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.