Havelock wwoofing

We started hitching pretty early in the day.  Eve drove us into Nelson so it would be easier for us to catch a ride.  The first guy that we got was going to Belheim, where Ashlie needed to go.  On the way he could drop me off at Havelock, where I would be wwoofing.  We said our good byes and parted for our new adventures.

Havelock reminds me a lot of home,  but smaller.  It's a quaint little town situated on Marlborough sounds.  It has lots of boats and is the green shell capitol of New Zealand. Main street was literally two blocks and had a few restaurants and places to stay, along with a 4square.  So even though it has less people than my home town, it has more commerce.

 I was wwoofing at a backpackers, and it was pretty easy to find.  They had two young boys, an elderly dog and Dad, who was running the backpackers and a rafting business.  Mom, who usually helped run the business was in Australia.  

Oh man, I forgot how rambunctious kids could be.  These guys were rough housers, but cute.   Katja was also staying with the family.  She is from Germany and was doing an internship with them.  She helped out with paperwork and occasionally watched the kids.  This wwooffing job was fairly easy.  I cleaned for a few hours in the morning; making the kitchen look beautiful and making up rooms and beds of people that had left that morning.  At night I would help watch the kids and help with dinner if needed.

Brave Jack and the crayfish

On the second day I was with the family Dad decided to go fishing.  It was the weekend and originally Jack was supposed to go as well, but he didn’t seem too keen.  So Katija and I got to watch the kids all day.  It was during this period I decided I was not made out to be a nanny.  Not only did I have a miserable dog allergy, but the boys fought often or were demanding.  I’m sure they were pushing the boundaries to see how much they could get away with without mom and dad there.  At the end of the day I was happy when dad came home.  He brought with him a huge crayfish.  

Now when I think crayfish I think of the little ones you can find in streams and rivers, more like freshwater prawns.  This one was massive, and totally different.  It had spike all over it and swear was almost the same size as the kids.  Jack, the oldest boy loved it.  He had seen them before, and was all about playing with it in the bathtub.  The younger boy, Curtis, was terrified and wouldn’t go anywhere near it until later when he realized he could throw water on it.  We drowned it in fresh water in the bathtub, then Dad cooked it up.

After dad’s weekend adventure I got into the rhythm.  We had breakfast together then I would play with kids until they had to go to school.  After that was cleaning, lunch and long walks.  One afternoon I even discovered a local waterfall.  Apparently if I go at night, I might even see glow worms.  I tried to do Pilates in the afternoon, but I get self-conscious about doing them in front of people, so that was short lived.  After that was dinner, movie with the kids and interneting and books before bed.  

 

Walking in Havelock

waterfall hike

 

The last couple of days I was there the Dad went to pick up Mom in Christchurch.  It was supposed to be just one day, but it turned into two and half.  I don’t blame them, I don’t know how long it had been since they saw eachother and they didn’t have the boys running around.

adorable trouble maker: Curtis

Katija and I got to taking care of the boys and run things while they were gone.  It was interesting, and good.  The boys liked us both.  The only problem we ran into was fights and refusal to listen, but in the end they boys came around.  These guys were pretty good natured.  We had fun with bath time, arguing over what they would or would not eat for dinner, going to sleep, and what book to read.  

When mom came home I was impressed and wished she had been around so we could swap travel stories.  She was a world traveler too.  She had been to  57 countries, and almost all of them backpacking!  I aspire to this kind of awesomeness, just give me another decade.  

Unfortunately I left the next day to go to my new wwoofer host, and didn’t get to spend much time at all with Asha. Katja gave me a ride into nelson and then decided to give me a ride to my new host door step.  How awesome, she said she didn’t mind, she liked driving anyway.

On the way there we stopped to see the naturally forming boulder bank and takes some pictures. 

you can see the boulder bank in the background

 We also stopped at historic house in between Havelock and Nelson.