It's been awhile, dear readers.
For the past week and change Gabe and I have been WWOOFing at a brewery outside of New Plymouth called Mike's Organic Brewery (or mike's, according to the bottles).
It's been a completely different experience than the previous WWOOFing host we had. Though we were asked to work more hours and the work was often more difficult, it was a lot easier to throw ourselves into the work. For most of the week we worked 8 hour days labeling bottles, packing them up, cleaning kegs and tanks, helping out at the store, setting up and taking down for events and even a little light painting. In return we got a small cabin to stay at, which we shared with a German named Ferdinand, two square meals and a nightly allotment of the beer we'd been working with.
Along with Ferdinand we worked with Sam, from Washington, and two Bavarian girls that unfortunately didn't find the experience as rewarding as we did.
The work that brought us closest to the brewing was the most rewarding - seeing the process from start to finish was the biggest reward for the long hours and hard work. The first WWOOFing experience left a bad taste in my mouth when we were done with it, this one washed it clean. Though I hadn't been considering it, I know find myself wondering if maybe I should look in to trying to WWOOF in another country as I travel.
