Kerikeri - It's not all work, work, work.........

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After reading some information in the guide books, Donna and I decided that our next stop should be KeriKeri. Now, there wasn’t anything spectacular written about this place, however it did have something that Donna and I were interested in….. jobs.

Yes, here in Kerikeri, it is a fruitpickers dream as everywhere you look there are fields and farms growing all sorts from Kiwis to Avocado’s. So, as much as we dreaded the fact of having to work after having had about 9 months off, our bank balance forced us to see this as a valid option and after only a 30 minute drive or so from Pahia, there we were in KeriKeri.

We checked into a large backpackers / campsite and set immediately about the task in hand by asking the proprietor of the hostel if he knew of any work going. He said that we were actually a little late for the picking of the Kiwis, however if we were up for sticking around and being trained, there may be something in the more skilled pruning of the branches. The word ‘skilled’ doesn’t really describe Donna nor myself very well at all though really and since we were looking for a more ‘smash and grab’ arrangement with the job such as get in-2 weeks money- get out again- lovely jubbley kind of affair, it didn’t sound like a bit of our bag. Therefore, after little more than a 30 minute think, we decided to go back to our other, superior plan, and just continue our road trip whilst getting to see this awesome country some more!

No sooner had we made this decision in our nice little comfy spot in the camp ground when Donna came in the van and said ‘Mike, where’s the cap from the drainage pipe on the outside of the van?’ Stalling, but knowing precisely what cap Donna was referring to, I answered ‘‘What cap dear?’’ ‘’You know, the one you took off in order to drain the water this morning’’

I did indeed know the very cap that Donna was describing to me, and I knew exactly where it was…..back on the floor of the camp….in Pahia!!

3 for 3….

An hour and twenty minutes later, we arrived back in KeriKeri, with one drainage cap safely back on the van and a pretty enraged Donna! What it must be like trying to put up with me sometimes, I can only imagine, but to Donna’s credit, she seems to handle it fairly well these days!

So, since the work thing wasn’t going to happen, we decided KeriKeri would be a simple one night stop and then we would continue the road trip in the morning.

Come morning we had some breakfast, showered (which was hot…yay!) fed a one legged duck that was simply too much to resist and were away back up the east coast. Today’s destination?.....Matai Bay, Northland

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