Not having working visa´s (due to not really wanting to work) we decided to give the Willing Workers On Organic Farms scheme a go. It involves staying with a host who houses you and feeds you in return for a small amount of work.

We worked and lived on an organic farm in Riverton, South New Zealand for a week (for all LOTR fans, it is RiverTON not RiverDALE and we didn´t see any elves). Our moustachioed host is very amusing and regales us with stories about falling over in the garden naked in the middle of the night while taking a pee and pretending he's a robot in the pub by strapping circuit boards and smoke machines to his chest. He and his wife have also taught us a lot about organic farming and we are now planning to be fully veg. self sufficient when we eventually get home. We have also learned alot about the impact of endocrine disrupters as Lindsay is very much active in discovering and informing all he can about the chemicals that are commonly used in NZ farming. Apparently many of them have already been banned in England for many years but NZ are still using them without any legislation to prevent it.

We were only expected to work for a few hours in the morning before being sent off for "tourist time" so we could see the sights and walk the walks (see Baah! for more details). Being winter, there was not a massive amount to be done but we planted strawberries, chopped wood, dug rows (yes I learnt how to use a spade AND a shovel) all on a beautiful hillside above the river while Lindsay chatted away with us. It was mostly sunny and the work was fun.

For lunch one day, we drove down to the beach and walked down towards the promontory. We followed Lindsay as he clambered over the rocks but baulked when he waded through the freezing sea up to his waist to get access to the only rock that hadn´t already been stripped. He peeled the mussles off their perches and filled a couple of plastic bags. These he threw back to us as he realised that the tide had come in significantly and his window for wading back was slowly closing. As it was, he was up to his armpits, and with no waterproof clothes on whatsoever he emerged dripping and grinning. He deep fried the Mussels and we had a glorious hunter-gatherer style lunch.

Like all self respecting organic farmers, they have their own brand of home brewed spirit. It is made from tomatoes and when mixed with strawberry jam and a little beer it is actually quite palatable. It is called "chook juice" because where you drink it is where you lay, and believe me it is an accurate desription!
Our hosts were fantastic and we had a great time and we would recommend giving WOOFing a go to everyone who is travelling to NZ. If you go to Riverton and stay with Lindsay and Debs, please say hi for us!

Jon on the farm

Man, woman and machine