Well, I thought it was about time I took the plunge and started a blog. Nine months I've been away and it has taken me this long! I'm not really sure how to go about this as it is really aimed at those of you that know me, but I know anyone can read these. I guess I'm hoping to make this more of a photo stop so you can see what I'm up to, meet Rufus (our Honda and second home), marvel at our portable sauna ($50 of sumptuous luxury that is our tent), check out the ever changing tan lines that Cate and I are fashioning and of course check out the 'awesome!' sights of New Zealand. Saying that I don't actually have my photos on me at the moment so you'll just have to make do with words and use your imagination!
Cate and I are currently staying in Napier. We have pitched our tent on the baked, slightly grassy earth found in the back garden of Aqua Lodge. Our camping experience is proving to be a learning curve, hard earth isn't comfy, hard earth and a roll mat isn't either, but hard earth, a roll mat and a rug can be accurately compared with lying on a carpeted bedroom floor which is surprisingly bearable. Our homely bliss is completed from 8am onwards when we have the added pleasure of being baked in the same manner as the lawn. And why, you might ask, are we camping in the garden of a perfectly comfortable backpackers? In short.........we're tight.
We've been in Napier for over a week now. It's a nice town with beautiful art Deco buildings, however slightly marred by the shops built beneath them. If you walk around town with your eyes focused on the second storeys then you'll have a pleasant time, just watch out for the deco bollards, deco bins, deco seats and on rare occasions the deco people.
We've been working at a vineyard since last Tuesday but were laid off today. Hawkes Bay is a far cry from the romantic image that I had of continental vineyards located on the other side of the globe. We've been getting up between 5.30am and 6am (which after this mornings lie in is probably the best time (if you're to avoid the sun) to start work at 7/7.30am. Our first fantastic job involved leaf plucking to remove the foliage around the young grape bunches. Paid per bush, we crept along endless rows of vines frantically wrenching handfuls of leaves (and occasionally grapes) racing against the clock until days end at 5pm. There are a number of coined techniques but the recommended approach is affectionately referred to as 'the Cat', imitate a cat trying to scratch someones eyes out and you have this technique in the bag, you'll be an expert. So, after imitating a cat for 9 hours in temperatures nearing the mid 30s, sun bearing down overhead, toilet a short hike away, lunch a mere memory, we drive home and collapse. To add to this pleasure we've probably been ingesting a concoction of pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers which, judging by the strange odour still emanating from our clothes and our pores, are going to linger for a while. Oh the joy of seasonal work! Give me a tyvek overall and a team of drillers, anything has to be better than this.
So, there you go, we're systematically punishing ourselves all for the mighty $$$$$$$$. There's a faint possibility that we might be gardening next week. We've been tempted by this job on a number of occasions, we've seen the garden, located, as Cate affectionately refers to it, on Hawkes Bays very own Hollywood Hills, and our source tells us that the lady in charge will probably ply us with iced drinks and ice cream, but that's if the job actually materialises. That's it for now, I'll be back with more soon!
