Kia Ora from New Zealand! This is only the second time I’ve been in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s quite nice to be walking around in shorts and swimming in the ocean in December.

I’ve spent the past 3 weeks WWOOFing on a permaculture farm about an hour north of Auckland. The property is run by a woman named Audrey, and there are many WWOOFers coming through from various parts of the world: France (so many French!), Germany, Netherlands, America. The land itself is beautiful, consisting of 20 acres of forestry, fauna, streams, and walking paths. Our work included planting, mulching, clearing bush, feeding chickens, cleaning, and building a huge community earth oven. I didn’t end up learning much about permaculture or farming, but it was a nice first stop that introduced me to many things about NZ.

Part of my morning run

View from my morning run

One of our beautifully mulched beds in the Yin Yang Garden

WWOOFers!

The best aspect has been meeting the Kiwis (NZ people), who are such open and welcoming people. I tried hitchhiking for the first time in my life and it’s quickly becoming my favorite mode of travel here. So far I’ve never had to wait more than 2 or 3 minutes for a ride, and everyone who’s picked me up has been extremely nice and helpful. It’s invigorating and assuring to know that there are still genuinely good people in the world.

On Friday nights a group of us would go to a community touch rugby game in town. The games themselves only last half an hour. We’d spend the rest of the time drinking and chatting with the locals at the clubhouse. It’s a very chill place, where adults and kids all gather together and everyone knows each other. One of the rugby team coaches, Jake, has been especially welcoming to us WWOOFers. The first night I met him, he ended up having too many drinks and giving me his car to drive back to the farm. Only in New Zealand!

Friday night at the local rugby club house

WWOOFers hanging out at the rugby field

A traditional Maori hangi meal cooked in the ground

Almost every view here takes my breath away. There are so many lush mountains, pristine beaches, and blue skies. I’m currently on the North Island, which has plenty of volcanoes, beaches, caves, and hot springs. Volcanoes are so common, in fact, that people here don’t even bat an eye when one erupts. Eventually I’ll also make my way down to the South Island, which is full of majestic mountains that look like Middle Earth. Interestingly enough, New Zealand is actually rising a few centimeters per year out of the ocean and moving eastward. So thousands of years from now, the North and South will actually join together to be one large island.

Tawharanui Park

Hiking in Tawharanui Park

Tomorrow I’m hopping on a ferry to go to my next WWOOF farm on the Great Barrier Island, which is off the coast of Auckland. I’m quite excited to experience life in a small island community and to spend the holidays there. It was difficult to leave the Kern farm behind, but for now I’m embracing life as a wandering traveler. There’s something really nice about packing everything you need in a single backpack and exploring without a timeline.