From FLOP to TOP

After a night in Cairns, we went to Port Douglas where our new employer picked us up. A short drive later, we arrived at our new home for the next few weeks and were immediately greeted by five dogs, baby bats, and 30 ducks.

The first shock was not long in coming. We were led to our accommodation, which was a small camper in the middle of the jungle. Funny enough, they forgot to close the window while cleaning, so we got to greet some roommates. Haha.

In the first night, some doubts already started, which were emphasized by geckos and spiders next to our bed. Because of the remote location, we couldn't do anything during breaks and got bored to death.

After surviving 10 nights in 'paradise', we decided to put an end to it and cancel prematurely.

Reasons: Seclusion, spiders, snakes, countless mosquitoes, 95% humidity and 35 degrees, uncomfortable accommodation, ...

We considered flying to Bali for 3 weeks, but then decided on New Zealand.

A few days later, we were already on the South Island of New Zealand. In order to save some money, we looked for a farm job and found one. We were now allowed to help a couple in Cheviot for a week in the garden/forest. When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by Nicki and Richard and started with a few tasks (gardening, picking raspberries, taking care of ducks & chickens, and helping out in the forest area).

2 days later, we felt weak and tired. At first, we thought it was a grass allergy, but it turned out to be Corona! Yay, both positive...

Thankfully, we were allowed to recover in their house and were spoiled with delicacies from Nicki. After a week, 2000 tissues, and some fever reducers, we were negative again and had the chance to finish some work and get to know some nice neighbors.

Dear Nici and Richard, we are so glad we met each other. Thank you very much for everything! We will see each other in March. ;)

Now we spent five more days in Christchurch before flying back to Australia.

Here we made a little detour to the Antartic (International Antarctic Center). It was very informative and action-packed!

Next stop: Back to Australia