Since Sunday we have been in Hahei, a beach community on the Coromandel Peninsula - a four-hour drive from Auckland. We are WWOOFing* at a bed and breakfast called The Church. Richard and Karen, our hosts, are very pleasant, and put a great deal of time into running the place. The property and accommodations are lovely, just the kind of place you would want to go to get away from it all.

Our day goes a little something like this: at 7:30am breakfast is set up for the guests, who come wandering in around 8. Juice, coffee, tea, and toast are served during the continental breakfast. The highlights of breakfast are definitely Karen’s homemade muesli, muffins, and bread. They’re really, really, really good. At nine breakfast ends, and clean-up begins. After clean-up we head out to the units and clean them for the new guests. By noon we are done with our work for the day.

The first few days here it was overcast and rainy, so we spent our afternoons reading, occasionally looking at the sky in hopes for glimpses of blue. One afternoon I even made cookies (peanut butter) just as something to do. One day we had enough of it, and took a run at the beach, only to get completely poured on. Absolutely soaked through.

The following day we walked to Te Pare Point, a bluff at the south end of Hahei Beach. Despite the clouds, it was a great view of the Mercury Bay and its islands. On the walk there, dolphins were swimming really close to the beach. And, we even had about ten minutes of sun!

Yesterday, the skies finally cleared, so after work was done we headed down to the beach. Attempts to swim were thwarted by the rough surf. Eight to ten foot waves were crashing really close to the beach. Apparently its not normally like that, so we’ll have to try again another day.

We don’t have a great internet connection here, so only a few new pictures are posted. Hopefully in the next week we can get a few more up. But before I go a funny anecdote: the folks here have a sheep. Yup, just one. Belonged to their daughter who is now studying abroad. His name is Stanley. In the mornings during breakfast, he comes along the fence near the dining area and starts making a fuss. Turns out he loves burnt toast, and comes to expect it every day. If he isn’t there waiting, you can simply call him by name and he’ll come a-runnin’.

Good times,

Claire & Whit

* WWOOF stands for Willing Workers on Organic Farms. It’s an organization where farmers or other business owners who use organic methods host workers at their place, in exchange for room and board. You sign up individually and get a contact book with places who need workers, and then figure it out from there.