Blogs from Opotiki, Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania
February 20th 2009
heyhey noch ein paar photographie nachzuegler... also ich bin jetzt seit geraumer zeit ca. eine woche, wieder auf der farm...anfang naechsten monats gehts dann wohl endlich auf zur suedinsel, erst einmal vier wochen rundreise mit der sarah und danach spiel ich mit dem gedanken mir mal nen bezahlten job zu besorgen...schaun wir mal wie es laeuft...momentan schuettet es wie aus kuebeln hier und an arbeiten im freien ist heut erst mal nicht zu denken...da wird lieber schach oder rummy gespielt, mein buch gelesen oder ein filmchen geschaut... naechste woche wird das strandhaus schicklich gemacht...soll bald verkauft werden und danach muss ich hier auf der farm fuer ein paar tage allein die stellung halten! das wars dann erstmal von mir...... read more
Update from Opotiki
Published: June 12th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Plenty » Opotiki
June 12th 2007
Doing a house swap gives you the oportunity to feel and become part of the local community. We've thrown ourselves into doing this in a way which we never really did at home in Tadworth. Perhaps it is because we know our time here is limited and we want to have as broad a cultural experience as we can, or perhaps it is a way of helping the children to feel more at home, or perhaps it is a kind of travellers snobbery to mark ourselves out as different from tourists; whatever our reasoning we have found some ways of engaging with local events. Catherine has joined the Brownies here in Whakatane, and attended a local art group in Opotiki. Hugh has taken part in rugby training and played his first match - which was reported ... read more
First Installment
Published: May 31st 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Plenty » Opotiki
May 31st 2007
The Flight We've survived the rather tedious and at times gruelling journey. Lucy fared the best, Catherine came off the worst. We had thought that an evening flight would mean we all slept initially, but when you are served a hot meal of lamb at 11.30pm it is hard to sleep afterwards. Having got to Hong Kong I thought this isn't too bad, I can manage this, but the second part seemed to drag more as we all got more and more tired. But that seems a distant memory now as we are now settled into Dean and Sue's place, and discovering the delights of the country. It seems a good idea to record your first impressions of a new place soon after you arrive, otherwise what strikes you as different initialy vcery soon becomes ... read more
Fetchez les moutons!
Published: January 26th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Plenty » Opotiki
December 17th 2006
The day starts with a wholesome bowl of Jim's homemade muesli - fuel for the morning of digging, grubbing, picking, weeding, raking and pruning we have ahead of us. We're usually ready by eight, although one advantage of WWOOFing in this particular household is that timekeeping isn't excessively draconian, which is lovely when you're as allergic to alarm-clocks as I am. Jim and Julie spend much of their morning - at least at this time of year, in early summer - picking green beans in the hothouse. It's not as easy a job as it sounds, requiring a knack for judging whether each bean is ready to be picked, still too small or past its best. As mentioned previously the beans are the business' principal "cash crop" and as such is far too precious to be ... read more
Hoes at the ready !
Published: December 17th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Plenty » Opotiki
December 7th 2006
New Zealand. Our next destination lies some two thousand kilometres away across the Tasman Sea. Australia seems far enough from home already, but this three hour flight emphasises quite how isolated New Zealand is from the rest of the world. It really is a long, long way away. We arrive in Auckland - New Zealand's biggest city by far, and home to a quarter of the entire country's population - in the mid afternoon, and once again first impressions are not entirely overwhelming. Many, if not most, of New Zealand's visitors come here for the country's extraordinary landscapes. Having watched Peter Jackson's masterpieces (not in a nerdy way, mind) goggle-eyed many a time, we are no different. At first sight, however, Auckland seems pretty unprepossessing, a mixture of nondescript buildings, bad traffic and a slightly dodgy ... read more
Woofing outside Ohope
Published: March 17th 2006Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Plenty » Opotiki
March 17th 2006
We visited Steve and Natasha again in Tauranga after staying in Napier, Taupo, and Rotorua over a period of about 2 weeks. The weather here is milder than in Wellington. Pat had a wonderful time fishing with Steve in Tauranga this week. They caught three snappers and one trevallie on a Kontiki, a battery-run torpedo-like machine which would most likely be outlawed in Canada. It's the Lazy Man's fishing technique. It goes out to the ocean, up to about a kilometre I think, dragging as many as twenty-five lines with baited hooks. They were pretty happy with their haul, and Pat said he laughed most of the night watching this thing work. They had golfed earlier in the day, so he was one happy camper that night, with dreams of fish scales and squid bait dancing ... read more
Arrived in Opotiki Last Night
Published: November 25th 2005Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Plenty » OpotikiNovember 24th 2005
Uncle Joe and Barbara drove us 5 hours down from Auckland to arrive at the tiny village of Opotiki,where I FINALLY MET MY EMAIL CONTACT COUSIN, STeve Winder, and his mother Kathleen, sister of my father. It was a grand time, STeve and Jane put on a big spread and we stuffed ourselves, then stayed up late telling stories of our childhood. Opotiki is a village of 8 or 9 thousand, 9201 to be exact ( on a pamphlet) including the surrounding area. The main employment is Kiwi Fruit and forestry, soon to be a Marine mussel farm. Main attraction in fishing, hunting, nearby beaches Waiotahi and Hukuwai. The Kiwis (people) are in shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops otherwise known as Jandals, while we continue to bundle up in fleece jackets and long pants in the ... read more
