Kia Ora

Kia Ora! I really should have been starting my blogs with that every time...but nevermind, better late than never! Here's a quick update on what we've been up to this past month. We've now been in this wonderful country for 9 months which is pretty crazy. Scott and I have been looking through all of our photos and maps, reflecting on all that we've seen and done. We're now reading up on all of the beautiful places still to come. We've now been working on the kiwi orchard for 2 months. The work has been brilliant - we've been working on numerous jobs, laying out weed mats, irrigation pipes and tying strings for helping the 8000 plants grow, to name a few. I have really enjoyed working outdoors (even when it's raining!) and I've learnt a lot about the kiwi business - just in case I'd like to start my own organic kiwi orchard one day. The family we are working for are so lovely and helpful. Everyday we are treated to home baking and coffee to keep us going. I've taken a few homemade treats in for everyone too - bounty bars, dutch apple cake and kiwi and white chocolate traybake. The family dog, Otis, is also brilliant and he keeps us entertained throughout the day. At the moment there are 6 other backpackers and we tend to work on different jobs around the farm. Scott is the handy man at the moment and is loving driving around on the quad/ranger working on various jobs and helping the builder put up a new staff shed. Every Friday we have drinks at the house and we vote on the 'Dipstick of the week'. There's always a few funny stories of utes getting stuck and silly mishaps. As you may know, we are staying at the family beach house. There's a lot that we can do at the weekends but it's also nice to enjoy the beach relaxing and swim, attempt to surf and kayak. One weekend we had all the staff over for a bbq and we also all went white water rafting down the world's largest commercially rafted waterfall. Wow, that was crazy but so much fun. The waterfall is 7 metres tall and of course, we flipped and ended up underneath it! We've also been exploring the local area with some great walks and waterfalls and improving our mountain biking skills. We're hoping to stay at the farm for a couple more weeks before completing the last of our travels. We've travelled into Rotorua a couple times but there is a lot to do there and we would like to explore Taupo, walk the Tongariro crossing and then head up to Coromandel to enjoy the beaches in the sun, before we head back for a Scottish winter. Thank you for reading this shorter blog. I am now going to continue relaxing, looking out onto the pacific and hoping to see wildlife passing by.

Cheers for now x gf v x