Just Checking In

Good morning (or afternoon). Just a little update about what we've been up to in NZ.

We finally have The Bearded Lady (our van) fixed after about a week stuck in Taupo. We still don't have a speedometer because the part needs to be ordered from Japan. In time we'll know how fast we are going........if we can ever figure out what the hell a kilometer is. It's amazing how affordable this country is. We had the van fixed at a Mazda dealer and the whole repairs only cost around $900 NZD. Our driveshaft ended up costing a little more than our original quote so they didn't charge us labor. That would NEVER happen in the states. It's pretty sweet. Everything is easy like that. We transferred the car's ownership at a postshop. No lines at the DMV. You don't need to get a new license plate, the same one is good. Car insurance only cost $120 USD for the entire year! There is very little paperwork in this country and everything is so relaxed. It's awesome.

We had great interviews at the ski resort, Mt. Ruapehu. We are getting jobs and they want to offer Andy and myself supervisor roles. Since we burned a lot of cash jumping out of planes and staying in hostels while our van was in the shop we are on the hunt for some part-time work. We headed out of Taupo and went north to the Bay of Plenty region. We stayed the night right on the beach and listened to the waves crash all night. Life was good. The Bay of Plenty has a very high demand for fruit picking this time of year. Unfortunately, we are finding we are about two weeks too late. We have a lot of calls in but the positions are all full. Apparently that recession thing is world wide and it's harder for foreigners to get work this year. We have faith though because all the farms tell us people come and go every day and openings happen a lot. Kiwi picking runs pretty much through to June. Until then, we are waiting on a phone call to work the local fish market. We were hoping to start this morning but didn't get the call last night. Hopefully tomorrow. It just depends on when the boats come into harbor. Hopefully we get to wear sweet yellow gear and look like the Gordon's fish guy. That would be sweet!

We are currently in the city of Tauranga and if the fish and kiwi thing doesn't pan out we will most likely head south to the Hawke's Bay region to try and pick apples. We have to compete with the South Americans for work around here. They pretty much post up at the hostels and work all the farms. They work hard too so I can see why a farm hires them. It's really crazy but nobody from New Zealand is actually from New Zealand. Maybe one out of twenty people you ask was born here. They all want to leave after college. Most of them can make more money elsewhere. There are a lot of Brits and Canadians here. If you are from anywhere else besides NZ I can see why you would want to stay. It's awesome here.

Like we hear time and time again, "no worries."

Cheers,

Ryan