Wwoofing Over!

Thursday 27^th February

Two days left of working at Struan Farm. I got up as normal, had breakfast with the others, went out in the garden to continue helping to plant trees and toi toi. I found some more netting, put it around four plants and then was told that I'm to clean the cottage today. It's half 12 now, and I'm finished! I hope lunch is soon, because I didn't take a break until now. Just listening to some Shooglenifty to keep me going... I've gone through Amadou and Mariam, Iron & Wine and Fratelli's too. It's a gorgeous day inside and I'm stuck in here!

I've been thinking, maybe I will go to Mount Cook after all. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll just go and stay in Christchurch for the week. Maybe I'll ask Deborah if she needs help for a few days. I still have no plan.

I do want to be back in Christchurch by Wednesday if I can though. The food festival has a costume theme of 'adventure'. I love dressing up and like to put a lot of effort into my costumes. I even got people to dress up for my leaving do, though not many people joined in. In past few years I've been Aladdin's Magic Carpet, Xena: Warrior Princess and a Pirate. If that's not adventurous, I don't know what is! But I need an idea for this. One of the people going with me to the festival said they could get a costume for me. But I'd prefer to make them. I'm thinking of a sailor maybe. Boring, I guess, but I do have a stripy navy-like dress with me. For something a bit individual, I could make a boat to go around me maybe and find a captain's hat and some oars. Or even a big rubber duck float thing for children. Now there's an idea!!

After P leaves to go north to her family, I hope to find a job somewhere. I still have most of my savings in my bank in Scotland with my sister, A, carefully looking after it. Plus I have about $400 out here. I've already paid for my Hokitika ticket, I just need to pay for my part of the camping, petrol money and for food at the weekend. I can use my bus pass to get me from Timaru to Christchurch; I'll have a look again this evening after dinner if I'm allowed.

Friday 28^th February

Yesterday I made a split decision. One last splurge – at least before P gets here and then I promise I will get a proper job! Or at least find somewhere to settle down for a bit, wwoofing for a few weeks elsewhere or just a job where I earn my keep doing cleaning. Or even a proper job, if I like the area and, if hopefully I can find one. I don't have a lot of internet access and where I do, it's really pretty expensive. About $20 for 200MB, which doesn't give me much – maybe enough to Skype, that's it. But back to the splurge. I've decided that I will, in fact, go to Mount Cook. Tomorrow night, I'll be in Geraldine on my own, in a backpackers near the town centre. They have the Butler on in the cinema, which I might go to. I'm kind of hoping I'll meet people at the backpackers and persuade them to go for a drink or to the cinema with me. Then on Sunday, I head to Lake Tekapo. I've got my bus there and hostel stay sorted – although the first hostel rejected my request – I managed to book a different one this afternoon. Albeit a bit expensive, at least compared to what I've been paying elsewhere. But it gets more expensive after this. I've kind of tried to book myself onto a tour company bus to go from Lake Tekapo to Mount Cook then two days later from Mt. Cook to Twizel (pronounced Twyzel), so I can then get a bus (definitely booked) from Twizel back to Christchurch. I found out it was cheaper on the tour bus, Cook Connections, than it was on Intercity (the main bus on the route). But I just hope they do accept my request (CC) as I need to get to Twizel to get my connection and the more expensive Intercity bus only runs once a day and wouldn't get me there in time. Which means I'll have to hitch. Eek. I hope to walk/hitch/cycle up to the Tasman Glacier and maybe walk around Mt Cook a bit.

Saturday 1st March

Friday was our last day at Struan Farm, and apart from a slight respite in the morning, it rained ALL day. It actually snowed on the nearby mountains (see pic) from 900m. It's like snowing in July in the UK! It's been an average of 5C all day, which felt more like home than ever before! One night it was 0C but I was already safely in bed under two duvets by then. I planted two trees this morning – and managed to dig two holes!! I did it all by myself... finally learning!! But the carpet/plastic sheeting was still there and that took a while to cut out. After 11, we retreated inside for an hour when the rain got heavier, and I hoovered Sally's house while Sally moved the bulls around and the girls and Remy made more wire nets for the plants.

Our last night in Struan Farm was actually a lot of fun. We played with my jenga set and then some card and dice games whilst drinking the last of our booze. I still have a third of my bottle of Gin (it was the smallest bottle anyway) in my bag now. I've changed my mind about a few people while I've been here. I'm still bad at digging holes, I get that. I just wanted to feel useful and I guess cleaning the cottage and hoovering for Sally is better than failing. I'd prefer constructive criticism next time rather than a move out my space thing.

I'm now at a hostel in Geraldine. Tomorrow I take the bus to Lake Tekapo and stay in Tekapo overnight. I'll take loads of pictures and try and put some up here for you all. I saw the Wood Chopping Championships in Geraldine today. How fast could you topple a tree? The most impressive competition was by far one where the competitors had to cut into a tree "stump" over twice their height. They had to cut a slice in the tree, put a plank into it, stand on that, cut another slice further up, put a plank in it and stand on that to chop into one side of the log on top, and then get down and do the other side until the log had sliced in two. Hopefully my picture will give you a better idea!

Wood Chopping in Geraldine

We (the other wwoofers, Sally and I), departed ways around 1. I'd already left my stuff at the hostel, so I took a wonder around town. I saw the museum, I bought jam in Barker's shop (blackberry is my favourite), I bought a sandwich is subway (cheapest thing in this town) and I went up to have a look at the cinema. I spent the rest of the afternoon sunbathing in the hostel garden on the hill with my roommate Amelie (French-Canadian),

 It's $10 for a ticket at the cinema for an adult, which is about £5 and, since it's Saturday, they were showing the Gilded Cage and the Butler. The seating is comfy couches instead of bog standard cinema seats. I meant to go, I really did. Except I got caught up in cooking and in making friends with my roommate and by the time I'd finished eating it was already past 7 and too late for the last showing (7.30pm). We watched Mrs Doubtfire instead.  I still haven't received an email from the Cook Connections tour bus so I'll give them a ring tomorrow. If they still exist! If I can't get a place, I can get an Intercity bus from Tekapo to Mount Cook, but it's expensive and frankly, I'd rather try hitching. The internet here is really cheap so I've managed to get 3 hours of non-stop internet for about £3, which is awesome for a hostel! I wish it wasn't non stop so I could use it in the morning maybe, but I was able to skype F for about an hour from right here in my room - instead of freezing my butt off outside!

I guess I'll be reporting my activities from Christchurch next. I'm not sure of the wifi access at Mt Cook or Lake Tekapo, but I will certainly try to update my pictures at some point soon. 

Days in New Zealand: 23