Around the World and Back: The dreaded job search

Napier: the art deco capital of New Zealand! The sun came out today which makes this town a whole lot nicer. We are currently staying at a hostel across the street from the water, and trying to ignore the fact that almost all the towns we've been to in New Zealand look almost exactly the same (city center = strip mall). We are on the quest for a seasonal job, probably fruit picking or something like that, and feeling slightly daunted (already) by jobs not just falling into our laps. ;) We have registered our contact information with a few different fruit picking companies and all they can tell us is that "when and if a job opens up" they will text us with the information. So we may go door-to-door to businesses and hostels to see if anyone needs any help, because our money is spreading thin.

On a happier note, we have seen lots more beautiful stuff! We spent a few days on the Coromandel Peninsula northeast of Auckland it was stunning. The first town we stayed in is called Tairua and we spent 2 nights in a backpackers (that's what they call hostels here) that lends out kayaks for free! We only used the kayaks once because the body of water that lines the beach we were staying on had about 2 feet of water in it at high tide. And that was at the deepest part; most of the water was less than a foot deep, so it wasn't the most productive kayak experience. Still, nice to have that available. We planned to go to Hot Water Beach while we were there, which is a beach with geothermal activity under the surface of the sand, so you can dig a hole and sit in your own hot pool. We decided to go for a hike first, which was the best decision, because Cathedral Cove was breathtakingly beautiful. Afterwards we drove to the beach, but it seemed really touristy and kind of lame, and we weren't there for the right tide-time, so we skipped out.

After Tairua we traveled to the north tip of the Coromandel to do an ocean-view tramp, aptly named the Coromandel Coastal Walkway. It was 6.5 hours of rolling hills, beach views, turquoise waters... you get the drill. I need to start using a thesaurus to write this blog because I can only think of so many ways to say "beautiful" and all the other things I've been saying over and over again- but it really IS that nice here. I still kind of can't believe it. Anyway- back to the hike; about 15 minutes into it, my boots (that I've been wearing this whole trip) suddenly turned on me and started rubbing in all the wrong places. The rest of the 6 hours was spent walking slowly and awkwardly as I tried (and failed) to avoid the blistering. **Unfortunate flashbacks to one of my most traumatic middle school memories and the dreaded boots that caused me so much physical and emotional pain (you remember the slipper, mom)** Note to self: when on a long hike, bring moleskin just in case!

The next day we made a nerve-wracking drive back down south on verrrryyyy little gas. Imagine: narrow, cliffside gravel roads that may or may not have had heavy machinery taking up the whole space, and coasting down hills in neutral as a means to conserve precious resources. But we made it! I had to pay Brian a dollar for losing the bet.

Our journey continued down to Rotorua, where our short stay only piqued our interest in the city and all its geothermal offerings... Because of our lack of excess funds, we have been fast-tracking down to Napier to look for work, so after a quick night in Rotorua we spent one night camping about 45 minutes outside of the city (highlights included a waterfall hike with a chilly river swimming-hole session) and then continued to our current location. I am trying to use up precious MB of pre-purchased internet usage to FINALLY update any readers with a post on this thing- but I think I better get back out there and start actually LOOKING for a job while it's still daytime, and before all the businesses close at 3pm. :)