Week 20 - Calm Before the Job

The start of the new week was quite relaxed. After a lovely morning, we drove to the starting point of our hike, which was meant to take us along Lake Okataina. Unfortunately, the trail was closed due to a landslide, so we quickly considered an alternative. Fortunately, there were many other hiking paths in the same area. The new hike eventually took us through dense forest and past two small lakes that were likely untouched by humans.

Afterwards, we continued on to Kawerau. Here, we enjoyed the FREE swimming pool for a few laps and relaxation in the hot spa (40 degrees).

The next morning, we walked along the river to the downtown area of Kawerau. This place didn't really deserve its name. Most shops were boarded up or looked extremely rundown from the outside. At least the library was decent, and we used the Wi-Fi for extensive research and planning for our further travels. The coffee from the bakery next door was surprisingly good too. After one more little walk along the riverbank, this relaxed day came to an end.

However, there was an exciting development. We received positive feedback on a job inquiry and immediately signed our contract digitally. While there aren't any particularly binding commitments in it, we are now confident that this job will work out.

After another night in Kawerau, we visited the free swimming pool again the next morning and then got ready for our journey onward. After a stop for shopping in Whakatane, we headed to our parking spot at Ohope Westend Beach.

The next day, we moved our location from the western to the eastern end of Ohope. Due to fatigue and bad weather, we hardly managed to move that day and spent the time listening to podcasts, reading, and watching series. The highlight was certainly the very beautiful sunset that evening.

The weather was significantly better the next morning, and we walked along the coastal waters. Afterwards, we continued on to Opotiki. There, we once again headed to the local library and got back to planning for the future. Then it was already time to move to our parking spot.

The next morning, we woke up to bright sunshine and a lovely view of the river mouth into the sea. After a cozy breakfast in bed, we strolled a bit along the coastal path to enjoy the sun at our parking spot. Julian could unpack his fishing gear again and set out to find a nice spot. This time, luck (or skill) wasn’t on his side, and there was no fish for dinner.

Today, we first took care of the vital tasks like disposing of wastewater and acquiring fresh drinking water before we drove back to Opotiki for the library again.

For the rest of the day, we headed to a new parking spot by the sea, making Sunday very pleasant.

When we can start with our new job unfortunately hasn't been confirmed yet, but we hope to be able to report back to you in the next blog entry.