The Walking Dead

At this point, I would like to thank Vodafone very much for enabling us to continue watching our favorite series. But more on that later.

Since the last article, which is now over a week ago - sorry for that, but we always had really bad reception in the evenings and it was not possible to continue the blog - a lot has happened.

Let's start with our first day of work: In the morning at 5 o'clock, on a Monday the 27.02.2017, the alarm clock rang. Get up, wash, get dressed, make breakfast and off to work. Gourmet Blueberries Limited. Picking blueberries. We were told that we should pick 6kg per hour. We were in good spirits.

When we arrived, we were briefed for the first 10 minutes, and then we started picking. Always with a supervisor next to us, watching our every move. 'No, not this berries, this!' And then they started. Like a jackhammer, their hands flew into the bushes to pick BLUEberries. Alright, I thought to myself, can I just leave? Well, every beginning is difficult. Over time, I was able to distinguish between the BLUEberries and the slightly violet BLUEberries, the not-blue-enough BLUEberries, and the no-not-these BLUEberries. At least that's what the supervisors thought, because at some point they left us alone and told us to get a runner once the crate is full. Yeah, sure, I'll do that - I got nothing, just stood there like an idiot, picked something and waited for someone to come...

Occasionally, a supervisor showed up, who picked the no-not-these BLUEberries - seriously, I see red and blue, that's it, that's what they always see, what is not good enough... well, let them do it, I'll keep picking like this - for us. They also picked next to us and put their berries with ours. They looked EXACTLY like the ones I always pick. I almost took a few and told the supervisor that they are not okay... But I still wanted to work a bit. You shouldn't make everything harder in the beginning than it is. Anyway, I kept picking like this and in the end it worked out. We got a total of 10kg that day. After 8 hours. Now you can calculate how much you are supposed to collect in 8 hours if 6kg/h is the goal. 48!!! I will never achieve that. Minimum wage - checked.

The next day, we set our alarm clock for 6 o'clock. It was really disgusting to get ready for work at 5 o'clock. The day went on just like the day before, except that we were allowed to pick on our own without being supervised anymore.

What might be worth mentioning is that you can come and go there whenever you want. If you don't feel like it, you stay at home, and if you want to leave after 2 hours, you leave. Very relaxed. But also tempting to not go to work more often.

So, now you know how we earn our money for now. Let's get back to something more interesting (at least for me). It's already enough that I have to work, but then also talk about it? Enough!

We found a great camping site right next to Cape Kidnappers (more on that later) that has everything. Hot showers, plenty of space, a kitchen, beach and ocean, a laundry (I can't think of the German word, but you can wash your clothes there) and much more. And all that for $75 per person per week. It can't get any better. Almost only backpackers can be found there, who work in the surrounding area. That way, you can meet like-minded people.

Anyway, it's very pleasant there. You have everything you need and a place that feels like home.

So, now about Vodafone: There is an app where you can get Vodafone deals. One of these deals was 1GB data for $0 for one week. The great thing about it is that if it is used up, you can get it again. Over and over again. Infinitely often. So basically like permanent free internet. Whether this is just a mistake or if it is supposed to be like that, I don't know. The fact is that we can now surf unlimited for one week. So finally, we can catch up on some series and what we've 'missed'. Perfect for rainy days! A 'The Walking Dead' session can begin.

Oh, before I forget: Cape Kidnappers is a headland that extends into the Pacific Ocean. Similar to Cape Reinga, just smaller. And that's where we 'live'. Could it be any better!?

Hm, I think that's it for now. I hope you don't have to wait so long for the next article. But as they say, good things take time...