My second to last job was unpaid work in exchange for free accommodation (or sometimes loosely referred to as woofing) in Arrowtown. Oh I had such a great time here; work is short, casual, flexible and it's close to plenty of good walks. I can wake up any time I like as long as I get ready before 10 am (check out time for guests), get down to work in shorts and slippers, work for 2-3 hours and I'm free to do whatever I want for the rest of the day.
The main building has two stories - the shared rooms and communal areas are on the second floor and private rooms on the ground floor. There is a separate cottage ideal for families who wish to have a whole house to themselves. I was mainly staying in a small double bunk bed room with another woofer. Housekeeping duties include changing bed linen, cleaning bathrooms, kitchen, doing laundry and sometimes gardening.
It feels really good using a clean, dry and tidy bathroom, especially one that I've just cleaned. It was through this job that I learned how to fold a fitted bedsheet, put on a duvet cover, scrub the toilet bowl and make beds properly. Not long after Shan left, Jeremy (our chief woofer) announced that a new woofer called Rui was coming. !!! I was both surprised and excited with the news and thought RS was going to give me a surprise. Coincidentally I met my future bunk mate on the bus back to Arrowtown. Turns out that Rui is a girl from Japan - she is a super fast and efficient woofer, easy to get along with and a considerate room mate too.
I told Jackie the owner that my friend was coming to stay for a few nights and asked if she could put her in a female dorm. Jackie arranged for the both of us to stay in a three bed dorm together with Rui. Not only that, she agreed to charge a BBH rate even though my friend wasn't a BBH member. (Note Poplar Lodge is no longer affiliated to BBH.)
One day I was skipping back to Poplar and found mail for me in the post! I enjoyed interacting with other woofers and guests in the kitchen during meal times. After awhile, the conversations start to get quite predictable though and I grew tired of repeating things about myself every time I meet a new guest. It's always interesting to watch what others are cooking. Kim and Nick from Belgium make bread from scratch and just about throw everything into the oven. Jeremy on the other hand claims he can't cook (according to him boiling pasta is not cooking) and often checks out the free food guests leave behind lol.
It's a short walk to the bus stop which is really handy as I take the yellow bus almost everyday to Queenstown after I'm done for the day.
With just one month left on my visa and Milford Track on the horizon, I wanted to work in exchange for accommodation and make my way down south where I will meet RS in a month's time at Te Anau to do the walk together. Meanwhile, he will resume his work at GJ in Christchurch. After four months here, it's time for me to move on. RS dropped by at around 7am to say goodbye. I was about to leave the house slightly after 8am when my flatmate woke up and sent me to Hornby. He took this photo for me and waited till I got a ride before leaving. I had nipped all the cardboards I found while unpacking gloves at Lily's Collection and used them as my hitchhiking signs lol.
I waited quite long for 20-25 mins before Rob, Clare and Simon picked me up slightly before 9am. The pack is going tramping at Lake Ohau and dropped me off at Twizel. They stopped at Ashburton for petrol. I fell asleep for awhile and woke up when they made another stop for coffee. Rob sat at the back, shared his India and Nepal travels with me and showed me some of his gear (boots, tape and emergency beacon). I alighted at Twizel and was lucky to be picked up by Zoe 2-3 mins after I got off.
Zoe is a vet from UK. She applied for residence with 130 points and got approved within 5 days. She has done 8 of the 9 Great Walks and completed many others around NZ. She dropped me off at Cromwell (years later I realised it was just outside Cromwell Top 10 Holiday Park) before the bridge and intersection of SH8B & SH8. It started to drizzle and was a long 30 mins wait before my next ride.
A young couple from Ireland and Britain on working holiday picked me up at 3pm. By this time I was so exhausted to make conversation with them. The only thing I remember from this ride was the Irish girl explained that she told her boyfriend to stop because she had hitchhiked before. They were heading to Queenstown and sent me all the way to my final destination: Arrowtown.
I have been awake since 6.30am, on the road for 7.5 hours and was too tired to cook dinner. Christchurch to Arrowtown is a 5.5 hours drive so I was relieved to have made it here before it got dark. This is where I will spend the next two and a half weeks.
I waited quite long for 20-25 mins before Rob, Clare and Simon picked me up slightly before 9am. The pack is going tramping at Lake Ohau and dropped me off at Twizel. They stopped at Ashburton for petrol. I fell asleep for awhile and woke up when they made another stop for coffee. Rob sat at the back, shared his India and Nepal travels with me and showed me some of his gear (boots, tape and emergency beacon). I alighted at Twizel and was lucky to be picked up by Zoe 2-3 mins after I got off.
Zoe is a vet from UK. She applied for residence with 130 points and got approved within 5 days. She has done 8 of the 9 Great Walks and completed many others around NZ. She dropped me off at Cromwell (years later I realised it was just outside Cromwell Top 10 Holiday Park) before the bridge and intersection of SH8B & SH8. It started to drizzle and was a long 30 mins wait before my next ride.
A young couple from Ireland and Britain on working holiday picked me up at 3pm. By this time I was so exhausted to make conversation with them. The only thing I remember from this ride was the Irish girl explained that she told her boyfriend to stop because she had hitchhiked before. They were heading to Queenstown and sent me all the way to my final destination: Arrowtown.
I have been awake since 6.30am, on the road for 7.5 hours and was too tired to cook dinner. Christchurch to Arrowtown is a 5.5 hours drive so I was relieved to have made it here before it got dark. This is where I will spend the next two and a half weeks.
I was really tired and checked if the weather can be a good excuse for me not to go out today. After struggling for 15 mins, I dragged myself out of bed and decided to challenge myself again. I know I fully enjoy the sense of freedom and empowerment when I walked out in the morning to take a bus to Kaiapoi. The 952 bus driver dropped me at Waikuku petrol station and in less than three mins I was picked up by David, a 37 year old truck driver originally from Wales. David is a cool and crazy guy who drives this 18m long trailer and gets paid $25/hr. He told me it's a truck thing for trucks passing each other to wave at each other. He bought me a drink, shared hitch hiking tips with me and sent me all the way to Hanmer Springs.
I arrived at Hanmer on a sunny Tuesday morning at 11am. It was pretty busy with many families heading for the natural hot springs. The view at the top of Conical Hill was unimpressive. During the walk down the hill, I met three Singaporeans and Kathy offered to give me a ride back to Christchurch!
Wandered around while waiting for the ladies to finish their thermal experience. Fell asleep on the way back and they stopped at Amberley for a drink. I was invited to Kathy's house at Belfast for dinner. That's Delphina showing me Kathy's gigantic cat Boots so named because it looks like it's wearing boots. Kathy kept me busy with cracking walnuts (I didn't manage to crack a single one though lol) while Delphina and Maisie prepared dinner. I did the dishes and they walked me out and waited 20mins at the bus stop with me.
A simple hello can lead to a million things. Thanks for making my trip back from Hanmer memorable.
