Update from Hastings

So here we are in the not so sunny Hawkes bay. However the rain today does mean that we get a welcome break from our new jobs. Fruit picking! The weekend saw us spending two days picking peaches and from that we have progressed to picking apples. Zoe has overcome her fear of ladders and now scales the heights of the tallest apple trees!







On our second day of work we were attempting to arrive early to make a good impression on the farmer in the hope of getting some biscuits with our cup of tea. Arriving at 7am, we stopped to pick up our baskets which we use to collect the fruit and then........Zoe drove into the wall!!!! Smashing the window in the garage, putting a dent in the fender and breaking the indicator. Luckily David was at hand to calm the situation and fix the damage done. The farmer wasn't too bother about the window as it was the only one left in the garage and we still got biscuits with our tea! In Zoe's defence it was a very tight corner!

During our time here we have met lots of interesting people of many different nationalities and David has taken to leaguing the nations on account of the individuals we have met. So in the lead is Brazil who were only too happy to share their beer and sausages with us and are very friendly. Australia have surprisingly flown into second place, the return of the camera helped them loads but generally they have been alright. Sweden and Argentina are mid table much as you would expect, nothing really to comment here they are mostly inoffensive. A shock high for Germany who follows next - we met a couple of lovely girls and were getting on very well with them only to ask them "where are you from?". "Germany" they replied and David's mouth and heart dropped. "How can Germans be this nice?"!!!!! Unsurprisingly the nation almost on the bottom of the league is France - everything David disliked about them before has magnified! David says THE WORLD WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE WITHOUT THEM! Bottom of the league has to be Scotland - all thanks to one man - how are you doing Stephen???!!! Have the six nations started yet?

NEWS FLASH!!!!!!

THE CAMERA HAS BEEN FOUND!!!!!!!!

We had both felt the camera had gone forever, never to be seen again........but we felt uneasy and both thought we should contact a bar we had briefly visited during our stay in Port Douglas. We rang them and they said "Oh you're the camera people! We've had that camera for ages." They checked the photos to check it was ours they found a devastatingly good looking man (so Zoe said well that's not ours then!) But luckily it was! So the camera with all out photos of Bangkok and Australia is now in transit to the UK via our friend in Sydney.

We are sure this has been an answer to prayer (so a big thank you to all who prayed) and from us a huge thank you to God who definitely sorted out the return of our camera.

Blog Fans are you ready for a visual treat. I have heard it on the peach tree that you are a little bored of words so you will be shown a series of photos from our new Camera.

This is Zoe enjoying her lunch in Sheila. I am sure it will be a peanut butter sandwich which has become our main source of nutrient .
This is David fishing off the rocks on a beach.



And here is the first fish Zoe caught of two. She cast out and before she knew what was happening the line was pulling.


This is a picture I took underwater of a Stingray.
I'll show Steve Irwin about crazy!






Here we are at the Cape the most Northern Point in NZ. The finger you can see is a thick Australian woman who could not work out how to use cameras.


This is where David slept when Zoe kicked him out of the van for snoring!
The little maori people were pleased to have him.

Here we are at a geyser in Rotarua. It smelt so bad. It even covered the smell of zoe's feet.






This is Zoe the speed demon on the Luge but she never managed to beat David!




















And us getting ready for bed in the van . Goodnight and God Bless

Video

this is from the Video Camera in Australia

Auckland and away!

So after nearly 3 weeks of filling in job applications signing on with agencies we had not received a single phone call about a job or even a interview. I had even put in an application form to a pub near where we were staying and the very next day they put an advert up about a job and I never got a phone call! Maybe God was trying to tell us something! We decided to look at other options. We found a company who supplies fruit pickers in another part of the country, so we decided to buy our camper van and go pick fruit.

Camper Van

Our home for the next few months is a beautiful Toyota Hiace. It has been converted to a camper van. We have named her Sheila and she drives like a dream. When we first got the van we took it back to Mellons Bay and I cleaned the Van inside and out while Zoe built a table out of scraps from the skip next door! The van has a very comfortable bed in the back it also has a lots of room for storage.

Travelling

Since we are now travelling and have a van we decided to see some more of the North Island before we start work. We have left Auckland and have headed north. We are about to enter the Bay of Islands and then up to the point. We are finding the country very interesting. It can be best summed up by you never know what you'll find around the next corner. It may be a beautiful view or massive hills or some wildlife in the road! As you can see the weather here is not what we experienced in Australia! It is true what they say about 4 seasons in one day!

Fishing

When we got the van it had loads of stuff already in and by luck it had a fishing rod. I have spent some time fishing with no luck as yet. I have a had a lesson on using the rod from a friend and I feel that soon the fish will be flying in. The only problem is the storage of the bait Zoe is not happy about me having squid loose in the van!