Steve and I have had the itch....the travel bug...wanderlust...and so we began our search for what could fulfill our need to get out of town. We both have been ready to pack up and ship out of the midwest for some time now but we decided we weren't quite ready to set up shop somewhere new yet. Lots of opportunities presented themselves - teaching English just about anywhere, working abroad picking grapes or working at a hotel, and then there was WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)...for a few hours of hard labor a day, a few days a week, you are provided free food and shelter and the chance to be totally immersed in a local farmer's culture. It doesn't get any better than living, working, and eating with a family each day to learn about a country and it's people. And you can do it anywhere in the world!
So we're going to WWOOF, but where? Well considering that neither of us know anything about farming, we decided to try to keep that the only variable that we are clueless on. We wanted somewhere that was safe, where the people speak English, and that is totally unique and incredible. We were between South Africa and New Zealand. After a lot of discussions with friends and family, we decided on New Zealand. Since my Dad and our good friend Collin had both been there recently and had a lot of great things to say about it, we felt pretty good about our decision. After more research and talking with other people about it, I don't think we could have made a better choice.
Since most people don't know very much about New Zealand (including myself until recent research), I'll fill you in on some special things it has going for it. New Zealand has over 40 million sheep and a little over 4 million people. Yep, that means 10 sheep per person - wool sock souvenirs, anyone? NZ is the first country in the world to see the sunrise and has a convenient little hole in the ozone layer over the South Island for fair-skinned gals like myself (don't worry Dad, I'm packing the sunscreen and I promise I'll wear it). Though it is close to Australia, it's not that close (1338 miles) - or that similar. New Zealand has no snakes or dangerous wild animals, making it safe to enjoy outdoor activities. The kiwi, New Zealand's national emblem, is a flightless bird with hair-like feathers and a long, slender bill, but New Zealanders often refer to themselves as Kiwis, and the term is also used for the famous kiwifruit. NZ is known to some as the "Adventure Capital of the World," and you can walk on a glacier, ski on an active volcano, abseil into a canyon and parapent off a high mountain. I do not know what abseil or parapent means but the whole canyon and high mountain part are enough to tell me that I will not be involved in such activities...however, my love for Wayne Coyne may be enough to get me to do this: But exactly WHAT will we be doing?? There's so many options, it's endless. New Zealand has over 1300 hosts that take on WWOOFers to help them out on their farm. We could be...weeding, planting trees, picking kiwis, starting seedlings, doing maintenance work, building a lean-to, collecting chicken's eggs, maintaining walking trails, mowing, mulching, working on a vineyard, composting, plucking, clipping, pruning, milking cows, harvesting grapes and olives, cleaning, cooking, helping out with the children, etc.
So now we're unemployed and soon to be homeless as we embark on an adventure of a lifetime. The passports and holiday work visas are all prepared, we have our backpacks, tent, and sleeping bags (thanks CJ & EB!), and I'm getting my overalls tailored on Monday (can you really farm without overalls?!?). Please make sure you keep in touch through e-mails and leave lots of comments (it makes us feel connected!). Sewl! (from Wikipedias New Zealand English: slang,farewell/good-bye corruption of "see you all later" pronounced similar to "seal" (an extremely fast and slurred "see-you-all" ending in mumbled 'l' sound)
