Mount Maunganui

We have been staying here in the hostel for almost 2 weeks now and we like it so far. We started working on a kiwi plantation on Friday, where we have to remove kiwi buds. If there are 3 or 2 buds on a stem, we have to remove the outer ones so that only one remains. The work is very painful for the neck, as you have to look up all the time. So far, we have only worked on a plantation where the kiwis hang particularly high.

On the first day, I almost gave up because my neck was abnormally painful and I felt dizzy. It still hurt the second time, but it was already better. The work is also very weather-dependent, so we can only work when it's dry.... On three other days, we did labeling. So we put stickers on bags of milk powder. The work was very relaxed and not particularly strenuous.

The beach is only a 10-minute walk away and it's simply fantastic! I also wanted to take all the shells from the beach with me! We have already made necklaces and bracelets ourselves.

Yesterday was a public holiday, so we went with 6 people to a waterfall and jumped into the cold water from a rock ledge. The water was so cold that our breath was taken away for a few seconds and we couldn't say anything. But it was really beautiful!

We have already met a lot of people and every weekend the whole hostel is in party mode.

So far, everything is good, we would just like to work a bit more. We started working on the plantation on Friday, had a day off on Saturday, worked on Sunday, had a public holiday on Monday, and it's raining today...