Karamea and Rongo Backpackers

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We arrived a bit earlier in Karamea then expected so the man who was in charge of the place had gone away for the weekend to Christchurch. I called to say we where coming and he informed us that we had to bring our own food... that is very unusual for a woofing place and something I feel they really have to write in the woof book. The journey down had been more expensive then we had thought earlier so we really wanted to stay out of hostels as much as we could so the news about food was not to welcomed.

We had read about Rongo Backpackers in the woofing book and it sounded like a very good place. But things are never as you expect them to be and for us it was not the best place to be. Probably since we are a family with a young child and we do not drink or smoke. And on our first day Julian had an encounter with a cactus. He climbed up in to a garden of them and as he was turning around he put his foot on one! AAAIIII!!! Baby crying... blood... cactus everywhere... iiiiihhh... it took such a long time to get all the little needles out of his foot! 😞

Rongo has a young crowd and feels like a really good place to be hanging out if you are travelling and just want to relax for a couple of days. Work some hours for accommodation and save a bit of money.

They do have an interesting plan to build a peace-symbol shaped building for artists to come and work. Good luck on that! But we felt after a couple of days that it was time to move on... where to? well, we needed some money and heard that they needed apple-pickers in Moutoeka.

The days we spent in Karamea where beautiful and I feel that I can connect to people who honestly feel that they have found the space that they want to be in on earth. I remember that feeling from my first year in San Marcos and its something that you do need to live in and explore.
Our own journey continued up north on the south island and to Nelson, the sunniest region in New Zeeland (they say)

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Comments

[GunMarie]

Julian are so cute......
.....I just love to see his smiling face on yhe photos....I do hope we will see each other in the end of summer in sweden.....grandma.....