Havelock North Village, Hawke's Bay - New Zealand
Here I am,
after almost 4 months of travelling I have reached the furthest point from which every move will only take me closer to home.
It's been a while since my last post so I will try to pu you all up to date with the latest news.
After an overnight in Wellington spent in a 24 hour pump station right outside the airport, I finally made my way to Napier in the morning.
My headquartersare situated right next to it in Havelock North Village. Population: 10 to 12000 as answers to this question seem to change everytime I asked. It is a small town but it has everything one's may need. Coffee Shops, Bars, Restaurants, Book Shops, Cinemas you name it, they'll have it. And if they don't Hastings is just 10 minutes away and there you will find all that is missing (or not) in here.
It's quite a change from a big city like Sydney to suddenly be in a small town that lives around vineyards (vinhas) and Orcheards (frutas).
And it's in one of those categories that I found my new way of life. I wake up with the sun between 6 and 7 to head of to work of which I will get of 8 hours later. After 2 months with a night job I am living a much more distictive one and I am surprised to (re)discover that there is much to do in a day even after an 8 hour shift if one wakes up early. And I am glad to announce that I am turning into a morning person. Around here everyone follows more or less the same schedule knowing that by 8:30 you won't find any other living soul in the backpackers besides Neil and Terry that manage the place. And the house cat...
I share my room with another guy, Raz. Raz is from Nepal and makes it all quite interesting on a day to day basis. We found a common center of interests and if you come by after dinner you my see us in some little guitar jam sessions. Good times.
Trinity Hill is the place where I was lucky enough to find a job. The city boy got his hands dirty (and don't talk about dirty hands before you get into some labour work, it takes it to another level, I'll tell you) and is now learning to manoever tractor, shoot Shotguns, recognize the diferent grapes and of course at the end of the day taste the diference aswell.
My boss? Mr John Hancock. What a cool guy. Always with a smile on his face, specially after a couple of tastings, John is the kind of boss that doesn't let one feel like he is and for that he is well respected and loved among his wine crew. Very keen on beer, I will quote him. "It takes a lot of beer to make good wine" I agree.
My new contact number:
+64 (0)21 10 11 072 Vodafone New Zealand
I'll get back to you for further details.