Wwoofing horror with a happy ending :-)

A lot has happened since our last post and we have learned a lot:

1. Never be naive enough to believe that it can't get worse

2. Never go to a host (Wwoofing accommodation) where no one has ever stayed before

3. First impressions always count (!!!)

4. Never get into an absolutely dirty car and believe that the house will be better

5. Put on a brave face and leave as quickly as possible

Our enthusiasm for the first Wwoofing attempt was great, but the disappointment was boundless.

Helen turned out to be a total disaster.

From the first encounter and her grubby look, we should have known that nothing good awaited us.

But in boundless naivety, we even got into her filthy car. #Shameonus

The unannounced dog on the passenger seat also darkened our mood, and when we saw the house, all alarm bells rang. From a hoarder's puppet collections, a completely cluttered garage, a overgrown garden to unhygienic conditions in the kitchen, bathroom, and throughout the house... But because we are tough and decent girls, we continued to sweet-talk Helen and secretly made plans on how we could politely leave this hole as soon as possible.

It was like a drop in the bucket when we weeded weeds on 4 sqm of her overgrown 2.5 hectare garden.

Although Helen has lost all sense of hygiene and fulfills all the characteristics of a hoarder, she was very concerned about us and quite nice, which made the situation somewhat bearable.

After a night in Helen's house, we fled to a sightseeing day and explored Rotorua and the surrounding area.

Rotorua is known for its geothermal landscapes with many still active volcanic springs. Wai-o-Taupo is a particularly famous region for this, which we visited this morning. The smell was a challenge for Conny - sulfur is not her thing.

To enjoy the thermal springs ourselves and recover our tired muscles and bones from working in Helen's garden, we treated ourselves to a few hours at the Polynesian Spa and relaxed in the hot pools.

Back at Helen’s house, we told her about our ‘last-minute’ change of plans and our early departure. She took it in stride and so we traveled further south to Taumarunui today.

David and Alisa, our new Wwoofing hosts, were already eagerly awaiting us and welcomed us warmly.

Taumarunui, which only has 3000 inhabitants, is an hour's drive from our current accommodation and is the nearest civilization, meaning we have arrived in the Outback (without internet, television, and Wi-Fi).

Only this PC remains as a means of contact with the outside world, with a classic British keyboard (without ae, oe, ue, ss,...).

After the Wwoofing horror at Helen’s, we have now been taken in by a very warm-hearted farmer family, and we feel very comfortable on 500 hectares among 1500 sheep, 300 cows, and 5 dogs.