Strugglers Ridge Lodge Kerikeri

... This ship was amazing though and interacive. As well as wonderful scenery, even in cloud, we were pulling sails up and tying ropes and dodging beams. I climbed the rigging first which was harder than I thought it would be, swaying on the side of the boat with only a small piece of rope attached to you and only a small piece of rope to stand on. I think they got bored of me being scared up there ...

... of an old Greenpeace boat -- the Rainbow Warrior. Back in the early 90's Greenpeace was protesting France testing nuclear weapons in the south pacific. The Greenpeacers had a boat they were harassing the french with and the boat was then bombed by French spies. this was a pivotal moment in NZ history. NZ has been strongly nuclear free ever since. France did end up testing a nuclear weapon in turn blowing a nice big hole in the ozone. So if you're ...

... wouldn't need my indicators, plus the van was that slow I wasn't going to be taking over anyone!! The gamble seemed to pay off and half way up to the Bay of Islands the indicators came good again and we were happy, then another stroke of luck, the engine lost around 50 dB from the screaming volume and we could hear ourselves thinking plus she gained some power too. Perhaps I hit a TURBO button or perhaps someone upstairs was looking down on us or perhaps gambles ...

... I was a yard maintenance guy (mow lawns, keep vehicles serviced, take care of the choppers and the hangers etc.) and I did get to fly a bit. And working on the boss's rally car was pretty sweet too. I liked the job and worked hard and got along with the 3 other people there. I had made friends I thought. Then along came a car. Actually two cars. I was hauling a trailer from nearby Whangerai (Fawn-ga-ray) when a stupid woman ran into my trailer (White woman). After ...

... has had her old bag retrieved from a clothes bin and returned to her - complete with passport. It's so nice to hear a happy ending! England played the All Blacks in Auckland tonight, and lost. To be honest I couldn't really decide who to support anyway so it's probably a good thing that I didn't go. Sunday 15th June Mikey and I headed off on the bus to Whangarei today. I wondered if we would ever make it off the coach as the door jammed shut and the driver ...

Two more days at the musty farm hostel, two more dreaded shifts at Homestead pub, pack up the wonderous backpack, and we are off to Cape Reigna!!!! The farthest North we'll be able to get. Denise and I will be there for about 4 days and then....she is scheduled to come back to Kerikeri for 3 more shifts and I have to fill in for 2 more. OH well! more pocket money for me ...

... so most of the time we had to really pay attention to our usage, rainy days and some nights the generator had to be fired up. The fridge and water heater ran on propane. Also the tiny little two burner stove/oven. By this point we had gotten into hardcore work all the time mode. Which was good, the weather was rainy, and even if we wanted to do something other than work we hadn't the money...so work it was. Celina kicked ass with the kiwi growing business and I ...

... stopping to pick up a bottle of vino, we went over to the campsite where we had organised to meet up with some of Tony´s friends from home who also happened to be in New Zealand. After a catch up with them we headed back over to Pahia on the ferry and stopped by for some nibbles to take home for a light supper. A TV dinner and a few beers again resulted in a good nights sleep. The next day was then back to more of the cultural side of things. After a drive over to the West coast and ...

... Cape Reinga tour guide missing half his teeth and almost lost several of his toes at some point, 19-year-old English guys that want to 'take a spin on the crutches,' and lots and lots of Germans, some a bit over-bearing as to how exactly I should take care of my ankle! I have the day to myself to just think, read, swim and watch the waves roll in, so I'm going to go do just that! hugs, Andrea

... not one of the quicker workers so I was averaging about 60 Dollars a day before tax for an 8-9 hour day (equivalent to 7 Dollars an hour) but even the better workers were just making 100 Dollars a day and that usually involved missing lunch, equivalent to the minimum wage hourly rate. Although you could earn more if you got a lot trees with very little fruit on them, unfortunately these trees were quite a rarity. But how I made 9 days working there in ...