, where we had heard there were opportunities to find work. We found the hostel hosts, Rick and Sheree, to be very amiable and helpful people. They informed us that the kiwi-pruning season would be starting up within the week and ensured us we would be at the top of the list, since we had the advantage of owning a car. Sounded good to us, so we decided to stay a week and see what came up. Well, what came up was a whole lotta rain, meaning a whole notta lotta work! But we managed to meet some nice people and have some fun outings exploring the area.

Andy cooking in the hostel

Andy organized a poker night!

Lavinia (Vermont) and Matthew (France) in the hostel

One of the highlights of our time here was a hike down to the bottom of a small waterfall known as Kaiate. We weren’t brave enough to jump off the 20-foot rocks into the freezing cold and dark water, but we did take a little swim in the pool. The setting was beautiful with the showering waterfall close by and all of the greenery. Upon submersion, I had a few moments of panic as I felt my lungs collapse and the beginnings of hypothermic shock set in, but I adjusted quickly and found the rest of the experience quiet refreshing. Andy and I swam for a bit and then began our hike back up to the top. It wasn’t until I had been out for 10 minutes that the pain set in. A severe earache accompanied me for the next hour, as the blood slowly but surely returned to my aching head. It lasted so long that I thought I might have come down with a super speedy case of swimmer’s ear, but after a warm shower and hot tea, it seemed to return to normal.

Hike to Kaiate Falls

Swimming at the falls.

The pristine, white sand beach known as The Mount, is another huge appeal of the area. Its northern end begins at the base of Mount Manganui and it has a similar laid back, tourist attraction feel as some of the beaches I have seen in Southern California (minus the rollerbladers and cruiser bikes). We have spent a few sunny afternoons there eating ice cream from homemade waffle cones and discretely sipping on prohibited mixed beverage and ciders. The problem with spending a day at the beach here is that the sun is absolutely toxic! That little hole in the ozone we all hear about happens to be just over our little island here in the South Pacific and that means that even a little sun scorches the skin. Apparently, the skin cancer rate here is extremely high. So add skin cancer to my growing list of New Zealand fears. (previously we discussed earthquakes and volcanoes). Who said this place wasn’t dangerous anyway?! Maybe there are no man-eating alligators or poisonous spiders and snakes, but it is chalk full of natural disasters just waiting to get you!

The Mount Beach

Another highlight was the day trip we took back up north to Hot Water Beach. We stopped in there briefly on our way down to Tauranga, but didn’t have a chance to enjoy the geothermic hot spot. This time, we came prepared with a shovel and milk jugs cut and fashioned into digging devices. The idea at this one of a kind beach is to dig your very own hot spring! The layout of the region is just right so that when the tide is out, there are areas where by digging just a half-foot or more in the sand, you can spring your own little pool of hot water. Well, it sounds all simple and dandy, but the fact is that the water temp varies greatly from one foot to the next. It can be tricky to find a spot that is not either freezing cold or boiling hot and then once you do get the right temp, it is constantly caving in on itself as the water in the pool erodes sand from the edge. So it requires almost constant digging to keep the water temp where you want it. That, however, is only a minor hiccup in what is plainly an indescribable experience. To be sitting in a hot spring on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world looking out onto the clear ocean beyond….incredible. It would only have been nicer if A) there were fewer other people enjoying this pristine moment with us. And B) It hadn’t been windy and raining. In all fairness we kind of lucked out on the weather for that day, because it was pouring and freezing winds when we got there and were setting up, but once we were in our little pool the sun came out and we had blue skies and warm air for about an hour or more. It only started to get stormy again as we were packing up the car to go. So really we hit the sweet spot of the day.

Hot Water Beach

Double rainbow on our way home from Hot Water Beach!

Andy's uniform.

So, to catch you all up quickly to what makes today’s rain so much more welcome than previous ones. The weather finally cleared up after 2 weeks at the Bell Lodge and that meant that Andy and I had work. Andy got a gig as a factory worker in a kiwi juice factory (It is actually kiwi puree, but everyone calls it the juice factory). I will let him do the honor of describing that work to you, since I only hear tales. He tells me he will post soon… As for me, I am working out in the kiwi orchards. Right now is the summer pruning season. Basically, my day starts out around 6:45AM when the contractor comes and picks a bunch of us migrant workers up at the hostel and drives us to whatever orchard we are working in that day. Much like in the US, they cram more of us than can fit into the vehicle so it can be a bit of an uncomfortable ride depending on what spot you get and how far the orchard is. Most are about 10-15 minutes away, but some are 30-45 minutes. (Don’t worry mom and dad, I always try to find a way to buckle up!).

My office.

On the Job.

Daily workout in our Gym!

At the orchard, we either do what is called bud thinning, where we pick off the flower buds that look deformed (there are thousands!) or we do crush tipping and pruning, where we pinch the end of the vine or cut it in certain cases to keep them from overgrowing and blocking out all the sun. It can become physically demanding due to the repetition and extending your neck to look up and work overhead, but overall I have found the work to be very enjoyable. After sitting in a classroom for basically 22 years, it is refreshing to be working with my hands out in the fresh air. I can’t explain the sense of peace and connection as the sun twinkles off the green leaves above me and the birds sing next to me all day. We are allowed to wear headphones, but I have found I enjoy the quiet time in my own head to think and reflect. It has been very therapeutic for me after all the mental business of med school. That being said, it is still work and I can always find some reason to complain about it. Yesterday, everything was all wet in the morning and my hands were so cold that I could hardly feel them, let alone pinch the vines. But the sun warmed us up as the morning went on and the day went quickly after that. We are scheduled to work 9 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is why it has become much harder to send out updates and e-mails. I come home around 5PM, do a quick work out with my friend Lavinia and then basically crash for the rest of the night. My only day off for the past 2 weeks was last Sunday (Halloween, but I was not feeling well) and TODAY! So the rain is a blessing today since it means my weary bones get to rest a bit.

Here are a few more shots from the past few weeks!