Work, Work, Work

Our car was now ready and we headed towards Coromandel. However, due to the weather, we had to skip this beautiful part of the North Island for now. Hot Water Beach and everything else to do there was postponed. Instead, we decided to look for a job since the temperatures were rising and we didn't want to work on a farm in the scorching heat. We looked for jobs on 'Backpackersboard' and 'Pick a Job' while also planning to meet with Anja. Through 'Pick a Job', we got in touch with Sam who arranged a job for us at a kiwi plantation in Awakeri. On November 17, 2019, we met Anja and found out that she received the same job offer. What a great coincidence :) So, we made our way to the farm to discuss everything necessary with our boss, Atinder. Before he arrived in his overly large Ford, we were able to gather information about the work from a few Germans who were already working there. Eventually, a huge black Ford Ranger with an American flag on the license plate drove up and Atinder got out. It was a funny sight because Atinder is about our age, extremely petite, and looked perfectly groomed that day, probably coming from a little beauty treatment. So, he explained everything we needed to know and we could go to the Matata Campsite, which became our home for the next few days. The campsite was quiet, had a warm shower, and access to a beach. So, everything we needed and all for just 8 dollars per day. On November 18, 2019, our first day of work for the three of us was supposed to begin, but it literally fell through due to rain. However, on November 19, we finally got started. For the next 9 days, we worked on a kiwi plantation.

Our supervisors were a few Indians who also had no idea what they were doing, as each of them said something different about how we should work. Our supervisor for the first few days was Amman. With him, we went to another farm on the first day when everyone else was sent home for spray work, so we could continue working until evening. After all, we wanted to earn money. We were alone with him there, and he took the opportunity to ask us some questions :D and just like that, we became friends with him on Facebook :D The next few days were quite eventful. After work, we drove to a campsite in Whakatane because it had washing machines and our laundry was long overdue. So, we washed quite late and left our laundry in the dryer overnight, which turned out to be unfortunate because it was gone the next morning. After long investigations and surveys, the thieves were caught, of course, they denied everything. It was just a "mistake" and we got our laundry back, but the expensive items were missing. The campsite manager called the police who took way too long to arrive, allowing the thieves to carry stolen items from their accommodation to the car and disappear. The next day, Anja's tire burst after work. Since we didn't have any tools in both cars, and most of the cars we stopped didn't either, we had no choice but to call our boss. Since he liked Anja quite a bit, he naturally came and helped. The whole thing took about an hour and a half, and when we finally wanted to leave, Anja's car wouldn't start. Dead battery. Great! So, we had to stop cars again and ask for a jump start. What a day. The next few days were calmer.

On my birthday, we took the first day off after 9 days of work. We celebrated with Jochen, whom we met in Matata, at the beach. We had a cake with candles at 12 and saw several shooting stars. You couldn't start the new year of life any better :) We spent my birthday itself in a place that we fell in love with immediately. Ohope. It's the most beautiful place we've been to so far. The beaches are amazing and the water here is always warmer than elsewhere, so we were able to swim in the clear water. The next day, our boss wrote to us that he didn't have any more work for us since everything was already done, and he would contact us when there was work available again. Good for us, as we actually wanted to continue traveling. Anja found a new job. So, we went back to the city to do laundry and go shopping again, and had a small kebab for lunch :) While I was browsing Facebook, I came across an interesting job offer. Up to 30 dollars per hour, a small accommodation with our own shower and kitchen. We actually wanted to continue traveling, but we still applied for it. And, as it should be, the next day we started there. It was a real stroke of luck. We worked in a small family business and our boss was John. Our task was to tie up small kiwi plants in 2 very large greenhouses. At first glance, it seemed impossible. So, he showed us how it works and also said that we could start whenever we wanted, take breaks as we wished, and if it got too hot, we should go to the beach. Sounds good! So, we worked another 9 days with John and earned really good money, considering how relaxed we were :D Good money to finally continue traveling :)