Week 21 - No Stress

On Monday, we drove to Gisborne, as our job was supposed to be here. However, on Monday evening we received the news that the start would be delayed a bit longer, as the kiwi buds are not developed enough yet. However, we expect to start within a week.

Unfortunately, there's not much to do in and around Gisborne. The town itself is quite nice and has a great promenade and a lovely path along the river. The vibe in Gisborne is definitely relaxed, with plenty of cafes, a surfer beach, and no stress.

At the surfer beach, there is also a freedom camping site, which we aimed for 2 nights. There was always something to see, and the beach was really beautiful and perfect for a round of workout.

We took a trip to Tolaga Bay. Here you can find one of the oldest and longest wharves into the sea, perfect for fishing! Unfortunately, the adjacent hiking trail was closed due to lambing season.

However, an observation point was open, allowing us to still take a look at the bay from above.

Since there was still no work in sight by the end of the week, we drove an hour to the Mahia Peninsula. At Oraka Beach, there is a good freedom camping site. On the peninsula, there is a small rocket station. When there are launches, you can observe them from there. Unfortunately, none are currently planned, so we saved ourselves the long trip to the tip of the peninsula.

On the way there, we had a terrifying moment. Suddenly, unidentified things hit our windshield at full speed, sounding like huge raindrops. Unfortunately, we then realized that we had likely driven through a swarm of bees, and now at least fifty squished bee marks adorned our windshield. We could have done without that.

Julian went fishing again, and Franzi pursued our new hobby: we spontaneously bought a ukulele this week. Julian already knows how to play the guitar, so the ukulele comes easier to him. Franzi, on the other hand, has no experience with string instruments and is now attempting to teach herself everything. Various YouTube videos are supposed to help with that. It still sounds pretty rough, but let's see what time brings.

At Oraka Beach, a river flows into the sea, and we saw many people standing in the river's waist-deep water collecting something. Julian then asked his fishing neighbor what the people were doing. Indeed, there are shells in the river that can easily be gathered from the bottom. Julian was intrigued and went into the river at low tide at 8 a.m. to collect some shells. He then soaked them in freshwater, as they clean themselves that way. In the afternoon, he fried the shells in a pan with butter and enjoyed the snack he caught himself. At least he had luck collecting shells, as fishing is still waiting for its turn.

This week was as quiet as probably never before. Fortunately, the weather is cooperating with 20 degrees, so we can spend our time well in a good parking spot. The warm pajamas and winter jacket have now been swapped for shorts and sunscreen!

We hope that the kiwi buds also grow well in these temperatures so that we can start working sometime next week.

Until then, we’ll just enjoy this somewhat quieter time, even though we’re not very good at doing “nothing.”