Hello, All

Just a quick update. We are all finished with our trip to the Northland. We spent two weeks in an RV and we left Auckland and headed up the east coast all the way to Cape Reinga and back down the west coast. It was a great time. The scenery was breathtaking and we never had any problems. We were supposed to have a four person RV but when we got to the rental place they had goofed and forgot to clean it. Instead we got a free upgrade to a six person RV. The extra space was great since we spent two straight weeks in it. It had everything we could ever need.

Tuesday morning we left Auckland and took an 11 hour bus ride to Wellington. Yeah, it was a long ass bus ride. It wasn't too bad though and it was pretty cheap. Now we are spending some time in "Windy Welly" and seeing the town. We are also only a little over a week away from starting work at the ski resort. It should be a blast. We passed the mountains on the way from Auckland and they look beautiful. It should be a great time.

We'll check back in soon once we get settled on the mountain (which is actually an active volcano).

Ryan

Happy Mother's Day!

It’s been awhile since we’ve had an update here. I figured it’s about time to let our parents know what’s going on in our worlds on this all important day - Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day out there, ladies!!

We haven’t really had an update lately because nothing has really changed here. We have been in Rotorua since Easter and everything has been going well. We were working for a really nice couple on their orchard picking feijoas. The work was easy and it was a lot of fun getting to know some new people. Unfortunately, the picking season ran short this year. There was a lot of rain this year during the pollination season which in turn led to a smaller growth of fruit this year. There’s really nothing you can do about that. Some things are just out of your hands. So, our employment ended three weeks earlier than we had originally planned.

This posed a little bit of a problem for us since we no longer have any wheels to get around and live in. We start our jobs at Mt. Ruapehu on June 10th so we have a month to kill in between. Unfortunately, the fruit season has been pretty poor all around, not just in Rotorua. The pack houses are paying kiwi farmers not to pick their fruit right now because the market is too saturated with product and it’s driven prices down too far. There are no jobs there and apple picking isn’t much better. You wouldn’t think a recession would hit all the way down to fruit but when you are talking about exports you are talking about big money. Our chances of landing a job for the next month in the fruit picking industry are slim to nil. Especially when New Zealanders are out of work. Obviously, they have first pick over tourists.

With all that being said we made the decision to head north and see the Bay of Islands and Far North regions. The weather there is a little bit warmer and when we hug the coastline it’s much more bearable at night. Learning from our last mistake we are renting an RV this time. We leave tomorrow on a bus to Auckland. When we arrive we are picking up an RV and heading out. For the next two weeks we have a fourth traveler, Joel. He’s from London and was working with us on the orchard. His plans were shot too by the early layoff. We ran some numbers and found a four person RV was much more economical that living in hostels the next month. Plus, it allows us to get out and see the north instead of being stuck with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

We are really looking forward to moving on past Rotorua and seeing some new things. Hopefully we won’t have as many problems as last time. The RV is equipped with a toilet, shower, fridge, and stove so it will be much more convenient than The Bearded Lady was. Only time will tell…

Once again, happy Mother’s Day out there. We all miss you!