WWOOF #4 - Martinborough

Dec. 5th - Dec. 13th

Martinborough is probably the 2nd most well-known wine region in the country only behind the Marlborough region on the south island. We arrived on a sunny day and seemed to bring the good weather with us. This tiny town has sprung up almost entirely to support the wine industry, with heaps of wineries within walking distance and plenty of cafes/eateries at the center of town.

Simon and Amanda live about 15km outside the city in the surrounding hills. A cute little house on 15 acres, home to sheep, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, and a cow. Of course, they have a small vineyard as well, and manage 2 vineyards in town, and manage a main wine retailer in town, and sell wine-making equipment, and they have a newborn (Bella - 8 months). They have their hands full, but were eager to make us feel welcome and introduce us to their way of life (stopping short of changing and feeding the baby).

Keris in the front paddock of the house, tending to the new vines and the sheep.

Sunset over the house.

Fantastic meals every night (as well as good, hearty breakfasts and lunches), a comfy bed in the main house, and high-speed internet. We were in heaven.

It was easy getting back into the rhythm of the vine work our first days on the job. Pinot Noir is the famed regional variety, and we had our hands full pruning the mature vines and weeding around the new ones. They willingly shared their vast knowledge of winemaking and vineyard maintenance, as well as the nightly tastings with dinner which sometimes included their own vintages.

We really wanted to see some of the surrounding countryside, so took time to head north to the mountains and made our way back to Waiohine Gorge on rugged dirt roads. The mountainous forests and rivers reminded us of Oregon. To start our hike, we had to cross a 200 foot long suspension bridge that hung more than 100 feet in the air over the river - this massive structure was built deep in the forest, and we were shocked to find such structures this remote. The next day was hot and sunny, so we took the road south the end of the island - literally. The furthest point south was Cape Palliser and housed a lighthouse atop the cliffs. We ascended the steep set of stairs and were rewarded with a spectacular view that reached the south island. The beaches here are also home to the only permanent colony of fur seals on the north island. We were able to get fairly close and just sit and watch them sunbathe, play in the water, and care for the new pups. Occasionally we'd be hiking around the rocky shore and practically stumble onto a giant seal - reminding us there was no fence in the wild, and we needed to be sure to keep our distance. We ended the day with a long 2 hour hike up to the Putangirua Pinnacles to see the amazing rock formations similar to the Badlands (also site of the Lord of the Rings). Years of erosion left these amazingly tall spires and sharp walls behind.

In the middle of the giant suspension bridge. Good thing it wasn't windy.

Lighthouse at Cape Palliser, the souhtermost point on the North Island.

View from the lighthouse.

The sand along the beach at Ngawi (closest village to the lighthouse) is too soft for tractors, so there are lots of bulldozers of all sorts lining the beach to tow the fishing boats out of the water.

Fur seal colony, up close and dangerous (and cute).

Some views of the Putangirua Pinnacles

We did do work here as well, mostly on Pinot Noir vines. We weeded around the new vines growing at our hosts' house, pruned the 2 other properties they manage, as well as attempted to train the longer branches in a huge wind storm so they didn't break off. Due to our additional interest in beer, Amanda was so generous as to make arrangements with a local brewmaster at Peak Brewery so we could go and work for him one day! We drove up to Masterton and met Rhys, the owner, brewer, bottler, and labeller (primarily a one-man show) for his small operation and helped out with bottling and labeling for him. He produced some of the best all-around beers we've ever had, utilitizing organic ingredients and recipes he's crated over many years, including an IPA that is aged in oak barrels, fantastic!

On the bottling line.

Thanks to Rhys at Peak Brewery! Keep up the great work.

We definitely didn't want to miss out on wine tasting considering the shear number of local wineries in town, so we finally made it out for a few visits and had a fantastic time learning all about the region's finest (picking up a few bottles along the way).

We had an incredible time, and it was hard to say goodbye. Though there are heaps of wineries, Martinborough lacks its own brewery.... aaah the possibilities for us to return.

Thank you Simon, Amanda, and Bella!

WWOOF #3 - New Plymouth

Nov. 29th - Dec. 5th

Mike's Organic Brewery is located about 30km north of New Plymouth on the west coast, about halfway between Auckland and Wellington. We were stoked to arrive on Sunday and get to work (and hopefully have a few tastes - we did on arrival). 4 beers are currently in production. An Ale and Lager are the main sellers, and they are introducing a new Pilsner and Strawberry Blonde.

It was good to have a look around the first evening and then retire to our cabin on the back of the property, 100 meters down the hill among the avocado orchard. The property only has the brewery, office, and main dining hall, so we were the only ones to be on the property at night. Of course, once settled and it was getting dark, we quickly realized there were no lights in the cabin. A couple fixtures with no bulbs. We found a few spare light bulbs, none worked. Well, we hoped to find some at the bathrooms just off the main hall since we thought everyone had gone home for the night. Stuart had about given up and gone back to the cabin, when Keris came bursting in with a terrified look on her face. "I've set off the alarm!" she exclaimed. We thought for sure the police sirens would be blaring within minutes. Running back and forth to the car for the cell phone (no coverage) and telephone numbers, we were pretty much out of luck. The alarm was still screaming, when a young lad came calmly walking over to the building. It was the owners' son, Dylan. He and his dad, Ron, were still in the office working, and had been phoned by the security company. "Ah, ya, it happens all the time, no worries," he told us. Phew, that was a close one. We did get some bulbs (and a few spares) and were good for the first night. Our sleeping accommodations were a bit humurous, old child bunkbeds with Barney and Barbie duvet covers. Later on that week we had a mishap with no hot water. Unfortunately, we didn't find out til the next morning that we simply needed to swap the LPG tank, so no showers for us that night.

Drinking on the job! We did a blind taste test for quality assurance at the end of a long work day.

Our accommodation, and a little strawberry blonde to go with dinner.

Our first day on the job showed us what the manual side of a brewery can be. Bottling, labelling, cleaning , and packaging beer bottles. Lots of beer bottles. We were able to poke our heads around the brewing equipment, but the next batches weren't due to be made until later in the week. The weather turned bad, and began raining off and on for the next 6 days (sometimes in a torrential pour). We were more or less confined to our cabin during our free time, without internet. We played some chess, and read a lot, each easily finishing books within days.

Stuart was up at 7am the 3rd day to meet up with the brewmaster, Thomas, as he started in on his long day of brewing. There wasn't much for 2 people, so he just watched and asked lots of questions as Thomas worked away, pouring in the grains for the mash, transferring to the kettle and adding the hops, all the while keeping notes and exacting his recipe.

By day 4 we were tired of the rain. We headed into New Plymouth to check out the Govett-Brewster art Gallery, only to find it closed! We headed up for a nice long walk around Pukekura Park. It was great to catch a break in the rain and explore the expansive park, including the fernery with 100s of species of flowers (including what must have been more than 30 orchid species alone), and several lakes and fountains.

The flowers at the fernery were gorgeous!

We were still itching to get out of the cabin again the next day, so we headed to the beach. We dressed in running gear in case the weather cleared, but ended up on the beach with rain coats, gum boots, umbrellas, and rain. It would have been a very pretty beach with dark black sand and huge white cliffs . In the rain, the sand almost looked like tar and the cliffs were pale gray. Back to the cabin, haha.

At the beach, running shorts, gum boots, and umbrella! Rain, rain go away.

Thanks to everyone at Mike's Brewery!

Sure enough, on Saturday, the clouds broke as we departed Mike's and headed to Martinborough. NZ wouldn't be this green after all if it never rained!

Short NZ Vacation #1

Nov. 24th - Nov. 29th

Vacation time (not that we needed it after a relaxing time at Trish’s in Dargaville). Our next WWOOF wasn’t for a few days, so we wanted to make the most of it. Driving back to the east coast, we stopped at Koanga Gardens, an organic property working to save heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables prior to genetic manipulations. We pressed on to Goat Island and rented some snorkels for the marine reserve. The black sand beach was hot from the sun’s rays, but the water was freezing even in our wetsuits. We saw some very large snapper, and some small schools of fish, but the water was a little murky and after only 20 mins, we were too cold to continue. After a looong recuperation on the beach, we decided to try again, swimming out toward the island’s rocky shore. Lasting over 30 minutes this time, we had similar luck spotting Moki, Snapper (a couple big ones), Marblefish and others. It was getting too late to drive much farther, so we stayed the night in Auckland with Rob and Cherie again (plus we needed to pick up our tent we bought online). It was a great chance to eat well and hang out with friends.

Getting out of the water, RUN to the hot sand!

Our next destination was the Coromandel, one of the most famous and photographed peninsulas in NZ. The first stop was Hahei Beach, with white sand and high hills overlooking the turquoise water. We took long hikes up the hills and over to Cathedral Cove where we spotted a pod of orcas in the water. That night we went over to “Hot Water Beach” to check things out. Known for bubbling hotsprings right on the beach, if you catch it right with the tide, you can dig a little sand hot tub and be right on the beach. What a spectacle. As the sun was setting and it was getting quite cold, more and more people seemed to be showing up to get in on the action. At first we just stood around to take it in, but we figured we had to try it out while here, and sure enough, it works! And, what fortune to have low tide right at sunset. Nowhere in the world can you have a better view to the sunset than a personal hot tub custom built right on the beach (unless a big wave comes crashing through your sand wall and washes your tub away, which happens quite often as people jockey for position close to the water’s edge). The next day we drove up to the remote beaches at Opito and Otama Bays. Mostly deserted, there was also sparse camping, and ended up in a farmer’s pasture with long drop toilets and no showers. It was a pretty beach, but not one of our favorite nights of camping.

A view of Hahei Beach from above, just thought it was cool how the interference of the waves created that awesome pattern on the sand.

View from the beach at Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Another section of Cathedral Cove.

Hard to get a good shot, but there's a pod of about 6 orcas following the boat.

Our sweet new tent held up well the first night. Even with the foam pads, we opted for the cots the next night.

Finally decided to do a little work around here and dig out a seat in someone else's spa at Hot Water Beach.

Plenty of room for 2 for a romantic sunset on the beach.

The hot water boiling out of the ground next to my feet, it was too hot to stand directly downhill from it.We finally made it to the beach at Otama Bay, just in time for sunset.

Leaving the Coromandel on Friday, we stopped in at the Driving Creek Railway Center and took a ride to the “Eyefull Tower” at the top of the hill along a small scale diesel train. We passed by pottery sculptures, bridges, tunnels and mosaics. It was a wonderful creation on this land.

Entering one of the tunnels, the stone work and pottery throughout the grounds was spectacular.

A view from the "Eyefull Tower" at the top of the hill.

A long drive down to Raglan for the night, we somehow left the great beach weather behind, despite ending up at one of the world’s most well known surfing cities. Raglan is a very laid-back surfer town. We came with hopes of buying a surfboard and using it for a few days here and throughout the trip, but the weather wasn’t great, ocean too cold, and boards too expensive.

Posing at Wainui Bay with surfers in the background. No way were we getting in. We sat and watched the professional surfers at Manu Bay from the comfort of our car.

We ended up leaving after one night and driving to the Waitomo Caves area.

Even our backpackers was pumped about the caving experience. Check out the hard hat chandelier and the paper mache stalagtites inside the dining area.

We booked a Blackwater Rafting tour for the next morning, but got a taste of what we were in store for that night during our hike through some of the limestone caves. Huge caverns with rushing rivers below and glowworms above. It was so beautiful and unique. Because of the rain, we were the only ones on the pathway, feeling like we were exploring the deep of the Amazon.

Keris scoping out some caves in the cliff during our self-guided walk

Standing at the front entrance to Aranui cave, it was locked for the evening.

The next morning, our blackwater rafting trip added to the experience. We put on 10mm thick wetsuits since the cave water temp is only about 50deg (our normal wetsuits are only about 2.5mm thick) and picked out an inner tube for the ride. Most of the exploration was by foot through the treacherous wet cave, but we jumped off 2 small waterfalls backwards into our tubes (in near darkness) and floated as a giant chain through the best glowworm viewing area. Turning off all sources of light, we were in total darkness except the glow of thousands of worms above. It was like viewing the stars in the sky from atop a mountain on a moonless night. As your eyes grow accustomed to the dark, more begin to appear and then fade as you slowly drift down the river, the cavern walls ascending far overhead. It was a truly phenomenal experience.

Our sweet wetsuits! The water was absolutely freezing, these helped... kind of

A practice jump for when we have to jump backwards off the waterfalls inside the cave.

Descending down into the cave.

Just inside the cave entrance, letting our eyes adjust and getting a feel for our surroundings.

We're at the end!

A fabulous 5-day ‘vacation’, and now we’re off to our first WWOOF at Mike’s Organic Brewery!!