Time to wwoof!

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There is so much to see and do in Wellington that we could only sample it in one day before we started our first wwoofing job, we then kept on returning in our time off to explore it some more and for the arts festival. The coolest place in Wellington is definitely Cuba street, there's loads of trendy shops and inexpensive tasty places to eat and drink. The art gallery has some interesting displays and the Te Papa museum has some good displays, particularly the one on volcanoes and earthquakes, and plenty of Maori stuff.

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It took us 2 hours to find the first house we would be wwoofing at. When we arrived we were a little stunned, the son came home but had no keys so had broken into the house, when he saw us he made us climb in through the window. At which point we stumbled upon a 1960s electron microscope, all the furniture in the lounge was positioned with its back to the TV and the place was covered in sheepskin rugs! However when the owners came home they turned out to be very lovely, intellectual people. Diana in particular had a tendency to talk, usually about some deep or meaningful topic.

What is wwoofing?....

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What is wwoofing you may ask? Wwoof actually originated in England in 1971, and allows volunteers to stay on organic properties and join in with the work going on there, in return for free board and lodgings. Why is it spelt wwoof? No thats not a big typo that I keep making, it stands for 'World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms'.

Whilst on the farm we'd get a wake up call from the rooster at 5.30am which was joined by the squeals of joy from the pigs as they were fed, but quickly ignored when we wanted to sleep. Mostly on the farm we looked after the chickens, feeding, watering them and scratching (cleaning) them out, or tended to the vegetable patch and garden. We also got friendly with the pigs and got the opportunity to help herd the cows so that they could be checked for TB which is done by feeling for lumps under the tail. They also had peacocks, ducks and goats on the farm.

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During our time off in the afternoons we would explore Wellington or go for a walk. As the Arts Festival was on we decided to treat ourselves to a show, we chose the cheapest seats at a play called 'Holy Sinners'. The reviews raved at about how excellent it was, it was advertised as 1.5 hours long and apparently had more money spent on it than any of the other performances. It turned out to be 3 very long hours of pretentious rubbish, full of incest, endless running in flowing cloaks across the stage and a ridiculous storyline. Lizzi actually fell asleep and woke up at the end for the random performance of some majorettes, which turned out to be the best part of the play. Needless to say we crept out early, and were pleased to read in all the papers similar reviews to what we gave it, pity we couldn't have read these before we saw it! The next night was much better as we got to meet up with El and Pete in a very cool bar, 'Matterhorn' (thanks El!).

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Our next wwoofing placement wasn't such a nice experience though. Also near Wellington set on the edge of Belmont Park, it was in a retreat centre run by an osteopath and herbalist. We had hoped to find out some useful information about alternative medicine, but came away a little disappointed. Everything was run to very strict rules, we were to work 4 hours a day with no break, if you took one you must make the time up. If you wanted a day off then you must work two 6 hour days, you were also obliged to cook every third day, a task made even harder by the 100% organic vegetarian diet and very small variety of food in the house. What surprised us was the complete lack of herbs, and we were also made to eat xylitol instead of sugar. (I did ask about the value of this and point out that it was a mild laxative, but apparently it has a lower GI and is lower in calories). Needless to say with a diet of vegetables, and cashew nuts in everything, we had copious amounts of smelly wind! Lizzi was given a pen and paper regularly to keep note of the ever expanding list of jobs and Nick was often send over the hill with heavy overalls and backpack to spray gorse. Again, we'd explore Wellington or walk in our time off. Usually we'd relish the opportunity for a good coffee or some chocolate in Wellington! We took one day off and had a lazy day exploring the Kapiti coast stopping at interesting roadside craft shops or mucking about on the beach. We also took the opportunity to eat out and enjoy the cinema. On the Sunday we indulged big time at the 'Chocolate Fish Cafe' well known for being where the stars of Lord of the Rings hung out and had suger overload which we then burnt off in one of the nicest urban parks in New Zealand, the 'Otari bush gardens'. Unforunately the xylitol had paid its toll on Lizzi and she wasn't well the night we left, heading to walk the Tongariro crossing!....