Occupation? Traveller.

I drove over to the Coromandel and joined the others at a hostel in Whenuakite (near Hot Water Beach) for a few nights. The idea was to do some kiwifruit thinning (removing mis-shapen kiwifruits from the vines), like the others had been doing for the previous 3 weeks. But by the time I got there, there was only 1 day left to work. But I figured that one day's better than nothing, so I donned my worst clothes and shoes, and followed them to the orchard.

Cat & Nick, working away thinning the kiwifruit orchards 

The 'thinners' - Cat, Nick, Matt (owner), Henry, Jane, Lucas & Franziska.

For the next few days, I explored the parts of the Coromandel Peninsular that I hadn't previously ventured to, heading up to the idyllic beaches at Opito Bay and Otama Beach. I really appreciate my 'alone' time whilst travelling, but I'm also am very grateful to have met such wonderful people to share my experiences with the rest of the time. I think that I have the perfect mix of independence and companionship, and I thank these people for contributing to my happiness here in New zealand. You all know who you are :)

Opito Bay 

 Showing the colour of the white sand at Otama beach

When we left the Coromandel to head south, Jerry was starting to 'jump' and lose power driving up the mountain roads so I pulled over to check his oil. I was greeted by a smoking engine and a puncture in the coolant hose. Great. It turned out that the engine wasn't smoking - it was just the cold coolent on the hot engine. So I phoned the AA, and realised that they were actually useful for something other than maps! The garage that they allocated for the repair was just down the hill, but didn't really fancy coming to pick me up, so asked me to just 'freewheel' it down to them, a couple of km down the hill. I couldn't believe it! My temperature guage hadn't been working properly ever since leaving Auckland (the mechanics must have knocked it when they fitted the new clutch), so I said I didn't really want to drive down with no coolant, as I wouldn't know if it was overheating. The guy I spoke to drove up to where I was and topped up the coolant, and I met him at the garage. Luckily it could all be fixed there and then, so once that had all been sorted, the convoy set off once again, southern bound.

Poor Jerry... with a gaffa-taped-up hose so that I could drive down the hill

On our way down South, whilst in a shop, the radio informed me of the tragic earthquake that had struck Christchurch. As none of us listen to the radio in the car (iPods are wonderful things), we could all have easily missed this information, and it dawned on me how far-removed from life we have all actually become. I felt extreme sorrow for the people affected, and vowed to do something to help them, as by the sounds of things, there was total devastation and the prediction of increasing numbers of fatalities... I didn't even know the half of it.

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of money to offer - but what I do have is an abundence of time. So my time I would offer - and the more I thought about it (although I will admit that I had a sense of fear about the prospect of it), the more I wanted to go down and help with the relief work straight away. But by the sounds of things, I'd just get in the way, so now my plan is to head to Christchurch once the service people have left, to try to help the locals in whatever way I can. So I guess now I'll travel around the country, get a bit of work (and thus money) under my belt, and head there around August time.

So anyway... earthquake aside, we arrived at the DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite at Dicky Flats in the Karangahake Gorge, and set up camp for the night. This was to be my first night sleeping in Jerry. I'd foud out that if I put both the front and rear seats back fully, that I could put an airbed over them (necessary as they don't fold back in a level manner!), and sleep quite comfortably! I bought some reflector screens for the windows for privicy and to try to keep the cold / heat out, bought a duvet and pillow set, and took some old (ripped / worn) linen from Oaklands Lodge - accommodation sorted!

My 'bedroom' in Jerry

The next day (after some minor navigational issues), we set off on a beautiful hike through the Karangahake Gorge. It was a fantasticly beautiful, yet fairly easy walk, taking us through native bush, over Indiana Jones-style swing bridges, through pitch-black tunnels and into old mines.

Native bush and rivers

Swing bridges

   

Pitch-black tunnels & mines

As I was heading south with no plans to return to the North Island before leaving New Zealand, I headed off to Dad's house for the last time this trip. Jo kindly agreed to continue teaching me Reiki, from which I experienced some truly intense, sensational feelings. I believe that Reiki is a wonderful technique, which is leading me towards a more spiritual path. My friend Jane recently asked me what I hope to achieve from my travelling experiences. My answer? 1) I want to help people / the environment. 2) I want to truly gain an understanding of what I believe in, through gaining insight into as many spritual / religious paths as possible. Call me a hippie of you want - I'm absolutely fine with that. But that's what I hope to achieve. Whilst I may not be able to explain it to others (I'm AWFUL at explaining things!), knowing within myself what I believe will mean that I'll have accomplished something massive, and my journey will be justified! Oh - and I'll have had some pretty awesome experiences along the way too!! :)

Anywho... after my Reiki course, I went down to the local farmers market to busk with Dad's ukulele group to raise money for Christchurch. It was a fun day, and although I'd never even heard of most of the songs we were playing and singing, let alone actually played and sung them, I think I did ok. We raised a total of about (I think) $180. Good day all round.

'Ukes A-Plenty', busking for the Christchurch appeal

 Before I left, we went for a hike to the beautiful Orokawa Bay.

Orokawa Bay

With my love for sustainability and spirituality, I guess I'm (quite literally in this photo) following in my father's footsteps

I know I'll see Dad again soon (he's planning to come down to see me in the South Island), but I wonder when the next time I will see the piggies will be! I guess that they'll be huge pigs by then! So I got one last photo to show the size of them at about 5 1/2 months old, and then I head off down to Rotorua to go ZORBING!!!

Me and my 'sisters'