Auckland and Jonkers Farm

Hello from Kiwiland,

So I thought I would make a blog, just like everyone else does, to keep everyone updated on what I'm doing here.

So Lea and I started on September 11th. We took the train from Minden to Frankfurt airport. The goodbye was a bit harder than expected, but what can you do in that moment. When we arrived in Frankfurt, Yannick picked us up and spent the last hours and minutes in Germany with us. But then it was time to say goodbye again and get on the plane. The first flight took us to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, where we had a four-hour layover. Then we continued to Auckland. The planes were well equipped with tablets for each passenger, so the 20-hour flight almost wasn't boring. The food was better than expected as well. In Seoul, the first German backpacker talked to us right away and we spent the first hours in Auckland with him. However, I was surprised that there were hardly any backpackers on the plane, as I had expected. When we arrived in Auckland, it was Tuesday, September 13th, 6:50 a.m. We had to fill out a form on the plane where we had to declare everything we had in our backpacks and what our intentions in New Zealand were. It all sounded very official, but it wasn't really. When we arrived in Auckland, we had to get our entry stamp. Then we went through baggage control. I thought all of this would be much more complicated. The journey went better than expected.

Next, we took the Skybus towards the city, to check into the hostel we had booked before, where we stayed for 5 nights. Then we went straight to a bank to open a bank account, which was more difficult than expected. It worked on the third try at Kiwibank. In the first two days, there were a lot of organizational things to do before we could really start. After that was done, we explored the city, which wasn't as beautiful as expected. We also relaxed a lot, as it wasn't easy to adjust to the 12-hour time difference. We woke up early in the morning and were tired very early in the evening. The weather was very changeable with a lot of rain, so we visited many shops, where we immediately noticed how friendly the New Zealanders are. It's typical that they always ask how you are doing when they greet you, which was a little bit confusing to me at first. The doner kebabs are disgusting and too expensive here. But the beer is good.

When I got home, I signed up for the WWOOF platform, which allows you to find families where you can work and in return they provide accommodation and food. The advantage is that there are no costs. I quickly received a response from a farm west of Auckland. After a few emails, I had everything cleared with the family, who immediately said to come by, they would pick us up from the train station.

Jonkers Farm (jonkersfarm.co.nz)

On Sunday, we took the train for an hour from Auckland to Swonson station, where two other Germans picked us up with an old Land Rover Defender. A great first impression in my opinion.

The farm covers 540 hectares, which are used for making hay in the summer. In addition, there are about 100 cattle, 7 dogs, 1000 sheep, and a lonely chicken. Films are often shot on the farm because of the beautiful landscape and the vast space. Since the farm is located quite high, you have a beautiful view of the entire city of Auckland when the weather is good.

The family here is super nice, as New Zealanders are. They have three children aged 5 months to 11 years. Our tasks here include removing thistles from the meadows, feeding the cows, or building fences. We sleep in the so-called woolshed, which is a wooden hut where the sheep are sheared in the summer. Since it's springtime now, it's still very cold at night. It's a good thing I brought my sleeping bag. Until yesterday, we lived here with two other Germans who are traveling until summer and then come back to help with making hay on the farm. There is less work on the weekends and more time to spend with the family. Last weekend, we went to a hill in Auckland which served as a hideout during the war. One evening, the family took us to a German restaurant. I had schnitzel, which was actually not bad. We always go on these activities together in the Land Rover. With 9 people, it's an adventure every time.

Right now, we are painting the inside of our little "house" here, which is not always fun. But overall, the work here is very diverse, so it's almost never boring. Sometimes I can also pursue my hobby and work on the vehicles here, as some of them are very old, which is good practice. Greg, the owner of the farm, is an expert and can give me some tips along the way. But what's also fun is that you can drive almost anything here that you can imagine. Whether it's a car, tractor, quad bike, truck, or the Mule that we use to feed the cows every day. After the work is done, Greg likes to treat us to a Lion Red, which is the local beer here. It's the perfect way to end each day.

And I'm also learning English here, which is not necessarily a disadvantage for me. That's all for now, I'll keep you updated.

Until then

Fynn

Photos:

Lamb in action