On my way out of Auckland, I stopped at a park for a trail run! Over a week of having between 1 and many beers each day had taken its toll, and I needed to get active. The park was really nice, and it was my first taste of New Zealand wilderness. It was so jungly! Tons of palm trees, moss, vines, and just a feel of lushness filled the space around you. Unfortunately, the trail was so surprisingly steep for me that I had to turn around as I was pushing myself way too hard. But, I had a great morning and I saw a sweet waterfall!
After that, I had a 3 hour drive to reach Colville, a tiny town with two stores, a restaurant and a cafe. There was no one around when I arrived, so I walked up and down the steep property and was just in awe at where I had found myself. My hosts eventually arrived, I got settled, and we got to know each other! My hosts were an American that moved to New Zealand when he was 12, and a Canadian that met him while they were teaching abroad, and she eventually and enthusiastically joined him here in paradise!
My first job was to help out with building a small roof over a new porch that the owner had built with previous Workaways. We mulled over plans and gathered material the first day and went out for a cheeky sail, and really got to work with fastening the steel beam and cutting rafters on Day 2.
And then the project was done by our 3rd day! I then went for a kayak paddle on the ocean, and forgot how bad salt water could be for phones. Begrudgingly, I drove a 3 hour round trip to buy a new one down in Thames. Still had a nice day, but it was an expensive one. But isn’t that a great roof??
I also made sure to get out and explore the peninsula, and linked up with my new friends Eszter, Eno, and Ashleigh at the beach, as well as driving up to Port Jackson solo for a hike on Christmas Eve, giving myself some much needed alone time. It seems like every corner is just beautiful in its own way out here, and Coromandel was stealing my heart with its resemblance to the Spanish countryside but with so many stunning ocean views.
Finally, the big day arrived and I had so much fun with my host family! After morning presents, coffee and breakfast, the cousins came by and scooped my up for a dip at the beach, and I had a wonderful chat with a local’s mother, who lived in New York City. She’d written tons of vooks, and was specifically interested in encouraging women to pursue higher education in traditionally non-female roles! What a rockstar!
After the beach, we popped a few drinks while listening to Sublime and made our way back to the house for dinner, which featured turkey and oodles of fresh salads (since it’s summer here!) The Germans staying on the property (Matz & Pia) also joined us, and they left me the silliest note with a small gift. It was just a perfect day, spent with wonderful people and lots of smiles. We started the dishes by playing my punk rock Christmas playlist that no one enjoyed, andswitched tk both traditional and modern, German Christmas tunes. We capped off the night by watching the movie Pirates!, and I absolutely fell asleep for half of it.