Birthdays, beers and berries… so many berries

Despite being up for work at 4am, we managed to make the most of Nathan’s birthday. Josie decorated the van with a banner and balloons, we enjoyed some beers after work with the picking team and Alena, one of our bosses, even made Nathan a cake! We were also invited over to Alena and Jeremy’s house in the evening for some drinks. We then came back to the farm to welcome in the new year.

Since the new year, we’ve been working pretty much every day. The 4am starts have become easier and the work has varied throughout the season with the varying quality of the berries. Keeping focused on why we’re here - to earn money to continue exploring NZ - has helped keep our spirits up and we’ve also found joy in the small things, like seeing some beautiful sunrises, watching pūkeko (native birds the size of chickens) balance on top of the boysenberry wires and of course eating a lot of berries!

Another positive is that the weather has improved a lot, meaning we’ve been able to explore the local area a bit more. We’ve spent a few afternoons on the beach at Rabbit Island, swimming in the sea and teaching our German friends, Miri and Vali, how to play rugby. The nearby Mapua Wharf, with shops, restaurants and a craft brew house, has quickly become one of our favourite destinations. We’ve spent many afternoons sipping IPA, listening to live music and getting fish and chips for dinner - the perfect way to relax after work. Here we’ve also got to try another New Zealand specialty - real fruit ice cream. Made using a special machine that combines fresh fruit with vanilla ice cream and swirls it into the perfect Mr Whippy-style cone, it has quickly become one of Josie’s favourites. And they’re extra special in Mapua because the boysenberries come from our farm!

We were lucky enough to have this past weekend off and so made the most of the gorgeous weather with two action-packed days. On Saturday we headed up to Cable Bay Adventure Park for a ‘flying fox experience’, gifted to us by Nathan’s parents for his birthday. You may remember that earlier in our trip we spent the day on a high wire course that included zip wires through the forest; this flying fox was a scaled-up, seated version across an entire valley. The over 3km long flying fox sped us along at speeds of up to 90kph both forwards and backwards while we enjoyed views of mountains and the Cook Straight from 300 metres up in the air. Afterwards, we headed back to Nelson to visit the Centre of New Zealand monument that marks the "zero, zero" point to which the first geodetic surveys of New Zealand were referenced. And of course picked up a boysenberry real fruit ice cream on our way home!

On Sunday we headed back to Kaiteriteri, on the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park, for a trip on a waka - a traditional Māori canoe. Alena organised this for us and the two other couples to celebrate (almost) coming to the end of harvest. We set off early in the morning and had beautiful calm water as we paddled around the coast to split-apple rock. On the way, we learnt about the Māori heritage of the area and the significance of the waka in Māori culture. We were also taught a haka (like the All Blacks do before a rugby match) and performed it to a ‘rival crew’ in another waka. We stopped off at a sandy beach for a swim and some snacks before heading back to Kaiteriteri. Overall it was an incredible experience and we felt very privileged to have Māori culture shared with us in this way.

We have about a week left of work at the farm before we’ll be back on the road. We’re both really looking forward to exploring more of the South Island and our first stop will be Kaikoura on the east coast for some whale watching - fingers crossed we see some this time!