Arriving in Hastings after my last bus day for a while I was
picked up by my host Clyde and driven to the farm just on the edge of the city. The morning was spent driving through
familiar North Island scenery stopping at Mt. Bruce along the way (a
conservation center for Kiwi birds).
Upon reaching the farm, or more specifically The Chef’s
Garden at Epicurean, I was introduced to some of the employees and “The French
Invasion” – the other 12 WWOOFer’s who happened to all be from France. WWOOFing International is an organization
throughout the world where organic farming experience, along with room and
board are provided to volunteers in exchange for their help. I had heard about it before arriving in NZ
and then along the way heard good stories from numerous travelers along the
way. Excited to get off the tourist
route I was given the choice between the different on-site trailers and tents
and actually able to unpack my backpack for more than a few nights. I shared my trailer with one of the French
guys and another girl from Canada. I
arrived around 3pm and spent the afternoon exploring around the farm with a
quick walk into Hastings only minutes away.
Dinner was a group effort where those who didn’t cook were then on
cleanup duty. What a luxury to have a
large chiller full of freshly picked veggies and a garden surrounding you ready
to be picked if you wanted more.
Moreover, a pantry full of all sorts of organic dry goods. There were of course a few things needed from
the grocery store which rounded out our nicely stocked kitchen. Needless to say I ate well during my
stay.
My first day working began with irrigating the greenhouses,
weeding areas with a knife (weed by weed) and picking, cleaning and packing
veggies for the Sunday Farmer’s Market (turnips, green beans, beets, and
onions).
Sunday began the same as it would for the following three by
heading off to Hawke’s Bay Farmer Market (literally across the road from the
farm). It was a beautiful sunny day and
after strolling around to each vendor we spent the rest of the morning and
early afternoon sitting in the shade in the center of the market and listening
to the live music. In the afternoon we
all headed off to Havelock North to climb Te Mata Peak. The stunning views from the peak stretched
the entire peninsula from Napier Bluff to south of Cape Kidnappers overlooking
out over the Pacific Ocean and the inland farmland and rivers to the west.
As a WWOOFer I worked three and a half work days with three
and a half off for exploring. My second
day of work I began harvesting, washing and packaging organic salad for
restaurants and groceries stores throughout Hawke’s Bay and as far away as
Wellington. I didn’t do much else for my
remaining time at the farm but that was fine with me. At first it was difficult to keep up with the
orders due to a big event at one of the wineries on one of my first days
brought large demand and I was working alone that day – thankfully other staff
members were often willing to lend a hand to make the deadlines for the
courier. Being thrown in the fire or so
they say was a good experience - I felt the satisfaction of working with a team
to get things done and in seeing the behind the scenes of what happens to
produce before it reaches a restaurant. More than anything I felt my time at the farm
was an excellent opportunity to learn how to learn again. I was emerged in a completely different workplace,
met new people and new skills (quite a departure from working at the same place
for several years knowing it inside and out).
Although harvesting did get a little bit tedious, I was able to spend
parts of the day in the beautiful sun, cool off in the shelter while I cleaned
and treated the lettuce and mesculin in the three outdoor bathtubs and finally
package the finished produce in the warehouse.
I started to get into a flow by the middle of the second week and felt
it was a shame I was about to leave so I extended my time to a three week
term.
My free time was spent hanging out at the farm, playing the
NINJA game, cooking, heading to the river and ocean for a swim, biking and
jogging.
One of my favorite days was biking from Hastings to Napier and
back through the countryside past vineyards and orchards. We stopped at one fresh fruit store along the
way which was sooo refreshing. We
explored Napier wandering along the Marine Parade and had lunch in Clive
Square. Before heading back to Hastings
we went to the Wine Center were you can go on a virtual tour of regional
wineries.
The Art Deco Festival was another highlight. I attended one event in Hastings were they
did a fashion show of different deco “frocks” and then on the Saturday went to
Napier where I met up with some former WWOOFer’s in Napier where we took in the
costume completion, roamed the busy streets, and sat at the bar cooling down in
style away from the sun.
Farm life has been fun and relaxing now I am off to Mt. Maunganui
for a few days then off to the North Shore of Auckland where I will be WWOOFing
again. This time I will be working on
the gardens at a yoga retreat. Pictures
to follow soon! I promise J
