A great week...

Well, since last post I have moved on a couple of times...

First, I finished up the work on the pig farm, nearly completing the farrowing shed, almost avoiding falling off a ladder, and some other work too:

Trying to take a timer photo, failing slightly...

Chopping firewood, and bringing it up to the house

Mark and Monique kindly brought me to Hohepa after the Sunday market; in front of my next home for a week at Hohepa.

I enjoyed the time with them, and could have stayed longer, but Hohepa had me booked...

I had a really great week at Hohepa; working mainly with Meike - from Germany, and Evelyn - from UK. There were 2 other wwoofers there, Alan - a Kiwi, and Marine from France; they both worked in the cheesery.

I did a range of work - obviously some weeding, which I enjoyed, even if Meike didn't believe me! Also harvesting and thinning crops, and sieving soil for seed planting. I experienced a whole community earthquake evacuation drill one day; Hohepa is right by the sea, and they need to prepare for the possibility of tsunamis following quakes. The whole community was evacuated in 15 minutes! 

One of the most fun jobs - as well as the hardest, was making a compost heap... It was 10x3 metres, and 1.5 m high, and took us a day, complete with mixing and throwing cowpoo... Afterwards we had a much needed and rewarding swim in the river!

A small part of the garden

Matting we pegged out for planting garlic.

Well, I couldn't resist!

Evelyn getting well into chucking haylage on the heap...

Meike loves her shit! Seriously though, she is a trained biodynamic gardener, and knows a thing or two about it... 

The end of the day, at the end of the heap... Was great work. With Gui who works as a farmer at Hohepa.

The skies at Hohepa were amazing, especially morning and evening...

On Saturday we had a free day, and i went to Napier with Evelyn. It was the first day of winter, but stayed at 20degrees most of the day, and we had ice cream on the beach!

Stupidly warm for winter... Lovely ice cream though, and such fine weather!

Yesterday we - me, Meike, Marine, Evelyn and Benjamin, a coworker from Hohepa - drove to Taupo, and stayed a night in a hostel. We walked to the Huka falls

And then went to sit in a hot pool, where the water is as hot as a very warm bath!

Sitting in the steam, was so warm, and an amazing experience!

I really did nearly fall asleep!

Today we hired mountain bikes and rode some of the trails around Taupo - some fantastic singletrack with a few small jumps

We also visited the a place called the craters of the moon, where thermal activity below ground sends steam up in clouds, and there is some boiling mud too...

Steam coming up all over the place!

I had a really good time with these guys; they went back to Hohepa, and I am in Taupo for another night before heading off again...

We finished off in Taupo, by the lake, with Mt Doom in the background!

Taupo is a crazy place, with things I have never seen before... I have ticked some of the 'must see' boxes on my NZ trip...

Since setting off on my own 3 weeks ago, I have had loads of fun, and met some great people and done lots of fun work. I am tempted to go back to Hohepa before I come home, it was one of the most fun weeks I have spent here!

Well, onwards now... Two more sisters to visit, in Hamilton and the Bay of Islands... I will visit some more places as well, perhaps heading further north if funds are ok then. 

Til next time, I am resting my aches now...